Ish-Bosheth Murdered

2 Samuel 4:1-12

Key Verse 11

How much more - when wicked men have killed an innocent 

man in his own house and on his own bed- should I not now demand 

his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!.

1. Read verses 1-4. What happens when Ish-Bosheth hears that Abner died? (1) Who are the leaders of the raiding bands? (2,3) What happened to Jonathan’s surviving son? (4)

2. Read verses 5-8. What do Rekab and Baanah do to Ish-Bosheth? (5-7a)  What do they do with the head of Ish-Bosheth? (7b,8a)  What do they say to David? (8b)

3. Read verses 9-12. How does David answer Rekab and Baanah who killed Ish-Bosheth? (9,10) What does David tell the wicked men? (11) What order does David give to his men? (12a) What did they do with the head of Ish-Bosheth? (12b) 

Ish-Bosheth Murdered

2 Samuel 4:1-12

Key Verse 11

How much more - when wicked men have killed an innocent 

man in his own house and on his own bed- should I not now demand 

his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!.

In this passage, mainly we will think about three things.

(1) Penalty to depend on a man: example of Ish-Bosheth (1-4)

(2) Penalty to seek the selfish benefit: example of Baanah and Rekab (5-12)

(3) Sovereignty of God in the wickedness of men

May God open our eyes to see the wonderful things in this passage!

1. Read verses 1-4. What happens when Ish-Bosheth hears that Abner died? (1) Who are the leaders of the raiding bands? (2,3) What happened to Jonathan’s surviving son? (4)

1-1) Read verses 1-4

1 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, 3 because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day. 4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)

1-2) What happens when Ish-Bosheth hears that Abner died? (1) 

1 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 

a) He lost courage (4:1)

Because He was dependent on Abner. He became a king by Abner. (2Sam 2:8,9)

He was a puppet-king. He was not equipped to be a king.

b) All Israel became alarmed. (4:1) 

Israel put their trust in a man instead of God and His Promise.

c) Penalty to depend on a man: Fear of men (v1) and of death (v7)

Does your fear come from depending on men? 

How easy it is for us to trust in visible humans than invisible God!

1-3) Who are the leaders of the raiding bands? (2,3) 

2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, 3 because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day.

a) Baanah and Rekab: sons of Rimmon the Beerothite.

b) Beeroth: a town near the border of Benjamin: 2 miles south of Gibeon

c) Gittaim: stood near the Israelite-Philistine border: exact location unknown

1-4) What happened to Jonathan’s surviving son? (4)

4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)

a) Mephibosheth became lame in both feet because he fell and became disabled.

He was the last male descendant of Saul who could claims to be a king.

b) Author has been ruling out other king candidates.

Saul, Jonathan, his brothers all dead. (1Sam 31:6)

Abner is dead. (1Sam 3:27)

. Mephibosheth: Jonathan’s son is not fit to be a king (v4) due to his physical

condition.

Ish-Bosheth will be murdered soon. (v5-7)

David would be only one who could claim to be a king over Israel.

2. Read verses 5-8. What do Rekab and Baanah do to Ish-Bosheth? (5-7a)  What do they do with the head of Ish-Bosheth? (7b, 8a)  What do they say to David? (8b)

2-1) Read verses 5-8. 

5 Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. 6 They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away. 7 They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. 8 They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

2-2) What do Rekab and Baanah do to Ish-Bosheth? (5-7a)  

a) Ish-Bosheth was sleeping on noonday in national emergency situation. (4:5)

He did not have any guards to protect him while he was sleeping.

He did not know what to do as a king: anything about security. 

b) They stabbed him in the stomach. [intentional murder] 

Author repeated the statement of murder twice in (4:6) and (4:7). 

It stresses that it was a premeditated and it is a very cruel murder

c) They were supposed to be loyal to their king as his soldiers and as his family. (v2)

But they were opportunists. They wanted to be with the strong who is David.

They knew what was going to happen to the northern kingdom without Abner. 

They thought they could get a better job in David’s kingdom (opportunist) if they

give the head of Ish-Bosheth to David

So they decided to kill their king, Ish-Bosheth.

2-3) What do they do with the head of Ish-Bosheth? (7b, 8a)  

7 They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. 8 They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

a) They cut off the head of Ish-Bosheth. They beheaded him.

b) They took his head and traveled all night to give to David. (4:7,8)

They wanted to prove to David that they took care of his rival. 

2-4) What do they say to David? (8b)

8 They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

a) “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you.” (4:8)

They wanted to emphasize Ish-Bosheth was a son of David’s enemy. 

But David did not feel that way. 

