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Okay, you can turn in your Bibles
to 2 Samuel chapter 4. 2 Samuel chapter 4 as we continue
through 2 Samuel. I'll read the chapter, do a bit
of review since it's been several weeks since we've been in Samuel.
2 Samuel 4 beginning in verse 1. When Saul's son heard that Abner
had died in Hebron, he lost heart and all Israel was troubled.
Now Saul's son had two men who were captains of troops. The
name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other, Rakab,
the sons of Reman, the Barathite, of the children of Benjamin.
For Barath also was part of Benjamin, because the Barathites fled to
Gittim and had been sojourners there until this day. Jonathan,
Saul's son, had a son who was lame 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 it happened as she
made haste to flee that he fell and became lame. His name was
Mephibosheth. Then the sons of Rimon the Barathite,
Rechab and Baana, set out and came at about the heat of the
day to the house of Ish-bosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon.
And they came there, all the way into the house, as though
to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rakab
and Bayanah, his brother, escaped. For when they came into the house,
he was lying on his bed in his bedroom. Then they struck him
and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all
night escaping through the plain. And they brought the head of
Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, Here is
the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who
sought your life. And the Lord has avenged my lord
the king this day of Saul and his descendants. But David answered
Rechab and Baanah, his brother, the sons of Reman, the Barathite,
and said to them, As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life
from all adversity, when someone told me, saying, Look, Saul is
dead, thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and
had him executed in Ziklag, the one who thought I would give
him a reward for his news. How much more when wicked men
have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed?
Therefore shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove
you from the earth?' So David commanded his young men and they
executed them, cut off their hands and feet and hanged them
by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth
and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron. Amen. Well, if you go back for just
a moment to chapter 1, we remember that the occasion there was the
death of Saul. David got wind of that from the
Amalekite, more on that particular aspect later, and then David
laments over the death of Saul and his sons. David is then anointed
in Hebron in chapter 2, verses 1 to 7. Essentially, David becomes
the king over the southern tribes. In verses 8 to 11 in chapter
2 we see this coalition between Abner and Ish-bosheth, and what
Abner does is essentially goes about all the northern tribes
and gets support for Ish-bosheth. Ish-bosheth is a son of Saul,
so Abner is trying to keep or perpetuate the house of Saul.
Abner is the power behind Ish-bosheth, he is more like a puppet king. After this, then Abner meets
with David's men and they initiate a civil war. There is a truce
between Joab and Abner toward the end of chapter 2, but in
chapter 3 at verse 1 we are told that there was a long war between
the house of Saul and the house of David. David grew stronger
and stronger and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.
Now, interesting, in chapter 3, Abner tries to join forces
with David. Remember, Ish-bosheth questions
Abner about his relationship with a concubine of Saul. And
Abner doesn't like that, so Abner goes to David. And Abner goes,
most likely, to try and jockey for position in David's kingdom.
Now, Joab gets wind of this and gives Abner a stab to the belly. Joab does not like the thought,
most likely. Now, there's certainly a vengeance
aspect because it was Abner who was responsible for the death
of Asahel, Joab's brother. But most likely, Joab saw the
threat posed if Abner comes alongside in David's kingdom. So, Joab
executes or assassinates Abner. Now at the end of chapter 3 we
see that David takes great pains to defend himself and to show
or demonstrate that he was not complicit in this assassination. And the same sort of thing now
happens in chapter 4. because the only remaining opposition
in the north is Ish-bosheth, and once he is gone, there will
be a consolidation of power. David will be the ruler not just
over the southern tribes, but he will be ruler over the northern
tribes as well. And so chapter 4 deals with the
issue of Ish-bosheth, this continuing king in the northern kingdom.
And there's three things we ought to consider as we look at this
chapter. First, the situation concerning
Israel in verses 1 to 4. Secondly, the assassination of
Ish-bosheth in verses 5 to 8. And then thirdly, the retribution
carried out by David in verses 9 to 12. But note in the first
place the situation concerning Israel. Verse 1 indicates the
response to Abner's death. In verse 1 it says, when Saul's
son heard that Abner had died in Hebron. That would be Ish-bosheth. That's the son that heard that
Abner had died in Hebron. It says that he lost heart. If
you look at the marginal reading, it says his hands dropped. Others have rendered it his hands
slackened. Robert Alter says in a modern
idiom it would be he lost his grip. In other words, he was
demoralized because Ish-bosheth knew very well that Abner was
the power, that Abner was the courage, that Abner was the mover
and the shaker behind the Northern Kingdom. Now that Abner is gone,
Ish-bosheth rightly concludes What am I going to do? This is
why he loses heart, or this is why his hands drop, or this is
why his hands are slacking, or he loses grip. He's a puppet
king propped up by Abner, and now that Abner is gone, he is
essentially lost. He doesn't have that power base,
he doesn't have that built-in structure, he doesn't have that
hope, or that help rather, that he most desperately needs. And
notice, it wasn't just Ish-bosheth's response to the death of Abner,
but notice all Israel was troubled. It seems to be common knowledge
that all Israel knew what the score was and what the situation
was, that Abner was the main man that was operating in terms
of power in the north, and then it was Abner that tried to bring
this truce with David, to bring the northern tribes under David.
