2 Sam. 4-5: “Ishbosheth Is Murdered, Then David Is Made
King Over All Israel”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked at chapters 2 and 3 of 2 Samuel
and how it came to pass that David was made king over the tribe of Judah and
then how that Ishbosheth, the only surviving son of King Saul, was made to be
king over all of the remaining tribes of Israel. Then, civil war broke out between the house of David and the
house of Saul. However, this war was
called off by Joab and Abner, the two opposing generals for David and
Ishbosheth, in order to keep all Israel from destroying each other.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at chapters
4 and 5 of 2 Samuel. In this study, we
will see in chapter 4 how that Ishbosheth, the only remaining son of King Saul
and the one who had been made king over all of the tribes of Israel after the
death of King Saul, is murdered. Then,
in chapter 5 we will see that with Ishbosheth having been murdered that all of
the tribes of Israel come together and make David to be king over all
Israel. A glorious day begins then for
Israel as God’s man is finally placed upon the throne to rule over His people!
1.2.1. Upon being made king over
all of the tribes of Israel, David immediately takes his army and captures the
city of Jerusalem.
1.2.2. Next, when the Philistines
hear that David has been made king over all Israel they immediately mount an
offensive against Israel and David and his army have two great victories in
battle over the Philistines.
2.
VS 4:1-6 - “1
Now when Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he
lost courage, and all Israel was disturbed. 2 Saul’s son had two
men who were commanders of bands: the name of the one was Baanah and the name
of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin
(for Beeroth is also considered part of Benjamin, 3 and the
Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been aliens there until this day). 4 Now
Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son crippled in his feet. He was five years old
when the report of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up
and fled. And it happened that in her hurry to flee, he fell and became lame.
And his name was Mephibosheth. 5 So the sons of Rimmon the
Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, departed and came to the house of Ish-bosheth in
the heat of the day while he was taking his midday rest. 6 They came
to the middle of the house as if to get wheat, and they struck him in the
belly; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.” - Ishbosheth is murdered by Baanah and Rechab, sons of Rimmon the
Beerothite
2.1.
In verse one we see that when Ishbosheth, the only
remaining son of King Saul who had also been made by Saul’s general Abner to be
king over the 11 tribes of Israel minus Judah, heard that Abner had died that
he ‘was disturbed.’ In the
Hebrew it literally means that “his hands dropped.” He lost all confidence and really could no
longer rule as king.
2.2.
Since Ishbosheth was no longer confident enough to
continue trying to reign as king, two sons of Rimmon the Beerothite decide that
they will ingratiate themselves to king David by murdering Ishbosheth so that
David can now become king. We will see
that their plan to ingratiate themselves to David backfires and that they are
executed for this murder of Ishbosheth.
2.3.
Though it was wrong for these men to kill
Ishbosheth, this occurred as part of God’s sovereign will in bringing David, His
man, to the throne.
2.4.
We see sandwiched in these verses a note about a
crippled boy named Mephibosheth who was a son of Jonathan, the son of Saul. He had survived the murder of Saul’s
descendants which occurred at the news of the death of Saul. We will discuss later in our study of this
book how that after David is made king over all Israel that he will do a search
for all of the descendants of Saul so that he can show kindness to them, and,
that he brings Mephibosheth into his palace to live and takes care of
Mephibosheth the rest of his life.
3.
VS 4:7-12 - “7
Now when they came into the house, as he was lying on his bed in his
bedroom, they struck him and killed him and beheaded him. And they took his
head and traveled by way of the Arabah all night. 8 Then they
brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king,
“Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your
life; thus the Lord has given my
lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his descendants.” 9 David
answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said
to them, “As the Lord lives, who
has redeemed my life from all distress, 10 when one told me, saying,
‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and
killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. 11
“How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own
house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood from your hand and destroy
you from the earth?” 12 Then David commanded the young men, and they
killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them up beside the pool
in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the grave of
Abner in Hebron.” - Rechab
and Baanah are executed by David for having murdered Ishbosheth
3.1.
