2 Samuel 4:1-12

And when Saul’s son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled. ² And Saul’s son had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin. ³ And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.) ⁴ And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. ⁵ And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. ⁶ And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. ⁷ For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all night. ⁸ And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the Lord hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed. ⁹ And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, As the Lord liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, ¹⁰ When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings: ¹¹ How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth? ¹² And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.

God uses both mercy and judgment to accomplish His purposes in the world through His people and the lost world around them. The events of life that may seem like random chaos at times to us are actually events in the hands of the sovereign Creator that He works for the fulfillment of His purposes and the ultimate good of His people (Romans 8:28). Such events, marked by both mercy and judgment, are found throughout the life of David and the life of every saint of the Lord. Psalm 27:14 is a verse that reflects David’s bent in life in understanding that the Lord will fulfill His purposes when he wrote, “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” David learned to resign the fulfillment of God’s plan in His life to the Lord. He trusted that the Lord would take the good and the bad and work it all according to His will. That is the key to waiting on the Lord. In 2 Samuel 4, we have such a display of God’s mercy and judgment in the life of David, his enemies, and all of Israel being used to bring David to the place that the Lord had called him to; being king over all of Israel. In this passage God would even use the wicked actions of two men to play a part in accomplishing this as He worked them for good. The household of Saul was all but extiguished. Abner had just fallen to Joab’s vengeance and been removed. The only remaining obstacle in Saul’s household was his son, Ish-bosheth. As we look at the final step in the long journey of making David king over all of Israel, we learn three consistent principles that you and I should look for as we see God’s mercy and judgment being worked out in our own live and the world around us.

First, we must look for God’s will to be accomplished. Chapter 4 begins by telling us Ish-bosheth’s reaction to Abner’s death. He was terrified (“his hands were feeble”). In addition, all of Israel was “troubled.” This likely speaks to those northern Israelites that were still loyal to Ish-bosheth. They would have been disturbed because their “real” leader had been killed. They knew that Abner was the real power behind Ish-bosheth’s throne. Not only had he switched sides, but now he was out of the picture for them entirely. All they had to look to now was Ish-bosheth. Just as God used the sinful actions of men to bring about the removal of Abner, He would now use the actions of the two sons of Rimmon, Rechab and Baanah, to remove Ish-bosheth, the final obstacle to David’s rule. What is remarkable about these two men is that they were trusted individuals in Ish-bosheth’s ranks. They were “captains of bands,” which means they were leaders of divisions of troops in the military, and they were Benjamites (the same tribe as Saul and Ish-bosheth). They should have been loyal, proven servants of the household of Saul, but instead they had hatched a plan to switch sides and secure a spot in David’s ranks, or so they thought. They snuck into Ish-bosheth’s home while he napped in the middle of the day, killed him, and beheaded him to take his head back to David. And so, Saul’s household that was in rebellion to David met its end. Notice the detail in verse 4 that is included regarding the lame son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth, who was injured when his family fled their home when Saul and Jonathan died. The reason this detail is mentioned here is to tell us that Saul’s line was not totally removed. This is important because David had previously promised both Jonathan and Saul that he would be faithful to their descendants in 1 Samuel 20 and 24. Notice that God took care of the household of Saul through the sinful actions of individuals so that David could be faithful and honor his covenant with Saul and Jonathan. Further, Mephibosheth being kept alive through all of this gave David the future opportunity to honor His covenant to Jonathan by showing mercy to Jonathan’s son. All of these seemingly random, chaotic, and even sinful events work together in the plan of God to accomplish His will in the life of David. He simultaneously showed David mercy and goodness and brought judgment on Ish-bosheth through the same action to accomplish His will. In this world, God promises to work “all things together for good” for His own people and purposes while simultaneously hardening and bringing judgment upon the world that is in rebellion to Him. This serves as a powerful lens through which we must observe our lives and the world around us. In everything, God is accomplishing His will through mercy and judgment.