So Israel knows about this, they're troubled at this particular point
because they wonder should we continue to pursue this truce?
Should we continue to pursue this particular venture? Or they
are troubled at the thought that what will David do now? Now that
Abner's out of the way, they don't know what's happened specifically
in terms of Joab and the fact that David was not complicit.
So there's a lot of uncertainty going on in the northern tribes
at this particular time. Now notice, we have an introduction
in verses 2 and 3 of these two men that were Baanah and Rakab. They will fare later in the story.
Notice their rank. They are captains of troops.
Their names, Baanah and Rakab. And then their tribe. Notice,
the sons of Reman, the Barathite, of the children of Benjamin.
For Baroth also was part of Benjamin, because the Barathites fled to
Gittim and have been sojourners there until this day." Now this
is pretty amazing, because these are Benjamites, men of the tribe
of Saul that dispose of Ish-bosheth. As Kyle and Dalich remark, They
say this remark concerning Baroth in the verse before us served
to confirm the statement that the Barathites mentioned were
Benjamites. But that statement also shows
the horrible character of the crime attributed to them in the
following verses. Two men of the tribe of Benjamin
murdered the son of Saul, the king belonging to their own tribe. Make no mistake about it. Now,
God ultimately uses this, and we'll make the observation tonight
in our application, the mystery of divine providence. God does
work through His secret will to bring to pass all that He
has purposed. But that does not mean that what
Baanah and what Rachab do in this particular chapter is legit. These are terrible, wicked, godless
men. From the very tribe of Saul himself,
they execute a man while he is sleeping in his bed. I mean,
this is as low and as wretched as anybody could ever get. And
then they actually think that David's going to be pleased with
this, and then they couch it under the guise of theology.
The Lord has avenged you. These are terribly wicked men.
As we move through the passage tonight, we ought to notice this
and appreciate it. Now notice this reference to
Mephibosheth in verse 4. Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son
who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the
news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. Now he's probably
about age 12, because back in chapter 2, we learn that there's
about a seven-year period here. So, at the death of Saul, there
is this reference to Jonathan's son Mephibosheth. When he was
age 5, it says that his nurse took him up and fled. And it
happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became
lame. His name was Mephibosheth. Now,
we might ask, why in the world is this inserted in verse 4 in
this particular instance? Now, Mephibosheth will make it
into the pages of 2 Samuel again later on. We will see Mephibosheth
once again, or in a couple of instances. But if we ask the
question why, I think we ought to appreciate a contrast here
in verse 4 of chapter 4 with chapter 3, verses 2 to 5. Remember
in chapter 3 at verse 1, we learn that David grew stronger and
stronger and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. An evidence
or a demonstration or a manifestation of David growing stronger and
stronger is given to us in verses 2 to 5. He is having sons. He has multiple wives, which
we said was not legit. According to Deuteronomy 17,
the king of Israel was not to multiply women, weapons, or wealth. He was to have a modest approach
to life. But nevertheless, the kings of
Israel did multiply wives, and in this instance, he is having
sons. This indicates the strengthening
of the house of David. When we get to chapter 4 and
verse 4, and we see reference to Mephibosheth, it underscores
the weakening of the house of Jonathan. With the death of Ish-bosheth,
the only remaining heir is this man Mephibosheth, and he is lame
in both feet. He is not kingly material. This is a precursor to the consolidation
of the kingdom that will come under David. Again, Kyle and
Dalich say that with the death of Ish-bosheth, the government
of his family necessarily became extinct, as the only remaining
descendant was a perfectly helpless cripple. So Mephibosheth comes
on the scene in this particular instance to show the absolute
weakening of the house of Saul and the strengthening of the
house of David. Now let's move secondly to the
assassination of Ish-bosheth in verses 5 to 8. Notice, specifically,
then the sons of Reman, the Barathite, Rechab and Baanath, set out and
came at about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth,
who was lying on his bed at noon. Now there's several reasons why
he might have been lying on his bed at noon. Some say because
of the heat of the day and because of sleep cycles the way they
were, it was not uncommon for persons to get some rest during
the day. A siesta was very common in the
ancient Near Eastern world. Others say this is a demonstration
and display of his slothfulness and his sluggishness And he should
have been up doing things rather than taking a nap at noon. Well,
we certainly don't know according to the particular text. What
we do know is that he's not in combat. He is in a position of
great disadvantage, lying asleep in his bed. And then we learn
concerning verse 6. They came there all the way into
the house as though to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Now there is a variant reading
in the Septuagint that indicates that there was a doorkeeper,
a woman doorkeeper, that was asleep as well, and that's how
the two men gained access. into this particular place. They
went under the guise of obtaining wheat, perhaps for their troops,
perhaps for themselves. It is interesting that wherever
his bed was, it was not far from the wheat, so it wasn't some
mansion palace sort of a setting. It was most likely a modest residence
where the king slept near the wheat. But all that to say, they
go in under the guise of getting wheat, they stab him, they assassinate
him, they murder him while he is asleep on his bed. Again,
Ish-bosheth is a rebel against the will and the word of God.