David lamented at the death of Saul and Jonathan. (2Sam 1:17-27)

b) “The Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.” 

They used biblical terms to be shown as pious, faithful and religious men.

They justified their murder as if it was divine providence.

The end cannot justify the means. Wrong means is wrong, and murder is murder

3. Read verses 9-12. How does David answer Rekab and Baanah who killed Ish-Bosheth? (9,10) What does David tell the wicked men? (11) What order does David give to his men? (12a) What did they do with the head of Ish-Bosheth? (12b) 

3-1) Read verses 9-12.

9 David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 10 when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!” 12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.

3-2) How does David answer Rekab and Baanah who killed Ish-Bosheth? (9,10) 

9 David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 10 when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news!

a) David reminded them of what he had done to Amalekite who killed Saul. (2Sam 1:14-

16) He killed the Amalekite because he killed the king Saul.

b) They did not know David’s loyalty to God and King Saul.

3-3) What does David tell the wicked men? (11) 

11 How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!” 

a) “Should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!”

David demanded the righteous judgment [justice] in his kingdom.

They were deserved to get capital punishment. (Ex 21:14)

b) David called Ish-Bosheth an innocent man instead of calling him a king.

David knew Ish-Bosheth was not Lord’s anointed. 

David did not want to attack Ish-Bosheth because he was loyal to Saul’s family. 

3-4) What order does David give to his men? (12a) 

12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.

a) David gave an order to his men and they killed them. (v12)

David ordered capital punishment which is written in the Law of Moses.

He wanted his Kingdom to be governed by justice and righteousness.

b) But, David did not give an order to kill Joab who killed Abner unjustly. (2Sam 3:39)

It showed David’s failure in his family business. 

But David showed his justice this time.

3-5) What did they do with the head of Ish-Bosheth? (12b) 

a) They took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron. (4:12)

They showed their respect to him.

b) Author continuously emphasized David was loyal to Saul’s family. (1Sam 24:20-22)

David did not approve any of the death of Saul’s family including

Saul, Jonathan, Abner, and Ish-Bosheth. 

David was not an enemy of Israel including Benjamite although some people of 

Israel misunderstood that way because of Saul.

c) Sovereignty of God in the middle of wickedness of men is shown here.

God prepared the situation so that His promise would be fulfilled in the life of

David. 

Jesus’ death by wicked men also was used by God to demonstrate Sovereignty of

God because God saved all men through the death of Jesus.

It is not easy for us to see the handy work of God in the middle of wickedness of

Men.

But God is sovereign and ‘His will’ be done. (Psa 103:19; Mat 6:10)

*Things to think about more 

1) Ish-Bosheth was afraid to surrender to David.

Why did he not surrender to David [or God’s will]?

2) Baanah and Rekab got capital punishment.

Was it fair to them or too much?

According to Jesus, anger, slander is same as murder (Mat 5:22,23)

But we did not get capital punishment yet; was it fair or too less?

3) David did not give capital punishment to Joab.

What does it say about David?

4) Author continuously emphasized David’s loyalty to Saul’s family. 

Why was it so important to first recipients of this book?

DELIVERED

2 Samuel 4:1-12

Key verse 2 Samuel 4:9

David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble..."

The title of my message today is "Delivered." It comes from verse 9. "David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble..." 

David testified that the Lord is the one who delivered him out of every trouble. When David knew that God is living and that he delivers out of trouble, he became very secure. We see in the passage that David didn’t do evil but good because he knows that God delivers. But those who did not trust in God to deliver them ended doing wicked thinking that they were doing good.

Troubles are so stressful. We have many ways to deal with troubles. And sometimes it feels like we there’s nothing we can do. But today’s passage tells us that God delivers out of every trouble. He is always an available option. When we can trust in being delivered out of every trouble we can be very secure and become very wise. 

Look at verse 1.

When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed.

Saul's family was in trouble when they heard Abner had died. He had been the real leader holding everything together. 

Ish-Bosheth was the king. But he lost courage. He just slept during the day because he didn’t know what to do. When he lost courage, all Israel became alarmed. 

If he was proud, he could have had a sense of confidence and continue to put up the fight. But he didn't have any confidence in himself. Now would have been a good time to know that he has help from the God who delivers out of troubles. But he also didn't have God. He didn't have anything. He lost his best and most loyal general. Now he lost his courage and the trust of his people. 

Look at verses 2-4.

[2] Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin---Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, [3] because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day.

 [4] (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.) 

They were in trouble. they didn't have any good leaders. They had just some raiding parties. They also didn't have any ready heirs. The remaining member of Saul's family was lame in both feet from a child. There was no security for them.