David’s character is seen clearly in how he deals with
the news of the death of King Saul and also in hearing of the death of
Ishbosheth, the son of Saul and the man who had opposed him as king over
Israel. David did not rejoice over the
death of these men but rather genuinely grieved over them.
3.1.1. We as believers in Christ
should never be happy at the news of anyone’s tragic downfall.
3.2.
Notice here also that David speaks of Ishbosheth as
being a righteous man in verse 11. He
speaks of him this way because Ishbosheth really had done no evil except to
take the throne of his father after his father’s death.
3.3.
David had these assassins killed, then had their
hands and feet cut off. Then, David had
these men hung in public as a public humiliation and example for those who
should attempt such a treacherous deed.
3.4.
David saw that Ishbosheth was given a proper burial
in the grave with Abner in Hebron.
4.
VS 5:1-3 - “1
Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold,
we are your bone and your flesh. 2 “Previously, when Saul was king
over us, you were the one who led Israel out and in. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd My
people Israel, and you will be a ruler over Israel.’ ” 3 So all the
elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant
with them before the Lord at
Hebron; then they anointed David king over Israel.” - A glorious day and era begins as David is made to be king over
all Israel
4.1.
It is both moving and humbling here to see the 11
tribes of Israel minus Judah come to David here and embrace him as their
king. This is a parallel to the way
that sinners come to Christ ( David’s anti-type in the scriptures) for
salvation:
4.1.1. The elders of Israel confess
their genetic and familial relation to David, “Behold we are your bone and
your flesh.”
4.1.1.1. The Lord Jesus was in His
incarnation 100% God but also 100% man, and as such fulfilled the role of our
“kinsman redeemer” so that he could die in our place.
4.1.2. They recognized and
confessed the fact that now they realize that all along David had been anointed
by the Lord as king to rule over them.
4.1.2.1. A person comes to salvation
when they finally accept the lordship of Jesus over their life, and put Him in
His proper place as king to rule over them.
4.1.3. In humility they are
admitting their error in not accepting David as their king all along.
4.1.3.1. A person has to humble
himself and admit that he is a sinner in order to come to believe upon Christ
for salvation.
4.2.
The books of 1 & 2 Chronicles contain additional
accounts of events described in the book of 2 Samuel:
4.2.1. In 1 Chron. 12:1-22, we read
of the continual stream of people that began defecting over to David even
during the reign of King Saul, before the time when David began to rule over
the tribe of Judah and Ishbosheth had been set up to be king over the 11 tribes
of Israel, and in 1 Chron. 12:22 we read the following which is a summary of
what was going on during this period of time, “22 For day by day men came
to David to help him, until there was a great army like the army of God.”
4.2.2. In 1 Chron. 12:23-40 we read
not only of how many of each tribe came to turn over the kingdom to David to
rule over them, but also of the feast and reception that David and his men
prepared for the men of these tribes, “23 Now these are the numbers of
the divisions equipped for war, who came to David at Hebron, to turn the
kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the Lord. 24 The sons of Judah who bore shield and
spear were 6,800, equipped for war. 25 Of the sons of Simeon,
mighty men of valor for war, 7,100. 26 Of the sons of Levi 4,600. 27
Now Jehoiada was the leader of the house of Aaron, and with him
were 3,700, 28 also Zadok, a young man mighty of valor, and of his father’s
house twenty-two captains. 29 Of the sons of Benjamin, Saul’s
kinsmen, 3,000; for until now the greatest part of them had kept their
allegiance to the house of Saul. 30 Of the sons of Ephraim 20,800,
mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers’ households. 31 Of
the half-tribe of Manasseh 18,000, who were designated by name to come and make
David king. 32 Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the
times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two
hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command. 33 Of
Zebulun, there were 50,000 who went out in the army, who could draw up in
battle formation with all kinds of weapons of war and helped David with
an undivided heart. 34 Of Naphtali there were 1,000 captains,
and with them 37,000 with shield and spear. 35 Of the Danites who
could draw up in battle formation, there were 28,600. 36 Of
Asher there were 40,000 who went out in the army to draw up in battle
formation. 37 From the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites
and the Gadites and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000
with all kinds of weapons of war for the battle. 38 All
these, being men of war who could draw up in battle formation, came to Hebron
with a perfect heart to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest also
of Israel were of one mind to make David king. 39 They were there
with David three days, eating and drinking, for their kinsmen had prepared for
them. 40 Moreover those who were near to them, even as far as
Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought food on donkeys, camels, mules and
on oxen, great quantities of flour cakes, fig cakes and bunches of raisins,
wine, oil, oxen and sheep. There was joy indeed in Israel.”
