Spying in the Bible 16 - c.1100 BC to 1039 BC

David and his Goliath Spy War

After Sampson, more judges came and went until the last judge ruled, who was Samuel. Around this time the Third Intermediate Period began in Egypt, where weak Pharaohs, who had little influence ruled from Tanis. During Samuel’s rule, the Israel continued to fight the Philistines, and at one point around c. 1068 BC, the Philistines even captured the Ark of the Covenant, which they returned after seven months out of fear of God. Samuel had grown old and appointed his two sons as his successors, but they were both corrupt, and the people did not want to be ruled by them. Also, after around three hundred years of hard times and oppression in the Promised Land, Israel asked for a king to lead them to a final victory over the Philistines. Samuel warned the people against having a king, but eventually relented and anointed Saul, a thirty year old Benjamite, as the first king of Israel in c. 1048 BC. And so God’s people rejected his direct rule and Israel was transformed from a theocracy to a monarchy.

When Saul became king of Israel, he appointed his cousin Abner as commander of the army and began his campaigns against the enemies of Israel. After driving out invaders, God commanded Saul to attack and completely destroy their neighbors to the south, the Amalekites, along with all of their possessions. This was to be retribution for the Amalekites attacking the Israelites when they were fleeing slavery in Egypt. However, during his campaign against the Amalekites, Saul did not obey God’s command to destroy them and all of their possessions. Because of his disobedience, God rejected Saul as king and sent Samuel to secretly anoint David as the next king. At this point David was a young shepherd boy from the tribe of Judah, but his life afterward was filled with war, deception, and espionage.

During the Philistines campaign against Israel, when Saul was king, David, the little shepherd boy, killed their champion Goliath with a sling and a stone. From that point forward David achieved a high rank in the army and became a national hero by defeating the Philistines in battle after battle. He also became best friends with King Saul’s son, Jonathan, and was even engaged to marry the king’s daughter, Michal. However, Saul became jealous of David and began worrying about a coup, so he tried to kill David, who escaped. After Samuel had died, Saul missed his council and wanted to know if he would be able to defeat the Philistines, so he went to a medium in Endor to summon Samuel’s spirit to ask if his military campaign would succeed. Here is another example of trying to get military intelligence from a metaphysical source. It is also another example of how Saul had abandoned the ways of the Lord. In the battle against the Philistines that he had sought intelligence for, Saul and all of his sons, except the oldest Ish-Boseth, were killed.

After Saul died, David returned from his exile and was crowned king of the tribe of Judah, but Abner named Saul’s oldest son, Ish-Bosheth, king of the northern tribes. A civil war began between the north and the south and David named Joab as the commander of his army. Abner, who was one of the most powerful men in the country then started making enemies. During one battle Abner killed Joab’s brother and Joab never forgave him. Also, Ish-Bosheth was worried about Abner’s ambition and did not want to become a puppet of Abner, so he falsely accused him of impropriety with Saul’s concubine to keep him in check. This backfired, though, and caused Abner to defect and become a spy for David’s side (2 Samuel 3:6-12).

During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul. Now Saul had had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said. So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head—on Judah’s side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD promised him on oath and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.” Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you.”

At this point, Abner became a defector in place and spied on the north, while retaining his position of authority in it. Abner then made an agreement with David and subversively began to convince the elders to the northern tribes to back David instead of Ish-Bosheth (2 Samuel 3:17-19,21).

Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “For some time you have wanted to make David your king. Now do it! For the LORD promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.’”

Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole tribe of Benjamin wanted to do.... Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

After meeting with David, Abner went back to the tribal leaders go get them together and pledge their allegiance to David. However, Joab accused Abner of being a triple agent. This was a reasonable cover story for Joab because Abner had made Ish-Boseth king and then turned on him. How could they really know that this was not an elaborate plot? Also, since he had met with David, he could have gathered valuable intelligence that he was taking back to their northern enemies. However, Joab made up this false accusation as an excuse to kill Abner in retribution for Abner killing Joab’s brother during the war (2 Samuel 3:24-27).

So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone! You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing.”

Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it. Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into an inner chamber, as if to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and he died.

When David found out what had happened, he mourned for Abner and cursed Joab, but kept Joab in his same position. At this point it was politically very important for the tribal elders to know he did not kill Abner, who had been a spy for him. The tribal leaders had not yet sworn their allegiance to him and if they thought he would betray those who defected to him, they might not have backed him as king. He did convince them he had nothing to do with the assassination, so most of the tribal leaders did go over to David’s side. When this happened, the two tribal leaders who had remained loyal to Ish-Bosheth, realized their side had lost, so they killed Ish-Bosheth while he slept and brought his head to David. David was not impressed with them for killing a man in his sleep or for changing sides after they knew they had lost, so he had them executed. At this point, after having ruled Judah for seven years, David became king of all of Israel and the nation had a period of prosperity. Around this time the Iron Age I ended and the Iron Age II began.