"The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David's men." (2 Samuel 2:17) Abner and his surviving soldiers begin retreating, heading back to Ish-Bosheth's capital city of Mahanaim as quickly as they can. Spotting Abner and recognizing him as the general of the Israelite army, one of David's nephews sets out in pursuit of him. "The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Job, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle. He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him." (2 Samuel 2:18-19)
It isn't until we arrive at 1 Chronicles 2:16 that the Bible specifically states that Zeruiah is David's sister. The author of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel expects his readers to already know the names of the brothers and sisters of someone as famous as King David. You and I, all these thousands of years later, (and especially those of us who are Gentiles), would not automatically know such information and I'm glad that the author of 1 Chronicles wrote down the names of David's siblings. Otherwise we would be wondering who Zeruiah is and probably concluding that this person is a man, for the Bible doesn't always mention women in genealogies. But we know Zeruiah is David's sister, and we know nothing of her husband which indicates she is widowed, and we know she has three sons named Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. I'm assuming Asahel is the youngest of the three since he is mentioned last. He may be as young as twenty but not younger since the rules regarding military service that we studied earlier in the Old Testament stated that to be eligible for the army a man had to be at least twenty years old.
Asahel is a fast runner. It's something he's well known for since the author says he was "as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle". Abner suspects it's Asahel behind him when he hears the sound of swiftly running feet. Abner has a head start on him and can't see him clearly when he glances back to see who is in pursuit. "Abner looked behind him and asked, 'Is that you, Asahel?' 'It is,' he answered." (2 Samuel 2:20) Abner knows a lot about David's family and is aware that Asahel is famous for his running ability. He knows he can't outrun Asahel. He proposes a compromise in which he can escape safely back to Mahanaim and Asahel can claim to have killed him. "Then Abner said to him, 'Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.'" (2 Samuel 2:21a) Abner's weapons and shield would be considered valuable trophies of war and serve as proof that he was dead, bringing great fame to the person who took these items back to David in Judah. Abner says something like, "Why should the two of us fight until one of us is dead? You may be younger and faster than I am but I've got more experience in hand to hand combat. One thing is certain: if the two of us fight, only one of us will walk away. Why should either of us die today? Take the weapons and shield of some other Israelite soldier, go home, and claim the items are mine."
How did Abner expect such a deception to hold up for very long? Wouldn't the people of Judah find out sooner or later that he's still alive? I'm not sure he's thinking that far ahead; he's just thinking about getting himself and Asahel out of their current predicament. Or perhaps he realizes the deception won't hold up for long but hopes Asahel won't realize it and will do as he asks. Asahel doesn't take the bait. "But Asahel would not stop chasing him. Again Abner warned Asahel, 'Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down! How could I look your brother Joab in the face?'" (2 Samuel 2:21b-22) Abner and Joab are on opposing sides but they respect each other as military leaders. They have a lot in common: they hold the same military rank, they are both closely related to kings, and they are both shrewd and ruthless men. Joab may not be Abner's friend but he's not a man Abner wants as a personal enemy. If Abner kills Joab's little brother, he knows Joab will do the same thing he would do if the shoe were on the other foot: Joab will seek revenge and won't stop until he has revenge. Abner is right about this and we will find him dying by Joab's hand later in the book.
"But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel's stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died." (2 Samuel 2:23) Asahel may not have had a clear plan in mind for what to do when he caught up with Abner. Maybe he expected a sword fight or a knife fight or even a fist fight. But Abner slows down (or stops completely) to let him catch up and thrusts the sharpened butt of his spear backward into the younger man's belly. Soldiers would sharpen their spear butts so the spears could be stuck into the ground by their heads at night. Whenever we find someone in the Bible sleeping with his spear stuck into the ground beside his head, he doesn't have the blade of the spear in the ground. That would dull the blade and make it less deadly against the enemy. A soldier plants his spear butt first into the ground to protect the blade and to have the spear in a handy position to grab it by the handle and and jump up, spear point facing forward, if he is awakened from sleep by an enemy.
The troops of Judah have been in pursuit of the fleeing Israelite army but Asahel was the first to catch up because of his amazing running skills. As his biological brothers and his brothers in arms come upon his dead body, they stop in an attitude of grief and respect. They are shocked. They are saddened. They are sent into instant mourning at the sight of this young member of the royal family of Judah lying dead in the dust. Asahel's brothers Joab and Abishai will continue the pursuit after taking a moment to compose themselves, for they desperately want to avenge their brother's blood, and we will study the interaction between Joab and Abner in tomorrow's text as we conclude Chapter 2. Joab will not exact his revenge in Chapter 2 but will instead allow Abner to think he is calling a truce with him. It is not until late in Chapter 3 that Joab strikes, reminding us of the old saying that goes, "Revenge is a dish best served cold." He will strike long after Abner thinks his anger has cooled. He will strike after Ish-Bosheth makes false accusations against Abner, causing Abner to leave Ish-Bosheth's service and give his allegiance to David. Abner, knowing Joab is as shrewd and ruthless as he is, should have remained on guard against him for the rest of his days but he does not. And Joab, knowing David doesn't want him to avenge Asahel's death in what was a war situation and not a premeditated murder situation, should have acceded to David's wishes and let the Lord sort things out in His way and in His time.
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