God had made clear that it would be David, ultimately that would
be the king of Israel. Later on, David is going to say
that this man was righteous. Doesn't mean he was without sin,
but what I think David means is that he wasn't in combat.
He wasn't a threat. He wasn't a menace. He was simply
sleeping in his bed at noon, and you beasts went in and took
a knife and stabbed him in the stomach. Now notice, it says
that they then escaped, the end of verse 6, then Rachab and Baanah,
his brother, escaped. Now, verse 7 essentially repeats
verse 6. This is common in Hebrew narrative.
There is repetition, and oftentimes with the addition of a detail
or two. And in verse 7, we see the repetition,
but there is the addition of this detail concerning his head. It says, for when they came into
the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom. Then they
struck him and killed him, beheaded him, and took his head, and were
all night escaping through the plain. So they cut his head off,
they take his head. This is going to be leverage
that they bring to David. Now, the text never specifies
what their particular motive is, but we can suspect it was
something similar to Abner. Remember, Abner wanted to make
a deal with David, most likely so that Abner would have a place
in David's kingdom. And these men seem to be operating
on that same principle. In fact, notice when David rehearses
the situation concerning Saul and the Amalekite, verse 10,
at the very end, he says, the one who thought I would give
him a reward for his news. So the Amalekites suspected that
he would get a reward. Abner suspected that he would
get a reward. And while the motive isn't specified
in chapter 4, we ought to suppose that Raqab and Bayanah are looking
for a reward. Ish-bosheth cannot stand when
there is no Abner. The northern kingdom is all about
dissolved as far as they could tell. So if they take the head
of Ish-bosheth, down to David, David will be so impressed that
he will say to these sons of Remond, why don't you take this
position of authority and become captains of troops in my army? That's what they are operating
on. And now they make this journey,
it's probably about 80 miles and it would be a two-day trip.
They are currently in Mahanaim, where Ish-bosheth resided, and
they go down to Hebron. So in that time frame, they then
probably think through what they're going to say to David. And that
brings us to their meeting with David in verse 8. Notice, they
brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to
the king, here is the head of Ish-bosheth. Now, I'm sure we're
a bit offended by this, our delicate sensitivities. I certainly wouldn't
want somebody to bring a head to me. But David was no stranger
to decapitation. And David was no stranger to
carrying a head himself. Remember after the battle in
the Valley of Elah, David killed Goliath. David loosed Goliath's
head from his giant body and David carried that head. So Ish-bosheth's
head was not going to shock David. It is the wickedness and the
wretchedness of the sons of Reman that David takes offense to. Notice, they brought the head
of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, Here is
the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought
your life. And the Lord has avenged my lord
the king this day of Saul and his descendants." Now, this is
their justification for why they did what they did. And there
are two reasons, and they are both false. They are operating
under false assumptions. In the first place, they assume
that David wanted vengeance against the household of Saul. Did David
want vengeance against the household of Saul? No. Didn't we see in
1 Samuel 16 to the very end, when David was given opportunities
to end Saul's life, David does not take those opportunities.
David does not take up the sword against his enemy Saul. These
men assumed that David would want vengeance against him. But
he did not take vengeance upon Saul. He did not even take vengeance
upon Abner. He makes that very clear. In
chapter 3, Abner was the man who propped up the house of Saul
again. As far as David was concerned,
Abner was the power behind the northern revolt. And yet David
didn't take up his sword against Abner. And David would not have
taken vengeance upon Ish-bosheth. These men are wrong concerning
David's motive, concerning what moves David. David is a godly
man. He is not going to kill men lying
on their beds under the guise of fetching wheat. But notice
the second reason. They assume that God had sanctioned
their murderous act. I mean, look at this. And the
Lord has avenged my Lord the King this day of Saul and his
descendants. Turn back for just a moment to
1 Samuel chapter 24. 1 Samuel chapter 24. One of those instances where
David spares Saul's life. 1 Samuel chapter 24 verse 1. Now it happened when Saul had
returned from following the Philistines that it was told him, saying,
Take note, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi. Then Saul took 3,000
chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men
on the rocks of the wild goats. So he came to the sheepfolds
by the road where there was a cave, and Saul went in to attend to
his needs. David and his men were staying
in the recesses of the cave. Then the men of David said to
him, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, behold,
I will deliver your enemy into your hand that you may do to
him as it seems good to you. Now, I believe when we're in
1 Samuel 24, I most likely made the caution that we need to be
very careful about interpreting God's providence. We need to
make sure that we're very cautious when it comes to the secret things. We need to tread lightly when
it comes to those things that are not revealed to us explicitly
or implicitly in the Scriptures. Explicit means chapter and verse. Implicit means good and necessary
consequence. Providence, or the way that God
operates, can at times be difficult to interpret. Just because something
goes your way doesn't necessarily mean that God is favorable towards
you. Just because you are in the depths
of despair doesn't mean God hates you. You see, we need to make
sure. Because I have a rotten Tuesday
doesn't mean that God is necessarily angry with me. God knows that
rotten Tuesdays oftentimes promote holiness and likeness to Jesus
Christ. So when we look at it in that
regard, we can say that rotten Tuesdays actually might mean
that God is pleased with me and is favorable toward me so that
I might be further conformed unto the image of Christ. Brethren,
we need to be careful about interpreting the providence of God. Now, there
are certain things that are obvious, certain things that are clear,
other things not so much. Now, these sons of Reman thought
as they handed this dripping head to David that this was the
mark of God's vengeance upon the house of Saul for David. John Gill says, these men impiously
ascribed to the Lord what they with wicked hands have done.
