2 Samuel 4

2 Samuel 4

The killing continued in 2 Samuel 4, all leading up to David’s appointment of king over Israel, but David did not approve of any of these murders. Prior to this chapter we have seen Saul, Jonathan, and Abner killed, and some of the murderers thought they were doing David a favor. For instance, the young man that had reported to David about Saul’s death bragged about his involvement (whatever it may have been). However, David did not approve of this man’s confession. Murder was still murder in David’s eyes, and he did not want to use murder to advance his position in Israel. Then, when Joab thought he was helping David out by protecting him from Abner, he too felt the wrath of David who trusted Abner and again did not want to use murder to advance his position. Now, in 2 Samuel 4, another murder takes place, and the murderers once again feel as if they are helping David.


Because of all the turmoil of 2 Samuel 3 (betrayal, murder, and condemnations) those under Ish-bosheth’s rule became distressed. They no longer trusted him as much as they once had, and they wondered if he was the right leader for them. Remember that the kingdom had in essence split in two, and David only ruled over part of Israel, Ish-bosheth had the rest. But the uneasiness in Ish-bosheth’s kingdom led to a group of men plotting murder, and in the middle of the night, they murdered Ish-bosheth. The next day, they took his head to David to show him what they had done, hoping that he would be proud of their antics and reward them. They were surprised when he condemned them for their actions and told them that they would face the same punishment that the man that took credit for Saul’s death received.

David knew that God had a plan, and that God would eventually provide a way for David to assume the throne over the entire nation of Israel. God had protected him throughout all of Saul’s attempts on his life. He then brought David back to Israel after Saul’s death and began to fulfill the promise He had made to David. Even when Ish-bosheth rose up as the successor to his father, Saul, David knew that it would not be an obstacle for God. Eventually, everything would work out. But David did not want to resort to murder in order to do so. He knew that God could use any situation, and in this case it was the murder of these different men that led to David’s position as king of Israel, but God could have used other means. David should be commended for this attitude. He himself had learned restraint when he had had two different opportunities to murder Saul, and he learned in those situations that murder and revenge were not the answers. It was in those situations that he learned to depend on God’s strength. He understood that God was in control, and He would have to wait on God, no matter how long that might take. In the same way, we should not always seek the easy way out. God is in control of our lives as well, and we have to learn to have patience. When we become so focused on the end result, we miss out on what we could be learning in the waiting period. David grew a lot spiritually while waiting to be anointed king over Israel. If we lose patience and try to do things on our strength, we will miss out on what God might have been trying to teach us in the waiting.

Matt