The Death of a Brilliant Fool

King Saul's commander-in-chief, Abner, is a clear example of a brilliant man who died foolishly. Here was a man who was a prince. Here was a man who was a great man.

Here was a man who was a brave man. Here was a man who was a discerning man, and yet he died so foolishly, so needlessly, so heedlessly. There are four things I want you to learn about Abner, because indeed Abner may reflect you if you're an unsaved person.

Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring the insightful lessons and profound teaching of Adrian Rogers. 2 Samuel chapter 3 tells of the tragic demise of Abner. He was the commander-in-chief of King Saul's army. Abner was a man of a middle age. He had robust health, but he died in a foolish manner. His story gives warning to those who want to live lives full of wisdom and abundance. If you have your Bible, turn to 2 Samuel chapter 3. We'll begin in verse 33, as Adrian Rogers shares the lessons we can learn from the death of a brilliant fool. 2 Samuel chapter 3 and verse 33. And the king lamented over Abner and said, Died Abner as a fool diet?

And then I want you to skip down to verse 38. And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? Here was a man who was a prince. Here was a man who was a great man.

Here was a man who was a brave man. Here was a man who was a discerning man, and yet he died like a fool. He died in middle age.

He died in a time of robust health. He died in a heedless and foolish manner. There are four things I want you to learn about Abner, and I pray God that he'll lay them on your heart if you're not a Christian, because indeed Abner may reflect you if you're an unsaved person. Four things that I want you to see about him. First of all, I want you to see his fearful danger. Abner was in a place of fearful danger. Now what had placed Abner in such danger was this. There was a battle, and at this particular time Abner was fighting against David, David the king of Israel. Abner was on the wrong side. He had not yet come over to David's side.

Later on he would come over to David's side. But in this particular battle Abner was fighting against David, and fighting against David's troops, and Abner was losing, and the battle had gone against him. And Abner is running away from the battle. He has been defeated, but he hears footsteps behind him, and he looks back and he notices that a man named Asahel is chasing him. He's behind him, and you can read this story when you get home in the second chapter beginning in about verse 17. And there is a young man behind him who is chasing after him, and Abner turns around and says to him, Leave me alone.

Go back. Look in verse 20. Then Abner looked behind him, this is chapter 2 verse 20, and said, Art thou Asahel?

And he answered, I am. And Abner said unto him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand, and lay hold on one of the young men, and take his armor. But Asahel would not turn from following him. And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me. Wherefore should I smite thee to the ground?

How then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? Now the Bible says this man Asahel was the track star of his day. I mean, he was as fleet as a deer. The Bible says as a young roe he could run. Abner is, as I've said, a middle-aged man, and though he's strong and a valiant warrior, he knows that he cannot outrun the young man Asahel.

But he doesn't want to do battle with Asahel because Asahel is Joab's brother. So he says to the young man, Leave me alone. Quit chasing me. Go chase one of these younger men, please. I have no fight with you.

I don't want to fight with you. But the younger man stays relentlessly on the trail, relentlessly on the trail. Abner knows that he must do something in self-defense. He's carrying his spear as he's running.

He can feel the hot breath of Asahel behind him. And finally, in an act of desperation, Abner takes his spear and he rams it backward. And as he does, it pierces the body of the younger man who is chasing him, and it wounds him so that he dies. Look in verse 23.

Howbeit he refused to turn aside. Wherefore Abner with the hindering of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him, and he fell down there and died in the same place. Now Joab was the brother of Asahel. Joab was David's commander-in-chief. And they had a law in Israel that there was such a thing as the avenger of blood. If someone was slain in that day in day of primitive justice, the avenger of blood, the next of kin, could put the person to death and could avenge the blood of his relative. And he was called in that day the avenger of blood. And it made Joab the avenger of Asahel's blood.

And so, look in verse 24. Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner. Abner is in severe danger. There is a Joab of justice on his trail. He is a hunted man.

He is a pursued man. The sentence of death now is hanging over his head. So the first thing I want you to see is his fearful danger.

His fearful danger. Now the next thing I want you to see is his foolish death. For David said that he died as a fool dies. Look again, if you will, in verse 33. David lamented over Abner and said, died Abner as a fool dies.

Well, how did he die? Well, look, if you will, in chapter 3 and verse 27. And read here. And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly and smote him there under the fifth rib that he died for the blood of Asahel his brother. Now Joab, who was David's commander-in-chief, said to Abner, Abner, would you come over here for just a moment? Abner, I would have some words with you.

There's something I want to speak to you about. And as Abner comes over to Joab, Joab pulls out his dagger and smites him under the fifth rib, and he dies right there. He's killed by Joab. This is the thing that broke David's heart. There was not one reason that Abner should have been killed by Joab because Abner was right there at a particular city named Hebron.

