The Sons of Zeruiah
B. Dale 2 Samuel 3:39 And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me… The mental and moral qualities of men are largely traceable to hereditary tendencies. If Joab and Abishai resembled their mother, she must have been a woman of strong mind, and of a suspicious, irascible, and intolerant temper, rather than noted for her simplicity, meekness, and forbearance. And so much may be inferred from the manner in which David associates the name of his sister with her sons (2 Samuel 16:10; 2 Samuel 19:22; 1 Kings 2:5). Their spirit and conduct were different from his, obnoxious to him, and constrained him to make this confession to his confidential servants on the evening of the day of Abner's funeral. "It was one of those moments in which a king, even with the best intentions, must feel to his own heavy cost the weakness of everything human, and the limits of human supremacy" (Ewald). I. NO MAN, HOWEVER HIGHLY EXALTED, IS EXEMPT FROM WEAKNESS. "I am this day weak [tender, infirm], and an anointed king." The most absolute monarch cannot do all he would. Truly good men, though anointed and endued with spiritual power, are by no means perfect, but are "compassed with infirmity." The weakness of a strong man is felt: 1. In contending against the evil that surrounds him and presses in upon him like "the proud waves." 2. In performing the duties that rest upon him, and attaining the ideal of character at which he aims. "I will walk within my house with a perfect heart," etc. (Psalm 101:2-8). 3. In effecting the purposes which he may have formed for the good of others. II. THE WEAKNESS OF A STRONG MAN IS OFTEN OCCASIONED BY HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER MEN. "And these men, sons of Zeruiah, are too hard [rough, obstinate, powerful] for me." His relationships with them (formed, it may be, independently of his choice, and conducive, in some respects, to his good) not unfrequently: 1. Enable them to acquire undue power, and incite them to pursue a presumptuous, obstinate, unjustifiable course. "A man's foes are they of his own household" (Matthew 10:36; Numbers 12:1). 2. Bring him into intimate association with those who have little sympathy with his noblest feelings, and expose him to the influence of their adverse principles (Luke 9:54; Matthew 16:22, 23). 3. Become an occasion of hindrance, temptation, and peril. For, unlike him in whom the prince of this world "had nothing" (John 14:30), every man possesses an inward, carnal propensity on which outward evil may take hold, and thereby cause him to stumble. III. THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF HIS CONDITION FILLS HIM WITH DEEP DISTRESS. "I am this day weak," etc., which is a complaint of: 1. Painful restraint imposed upon him with respect to conduct he cannot approve. 2. Necessary endurance of men whom he cannot punish, and with whom he may not, out of regard to his own position and the common good, enter into open conflict. 3. Partial and not altogether blameless failure in the fulfilment of the obligations of his high calling. David has been severely condemned for not punishing the sons of Zeruiah; but in order to justify such condemnation, we should have a better acquaintance with all the circumstances of the case. He was not without sinful infirmity. Yet whose conviction of what is absolutely right exactly corresponds with his consciousness of actual performance? "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." IV. THE CHIEF ALLEVIATION OF HIS TROUBLE IS CONFIDENCE IN THE RIGHTEOUS RETRIBUTION OF GOD. "Jehovah reward the doer of wickedness according to his wickedness." This is expressive of: 1. Dependence on the Divine power to accomplish what he himself cannot do. 2. Faith in the Divine permission of unrequited evil for a time, for wise and beneficent ends. 3. Desire for the maintenance, vindication, and triumph of eternal righteousness in the earth (vers. 22-30). "The Lord will render to him according to his works" (2 Timothy 4:14). "Jehovah shall reward," etc. This was the text to which Lady F. Cavendish directed attention on the occasion of the lamented death of her husband, Lord Frederic Cavendish; and which was so remarkably fulfilled in the fate that afterwards overtook his assassins. "It is the hope of the oppressed and the patience of the saints." - D. Parallel Verses KJV: And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness. WEB: I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. May Yahweh reward the evildoer according to his wickedness."