This is what's really appalling. They engage in an act of murder
or assassination. They do it in the most cowardice
way. I mean, at least wake the guy
up and put a knife in his hand. Give him a fighting chance. But
to stab somebody while they're asleep is as low as you can possibly
get. But then they try to couch it
in theology. They try to mask their wickedness
under theological concerns. Listen to Calvin. He says, nevertheless
they falsely used the name of God as though God were their
companion. It's a violation of the third
word. You shall not take the name of
the Lord your God in vain. If you commit an act of treachery
or you commit an act of wickedness, don't try to sanction it by invoking
God to your side. Well, I did this and good things
will come as a result, so therefore God blesses the means that I've
employed. Do not reason thus. God does
not say it was good that Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery.
God does not say it was good that the Romans and the Jews
nailed Jesus to the cross. Now we know that God overruled
the Joseph incident to bring about good. We certainly know
that God predestined and predetermined the death of Jesus Christ to
bring about good. But that does not justify the
means that godless and wicked men employ. God will work out
His purposes, and oftentimes He does it through the wretchedness
of men. But that does not validate wretchedness
conducted by men, and we need to get that straight. Calvin
says, they falsely use the name of God as though God were their
companion, which is typical of the way in which the wicked are
not ashamed to bandy about the name of God. For these men had
no reason to kill their king. They did it out of spite. They
were traitors and perverse. In brief, they were fully condemned
and had made their own judgment. Nevertheless, they did not fail
to use God's name as a shield. But as I have said, this is common
with hypocrites who, in order to cover their dishonesty, think
that God should lend them His name. You might meet this with
professing Christians, a man and a woman, who love each other. And because they love each other,
they engage in sexual intercourse. They say, but the Lord brought
us together. He gave us this love for each
other. If you are not in the confines of a covenantal marriage,
you are not to engage in that activity. I don't care how much
you think the Spirit may have led you. I don't care how much
you may think the Spirit has confirmed that this is the man
or the woman for you. You're not supposed to do it.
And just because you can accomplish good things through less than
noble means, does not mean it's legit. The people of God live
by the preceptive will of God, what he has revealed to us. The precepts are the marching
orders for God's people, not our perception of what ultimately
is best, because our perception of what ultimately is best may
be patently false. And in this particular instance,
it was indeed. Now, let's look thirdly at the
retribution carried out by David in verses 9 to 12. In the first
place, David swears with an oath. Notice in verse 9, but David
answered Rachab and Baanah, his brother, the sons of Reman the
Barathite, and said to them, as the Lord lives, who has redeemed
my life from all adversity. He swears by the name of Yahweh. And then notice that he identifies
Yahweh as the one who has redeemed my life from all adversity. Isn't
that a beautiful verse? Isn't that a verse that we can
hang our hats on and hold on to? Can't we enter in with David
and say, you know, that's been my experience too. He has redeemed
my life from all adversity. When we look at David's life,
beginning in chapter 16 in 1 Samuel, we see that indeed this has been
the case. I mean, from David, his battle
with Goliath in the Valley of Elah, to his being hunted like
a dog by Saul, every step of the way the Lord preserved him,
both physically and spiritually. David confesses, David declares,
David states his conviction, as the Lord lives, who has redeemed
my life from all in all adversity. Again, this is one of those blessed
verses that we ought to appreciate. And if we are honest with ourselves,
we can say the same thing, can't we? Both temporal and spiritual,
He has redeemed my life from all adversity. It doesn't mean
He removes all adversity from my life. That's a difference,
isn't it? He has redeemed my life from
all adversity. David had the presence of adversity. In fact, as you look through
the Scriptures, you don't find many people with as much adversity
as David had. I mean, as soon as the Spirit
comes upon David, his trouble begins. in 1 Samuel 16. When David is a shepherd tending
to his sheep, yeah, he's got to fight lions and bears. I don't
want to underestimate that. That's no fun thing I could imagine,
but it's the human adversity, it's the human trials, or the
human element that comes upon him after he's filled with the
Spirit. much like what we see with the
Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 3. He is baptized, the Spirit
comes upon him in his baptism, and in chapter 4, the Spirit
drives him out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil himself. That was the same experience
for Jesus' son, David. son in terms of the cosmic. We know that Jesus was the son
of David. But you see, David was able to
say, as the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity. And when he states this, it also
indicates the folly of their effort. In other words, David
doesn't need two junior high-level thugs to do his business for
him. He doesn't need the sons of Reman
to go under the guise of gathering wheat in the heat of the day
and take a knife and plunge it into a sleeping man. In other
words, David is saying that God has my back, not you sons of
Remond. God redeems my life from all
adversity, not the sons of Remond. God is the one who has seen me
through every step, every trial, every problem, every hardship,
every woe. It is the Lord God who has redeemed
my life from all adversity. Gil says, which he ascribes,
this redemption, which he ascribes to the Lord and doubted not that
he would still deliver him and complete what he had designed
for him and that he needed not the assistance of such wicked
hands as theirs. So you see, I wonder what their
faces look like at this point. You know, this is where exegesis,
we can't go that far, right? I mean, they think they're doing
a splendid thing. They think they are just going
to get, you know, a round of applause from the king in Hebron.
