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Speaker 1: And behold the servants of David and Joe. Ab came

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Speaker 1: from pursuing a troop and brought a great spoil with them.

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Speaker 1: But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for he

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Speaker 1: had sent him away, and he was gone in peace

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Speaker 1: Second Samuel three twenty two. Lord, when I inherit opportunities

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Speaker 1: that seemed to be in ruins and surrounded with conflict,

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Speaker 1: I thank you that, like David, I will be wise

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Speaker 1: and tactful when it comes to leading and making decisions

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Speaker 1: in the midst of chaos. I trust and believe that

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Speaker 1: your hand will continue to be with me in spite

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Speaker 1: of the circumstances around me, like you did with David.

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Speaker 1: I realize that on my journey to claim what you've

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Speaker 1: promised me, there may be people who are occupying the

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Speaker 1: seat you've called me to sit in. However, I will

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Speaker 1: not take it by force or by vengeful means, because

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Speaker 1: I know that, in your perfect timing, you will deliver

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Speaker 1: it into my hands. No matter the way. Time I

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Speaker 1: will calm my heart and soul with memories of your

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Speaker 1: goodness and faithfulness to me. I will stand in the

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Speaker 1: place of greatness. I will rule over and flourish in

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Speaker 1: what You've entrusted to me. The life you have for

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Speaker 1: me is coming to pass, and I thank you in advance,

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Speaker 1: knowing that my new chapter of victory is being written

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Speaker 1: even as I speak in Jesus name. Amen, thank you

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Speaker 1: for praying with us today. Continue your time with God

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Speaker 1: by listening to today's Bible story, brought to you by

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Speaker 1: Bible in a year dot com King of Israel. In

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Speaker 1: our last story, we witness the divided kingdom of Israel.

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Speaker 1: Israel named ishbosheth king. While Judah crowned David. The two

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Speaker 1: nations were at odds with one another. An Abner, general

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Speaker 1: of Israel's army, killed Joab's brother Joab, David's commander spared

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Speaker 1: Israel's army. However, it was not the end of the conflict.

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Speaker 1: Now we witness the messy merging of two kingdoms. Murder, betrayal,

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Speaker 1: and sorrow follow the greatness of a united kingdom David,

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Speaker 1: God's anointed will inherit a kingdom riddled with imperfection and

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Speaker 1: in desperate need of God's guidance. Inspired by the Book

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Speaker 1: of Second Samuel, Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham. With today's

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Speaker 1: episode of the Bible in a year podcast. Yesterday we

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Speaker 1: heard how David ascended to the throne of Judah, but

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Speaker 1: Ishbosheth was crowned King of Israel. The nation was divided

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Speaker 1: in fighting within itself. It was a civil war. We

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Speaker 1: heard the story of joe Eb and Abner as the

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Speaker 1: armies of Israel and Judah clashed and many died, but

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Speaker 1: joe Eb's mercy spared many more. Today we'll hear how

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Speaker 1: the conflict between the two sides is far from over,

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Speaker 1: as are the problems of Israel. It is a story

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Speaker 1: of jealousy, betrayal, shifting loyalties, and ultimately a kingdom that

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Speaker 1: is in desperate need of a godly leader and desperately

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Speaker 1: in need of God himself. So lest listen to God's

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Speaker 1: word today. The spite of King Saul lived on through

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Speaker 1: Ishbosheth and the armies of Israel. Day after day there

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Speaker 1: was conflict between the sibling nations, and heartache scarred the

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Speaker 1: people for over two years. King David grew stronger through

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Speaker 1: the conflict. His love for the whole nation of Israel

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Speaker 1: and Judah informed every tactical decision he made. David was wise, tactful,

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Speaker 1: and merciful as he planned, yet he was ruthless on

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Speaker 1: the battlefield. His men followed him passionately, and Israel's strength

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Speaker 1: began to wane. Abner was also finding a place for

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Speaker 1: himself among the armies of Israel. Ishbosheth was a weak

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Speaker 1: leader and in need of Abner's guidance continually. Abner loved

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Speaker 1: Ishbosheth as he loved Saul. Yet above all, he loved

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Speaker 1: Israel and wanted it to flourish. Between the battle and hardship,

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Speaker 1: Abner found comfort in the company of Saul's concubine, Rispa.

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Speaker 1: Together they made love eight and took walks among the city.

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Speaker 1: The two of them fell in love, and this was

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Speaker 1: truly disturbing to Ishbosheth. One day he stormed into Abner's

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Speaker 1: quarters and yelled, why would you mingle with my dead

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Speaker 1: father's concubine. I forbid it. Abner looked at Ishbosheth with rage.

