2 Samuel Chapter 4
The Assassination of Ishbosheth
A. Ishbosheth is murdered
(2 Samuel 4:1-4) — “And when Saul’s son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all Israel was troubled. 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: And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.) 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.”
When Ishbosheth heard that Abner had been killed in Hebron, his courage failed him, and the whole nation was shaken. The death of Abner, who had established and supported Ishbosheth’s fragile rule, left the house of Saul in a state of weakness and despair. Ishbosheth’s confidence had been in Abner’s strength rather than in the Lord. When the man he trusted was gone, so was his confidence. His hands became feeble because his heart was not fixed upon God but upon human power. As the psalmist later wrote, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man” (Psalm 118:8).
Among Saul’s remaining allies were two captains, Baanah and Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, who were Benjamites by descent. This detail emphasizes that treachery would arise from within the same tribe as Saul himself. The mention of Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, serves to transition the narrative toward David’s later covenant kindness. Mephibosheth was only five years old when his father and grandfather died at Jezreel. In the panic that followed, his nurse fled with him, and during their flight, the child fell and became crippled in both feet. From then on, he lived in obscurity, a crippled heir in a collapsing dynasty.
The Scripture says, “As she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame.” This tragic detail shows that Mephibosheth’s weakness came from circumstances beyond his control, the result of human fear and haste in the midst of calamity. In contrast to Ishbosheth’s moral weakness, Mephibosheth’s was physical and innocent. Later, his story will display David’s mercy and covenant faithfulness.
(2 Samuel 4:5-7) — “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. 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. 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.”
Rechab and Baanah took advantage of Ishbosheth’s weakness and the chaos following Abner’s death. They came at noon, when Ishbosheth was resting, pretending to collect wheat, and in treachery struck him down. The text says they smote him “under the fifth rib,” a blow that pierced the vital organs. His death was not a soldier’s death on the battlefield but a cowardly assassination carried out by those who once served under his command.
Their act demonstrated the fickle loyalty of men who follow power rather than principle. As soon as Ishbosheth’s strength seemed gone, his own captains betrayed him. True loyalty is revealed not in times of strength but in times of weakness. Their betrayal also fulfilled what Samuel had foretold about Saul’s kingdom — that it would not stand (1 Samuel 13:14).
Notably, Rechab and Baanah were Benjamites, members of the same tribe as Saul. This emphasizes the moral decay within Saul’s own house. The enemy was not only outside the kingdom but also within. Ishbosheth’s death, like Saul’s downfall, came from within his own people, showing how sin and rebellion ultimately destroy from the inside out.
The phrase “who lay on his bed at noon” may seem trivial, but it reflects his spiritual condition. To sleep at midday without a guard revealed indifference and complacency. As one commentator observed, “He dieth therefore in his sloth, who had lived slothfully all his days.” His lack of vigilance became the occasion of his death, and this is often the case when men grow careless in their duties.
After striking him, the assassins “beheaded him, and took his head.” Their motive was not justice but ambition. They planned to bring the head of Ishbosheth to David, expecting a reward for ridding him of a rival. Yet they failed to understand the heart of David, a man who would not lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed. Their act of treachery would not gain them honor but would soon lead to their own destruction.
B. David Executes Ishbosheth’s Assassins
(2 Samuel 4:8) — “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.”
Rechab and Baanah, expecting a reward for their treachery, came boldly to David in Hebron with the head of Ishbosheth in their hands. They sought to portray themselves as agents of divine justice, saying, “The LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.” Their words were a hypocritical attempt to justify murder under the guise of divine will. They claimed to be God’s instruments, carrying out His vengeance against David’s enemies.
Their presumption was both arrogant and blasphemous. To invoke the name of the Lord in defense of their wicked deed was to misuse His name, as if God had commanded such treachery. Scripture warns against this form of deceit, for “The LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). The two men confused God’s sovereignty with His approval, assuming that because their act advanced David’s kingdom, it must therefore please God.
David, however, had never regarded Saul or his descendants as enemies. Though Saul had sought David’s life, David always responded with restraint and mercy. His lamentation over Saul and Jonathan in 2 Samuel 1 proved his genuine grief, not hatred. For this reason, their claim, “the son of Saul thine enemy,” revealed how little they understood the heart of David. They mistook ambition for loyalty, treachery for service, and vengeance for righteousness.
(2 Samuel 4:9-12) — “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, 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: 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? 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.”
David’s response was swift, solemn, and grounded in righteousness. He began by invoking the name of the Lord, saying, “As the LORD liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity.” This oath reminded his hearers that it was the Lord, not men, who had preserved and exalted David. He owed nothing to assassins and murderers. His victories came by divine providence, not deceit or violence.
David recalled the earlier event in Ziklag, when an Amalekite claimed to have killed Saul and expected a reward. Instead, David executed that man for daring to touch the Lord’s anointed. He then reasoned, “How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed?” Ishbosheth, though weak, was innocent of any offense deserving death. The assassins had not struck in battle but murdered a defenseless man while he slept. David rightly called their act wickedness, and under the Mosaic Law, “He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death” (Exodus 21:12).
David then declared judgment: “Shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?” This statement echoes the divine principle established after the flood: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:6). By executing justice, David demonstrated that the throne of Israel would not be built on treachery.
The punishment of Rechab and Baanah was public and decisive. David commanded his young men, who executed them, severed their hands and feet, and displayed them by the pool in Hebron. This act was not barbaric but symbolic — their hands had committed murder, and their feet had run swiftly to shed innocent blood, just as Proverbs 6:17–18 condemns: “A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief.” Their mutilated remains hung as a visible warning to all who might attempt similar evil.
Yet even in judgment, David showed honor. He commanded that the head of Ishbosheth be buried with respect in the tomb of Abner at Hebron. In this, he demonstrated reverence for Saul’s house and his covenant to protect it. David’s actions sent a clear message: his kingdom would be established in righteousness, not through political expediency or bloodshed.
This episode affirms a vital biblical truth — that ends do not justify means. Though God can overrule evil to fulfill His purposes, His servants are never to do evil in hopes that good may come. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just” (Romans 3:8). David’s response reflects this same principle. He trusted in God’s sovereignty but refused to compromise righteousness for political advantage.
By this act, David established a moral foundation for his reign. He showed that the kingdom would be governed not by vengeance or ambition, but by justice, mercy, and obedience to God. As one commentator rightly said, David acted with “heartfelt abhorrence of such crimes, and to keep his conscience void of offense toward God and toward man.”
