When Abner was slain David was at a loss for a
friend to perfect the reduction of those tribes that were yet in
Ish-bosheth's interest. Which way to adopt for the accomplishment
of it he could not tell; but here Providence brings it about by the
removal of Ish-bosheth. I. Two of his own servants slew him, and
brought his head to David,
1 And when Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled. 2 And Saul's son had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin: 3 And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.) 4 And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. 5 And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. 6 And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. 7 For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all night. 8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the Lord hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.
Here is, I. The weakness of Saul's house.
Still it grew weaker and weaker. 1. As for Ishbosheth, who was in
possession of the throne, his hands were feeble,
II. The murder of Saul's son. We are here told,
1. Who were the murderers: Baanah and
Rechab,
2. How the murder was committed,
3. The murderers triumphed in what they had
done. As if they had performed some very glorious action, and the
doing of it for David's advantage was enough not only to justify
it, but to sanctify it, they made a present of Ish-bosheth's head
to David (
9 And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, As the Lord liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, 10 When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings: 11 How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth? 12 And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.
We have here justice done upon the murderers of Ish-bosheth.
I. Sentence passed upon them. There needed
no evidence, their own tongues witnessed against them; they were so
far from denying the fact that they gloried in it. David therefore
shows them the heinousness of the crime, and that blood called for
blood from his hand, who was now the chief magistrate, and was by
office the avenger of blood. And, perhaps, he was the more vigorous
in the prosecution because for reasons of state he had spared Joab:
"Shall I not require the blood of the slain at the hand of the
slayers, and, since they cannot make restitution, take theirs
instead of it?" Observe, 1. How he aggravates the crime,
II. Execution done. The murderers were put to death according to law, and their hands and feet were hung up; not their whole bodies, the law forbade that; but only their hands and feet, in terrorem—to frighten others, to be monuments of David's justice, and to make that to be taken notice of which would recommend him to the esteem of the people, as a man fit to rule, and that aimed not at his own preferment, nor had any enmity to the house of Saul, but only and sincerely designed the public welfare. But what a confusion was this to the two murderers! What a horrid disappointment! And such those will meet with who think to serve the interests of the Son of David by any immoral practices, by war and persecution, fraud and rapine, who, under colour of religion, murder princes, break solemn contracts, lay countries waste, hate their brethren, and cast them out, and say, Let the Lord be glorified, kill them, and think they do God good service. However men may canonize such methods of serving the church and the catholic cause, Christ will let them know, another day, that Christianity was not intended to destroy humanity; and those who thus think to merit heaven shall not escape the damnation of hell.