Reflections on 2 Samuel 4

2 Samuel 04 (Contemporary English Version)

1. Ishbosheth felt like giving up after he heard that Abner had died in Hebron. Everyone in Israel was terrified.
   
2. Ishbosheth had put the two brothers Baanah and Rechab in charge of the soldiers who raided enemy villages. Rimmon was their father, and they were from the town of Beeroth, which belonged to the tribe of Benjamin.
   
3. The people who used to live in Beeroth had run away to Gittaim, and they still live there.
   
4. Saul's son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who had not been able to walk since he was five years old. It happened when someone from Jezreel told his nurse that Saul and Jonathan had died. She hurried off with the boy in her arms, but he fell and injured his legs.
   
5. One day about noon, Rechab and Baanah went to Ishbosheth's house. It was a hot day, and he was resting
   
6. in his bedroom. The two brothers went into the house, pretending to get some flour. But once they were inside, they stabbed Ishbosheth in the stomach and killed him. Then they cut off his head and took it with them. Rechab and Baanah walked through the Jordan River valley all night long.
   
7. (SEE 4:6)
   
8. Finally they turned west and went to Hebron. They went in to see David and told him, "Your Majesty, here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you! The LORD has let you get even with Saul and his family."
   
9. David answered: I swear that only the LORD rescues me when I'm in trouble!
   
10. When a man came to Ziklag and told me that Saul was dead, he thought he deserved a reward for bringing good news. But I grabbed him and killed him.
    
11. You evil men have done something much worse than he did. You've killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed. I'll make you pay for that. I'll wipe you from the face of the earth!
    
12. Then David said to his troops, "Kill these two brothers! Cut off their hands and feet and hang their bodies by the pool in Hebron. But bury Ishbosheth's head in Abner's tomb near Hebron." And they did.
    

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    With Abner dead, the northern kingdom was unstable. Ish-bosheth, who wore the crown, did not wield the power. That was Abner's role, and with him gone Ish-bosheth lost his courage leaving Israel in dismay. The people were not in doubt of who was actually in charge so they recognized their country was effectively without leadership. As is often the case, when there is a leadership vacuum there are those who will take advantage of it for their own benefit. In this case it was two men who "were leaders of raiding parties." (4:2) We have no clue as to whether these were raiding parties sanctioned by the king or not, but probably not, which would make these men rebels who were opportunists tooking advantage of this lack of leadership. The fact that they were able to sneak in and out of the king's dwelling so easily showed the vulnerability of the king at this time. The two killed the king and beheaded him, taking the head with them.
    
    To this point their plot had gone as planned, but they had not sufficiently assessed David to accurately determine his response to bringing him Ish-bosheth's head. This was a fatal mistake for David persisted in looking to the Lord for his protection and for bringing about his rule over all Israel. He had not and would not lift a finger to grasp power. If God wanted to expand his rule he would leave it to God to bring it about. David responded to their "gift" as he had to the one who brought him news of Saul's death and then embellished the account by inserting himself as the one who, at Saul's request, gave the final blow to speed up Saul's death. This little embellishment cost him his life as was the case with these men who had killed "a righteous man in his own house on his own bed!" (4:11) David gave the order and his men killed the two. They had, no doubt, expected to be given a reward for this "favor" to the king and were greatly disappointed.
    
    The ungodly are ill equipped to predict the actions of those who seek the Lord for they do not understand them. Nor did these two understand the wisdom and discernment provided one who seeks the Lord's guidance.