Must the Sword Devour Forever?

2 Samuel 2:23-26

"...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. But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon. Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill. Abner called out to Joab, "Must the sword devour forever? Don't you realise that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their brothers?"

Must the sword devour forever? Indeed, history is painted in bloodshed replete, since the dawn of human time, with struggle and violence. Peace somehow eludes us until this modern age when there is still so many pockets of strife and wars of late across different corners of the globe. We see here a short period where 'reason' may have prevailed when Abner called for a ceasefire between his troops and Joab's forces. What pains us ultimately in this episode in the history of the Kingdom of Israel is that truce seems always temporary. We just cannot seem to get along with each other well. Such is the human condition. There will always be dangerous disagreements and confrontations such as these in our experience and the consequences are dire — much hurt, tears, anguish, poverty and suffering. In the land of Israel is a mountain upon which Abraham went 5,000 years ago to offer his son. He took his son up there. And as the sword/dagger/axe was about to fall, God said, 'Stop.' Do you know what God said after that? 'I Myself will provide.' Now, two thousand years ago around the same mountain was a hill where God kept that promise and brought his own Son. However, this time, the 'sword' did not stop. He sacrificed his own Son. As Abner asked 'Must the sword devour forever'? Until you and I receive what the Son that God has provided, we'll be offering our own sons and daughters to be consumed by 'swords' in the battlefields of this world for many of the wrong reasons.

Genesis 22:6-8

"Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together."

~05.05.2014