They think they're going to be congratulated, they're going
to be rewarded, they're going to be benefited, they're going
to be blessed. As they hand this head of Ish-bosheth
over to them, they're probably just counting the good things
that are going to come, and David hits them with this, As the Lord
lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity, I don't need
you men. I don't use your types of schemes. Now notice, he cites the precedent
in the death of Saul in verses 10 and 11. He says, when someone
told me saying, look, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought
good news. Same situation, isn't it? This is precisely what we find
in chapter one of 2 Samuel when the Amalekite comes to David. The Amalekite is looking for
blessing. Again, I'm sure he was quite
surprised when David ordered a summary execution. The same
thing is going to happen here. He said, I arrested him and had
him executed in Ziklag, the one who thought I would give him
a reward for his news. Now probably the sons of Remont
are starting to change directions in their thought process. Is
he going with this? He's not talking about blessing. He's not talking about benefit.
He's not talking about the good things that we are going to get.
He is rather reminding us of an instance that happened at
the death of Saul. Well, just in case they needed
more information, David gives it to them in verse 11. How much
more? when wicked men have killed a
righteous person in his own house on his bed. Again, I don't believe
that David thinks that Ish-bosheth is a sinless man. He's a non-combatant. He is not engaged in warfare.
He is taking a nap at noon on his bed. That means he's a righteous
man. He is not deserving of a knife
in the belly. So David says, how much more,
referring to the Amalekite, if I had him summarily executed,
what do you think is going to happen to you guys? The end of
verse 11, therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your
hand and remove you from the earth? So these men thought with
the head of Ish-bosheth that they were going to get good things,
but now they have learned they are going to be executed for
their wretchedness and their wickedness that they tried to
mask under theology by saying this was the vengeance of God
and this was the means by which God would deliver you, David. Now notice in verse 12, the execution.
So David commanded his young men and they executed them, cut
off their hands and feet and hang them, not their hands and
feet, hang the corpses, by the pool in Hebron. But they took
the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.
Now, why cut off hands and feet? Well, we've seen that happen
in other places in these former prophets. John Gill says, their
hands, which had smote Ish-bosheth, and cut off his head, and their
feet, which had been swift to shed his blood, and made haste
to bring his head so many miles to David. This was what the Jews
call measure for measure. He goes on to say, it was to
their shame and the terror of others. So the hanging of their
corpses would be to shame them in their death and it would bring
terror to others. So you see that David was not
complicit in the death of Ish-bosheth. He has a vested interest in making
sure that he is not associated with the deaths of Saul, with
the death of Abner and with the death of Ish-bosheth. Some say
this just shows his political machinations. He wants to secure
the reality that when he comes into a consolidated throne that
there's nothing that would sort of tar and feather his reputation.
I don't think he is politically motivated, but at the same time
I think he wants to make sure that Israel knows that he did
not have a hand in the death of these men. Because what's
happening now and what will happen in chapter 5 is that South and
North come together and David is the king from Dan to Beersheba. And so certainly he doesn't want
persons in the North to be suspicious of him as having had a hand in
the deaths of Saul and Abner and Ish-bosheth. And in each
of the instances in chapter 1 And in chapter 3 and in chapter 4,
David takes great pains to distance himself and to show that he was
not complicit in the death of these men from the house of Saul. Now, what do we learn from this
chapter? Well, there's a couple of things and then we'll close.