4.3.
David made a covenant with all Israel to rule over
them faithfully as God’s representative, and the children of Israel for their
part anointed David to be king over them.
4.3.1. Many years earlier, when
David was just a young lad. We have
already seen that David had received God’s anointing on him to be king when
Samuel had sought him out at the Lord’s leading. Now, the people are accepting David as king and he receives
“their” anointing.
4.4.
In David being made king over all Israel the incredible
prophesy of Gen. 49:8 was fulfilled concerning the exalted role for the tribe
of Judah over the other tribes Israel, “8 “Judah, your brothers shall
praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons
shall bow down to you.”
4.4.1. Note also that in the
victories that David led Israel to have over the Philistines, Israel’s enemy
from the land of Canaan, that in fulfillment of this prophesy that Judah had
his hand on the neck of his enemies.
4.5.
Just as David’s period of humiliation, as King Saul
was constantly hunting him like an animal, was followed by David’s exaltation
as king, so the Lord Jesus’ period of humiliation during His incarnation and
death upon the cross of Calvary was followed by His exaltation as Lord to the
right hand of God where He is seated and reigns.
4.6.
Likewise, this day of coronation of David as king
over all of the tribes of Israel symbolizes that day at the end of the 7 year
tribulation of the book of Revelation when Jesus shall be made king over the
earth and establish His Millennial kingdom over all of the earth.
5.
VS 5:5-6 - “4
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned
forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six
months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and
Judah.” - David’s
age when he began to reign as well as the length of his reign is given
5.1.
Just as the Lord Jesus, David’s anti-type, began His
ministry at the age of 30, so David began to reign as king over Israel at the
age of 30.
5.2.
At Hebron, David reigned over the tribe of Judah for
7 1/2 years, and he reigned at Jerusalem over all Israel for 33 years.
5.3.
The total time of David’s reign was 40 years.
6.
VS 5:6-9 - “6
Now the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the
inhabitants of the land, and they said to David, “You shall not come in here,
but the blind and lame will turn you away”; thinking, “David cannot enter
here.” 7 Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Zion, that
is the city of David. 8 David said on that day, “Whoever would
strike the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by
David’s soul, through the water tunnel.” Therefore they say, “The blind or the
lame shall not come into the house.” 9 So David lived in the
stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built all around from the
Millo and inward.” - Upon
entering His reign as king over all Israel, David immediately captures
Jerusalem (Jebus of the Jebusites) and calls it the “city of David”
6.1.
From the Psalms which David wrote, we learn about
how that “Zion” was the place that David loved most upon the earth.
6.2.
Since Zion was the stronghold of Jerusalem, as far
as its protection was concerned, David captured this first. Thus, we see written here that David’s army
captured the ‘stronghold of Zion.’
Arthur Pink writes the following about Zion, “The literal or material
“Zion” was a steep hill which lay just outside Jerusalem, to the south west, on
which had been built a fortress to protect the city. It had two heads or peaks:
Moriah, on which the temple was afterwards erected, and the other on
which was built the future residence of the kings of Israel. So steep and inaccessible was Zion that,
like a smaller Gibralter, it had remained in the hands of Israel’s foes.”
6.3.
The Jebusites had boasted that the lame and blind
could defend Jerusalem from David’s forces, and this taunting aggravated David
so much that he told his men to make sure that they conquered the lame and the
blind when they captured the city.
6.4.
J. Carl Laney has written the following about
David’s capturing of Jerusalem at this time, “David’s first tasks as king
were to eliminate the foreign wedge between the northern and southern tribes
and to establish his capital in a neutral area. Both objectives were accomplished with the conquest of the
Jebusite fortress at Jerusalem. Jebus,
situated near the border of Judah and Benjamin, was an excellent fortress city
because the surrounding deep valleys made it naturally defensible on three
sides. In addition, it had a good water
supply- the Gihon spring – and was close to travel routes for trade.”