Next, we must look for God’s truth to be revealed. 2 Samuel 4:8 tells us that Rechab and Baanah brought Ish-bosheth’s head to David after killing him. When they did, they presented it to David and declared that through their actions, the Lord had “avenged” David against Saul and Saul’s descendants. What the two men said was true. God had carried out judgment against Saul’s household because Saul had been an enemy of David. Ish-bosheth had stood as king in David’s place. However, the actions and words of Baanah and Rechab were not genuine. How do we know that? First, if they had truly recognized the truth that their statement communicated then they would have come and submitted to David long before while Saul was still king. Instead, they had spent all that time that David was on the run from Saul and the entire rule of Ish-bosheth serving them instead of David. Secondly, if they were genuine and cared for David, they would not have killed Ish-bosheth because they would have known that David had promised to show goodness to Saul’s descendants. Further, David had previously executed the Amalekite that came to him in 2 Samuel 1 and claimed to have killed Saul. They should have known that David would not have been pleased. Their actions showed their own selfish ambitions, not their commitment to David. They had simply recognized that they were on the losing side and betrayed the one that they served to somehow gain favor with the other side. Instead, their actions were similar to Joab’s in that they had now struck a member of Saul’s household, an action that, if affirmed by David, could show David’s unfaithfulness to his own promises as king. David responded to their façade with “As the Lord liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity.” This is a powerful statement and commentary on where David’s trust was and how he saw everything. God was his Savior, not these men. These men declared that they were instruments in God’s hands, but their actions betrayed the God they claimed to serve. They committed murder and used manipulation and deceit to try and fulfill their selfish desires. David saw right through it and declared that if any deliverance had taken place in his life, it was by the Lord’s hand. These men carried out God’s judgment upon Ish-bosheth, but they did not do so in obedience to the Lord or in service to David. Through this, God showed further mercy to David and brought further judgment upon the household of Saul. He did so through His truth. Despite their wicked intentions, judgment fell on Ish-bosheth, mercy was shown to David, and God’s truth was revealed. The truth that David was God’s chosen king was acknowledged and affirmed.

Lastly, we must look for God’s justice to be executed. Baanah and Rechab revealed themselves to be disloyal, dishonest, and selfish through their actions. Judgment would now fall upon them as God’s anointed king would bring justice to them for their actions. In verses 10-11, David reminded them of what he had done to the Amalekite that claimed to have killed Saul and condemned their actions against Ish-bosheth as being deserving of the same punishment. He commanded his men to strike down Baanah and Rechab, cut off their hands and feet, and he hang their bodies over the pool in Hebron (v. 12). He put on a public display of justice. He then had Ish-bosheth’s head buried in honor where Abner had been buried. He did all this so that everyone in the kingdom would understand where he stood in regards to their actions toward Ish-bosheth. David meant no evil and had done no evil toward the household of Saul. He had been faithful to bring about justice for two individuals who brutally murdered Saul’s son. He also demonstrated the justice of God as God’s king by bringing judgment upon evildoers. Through all of this, God accomplished His divine plan in judgment and mercy. Judgment fell upon Baanah and Rechab and David was revealed to be the king after God’s own heart. In our lives, God reveals his justice through judgment and mercy. No one will be able to stand before King Jesus one day and declare that He was unjust in any of His ways. He shows mercy to those who don’t deserve it and judges those that deserve judgment. God’s justice was ultimately revealed in His work on the cross where our judgment was poured out upon Him so that God might show us mercy.

Through some of the most horrible acts in the world, God can work good things like humility and grace in His followers and bring judgment on those who live in rebellion to Him. Life is not a series of random events, but actually an ordered plan under the sovereign hand of our Creator and Savior. That does not mean that God causes or is responsible for evil, but it means that evil never escapes His attention and power to work it all for His glory, the good of His people, and the judgment of the world. We can rest that God’s will will be accomplished, His truth will be revealed, and His justice will be executed. God is in control and He rules through mercy and judgment. Are we submitted to Him by trusting Him to bring about His will, reveal His truth, and execute His justice or do we feel as though we must take matters into our own hands? Rest in His mercy. Trust in His judgment.