In the first place, we learn something concerning the mystery
of divine providence. the mystery of divine providence,
the Lord God works through the wicked acts of men to accomplish
his purpose. You see, Bayanah and Rachab,
they said that this is the way the Lord would avenge you. Now,
in the secret things, in the decretive plan of God, this was
the means by which Ish-bosheth is removed from the seed. You
see, the sons of Reman are not supposed to live, as I've already
mentioned, according to the secret things. We live based on what
the Word of God reveals to us. And the Word of God says you're
not supposed to go into a man's house and take a knife and put
it in his belly while he's having a siesta. Now, that God overrules
and that God uses these things to accomplish His purposes underscores,
highlights, and magnifies the glory of a sovereign God. So, He works through the wicked
acts of men. to accomplish his purpose. I
referenced Joseph in Genesis 50. I referenced the Lord Jesus
in the gospel records and in the book of Acts, specifically
Acts 2.23. The Lord God predetermined the
death of Jesus, but this does not minimize or do away with
the responsibility or the culpability of the brothers of Joseph, or
of those lawless hands that nailed Jesus to the cross in the crucifixion. In fact, turn there in Acts 2.23.
This is what many have called the mystery of divine providence. God works through the wicked
acts of men to accomplish his purpose. And if you just think
through that for just a moment, if he didn't, nothing would get
done. because pretty much everything that man does is a wicked act
in one form or another. So if God does not work through
those things, then it would stop the progress of the kingdom.
But notice in Acts 2.22, men of Israel hear these words, Jesus
of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders,
and signs, which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves
also know him. being delivered by the determined
purpose and foreknowledge of God. Could it get clearer? Could it get more clear? No. Who's responsible ultimately
for the death of the Lord Jesus Christ? It is the Lord God Most
High. It is the covenant of redemption.
It is the Father promising the Son a certain number of elect.
The Son willingly covenanting to die on their behalf. Isaiah
the prophet says Yahweh was pleased to bruise Him, putting Him to
grief. But notice, it goes on to say,
you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death. They're still responsible. They
are culpable. These Jerusalem sinners are guilty
for the murder of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in Acts chapter
4. Acts chapter 4 verse 27, For
truly against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of
Israel, were gathered together to do whatever your hand and
your purpose determined before to be done. So you see, the Bible
everywhere acknowledges the sovereign plan and purpose of God, and
it also highlights the responsibility of man. And this passage concerning
Ish-bosheth and the sons of Reman indicates that the Lord works
through the wicked acts of men to accomplish His purpose. I
mean, it is the case that Ish-bosheth was blocking this consolidation
of power under David. So Ish-bosheth is disposed of
by the sons of Reman. The problem is that the sons
of Reman then declare that it does not matter the means. It
does matter the means. The people of God are to obey
the word of God in every instance. As well, the Lord does not excuse
the wicked acts of men when he accomplishes his purpose. Calvin,
when he discusses the death of Abner, he says, we see therefore
how God has a secret method which is incomprehensible to us, to
bring all his works to completion. In this, He uses the wicked and
employs them in whatever way pleases Him, not that they are
to be excused. You see, rest assured, everything
that happens, happens according to the determined purpose of
God Almighty, the decretive will of God. All things happen because
He has purposed it. Now, again, we are to live based
on what the scripture says. Does everybody get that? I fear at times we're looking
for the secret things. We're trying to peer into those
things and we're trying to figure out, you know, what is it that
the Lord has for me? The Lord has commanded you. The
Lord has given you. The Lord has revealed his will
and word to you and you are to take up and read and by the Holy
Spirit, obey those things. The Lord commands us to live
in light of His preceptive or revealed will, and the Lord certainly
accomplishes all things according to His decretive, or we might
call it His secret will. God works all things according
to the counsel of His own will. Joseph's wretched brothers bring
about a good end. the lawless hands that nailed
Jesus to the cross, the Lord God uses that to bring about
a glorious end in the redemption of sinners. And in this instance,
God overrules the wicked deed of the sons of Ramon to bring
about the consolidation of the kingdom under his Messiah, under
his anointed one, even David, king of Israel. Now, I think
it is good what Calvin says in that quote. God has a secret
method which is incomprehensible to us. Now incomprehensible doesn't
mean we have no clue whatsoever. It simply means that we cannot
effectively exhaust the mind of God when it comes to these
things. The Lord God Almighty does whatever
he That's what the psalmist says in Psalm 115. And man does a
whole host of wicked things under the sovereignty of God. And yet
God works out his purposes even through those things. So we can't
fully exhaust what is going on in the mind of God with reference
to the decretive and the preceptive will of God. We simply come to
the Scriptures, we seek by the grace of God to obey those things
that are commanded, and we trust that He has all things under
sovereign control and that He will work out things for His
glory and for our well-being. In the second place, we ought
to consider the character of David in chapter 4 here. In the
first place, he acknowledges the Lord's faithfulness. He acknowledges
the Lord's faithfulness in that declaration in verse 9. As the
Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity. This
statement is one of acknowledgment and gratitude, isn't it? Acknowledgement and gratitude.