6.5.
The city of Jerusalem may have been called Salem in
early times, and may have been the city which the man named Melchizedek, who
was a priest and a king, was from.
6.6.
Jerusalem had always been a thorn in the side of the
Israelites. After entering the promised
land under Joshua, the Israelites had never been able to remove the Canaanites
from the city and take possession of it.
Being on the edge of both the tribe of Benjamin and Judah neither tribe
had been successful in battle against the inhabitants of the city. Finally, the Jebusites ( a Canaanite group )
had come to live there.
6.7.
Just as Jerusalem was the city of King David from
which he would rule his kingdom, so shall also Jerusalem be the city of the
rule of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom.
And just as the first thing that David when he took up his reign over
Israel was to capture and live in Jerusalem, so Jesus shall do likewise at His
second coming as He descends to earth during the Battle of Armageddon and then
takes up His reign in Jerusalem.
6.8.
It is also important for us to realize that David’s
having come to power was not the end all in itself, rather it was just the
beginning of his work as king. Now
David will begin his work that the Lord has called him to as king over Israel. That work will involve taking up the mission
where Joshua left off of conquering the people’s within the land of Canaan and
taking possession of that which the Lord had given His people in the promised
land which flowed with milk and honey.
6.8.1. In similar fashion, the Lord
Jesus having been raised from the dead and come to sit upon the throne of
heaven and at the right hand of God, was not as an end all in itself, but
rather in order to begin ruling over the earth and guiding His church to the
bringing of the lost of this world to salvation through His shed blood on their
behalf. He ascended to heaven so that
He could guide us His visible church in the conquering of souls in the
fulfilling of His great commission to us to preach the gospel in all the world
and make disciples of all of the nations.
6.9.
When we Christians enthrone the Lord in our life as
lord and master we enter into the calling God has for us. We were saved not as an end in itself, but
rather so that we might grow and be used by the Lord and fulfill a unique and
crucial calling as part of the body of Christ.
Likewise, spiritual warfare will be continual whenever Christ is on the
throne of our life.
6.10. According to Arthur Pink the
“millo” seems to have been a town hall, state house, or a place of public
convention. Around the “millo” David
will erect the government buildings of his new capital.
6.11. The Jebusites were deeply
entrenched in the city of Jerusalem and the children of Israel had tried many
times to be rid of them, however it was only when David, God’s king the man after
God’s own heart, was finally placed upon the throne that this stronghold was
able to be conquered. In the same way,
in a spiritual sense when a person finally makes Jesus the lord and master of
his life, suddenly those areas where the enemy had been deeply entrenched in
his life are overthrown and conquered by the Lord. This is just the product of having Jesus enthroned upon our life.
7.
VS 5:10-12 -
“10 David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him. 11 Then
Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters and
stonemasons; and they built a house for David. 12 And David realized
that the Lord had established him
as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His
people Israel.” - The Lord
began to establish and exalt David now that he had been made king over all
Israel
7.1.
We see here that David even gained international attention
as Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to him and even built a house for
David.
7.2.
This mutual relationship of David with Hiram king of
Tyre will be important later in the history of the nation when Solomon begins
to build the temple of the Lord.
8.
VS 5:13-16 -
“13 Meanwhile David took more concubines and wives
from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were
born to David. 14 Now these are the names of those who were born to
him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar,
Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.” - David continued to add to his harem now that he had been made
king over all of Israel
8.1.
We have already talked at length about how that
David was violating the commands of Deut. 17:17 by multiplying wives to
himself, and we have also mentioned in depth the difficulties that will be
encountered by David because of his allowing this weakness for women in his
life.
9.
