“They entered the house as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, stabbed him and killed him; then they beheaded him, took his head and fled all night along the road through the ‘Aravah. They brought the head of Ish-Boshet to David in Hevron and said to the king, ‘Here is the head of Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul your enemy, who wanted to take your life. Today Adonai has taken revenge on Sha’ul and his son for the sake of my lord the king.’”-2 Samuel 4:7-8
So yesterday, we established the necessary background for what’s about to happen to Ishbosheth, the current king of northern Israel.
From verse 7, the action becomes fast and furious.
The two sons of Rimmon, pretending to get some wheat, entered Ishbosheth’s house while he was enjoying an afternoon siesta…
And then murdered him.
Afterward, they removed the head from the corpse and brought it to King David.
We don’t have to guess at their motive.
Verse 8 tells us why they committed this vile act.
Since Avner was dead, they had zero hope the weak Ishbosheth would be a match for David.
So, they decided to gain David’s favor by getting rid of his rival for the throne.
They thought by doing this, they would be viewed as loyal to the new king and hoped to be rewarded with top positions in David’s government.
Even if they were right that Saul deserved to die because of his unfair pursuit of David, what had Ishbosheth done to deserve this?
The answer is absolutely nothing.
I love David’s response when Ishbosheth’s head was presented to him:
“As Adonai lives, who has rescued me from every kind of difficulty, when someone told me, ‘Here, Sha’ul is dead,’ thinking to himself that he was bringing good news, I didn’t reward him for his news but seized him and killed him in Ziklag. How much more, when criminals have killed an innocent man in his own house on his own bed, shouldn’t I hold you responsible for his death and rid the earth of you?”
David had them executed immediately.
No trial was even necessary because they had already arrogantly confessed what they did to Ishbosheth.
They murdered an innocent king, a fellow member of the tribe of Benjamin no less, while he was asleep, and they did it for selfish personal gain.
The Torah is clear that nothing less than the death penalty applies in this situation.
David was completely just in executing these men.
However, from a Torah perspective, there is one area where David was WRONG.
Can you guess what it was?
We’re told that David had the hands and feet of the men cut off.
Mutilating a corpse is forbidden by Torah Law.
However, it was the custom at the time and meant to be symbolic.
These sons of Rimmon had used their feet to enter Ishbosheth’s home to commit murder…
And they had used their own hands to carry out the evil act.
So here’s the takeaway for today.
Although it’s human nature to do so, it can be fatal to assume other people possess the same mindset and character flaws you have.
Rekhav and Ba‘anah mistakenly thought that since they would’ve been pleased if someone had done for them what they did for David, David would’ve been thrilled and rewarded them.
Turns out no such thing.
These men paid with their lives for that false assumption.
This is an important point.
We tend to project our own insecurities and belief systems onto other people.
Just because you struggle with a certain sin, doesn’t mean everyone does.
Just because you have trust issues, doesn’t mean others are being deceitful.
Just because you’re highly responsible, doesn’t mean others share your sense of duty.
Finally, do you know where our projections miss the mark the most?
In our relationship with God!
I leave you with these words from the prophet Yeshuyahu (Isaiah):
“’For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,’
declares the Lord.
‘As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.‘”
-Yeshuyahu 55:8-9
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN 2ND SAMUEL CHAPTER FIVE
Prophetic lesson, Rich.
I just had a run-in with someone who was insisting that because of my belief about a certain aspect of God’s name, which did not match his own, I am not a member of the house of Ephraim, and not a true believer in Torah.
How many times, Rich, have we run into this type of person: someone who thinks that everyone must think the way they do and believe as they do, or the other person is not saved?
Don’t they realize that they are putting themselves in God’s place, thinking that they can know someone else’s heart and mind?
The murderers of Ish-Boshet thought they knew David’s heart and mind, and they found out (the hard way) that they didn’t, and I feel sorry for those who attack others for having a different belief, or understanding of God’s word, or knowledge of Yeshua’s teachings, putting themselves in God’s place of judgement.
I can’t speak for God, and would never even think of it, but I do suspect that the Lord, God, Almighty doesn’t really like it when others act in his place, judging the heart and mind of others just because they do not think the same way.
Great comment Steven! True, a lot of folks need to accept that not everyone thinks like them, and that’s perfectly fine. The Lord created all of us to be different with a wide variety of skills, temperaments, and so on! Be blessed!