Certainly as David acknowledges this, his heart must be leaping
with gratitude at the reality that this is what God has done.
He has redeemed my life from all adversity. If you doubt the
element of gratitude, go to Psalm 103 sometime. Bless the Lord,
O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all of his benefits. What
benefits you ask, he starts to list them. There is a gratitude
in David, and that gratitude helps David. That thankfulness
helps David. When David recalls what God has
done in the past, that steadies David in the present, and it
gears him up for the future. If God has redeemed my life from
all adversity, I can trust that He will be with me today, and
I can trust that He will be with me tomorrow. As well, this statement
serves as a corrective against idolatry. Dale Ralph Davis has
an interesting comment in his commentary at this particular
point. What do you mean it protects
him from idolatry? Well, as the Lord lives who has
redeemed my life from all adversity, the sons of Reman were proffering
themselves as David's redeemer, weren't they? David's redemption
came through these men and their bloody sword. David's redemption
came through the head of Ish-bosheth. And in this declaration, as Yahweh
lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity, that closes
down all competitors. This is a great help to guard
against idolatry. When we see the Lord God's faithfulness,
when we respond to the Lord God with gratitude, that will promote
allegiance to Him alone. We will not look to the idols
of men. We will not look to the sons
of Reman as our deliverers. We will not look to any other
competitor, but rather we will give all glory and praise allegiance
to our God. As well, this statement indicates
his dependence upon the Lord's sovereign goodness. The Lord's
sovereign goodness. Who better than David saw the
sovereignty of God in his life? Remember, David was saved by
the Philistines twice. when he was running from Saul.
Twice God used Philistines to save David. I mean, David saw
the glory and the majesty and the excellence of God in ways
that perhaps many of us haven't. That's why we need to read about
the life of David to see how imaginative and how wondrous
and how glorious our God is in that he sends Philistines to
save his servant from Saul. And as well, the character of
David is revealed in this passage in terms of the administration
of the Lord's kingdom. David would no doubt understand
that persons would be suspicious of him with reference to the
deaths of Saul and Abner and Ish-bosheth. I mean, wouldn't
they? David has become king in Hebron. All that stands between
him now and consolidation of all Israel are Abner and Ish-bosheth. Well, intriguingly, Abner and
Ish-bosheth are dead. What might you think if you were
watching CNN and this was plastered on the news? It might rise up
in you to think, maybe David was complicit in this. Maybe
David had a hand in this. That's why David at every step
of the way Not because of political machinations or because he's
just got this unbridled lust for power. David is a shepherd. David is the shepherd God raised
up to put over Israel. David legitimately wants to serve
Israel. And so in order to consolidate
power, he wants to eliminate these suspicions so that persons
will see that this is in fact of the Lord. And so what does
David do? When Joab dispatches or deals
with Abner, David distances himself from it. He doesn't execute Joab,
which later on we'll see that Joab does meet his end. But in this instance, David orders
the execution of these two men. This is a bit of a down payment
concerning the justice and the righteousness, which will characterize
the kingdom of God. You see, David was typical of
Jesus, and when we learn about Jesus and the prophet Isaiah,
when we learn about Jesus and the prophet Jeremiah, what is
the benchmark of his rule and authority? Justice and righteousness. We have a taste of that here
in 2 Samuel chapter 4. And then a third observation
I think we ought to make, and we'll close here, is the attempt
to mask evil with theology. The sons of Remond attempt to
justify their murder by appealing to the Lord. Calvin says it's
not just the sons of Remond, but it could also be sons in
the church. In fact, Davis says that. The
sons of men in the church attempt to justify a whole host of things
in a similar manner. We'll do horrible things, and
yet we try to cover it under the guise of theology. We'll
do wretched things, we hurt people, we're unloving, we're unkind,
we're ungracious, because the Lord God said that we need to
do it this way. Brethren, I am not one to say,
let's not have theology. If any of you think that, you've
not been listening. Theology is absolutely crucial
for every jot and tittle of life, but theology is not meant to
be a mask to hide behind when we sin. I'm going to read an
extended quote from Davis. I typically don't like to read
long quotes. Davis, though, is readable out
loud, and I suspect that not every one of you are going to
go home and read Davis tonight. I think this is very important.