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Speaker 1: He did not try and hide his anger. Abner flipped

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Speaker 1: the table in between them and pointed to Ishbosheth, do

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Speaker 1: you treat me like a dog? Abner yelled, I have

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Speaker 1: shown you the house of Saul and all of Israel,

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Speaker 1: nothing but love and faithfulness. I show honor to you,

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Speaker 1: your uncles, and all of Saul's allies. Now you storm

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Speaker 1: into my house and charge me because of a woman.

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Speaker 1: Abner stormed closer to Ishboshet. Ishbosheth stood still, fearing Abner

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Speaker 1: would do something to him. Abner leaned in and whispered

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Speaker 1: in his ear, saying, mark my words, I will establish

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Speaker 1: the kingdom of David here in Israel. The nation will

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Speaker 1: be united under him, and you will dwindle into nothingness.

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Speaker 1: And just like that, Abner left the room. Ishbosheth stood still,

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Speaker 1: unable to answer Abner, for he was a weak man

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Speaker 1: and a coward. Abner gathered a few of his men

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Speaker 1: and sent them out to David. They rode through the night,

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Speaker 1: hoping to find David before another battle began. Abner's message

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Speaker 1: to David was, who does this land belong? To make

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Speaker 1: a covenant with me, and my sword will be yours.

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Speaker 1: Together we will unite Israel and Judah. As his men

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Speaker 1: were riding, Abner wasted no time. He gathered a few

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Speaker 1: of the elders of Israel and spoke to them plainly.

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Speaker 1: He knew that many of them doubted ish Boshev and

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Speaker 1: would gladly welcome a stronger king worthy of their loyalty. Together,

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Speaker 1: they conspired to leave ish Boshev and bind themselves to

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Speaker 1: King David for the good of Israel. Already a nation

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Speaker 1: was beginning to form in the shadows. Abner ventured to

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Speaker 1: Hebron to meet with David. With twenty men behind him.

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Speaker 1: They entered into the city to find it bustling with activity.

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Speaker 1: The smell of freshly baked bread and cooked meat filled

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Speaker 1: the air, and men and women exchanged goods in the

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Speaker 1: market place. They felt safe and secure, with no worries

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Speaker 1: of future raids or ambushes from Israel or the Philistines.

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Speaker 1: Abner could not help but regret the months spent serving Ishbosheth,

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Speaker 1: for David had truly led Judah into a period of

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Speaker 1: cultural and economic thriving. David was standing at the entrance

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Speaker 1: of his home to greed Abner. They embraced as old friends.

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Speaker 1: Abner was a young man when David defeated Goliath and

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Speaker 1: joined the armies of Israel. The two had grown close

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Speaker 1: in battle years ago. Now they stood as friends, ready

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Speaker 1: to make amends and build alliances. David hosted a great

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Speaker 1: feast for Abner and his men, and all of them

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Speaker 1: laughed into the night and rejoiced in one another's company.

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Speaker 1: After this, Abner was sent away in peace. The two

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Speaker 1: of them would reconvene at another time. Shortly after Joab

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Speaker 1: returned with his men from a raid. Spoils of war

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Speaker 1: were carried in on carriages, and all the people of

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Speaker 1: Hebron marveled at Joab and his men. David embraced Joab,

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Speaker 1: happy to see him back healthy and unharmed. Joab sat

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Speaker 1: at David's hall to eat, and one of the servants

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Speaker 1: men into to him that Abner had just left. Joab's

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Speaker 1: eyes widened, and he stood up from his chair and

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Speaker 1: looked at David. Joab's eyes were foggy, and it seemed

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Speaker 1: like he was holding back tears. Abner came to you,

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Speaker 1: Joab asked David. David nodded, matter of factly. That man

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Speaker 1: killed my brother. He has come to deceive you. He

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Speaker 1: wants to know where you dwell and what your weaknesses are.

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Speaker 1: He does not care about you. David's resolved to partner

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Speaker 1: with Abner did not relent. He knew that Abner was

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Speaker 1: the key to uniting the kingdoms. However, Joab seeped with rage. Frantic,

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Speaker 1: hurt and weary from battle, joab stormed out of David's presence.

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Speaker 1: The Knight fell upon all the land of Judah and Israel.

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Speaker 1: Abner had just settled into his home when a messenger

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Speaker 1: came to him. The message said that Abner needed to

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Speaker 1: return to Hebron immediately and meet David at the gates.

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Speaker 1: Abner wasted no time and took his horse to Hebron

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Speaker 1: without his men. Abner rode fast, for the message seemed urgent.

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Speaker 1: Is David in danger? Am I in danger? Abner thought

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Speaker 1: to himself. It did not take long for Abner to

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Speaker 1: arrive at the gates of Hebron. He dismounted his horse

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Speaker 1: and looked around for David. He peeked his head over

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Speaker 1: some shrubs and around some trees. Still no sign of David.