But these two men, the leaders of the raiding bands, devised their own way to get out of trouble, which was to kill Ish-Bosheth and try to get David's favor. 

Look at verses 5-8. 

[5] Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. [6] They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away. [7] They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. [8] They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, "Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the LORD has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring." 

They didn't try to help Ish-Bosheth find courage. They didn't do anything good for the people. They deceived and betrayed and murdered. They did evil to try to get out of trouble. 

Notice how they tried to make their evil deed sound good to David. They called David "my lord." They called Saul: 1) his "enemy," 2) "who tried to kill him." As if David needed to be reminded of what Saul had tried to do to him. Then they tried to credit God for their evil deed saying, "This day the LORD has avenged my lord..." 

They did evil but said it was for good. Doing evil is not the way to get out of trouble. Such thinking and actions comes from trusting in yourself, rather than in God who delivers. Doing evil is not pleasing to God and it does not honor God. These two guys tried to justify what they did as seizing the opportunity from the Lord to avenge David's enemy. But they were not right. 

It reminds me of the character Aladdin, from the movie Aladdin. Aladdin is a thief. He steals food from the marketplace. During his introduction song they attempt to justify why he is a thief. He says, "Gotta eat to live. Gotta steal to eat. Otherwise we'd get a long." He justified his thievery as survival and the movie treats it as a sympathetic point. What a wrong message that is being broadcast! Of course, it is just a cartoon movie. But there is a reason why it appeals to us. It is because we like to justify our own evil, especially in times of trouble. We know that when we are in trouble, we really need help. We make ourselves to be the victim of the circumstance. 

But we are not a victim of circumstance. Troubles are there, but they do not force us to do evil. In times of trouble, we must not do evil to be delivered. 

Especially, we cannot use God as a means to do evil, even if we think the result is good. 

Romans 4:8 says, “Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!” Those who say such things are justly condemned. The world says, “The end justifies the means.” But not so with God and for his children. God doesn’t just look at the end result, but he looks at how you got there. We have to be very careful of how we use God’s name with others and how we justify our actions. 

We see that when we don’t trust in God, we may lose our minds and think that doing evil is doing God's work and end up harming others. There is always the option to trust in God who delivers. 

These two guys went to David. But we see the reward that they got was not they had expected. 

Look at verses 9-10. 

[9] David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, [10] when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news!

David did not receive the news as good news. They had badly misunderstood David. It was because they didn't know David's faith and they didn't know David's God.

In verse 9 David revealed how he deals with troubles. He doesn't! He simply trusts in the Lord. He confessed that it was the Lord who had delivered him out of every trouble. “Out of every trouble.” The Lord did not deliver David out of just a few troubles or some troubles, but he says out of "every trouble." 

After reading 1 Samuel, we know that David had had many troubles. But he confessed here that it was the Lord who had delivered him out of every trouble. David had a 100% success rate of being delivered by the Lord out of trouble. Trouble had a 0% success rate in defeating David. Those are good numbers to bet on.

Reliable deliveries are very satisfying. I like to order online. I check the delivery progress. Order, in transit, then delivered. It’s very satisfying when the delivery is right and timely. Then I order again. That is the satisfaction and freedom David experienced. 

The word delivered is very telling of the Lord's help to David. He was in trouble. But the Lord delivered him out of it. It's like a pizza in the oven. He was in the trouble. But he was taken out of it and delivered to a new location. He was removed from it. 

Being in the middle of troubles may feel like being a pizza cooking in a hot oven. What can we do when the heat is turned up? We can trust in God who delivers out of trouble. Today's passage shows us how David applied this trust in God who delivers in the time of his own trouble and didn’t do what is wicked. And it also tells us some bad examples of what not to do in times of trouble.

Most notably, David did not do evil to save himself. 

We see that he did not attack Saul. Saul was surely his biggest trouble. But he didn't take care of Saul in his own way by killing or attacking him. What did do? He left Saul in God's hands. He did this practically by not attacking him. And whenever Saul found him, David ran away. He avoided Saul and even lived in the enemy territory for years to avoid Saul, leaving him to God. 

Then Saul died. David did not worry about it or involve himself. Saul fell on the battlefield and David was delivered from that trouble. David had avoided fighting with Saul all because of his faith in the Lord. When he trusted in the Lord, he experienced deliverance out of "every trouble." 

