Good morning!
Text: 2 Samuel 1-3; Proverbs 30
As 2 Samuel opens, we find a story of sad vengeance. Abner, following the death of King Saul, was initially loyal to Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth, and stood against David’s impending ascent to the throne. In a skirmish between David’s men and Abner’s, Abner killed the brother of David’s general, Joab. Then, Abner decided to switch allegiances and pledged his loyalty to David. Shortly afterward, Joab killed Abner in revenge for his brother’s death. It is violent and sad.
Proverbs 30:33 says these words:
For pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.
Have you ever been angry? Have you ever plotted revenge? Sometimes we imagine exacting revenge but then cool off and behave well. But, if we head down the path of “pressing anger”, we should know that it will bring predictable results. Strife will follow. When we are angry we must always exercise self-restraint, take pause and consider the consequences of our actions.
in Him, Mike