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Speaker 1: Abner looked behind him to see a hooded figure ten

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Speaker 1: yards away. Ah, my King, Abner said. He came in

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Speaker 1: close to speak with him. Before Abner could make another sound,

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Speaker 1: a blade was driven into his ribs. Abner gasped as

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Speaker 1: blood spat out of his mouth. He fell to his knees,

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Speaker 1: holding the blade in his abdomen. He looked up to

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Speaker 1: see a face under the hood, illuminated by the moonlight.

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Speaker 1: It was Johab standing over him, watching the life slowly

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Speaker 1: leave his eyes. Abner fell to the floor and bled

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Speaker 1: out in front of Johab. Dawn emerged from the valley,

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Speaker 1: and the sun shone on Abner's lifeless body. David stood

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Speaker 1: over it. Knowing exactly who was to blame, he had

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Speaker 1: his men captured joe Ab and bring him. Joab knelt

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Speaker 1: before David with spears pointed towards him. This was David's

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Speaker 1: first betrayal as king. How he handled Joab, which set

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Speaker 1: a precedent for all other acts of disobedience in the future.

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Speaker 1: David closed his eyes and prayed a silent prayer. He

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Speaker 1: then opened his eyes and looked at Joab. My hands

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Speaker 1: and the hands of Judah are clean from this blood.

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Speaker 1: You and you alone are to blame for Abner's death.

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Speaker 1: I know when my heart, God will deal with you

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Speaker 1: more harshly than I ever could. Your family will be

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Speaker 1: cut off from My favor and Gods. There will be

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Speaker 1: defeat in battle, disease and misfortune to plague you and

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Speaker 1: your children and your children's children. And like that, David

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Speaker 1: allowed Joab to go his way. David wept over Abner,

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Speaker 1: for he represented a past bond to Saul and Jonathan.

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Speaker 1: He would have to find another way to unite the kingdoms.

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Speaker 1: The next day, Ishbosheth was lying in his bed taking

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Speaker 1: a nap. What little courage he had vanished at the

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Speaker 1: news of Abner's death. Now he awaited his inevitable demise.

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Speaker 1: Unbenounced to ish Boshev that demise would come sooner than

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Speaker 1: expect it. Ishbosheth napped during the day as the warm

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Speaker 1: breeze trickled in through his window. Slowly, three of Ishbosheth's

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Speaker 1: men entered into his room. Raman, Rachab, and Bon creeped

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Speaker 1: near to his bed, doing their best to remain quiet.

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Speaker 1: Raman lifted his blade and drove it into Ishbosheth's side

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Speaker 1: as his eyes opened at the pane, Rachab swung his

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Speaker 1: axe down and chopped off his head. Later that day,

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Speaker 1: the three men sauntered into Hebron with their heads held high.

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Speaker 1: They could not wait to show David what they had done.

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Speaker 1: They smiled, cheeked to cheek, eyes beaming with the thought

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Speaker 1: of possible reward, word and status. They entered into David's

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Speaker 1: throne room and laid the head out on the table

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Speaker 1: before David. A chap grinned and presented the head of Ishboshev. Behold,

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Speaker 1: my king, the Lord has avenged you to day. Here

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Speaker 1: is the head of Ishboshev, the king that sought your life.

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Speaker 1: David stood up from his seat and observed the head.

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Speaker 1: The men could not contain their excitement. David walked around

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Speaker 1: them and said, let me tell you a story. The

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Speaker 1: room grew tense for a moment as David spoke. A

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Speaker 1: man once came to me and told me that he

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Speaker 1: was the one who killed Saul. Behold, Saul is dead,

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Speaker 1: he shouted. He expected me to reward him. He expected riches, favor,

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Speaker 1: and a hug. He received no such thing. I slaughtered

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Speaker 1: him right where he stood. The men began to sweat

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Speaker 1: as they listened to David's voice grow loud. Tell me

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Speaker 1: how should I treat them inn who murder their innocent

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Speaker 1: king in his bed. Before they could answer the question,

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Speaker 1: David and his men struck them down and cut off

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Speaker 1: their heads and feet. David desired his kingdom to be

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Speaker 1: united through mercy, diplomacy, and worship, not assassination. Shortly after

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Speaker 1: the elders of Israel came to David. They crowned him

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Speaker 1: king over all Israel, and the two split nations were

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Speaker 1: united once again. David was thirty years old now and

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Speaker 1: felt as though he had lived an entire lifetime. After

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Speaker 1: slaying giants, fighting the Philistines, fleeing from Saul, and navigating

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Speaker 1: a civil war, David had finally taken the mantle as

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Speaker 1: shepherd over God's sheep. Many acts of faith and failure

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Speaker 1: would follow David, yet one thing would remain his desire

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Speaker 1: to know God and unite himself to his will forever.

