Abner vs Joab

2 Samuel 2:12-17 - Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. Joab son of Zeruiah and David's men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.

Then Abner said to Joab, "Let's have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us."

"All right, let them do it," Joab said.

So they stood up and were counted off -- 12 men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and 12 for David. Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent's side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Hellkath Hazzurim.

The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David's men.

I wonder why the two generals, Abner and Joab, made the pretense of meeting for a nice little chat in Gibeon -- almost as if gathering for peace talks -- when what they apparently wanted was an all-out battle. Why did they lead up to it a step at a time...meet, greet, and chat by the pool, a little entertainment that seems almost like a choreographed, synchronized dance, 24 soldiers dead in the mini-battle, and finally full-scale war.

I wonder if they counted off the first 12 guys in the ranks. Or did they pick and choose their best at hand-to-hand combat?

If the two groups were on each side of the pool, and the 24 young men fought in front of them...?

I wonder if they had all been trained exactly the same way. I wonder if the results were what the generals expected.

I wonder what the citizens of Gibeon thought when they heard two armies were coming to town.

"Hey, Shekariah, did you know General Abner's in town over by the pool?"

"Duh! And did you hear who's supposed to get here this afternoon? General Joab!"

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah."

"Wanna take the wife and kids fishing? I hear they're biting in the Jordan."

"I'm with you. Let's go."