That is very amazing to consider. We might think that to be delivered out of every trouble one just has to be very lucky. There are many ways we try to get out of our troubles. We ignore them. We convince ourselves they are not troubles at all. We fight back at others. We get depressed and in a sink hole. It's possible to run from trouble and ignore it for the wrong reasons. The results will be different. Yet, there is one sure way to be delivered: trusting in the Lord. David had shown his trust by not fighting Saul. He honored God and honored Saul as the Lord's anointed, although Saul was doing such bad things to him. Yet, when David faced his troubles in this way, he was delivered out of every trouble. 

Don’t you think David was so satisfied with the Lord’s help? It was surely satisfying to say, “The Lord delivered me out of every trouble.” David learned to pray. He once wrote this song,

Psalm 18:1-3 say,

[1] I love you, Lord, my strength. [2] The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. [3] I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.

This teaches us that trusting in the Lord leads to deliverance from our troubles. And we can show our trust in the same way David did, by honoring God and doing what is right, even when others are doing wrong. 

We might think that waiting on God makes us look weak or like we are avoiding the problems. We should not misunderstand David's faith in God. He was not someone who avoided problems. He was not someone who was weak and afraid and without courage. He was not someone who was indecisive or non-confrontational. It was the opposite. He faced his problems head on by trusting in God. He was strong and secure in God his deliverer. Especially, it secured him from doing evil. He was resolved to do only what was right and pleasing to God, and to not let others lead him into doing evil.

Once, David had said to Saul,

"The Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness. The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed" (1 Samuel 26:23).

He had also said to Saul, 

"As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds, ’ so my hand will not touch you" (1 Samuel 24:13).

David learned and experienced that God rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness, not for their deception and wickedness. Because he trusted in God, he didn’t need to do evil, but he strived to do good and to be faithful to God.

Then David told them what happened when another person had done the same thing: coming to David and saying his enemy was dead and seeking a reward. David rewarded him by putting him to death.  

Look at verses 10-12. 

[10] when someone told me, 'Saul is dead,' and thought that he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! [11] How much more---when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed---should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!” [12] So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.

David rewarded these brothers in the same way. He had them put to death for their wicked deeds, and he put out their bodies as an example of what not to do. David also honored Ish-Bosheth. He didn't treat him as an enemy. He buried his head in Abner's tomb. 

David showed that he had trusted in God during the time Ish-Bosheth was king. David never went out to attack him or Saul's family. He kept his promise to Jonathan and to Saul to show kindness to their descendants. He claimed that Ish-Bosheth was in fact an innocent man and did not deserve to die. 

Today's passage is applicable to us in the same way because we still have troubles, and the Lord is still the Lord who delivers. He does not only deliver David or special people, but he delivers all who trust in him. 

In John 16:33, Jesus told his disciples, "In this world you will have trouble." Trouble is a sure thing. So, in the first place, we don't need to doubt God's love or help because we have troubles. But Jesus followed up by saying, "But take heart! I have overcome the world." He says that his overcoming the world is not just for him, but for all who trust in him. That's why we can take heart.

Jesus taught us to pray, "and deliver us from evil." It is part of the Lord's prayer. 

Matthew 6:9-13.

[9] “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [10] your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. [11] Give us today our daily bread. [12] And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. [13] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’

There are essential things he taught us to pray for us, such as God’s name to be hallowed, for daily bread, for God’s kingdom to come, for forgiveness. We also pray for deliverance. 

We seek God's deliverance when we pray. Jesus applied this to himself. He didn't fight against evil people. He didn't do evil to get out of his troubles, but he trusted in God. He showed this well at the cross. He was innocent but he was beat and crucified. He was mocked and ridiculed. He was abandoned by his disciples. 

Yet Jesus did not do evil. He trusted in God to deliver him from evil. Jesus' trust didn't fail. What happened to him? He died. He was laid in a tomb. But God raised Jesus from the dead. God delivered him from evil. When Jesus waited on God, he was delivered not only from people, but even over death itself. It was a much greater victory. Don't you agree?

God delivers. That is why Jesus taught us to pray, "deliver us from evil." Not only to deliver us from the evil and trouble we're in, but to deliver us from doing evil.

In fact, his name means deliverer. Savior means deliverer. 

Isaiah 43:11 says,

I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.

But if we do evil, there is God's judgment. There might also be punishment from the local authorities, just as David punished these two men. The bible teaches that even the authorities are God's servants who have the authority to punish the wrong doer (Romans 13:4-5). 

And we see what happened to the two men in this passage. They were punished for their wrong doing. 

Let's look at verse 9 again. David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble..." 

From today's passage we learn of God who delivers from every trouble. He tells us to pray to be delivered. So let us pray and trust in God in the times of trouble and pursue what is good and right. 

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