He says, with reference to these who mask evil with theology,
specifically concerning the sons of Reman, they come with blood
on their hands, but theology on their lips." Isn't that the
case? They got the head of Ish-bosheth,
and they said, the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of
Saul and his descendants. He says, they come with blood
on their hands, but theology on their lips, expecting the
latter, theology, will magically bleach the former, their blood. Murder always seems more pleasant
when wrapped in religious considerations. Bayonets and recabs are still
extant. Some are in our churches. Their methodology is unchanged. Use theology to cover sin and
folly. For them, theology is not truth
that lures us to worship God. I like that as a definition of
theology. Something that lures us to worship
God. Is that the end of our study? Is the worship of God? Is that
why we come to the Scripture? Is that why we read a Birkhoff
or why we read a Gill? It's to be lured to worship God,
to see Him in His majesty and His glory. He says, for them,
theology is not truth that lures us to worship God, but technique
that enables us to justify ourselves. He gives two examples. We may
recognize them in the self-appointed defender of doctrinal precision. Again, I believe in doctrinal
precision. Again, we should all affirm doctrinal
precision. That's why we have 930 to 1030
hours studying doctrinal precision vis-a-vis the 1689 London Baptist
Confession. That's why we engage in expository
preaching in our morning and evening worship. That's why we
engage in Bible study on Wednesday, because we love and we should
pursue doctrinal precision. But he says, we may recognize
them in the self-appointed defender of doctrinal precision, the one
who is eager to explain, correct, and inform with all harshness
and severity. Now brethren, there's a time
we need to be able to go on the offense and by God's grace demolish
the contrary arguments to the word of truth. But when we're
dealing with brethren, we really ought to be loving and kind and
gracious and merciful and realize that sanctification is a process
and we're all sort of at different places. You know, if we're graduate
level theologians, we can't expect the new babe in Christ to see
it the way we do. And to yell at them or berate
them or to get mad at them or to insult them is not consistent
with the kingdom of grace and mercy and kindness. He says,
we recognize them in the self-appointed defender of doctrinal precision
who is eager to explain, correct, and inform with all harshness
and severity. If accosted about his stringent
style, even on matters of lesser moment or debatable clarity,
he argues theologically. He is only concerned that we
hold to the whole counsel of God. Again, that's good. We want to hold to the whole
counsel of God, but we don't want to destroy Christ's sheep
in the process, do we? We need to come alongside of
Christ, babes, and we need to give them the milk. I know when
my babies were two, I didn't shove steak down their throats.
We gave them milk. We gave them mashed up food,
and as they got older, we'd throw them a steak, and as they got
older, we took it away, because they were eating us out of house
and home. You see, in the church, brethren, we need to realize
brethren are at different places, and under the promotion of the
whole counsel of God, let's not be obnoxious and uncharitable
and unkind, and do it under the guise of theology. He gives another. Another example, or suppose the
church elders begin informal or formal discipline against
an erring and recalcitrant church member. What will they hear?
Theology, about how all of us are sinners, right? But God is
compassionate, certainly more so than church elders. And who
gave you the right to assess my life anyway? You see, the
elders go to the sinning brother, and they seek to correct and
encourage and help recover him. And what does he do? He responds
with theology. Well, it's the doctrine of total
depravity. You're a sinner just like me. And God is full of compassion. He's full of mercy. What's the
implication? Leave me alone. Under theology,
Davis says, we must beware. When we explain things theologically,
we may simply be using God, using Him as an argument, manipulating
Him for our convenience to keep from submitting to His grace
or to His law. I think parents can have a tendency
to do this. You know, we beat our children
up with the Bible or with God. God's watching you. He's gonna
get you. Well, brethren, that's not the
best possible way to go about things, you know? To manipulate
your child by this thought that, you know, it's not wrong to tell
him and remind him the eyes of the Lord are in every place.
He beholds the good and the evil. That's legit and that's consistent.
But if in anger and, you know, a vehement, you know, God's watching
you and he's going to... We're not really seeking to exhort
them and encourage them biblically. We're seeking to hit them over
the head with theological hammers. And that may not necessarily
be the best way. And then the final observation,
we ought to appreciate the inching forward of the kingdom of God. It is inching forward, isn't
it? Slowly but surely, slowly but
surely, David will ultimately be king over Israel. There's
been a lot of years and a lot of goings on and a lot of happenings
to get us to the point where David is now the king over a
united kingdom. This is typical as well of the
kingdom in our era. It inches forward, sometimes
imperceptibly, sometimes unbeknownst to us, but we ought to rest assured
that that mustard seed is growing, will continue to grow, and will
be a massive tree so that the birds of the air can find their
rest therein. Well, let us pray. Father, we
thank you for your word, and we thank you for your grace and
your mercy to us. We thank you for the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and we pray that you would help us to
learn from these Old Testament passages. Help us to see your
character, your goodness, and your kindness, and the fact that
as David was able to rehearse, you redeemed his life out of
all adversity. Certainly we can testify to the
same thing, and we have reason to believe you will continue
in your faithfulness and in your kindness, both presently and
in the future, to be our Redeemer. We ask that you would go with
us. We ask that you would watch over us. We ask that you would
protect us and bring us together on the Sabbath day. I pray for
that funeral on Friday. I pray specifically for Colleen
and the children. May this be a time, though of
grief, may it be a time of encouragement as brothers from all over the
country come to pay their respects. to a chosen man of God, a man
who has departed, a man who has left his mark and legacy in this
world. We just praise you that he is
now with you. We praise you, God, that you
have promised to be the defender of widows and orphans. And we
pray that you'd watch over Colleen and her children. And we pray
these things through Christ our Lord. Amen.
