Slices
Prepare
Which of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23) do you feel a particular need for at present?
Bible passage
Ish-Bosheth murdered
4 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin – Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, 3 because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day.
4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)
5 Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. 6 They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.
7 They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they travelled all night by way of the Arabah. 8 They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, ‘Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.’
9 David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 10 when someone told me, “Saul is dead,” and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 How much more – when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed – should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!’
12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.
Explore
To Ish-Bosheth, Abner’s death would have signified that the peace treaty (3:12–15) had failed – and his courage subsequently failed him (v 1). A leader without courage is like a drill without a bit or a mobile phone without a charge. Into this power vacuum, tread two captains, Baanah and Rekab (v 2), men of action lacking morality. Perhaps they thought they could take charge and unite Israel with Judah, plus gain a reward (v 8), but David has seen this story before (vs 9,10) and acts just as decisively (vs 11,12).
I’m reminded of these words: ‘…it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail’ (Albert Maslow). Temptations for revenge, to use power (or violence in this case) to further our cause, are ‘tools’ or weapons we see in use throughout the world, from city streets to corporate boardrooms, to remote villages, to government reshuffles. These instincts, this sin, is in all of us. Jesus shows us a better way. To those of us who would lord it over others, he tells us to humble ourselves and serve (see John 13:1–16). To those of us who would seek power, he says, ‘Pick up your cross because that’s not the way my kingdom works’ (see Matthew 16:24–28; John 18:36).
Respond
What ‘tool’ has been in your hand recently? What ‘tool’ does Jesus want you to pick up and use? (See Ephesians 6:10–18.)
Deeper Bible study
Lord, help me to read and respond to today’s words with honesty and integrity. Lord, keep me focused on your holiness; Lord, I need to confess before you…
Another murder, another killing! It’s difficult reading of violent act after violent act. Such acts, even though extreme, displayed the work of the enemy – and today, also, the sinful nature which controls so many of our own desires and actions. We cannot judge others. As Paul declared, all of us have fallen short and sinned before God.1 Thankfully, when we seek the Lord with all our heart and in repentance, salvation flows freely.
Notice that Ish-Bosheth was murdered (v 11, GNB), whereas David’s act is described as killing (v 12), an important distinction: one is unjust, the other just. David, throughout our readings, refuses to be associated with any actions that would contradict his master – the living God. Unsurprisingly then, when he is brought Ish-Bosheth’s head (as with Saul’s death), he is not grateful but incensed that others would insult his integrity as a man of God. David shows great consistency and the Lord himself sees this in advising Solomon later: ‘if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel for ever, as I promised David your father’.2 Are we serving the Lord with wholehearted integrity, seeking glory for him alone, or are we searching for more for ourselves, more power and control over others? Beware, for this account reminds us of a God who clearly looks into and knows our hearts and acts with unswerving holy righteousness.
Think through your relationships, especially online ones. Are you using anyone to elevate yourself? What safeguards and accountabilities do you have in place to protect your integrity?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 2 Chronicles 35,36; Luke 1:39–80
Pray for Scripture Union
Please pray for ongoing wisdom, insight and discernment as SU seeks to refine and develop the Revealing Jesus framework to meet the challenges and opportunities of the new post-pandemic context faced by the 95, and the local churches and volunteers who seek to journey alongside them.
