Useful Bible Studies > 2 Samuel Commentary > chapter 3

David’s sad song about Abner

2 Samuel 3:33-34

David expressed the deepest feelings of his heart in the many songs that he wrote. In the Book of Psalms, we see many joyful songs to praise God, but also many prayers in desperate situations. In 2 Samuel 1:17-27, we saw the sad song that he wrote after the deaths of Saul and Jonathan.

At the death of Abner, David again wrote a sad song to express the desperate state of his heart. He himself sang it at Abner’s grave after the funeral. It created such a deep impression that all the people cried. They all saw how deeply sad the king felt about the murder of Abner.

The meaning of the song was this: Abner was a truly great and noble man. He should have received honour from those round him at his death. Instead, Abner suffered the kind of death that only the most foolish and wicked people deserve.

Abner was not a foolish and wicked criminal. Nobody had tied his hands and feet together – that is how the people would have dealt with the worst criminals. Abner was a free man, who was not guilty of any crime. However, the men who killed him did not care about that. They attacked and killed him in the same way that the worst robbers do.

Joab, David’s chief army commander was the man who killed Abner. However, it was clear to everyone that David did not approve. David was a man whose heart (his attitudes) was pure – in other words, right and good and true.

Next part: David refuses to eat (2 Samuel 3:35-37)

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