2 Samuel 4

Wrong Moves & Blood on Hands

1 When Ish-bosheth heard Abner was dead in Hebron, his courage dipped, dude lost all hope, and all of Israel got shook.

2 Now Saul’s son had two captains, straight killers, Baanah and Rechab, sons of Rimmon from Beeroth (from the tribe of Benjamin). Beeroth was considered part of Benjamin.

3 The Beerothites had bounced to Gittaim and been living there ever since.

4 (Meanwhile, Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son named Mephibosheth. He was five when the news about Saul and Jonathan’s death hit. His nurse grabbed him and ran, but in the chaos, he fell and became lame in both feet.)

The Grim Setup

5 Rechab and Baanah rolled out and pulled up to Ish-bosheth’s house around midday when he was taking a nap.

6 They snuck in like they were just going to get some wheat, came all the way inside, and stabbed him in the stomach. Then they dipped.

7 They had slipped into the house while he was laying on his bed, stabbed him, killed him, cut off his head, and took it with them. They traveled all night through the desert.

Wrong Gift to the King

8 They brought Ish-bosheth’s head to David at Hebron. They said, “Here is Saul’s son’s head, your enemy who tried to kill you. The Lord gave you justice today, king!”

9 David looked at them and said, “As surely as the Lord lives, the One who always got my back and brought me through everything.

10 There was a guy who thought bringing me good news about Saul’s death would earn him points, but I had him killed in Ziklag.”

11 “So what do y’all think is going to happen to two dudes who murdered a righteous man in his own house while he was sleeping? Y’all think I am letting that slide?”

Judgment Falls

12 David ordered his guys to kill them, they dropped both of them, cut off their hands and feet, and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron. Then they buried Ish-bosheth’s head in Abner’s tomb.