Look again in verse 27. Then when Abner was returned to Hebron, or Hebron as some have it, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly and smote him there under the fifth rib. You say, why shouldn't he have died? Because Hebron was a city of refuge. What is a city of refuge? Well, God knew that in this day of primitive justice there would be some people like Joab who would not ask was Asahel killed in self-defense.

They would know that every man needed his time in court. And so God in his mercy set up cities across the face of the land of Israel. They were called cities of refuge.

And if anybody had an avenger of blood on his trail, he could go inside of one of these cities of refuge and there he could be safe. Keep your bookmark there in 2 Samuel the 3rd chapter and turn to Joshua chapter 20. Let's begin in the first verse. And the Lord spake unto Joshua saying, speak to the children of Israel saying, appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses, that the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. God said to Joshua and Joshua said to the people, we're going to set up some of these cities and the people will be safe. And now skip down to verse 7. And they appointed Kadesh in Galilee in Mount Nepthali and Shechem in Mount Ephraim and Kerjoth Arba which is Hebron in the mount of Judah. Hebron or Hebron was one of these cities of refuge.

And they were all over the land. Now go back if you will please to 2 Samuel the 3rd chapter and look if you will in verse 27. And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly and smote him there under the fifth rib. That is, he died right at the doorway of the city of refuge, right in the place of safety. All he would have had to have done was just step right inside the gate.

And he would have been absolutely safe. This is the reason that David lamented. This is the reason that David wept. And he said Abner was a great man, but he died like a fool. He died right outside the gate of the city of refuge. And that's an interesting thing to me because I believe that I've met many of the brothers of Abner today, many men who are so wise, many men who are so capable, many men who are so great, but they die like a fool because they die without the Lord Jesus Christ.

They're successful in every other realm, but they die like a fool because they die without Christ. I'm reminded of the 16th chapter of Luke where Jesus tells about a man who went out to survey his fields and he said, What shall I do? I don't have room to bestow all my goods. He said, Oh, I know what I'll do.

I'll pull down my barns and then I'll build bigger barns and then I'll put all my goods in those bigger barns. And then he said, in effect, I'll get me a hammock and a glass of pink lemonade and I'll sit in the shade of the tree and I'll stretch and I'll say, So take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry, for thou hast much goods lain up for many years. And God said to him, Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee.

And then who shall those things be which thou hast provided? Now I suppose when that man died that was described in Luke 16, they had a big funeral. And had his funeral been today, there would have been many Cadillacs and Lincoln continentals and fine expensive automobiles out front. And when the man got up to give the eulogy, he would have said as he bent over that coffin, Here lies a successful man, a man of great enterprise and a man of great influence, and when he departs, mourned by the whole community, he was good for the business of our community.

He was a successful farmer. But I want to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, his soul was in hell before his friends had learned that he was dead and had God written an epitaph for that man, it would have been in four letters F-O-O-L, fool. Thou fool, thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee. And the counterpart of this man was dead in the Old Testament, and David said he died like a fool dies. I wonder, have you considered the value of your soul? Are you going to die like a fool dies?

Are you? Are you going to die right outside the city of refuge? Do you know who your city of refuge is?

Jesus Christ. Do you know why God set up these cities of refuge in the Old Testament? They were types, they were pictures, they were prophecies of the Lord Jesus. The Bible says that the name of the Lord is as a strong tower. The righteous run into it, and they are safe.

They're safe. Jesus is our city of refuge, and yet many men are going to die, many men who are great men, many men who are princes, many men who are leaders, many men who are discerning men are going to die like a fool because they're going to die just outside the gate of the city of refuge. Jesus says, what should it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what should a man give in exchange for his soul? Your soul is worth more than all the stocks, the bonds, the gold, the rubies, the emeralds, the schools, the real estate, the institutions of this world put together.

What should a man give in exchange for his soul? Spurgeon said that he who does not prepare for death is worse than a fool. He is a madman. The first thing I want you to see is his fearful danger. The second thing I want you to see is his foolish death.

He died just outside the gates of the city of refuge. The third thing I want you to see is what I call his friendly deception. How was it that such an otherwise brilliant man could die like a fool? He was deceived.

How was he deceived? Look in verse 27, if you will, again. And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly.

Now, can't you see the picture? Joab says, hey, with a smile on his face, hey, Abner, come over here, fellow. There's something I want to tell you. I can see him as he puts his arm around him, probably his left arm because he wants to use his right hand to smite him under the fifth rib. He puts his arm around him.

He smiles at him as though he would whisper something to him, as though he would share some confidence with him. Obviously, he was deceived. Look again, if you will, in verses 33 and 34. And the king lamented over Abner and said, Did Abner as a fool dieth?

Now look in verse 34. His hands were not bound, nor his feet put in fetters. As a man falleth before wicked men, he fellest thou, and all the people wept again over him. His hands were not bound.

