2 Samuel 4:1-12

We have learned with David to expect the unexpected.  When Abner died, it greatly weakened the position of Ish-bosheth.  Many of the soldiers were loyal to Abner and would have followed him to David anyway.  This becomes very obvious when two of the top officials under Ish-bosheth come into his home and kill him in his sleep.  We would expect that David would be pleased to have his rival king out of the way, but things are not as we expect them to be.  David was not a man who was hungry for power and recognition.  He was willing to serve as king since God had appointed him, but he was more than willing to wait for God to make this happen without taking these matters into his own hands.  David is a patient and just man which is one of the reasons he is called a man after God’s own heart.

ISH-BOSHETH IS ASSASINATED: When Abner defected to David, Ish-bosheth became very vulnerable.  Abner had served under Saul and had the respect and loyalty of the army of Israel.  The two brothers who were generals under Abner knew that Abner had gone to David and could tell that it was only a matter of time before David would be king over Israel.  They decided to take matters into their own hands and kill Ish-bosheth thinking that this would put them in David’s good graces as opposed to having to fight and eventually be killed by David.  It is a very dangerous thing to take matters into our own hands.  They could have simply sent word to Ish-bosheth that they were no longer under his command and done as Abner had done and sent word to David that they would now be loyal to him if he required their services.  When they come into Ish-bosheth’s bedroom and kill him in his sleep, they demonstrate their own cowardice.  They decapitate him and take his head to David.

ISH-BOSHETH IS AVENGED: When David receives the head of Ish-bosheth, he does not celebrate or congratulate the men on their bravery.  Instead, David confronts their treachery and orders that they be killed and treated as traitors and then he buries the head of Ish-bosheth.  It is clear that David is a leader who wants justice and is not willing to break the law of God for his own purposes.  Waiting is one of the hardest things for most of us to do.  We want what we want when we want it.  One of the most impressive things to me about David is that he is simply willing to wait for God to act in His timing.  It is a tribute to David’s character to see his patience and his commitment to doing the right thing in the right way at the right time.  David has been loyal to Saul’s family from the very beginning.  He understands that God has chosen him to replace Saul, but this is not David’s ambition.  Part of trusting God is learning to wait on Him and not try to take matters into our own hands.