VS 5:17-21 -
“17 When the Philistines heard that they had
anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek out David;
and when David heard of it, he went down to the stronghold. 18 Now
the Philistines came and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim. 19
Then David inquired of the Lord,
saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You give them into my
hand?” And the Lord said to David,
“Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” 20 So
David came to Baal-perazim and defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies
before me like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore he named that place
Baal-perazim. 21 They abandoned their idols there, so David and his
men carried them away.” -
When the Philistines hear that David had been anointed as king over all
Israel they decide to attack Israel however the Lord gives David and his army
victory over them
9.1.
We see here that as soon as the Lord lifts David up
and begins to work mightily through his life that the enemy immediately hears
about this and makes a counter offensive attack against David.
9.1.1. In our lives as Christians,
this is exactly what happens in our lives is it not? Whenever we finally begin to get spiritual victories that we had
never had before our enemy the Devil does not want to give newly gained
territory back so we suddenly find ourselves in a fiery trial that is being
waged against us to take away our joy and the land we have gained. The Lord allows these testings in our life.
9.1.2. We see this same principle
portrayed in the stories of God’s people throughout the scripture. For instance, in the book of Acts we see
that persecution after persecution occurred to the apostles as the gospel was
going forth and people were being brought into the kingdom Christ.
9.2.
We are heartened to see here that David is not
making any moves, nor planning any attack of the enemy, without first inquiring
of the Lord about what he should do.
Inquiring of the Lord then becomes a recipe for success in his life.
9.3.
The abandoned idols of the Philistines are picked up
as spoils by David’s army, only to be destroyed later.
10. VS 5:22-25 - “22 Now
the Philistines came up once again and spread themselves out in the valley of
Rephaim. 23 When David inquired of the Lord, He said, “You shall not go directly up; circle
around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. 24 “It
shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees,
then you shall act promptly, for then the Lord
will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.” 25 Then
David did so, just as the Lord had
commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.” - David has another victory over the Philistines
10.1. We see here that David does
not presume upon the Lord here and immediately go up and again make a frontal
attack upon the Philistines, even though this had been successful in the
previous battle and the Lord had given him victory in this way. No, David inquires of the Lord as to what he
should do, and it is a good thing that he did this for the Lord tells him to
use the opposite strategy this time for the battle and march around behind them
and then wait for the Lord’s signal to attack.
If David hadn’t inquired of the Lord before this second battle he surely
would not have had a glorious victory.
10.1.1. We as Christians must never
presume upon the Lord either.
Concerning the decisions that we make we must always inquire of the Lord
and not lean upon our own understanding ( Prov. 3:5-6 ).
10.1.2. Sometimes we Christians can sort
of mechanically go through the routines that we have become comfortable with
instead of seeking the Lord in case He might have a new strategy, a new
ministry, a new burden for the work that He has for us. Then, we fail because we have not sought the
Lord’s leading and waited upon Him.
10.2. Notice here that David was
told by the Lord to go around to the rear of the Philistines but then he was to
also wait until he heard a sound in the tops of the balsam trees before he
attacked. In other words, David had to
wait for the wind of God before he marched.
This is exactly what we as Christians must do in our lives. We must be people who wait upon the Lord to
move, the Holy Spirit to reveal His breath to us, before we step out and begin
any new campaigns for the Lord. We must
become comfortable moving as God moves, listening closely to His voice and
promptings, and as we are judging all things against the scriptures we must be
careful also not to quench the Holy Spirit’s working.
11. CONCLUSIONS:
11.1. It is heartening to see that
all of the trials and tribulations that David had gone through during those ten
years of his wanderings had all been worth while. The Lord came through on His promise to make David king, as if
there was any doubt that God could be anything but faithful, and finally we see
that David is receiving that blessing that the Lord had foretold to give to
him.
11.2. In our lives, we can take
heart then that God has everything in control and that every trial and
tribulation that we go through has a divine purpose. Through those trials and tribulations we will be molded into the
person that the Lord wants us to be and He will eventually use our lives
greatly for His kingdom. However, this
path will never take us where we expect it to go, and there will be many things
that we never imagined that the Lord will want us to experience and deal with upon
this path, all for the building of our character.
11.3. But from this story, we must
hold onto the fact that in the end we will one day realize that everything that
we have gone through has been for our good and has done a great and very
important work in our heart and life and for God’s kingdom.