He wasn't chained, he wasn't dragged. How did Joab slay Abner? He did it by deception. How is it that so many men, smart men, brilliant men, wise men die and go to hell? They're deceived, and they are deceived by the devil. The Bible says the way of the transgressor is hard, but the devil has so deceived people that they think that somehow God is their enemy and Satan is their friend. Joab, who was a murderer, Joab, who wanted to harm Abner and put Abner to death, did it with a smile on his face and his arm around this man as though he would speak secretly to him. Oh, dear friend, the friendly deception. Our friendly enemy is the devil. He will smile at you, he will appear to you as an angel of light in order that he might destroy you.

But there's a fourth thing I want you to notice. I want you to notice not only his fearful danger, not only his foolish death, not only his friendly deception, but I want you to notice his final determination. Look in verse 32. And they buried Abner in Hebron, and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave. But all of the tears of King David couldn't bring him back again. He was dead, and he is gone, and well might David weep over Abner's death, and well might the people of David weep over Abner's death, but there was nothing they could do to bring him back. All they could do was to stand at his grave and weep. It's appointed unto man once to die, and after this, the judgment, Abner's final determination. It was decided at the moment of death. He was deceived, and he died, and all of David's tears could not bring him back.

He had but one life, and he threw it away. David wept after the fact. Jesus wept before the fact. Oh, may God give me a heart that's broken over the lost destiny of men. I believe that God sees our tears when we weep for the unsaved. Oh, listen friend, we pray without fasting. We pray without weeping.

Where is a broken heart? The Bible says when Zion prevailed, she brought forth. I tell you, may God forgive the coldness of our churches. May God forgive the sterility of our hearts. Here David wept, but he wept after the fact. He waited too late, and he said, Abner died as a fool died. I want to tell you something, ladies and gentlemen, there's a world of Abners out there, brilliant people, great people, but they're going to die like a fool dies, and we need to weep over them.

We need to have a broken heart for the people without the Lord Jesus Christ. See his fearful danger. See his foolish death.

See his friendly deception as his enemy appeared to be his friend, and see his final determination. There's nothing that tears could do to bring him back. And one of these days you're going to water the grave of your loved one with your tears, and when the clods fall on that casket, every clod will say, lost, lost, lost, lost, and you'll not be able to get them back.

You'll not be able to get them back. As the tree falleth, so shall it lie. If you're going to win souls, you better get at it. If you're going to bring your children to Christ, you better get at it. If you're going to bring your neighbor to Christ, you're going to get at it. Heaven is going to be wonderful, but there's one thing we can do down here we can't do in heaven, and that's win souls.

Did you know that? I want you to notice again just where he died. Look again, if you will, in verse 27. And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate. I mean, he was in the very gate to speak with him.

He was very close, and yet he was so very far away. That gate speaks of Jesus Christ Himself who said in John 10, verse 9, I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved.

I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved. He was yet so lost, though he was so close. And I believe there's some of you here tonight who are very, very close to being saved, but yet you are very, very lost. No one is half-saved is to be altogether lost. No one is half-saved. Either you're in or you're out, one door and only one, and yet it's sides are two. I'm on the inside.

On which side are you? Here at the very gate, at the very door to his salvation, at the very door of the city of refuge, this man named Abner died. No wonder David lamented. No wonder David said Abner died like a fool, a great man, a prince, a brilliant fool. He died like a fool died. He wasn't bound.

He wasn't handcuffed. All he had to do was step inside, and he let Joab deceive him, so close and yet so very far away. I want to tell you tonight, friend, your city of refuge, Jesus, is very close tonight, and you are right at the very door. I pray, God, you know who you're dealing with. I pray, God, that you will know that it's not some governor, but the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, who left glory above and who stands now to welcome you, to pardon you, to forgive you and save you. Will you speak with him? Will you open your heart? Will you receive him?

Abner died right in the gate, so close but so far away. Some of you are right in the very house of God. You're hearing the words of God. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth.

It is the word of faith that we preach, that if thou shalt believe in thine heart, that Jesus is Lord. You'll be saved. Will you do it?

Do it now. And if you want to receive the forgiveness that Jesus is offering right now, pray something like this from your heart. O God in heaven, I know that I am a sinner and you're holy, and I cannot do enough good to earn my way to heaven, but Jesus came, he gave himself, he died on a cross for me, and he rose again to new life.

And so today, I don't trust in anything I can do. I trust in what Jesus did for me, and I claim him as my savior and Lord from this day forward. Come into my life, change me from the inside out and help me to follow you from this day forward. In Jesus' name, amen.

If you prayed that from your heart just now, let us celebrate with you. Go to our Discover Jesus page on the website. You'll find answers you may need about your newfound faith. We also have a response section where you can share your testimony or maybe how this message has made a difference in your life today. Go to lwf.org slash radio and click the tab at the top that says Discover Jesus.

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