2 SAMUEL 4 - GOD’S JUSTICE SATISFIED

2 Samuel 4

David continued to reign as the King of Judah as he waited patiently for the Lord to make him King over all of Israel. There were still some members of the House of Saul who had rights to the throne of Israel. These men were Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, and Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s Son. David at one point had vowed to protect and serve the House of Saul, and he was faithful to keep that vow (1 Samuel 24:21-22).

When Abner died Ish-bosheth’s courage failed (v. 1). He didn’t know a thing about leading, and the people knew that without Abner, the kingdom would falter. After Ish-bosheth, the next king in line was Mephibosheth. However, because of a tragic accident, Mephibosheth was crippled and could not serve as the king (v. 4).

The last two men of Saul’s House were too weak to lead Israel. Ish-bosheth was emotionally and spiritually weak, and Mephibosheth was physically weak. Therefore, Ish-bosheth’s death would bring an end the reign of the House of Saul. David would become the next King of Israel, beginning the reign of the House of David.  

Then two men seeking to serve their own self-interest tried speed up this process. These two men served Ish-bosheth as captains of raiding bands. Their names were Baanah and Rechab, and they were brothers from the tribe of Benjamin. And seeking to find power and position in David’s kingdom, they devised a plan to murder Ish-bosheth (v. 2-3).

Rechab and Baanah went to the house of Ish-bosheth in the middle of the day while he was taking a nap. They entered his house, stabbed in him the stomach, cut off his head, and fled through the night until they reached David in Hebron (v. 5-6).

When they got to David, these brothers thought that they were bringing good news to David, just like Amalekite who killed Saul. Yet, like the Amalekite, they were mistaken in thinking that David hated Saul and viewed him as an enemy. No, David viewed Saul as the Lord’s anointed. Yes, there were tensions in the relationship, but the God-given position of King was held with honor by David (v. 7-8)

The king of Israel was simply a servant of the Greater King. When David called his God, Lord, he meant it. The Lord was the one who would avenge and redeem David. He actually believed this. No man would make David the King of Israel, the Lord had to do it. Rechab and Baanah thought differently. They though that murder would help David politically and speed up God’s promises. They believed that the end could justify the means. That is not a principle of God’s justice (v. 9-11)

David was a just man and he wouldn’t take the throne by moral and political corruption. David wanted to make a very clear point about this, so Bannah and Rechab were killed for their crimes. Their hands and feet were cut off and they were publicly hung in Hebron for all to see their disgrace. As for the head of Ish-bosheth, it was given a proper burial of honor (v. 12) 

This story has a lot of blood, but it all speaks to God’s view of justice. God’s justice must be satisfied properly and David knew this. Yet, even though David sought to satisfy justice in this case, there is only one person’s blood who has ever fully satisfied the justice of God, and that is Jesus. God satisfied his own justice by sending his own Son to die, because no man could ever fully execute the justice of God - not even David. Years later David will also unjustly murder a man. He eventually had his own fair share of moral and political corruption. But what a great salvation we have, in that the King of Kings would come and die to forever satisfy the justice of God. The Lord Jesus came from the House of David, and he is the one who truly redeems our lives out of every adversity.