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Speaker 1: Today's story begins with Ishbashef still ruling over Israel. There

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Speaker 1: was constant conflict between the two kingdoms, a civil war.

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Speaker 1: David flourished along with Judah, while Israel floundered under a

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Speaker 1: weak and unwise king. Abner was still adviser to Ishbashef,

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Speaker 1: seeking to help Israel grow strong. But when Ishbashef confronted

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Speaker 1: Abner for his romantic involvement with one of Saul's concubines,

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Speaker 1: Abner was deeply offended and angered. After all that he

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Speaker 1: had done for the king and for Israel, it seemed

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Speaker 1: so petty to him and just like that his loyalty turns.

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Speaker 1: This man wanted what was best for Israel, and he

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Speaker 1: realized Ishbosheth wasn't the best for Israel. He vowed that

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Speaker 1: he would help to bring about a unified Israel under David,

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Speaker 1: as this was the will of God. So Abner sent

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Speaker 1: word to David that he would join forces with him

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Speaker 1: in order to unify Israel, to unify Israel under his rule,

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Speaker 1: the rule of David. And so then he gathered the

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Speaker 1: Israelite elders and reminded them of their desire to have

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Speaker 1: David is king. This is what he said to them

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Speaker 1: in Second Samuel. Now then bring it about, for the

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Speaker 1: Lord has promised David, saying, by the hand of my

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Speaker 1: servant David, I will save my people Israel from the

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Speaker 1: hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all

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Speaker 1: their enemies. Abner knew the truth that David was the

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Speaker 1: chosen man to be king of Israel. It would be

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Speaker 1: through him, David, that God would deliver his people. Abner

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Speaker 1: knew that it was far better to be on the

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Speaker 1: side of God's will rather than resist or to fight

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Speaker 1: against it. When he reunites with David, it is like

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Speaker 1: a meeting of long lost friends, David embraced and accepted him.

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Speaker 1: David could have been bitter and angry about Abner's allegiance

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Speaker 1: to ibashef, but instead he threw a feast for Abner

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Speaker 1: and sent him away in peace, resolved to work with

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Speaker 1: Abner to unify Israel. When David's commander joe Ebb found

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Speaker 1: out that the man who killed his brother had been

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Speaker 1: received with open arms, he was not as understanding. He

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Speaker 1: told David that Abner surely had evil motives and could

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Speaker 1: not be trusted, but David was unwavering. Joe Ebb went

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Speaker 1: away angry, and the mercy he showed on the battlefield

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Speaker 1: gave way to hatred and murderous intent. When we are

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Speaker 1: bitter and angry, it always finds a way to express itself,

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Speaker 1: and often with disastrous consequences. So he tricked Abner into

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Speaker 1: thinking David he'd called for him, and under the cover

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Speaker 1: of night, he murdered Abner in cold blood. David, of

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Speaker 1: course knew who had committed this crime and had joe

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Speaker 1: Ebb brought to him. Once more, we see David's mercy

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Speaker 1: on display. Rather than killed joe Ebb, David send him

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Speaker 1: away vowing that God would deal with joe Ebb himself.

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Speaker 1: But although Abner was gone, Ishbuschev was still not safe

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Speaker 1: on the throne, and one night, three of his men

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Speaker 1: snuck into his room and took off his head, then

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Speaker 1: traveled to Hebrew to deliver it to David. Surely they

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Speaker 1: were expecting a reward, but what they received was the

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Speaker 1: same fate as ispral Chef. David was not interested in

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Speaker 1: a hostile, violent takeover. He knew that peace and unity

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Speaker 1: would not be achieved through the sword. He himself was

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Speaker 1: setting the example for his people, and so when the

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Speaker 1: elders of Israel finally came and crowned David king over

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Speaker 1: all of Israel, both Israel and Judah, the stage was

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Speaker 1: set for a different kind of rule, one that was

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Speaker 1: marked by the God of Israel and those who sought

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Speaker 1: after him. We'll hear more of this story the next time,

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Speaker 1: as the Shepherd of God's people, David leads Israel. Dear God,

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Speaker 1: we thank you for your word today, always teaching us

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Speaker 1: your truth. May we live in obedience to your word

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Speaker 1: every day in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for listening

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Speaker 1: to today's Bible in a year podcast I'm Jack Graham

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Speaker 1: from Dallas, Texas. Download the Prey dot com app and

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Speaker 1: make prayer and Bible study a priority in your life.

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Speaker 1: If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you

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Speaker 1: love or know. And by sharing this podcast, we can

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Speaker 1: get the word of God to the world. And if

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Speaker 1: you want more resources on how to tap into God's

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Speaker 1: power for Christian living, be sure to visit Jack Graham

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Speaker 1: dot org. God bless you. This episode is sponsored by Medicine,

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Speaker 1: an innovative healthcare solution for Christians to save money without

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