Godly Understanding

2 Samuel 4

¹ When Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed.

² Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon a man of Benjamin from Beeroth (for Beeroth also is counted part of Benjamin;

³ the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there to this day).

⁴ Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

⁵ Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ish-bosheth as he was taking his noonday rest.

⁶ And they came into the midst of the house as if to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.

⁷ When they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. They took his head and went by the way of the Arabah all night,

⁸ and brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron. And they said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. The Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring.”

⁹ But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity,

¹⁰ when one told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news.

¹¹ How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?”

¹² And David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hanged them beside the pool at Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner at Hebron.

Today I had to confess the sin of arrogance as I saw that chapter 4 was only 12 verses long. “Easy day” was the thought that passed through my mind. This one will be simple to write. But upon genuine investigation, it appears that these 12 verses are chock full of interesting little tidbits of information and something great to think about all day. So instead of a little story or object lesson, I’m going to let the text stand and share with you some of the highlights of this short chapter.

Verse 1 – Clearly, Abner had been the power behind the throne. With him gone, Ish-bosheth is lost and he knows it. The words “his courage failed” can be literally translated as “his hands fell limp” and we find it used in numerous situations throughout the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 15:7, Nehemiah 6:9, Isaiah 13:7 and others). He knows that he is not strong enough to rule.

Verse 2 – Ish-bosheth’s own men do not believe he is able to rule. The two men who turn on him are captains in his own army.

Verse 4 – We meet the last remaining heir of Saul. Mephibosheth is the son of Jonathan. At this point in the story, he is probably about 12, as he was 5 when Jonathan was killed in battle by the Philistines. The events in today’s reading happen about 7 years later. Mephibosheth is not seen as a viable option as king. He is too young and the grandson of a leader that has been deposed. He is also a cripple due to an accident while fleeing with his nurse at the time of his father’s death. Later, during David’s reign, he goes looking for any of Saul’s descendants and Mephibosheth comes into the story again as an adult.

Verse 6 – Ish-bosheth is murdered on his bed during the heat of the day. The story is repeated in verse 7, with more detail. This is the Hebrew way. The story is told and then told again. The killers take the head so that they have proof of what they believe is a good and strong action for which they hope to be rewarded by David.

Verse 8 – David addresses the two murderers with the truth. They are not the ones that have protected David. He gives that credit to God where it belongs. “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity;” that should have been their first clue that things were not going to turn out as they had thought!

Verse 10 – David reminds them of what he did to the man who claimed (falsely) to have killed Saul. The same fate awaited Rechab and Baanah.

Verse 11 – Ish-Bosheth is called a righteous man. David does not give Ish-Bosheth the title of king, for he was never anointed king. It would appear that David almost views Saul’s son as an innocent victim of circumstance. He didn’t ask to be king and had the job thrust upon him by Abner. He should not have had to pay with his life.

Verse 12 – David’s judgment is swift and final. Rechab and Bannah receive the death penalty and the humiliation of a public display of their dead bodies for their act of murder

The meditation point for me today is that David knew that he had only the Lord to thank for his secure position in the world. God was credited for granting David peace and safety. And of course, we can count on the same thing. While this chapter is brief, it is rich and reminds us yet again that God is in control of all things. He is the One we look to for protection and giving credit to another (especially ourselves) is foolish. David continues to gain ground as the leader of Israel and as a man after God’s heart.