2 Samuel 4:1-12 David’s secrets to effective leadership

2 Samuel 4:1-12

When Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, heard about Abner’s death at Hebron, he lost all courage, and all Israel became paralyzed with fear. 2 Now there were two brothers, Baanah and Recab, who were captains of Ishbosheth’s raiding parties. They were sons of Rimmon, a member of the tribe of Benjamin who lived in Beeroth. The town of Beeroth is now part of Benjamin’s territory 3 because the original people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim, where they still live as foreigners.

4 (Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who was crippled as a child. He was five years old when the report came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. When the child’s nurse heard the news, she picked him up and fled. But as she hurried away, she dropped him, and he became crippled.)

5 One day Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, went to Ishbosheth’s house around noon as he was taking his midday rest. 6 The doorkeeper, who had been sifting wheat, became drowsy and fell asleep. So Recab and Baanah slipped past her. 7 They went into the house and found Ishbosheth sleeping on his bed. They struck and killed him and cut off his head. Then, taking his head with them, they fled across the Jordan Valley through the night. 8 When they arrived at Hebron, they presented Ishbosheth’s head to David. “Look!” they exclaimed to the king. “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you. Today the LORD has given my lord the king revenge on Saul and his entire family!”

9 But David said to Recab and Baanah, “The LORD, who saves me from all my enemies, is my witness. 10 Someone once told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ thinking he was bringing me good news. But I seized him and killed him at Ziklag. That’s the reward I gave him for his news! 11 How much more should I reward evil men who have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed? Shouldn’t I hold you responsible for his blood and rid the earth of you?“

12 So David ordered his young men to kill them, and they did. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies beside the pool in Hebron. Then they took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.

Background

The removal of Abner result in the destabilizing of Israel and subsequently the death of her king. Evil men suppose they could ingratiate themselves to David, slip unnoticed into Ishbosheth’s house and decapitate him. Far from applauding their display of loyalty, David takes vengeance on them for murdering an innocent man in his sleep. Today’s passage shows the stark contrast between two kings with very different approaches towards governance. David governs fearlessly by the truth and by the Spirit’s directives, whereas Ishbosheth depends on man and is fearful at every decision point.

Observation

He lost all courage, and all Israel became paralyzed with fear – When the news of Abner’s murder comes upon Ishbosheth, he is visibly shaken and exacerbates the fear that spreads through Israel. Abner’s demise did not encourage Ishbosheth to assert his authority over the tribal heads. This shows that Ishbosheth’s kingdom is entirely propped up by others and is clearly incapable of holding his kingdom unaided.

They struck and killed him and cut off his head – Recab and Baanah who are commanders of his army, sense Ishbosheth’s incompetence, slip past the doorkeeper (the nearest thing to a bodyguard), finding him sound asleep, they beheaded him and carried his head to David at Hebron. Recab and Baanah’s crime, comparable to the Amalekite who claimed to have mercifully ended Saul’s life must subject to similar treatment. However, their guilt differs from the Amalekite in that they killed a righteous man in his sleep.

Shouldn’t I hold you responsible for his blood and rid the earth of you? – David’s response caught them in complete surprise, far from applauding their deeds, he takes vengeance on them for Ishbosheth’s murder. Once again, he exonerates and distances himself from the perpetrators by hanging their corpses in public.

Truth

1. A man who does not depend on God becomes a potential target of abuse from evil men. On the other hand, a man who puts his trust in God reins them in. Many come seeking advice claiming to be victims in almost every possible conflict, and some even presumed they have inherited a curse. Such seem to be the object of bullying at every turn, at the work place, family or even at the cyber space. Ishbosheth, fits the profile of such a person, was at the mercy of Abner from the very beginning requiring his assistance to prop him up. When Abner, who also functions as his protector is removed, evil men seeing the value of his head rush at the opportunity to decapitate him.

David, in stark contrast with Ishbosheth possesses the prowess to rein in Abner as well as Recab and Baanah. As we can observe in David’s exploits up until now, his trust in the Spirit’s revelations is a permanent and distinct feature of his leadership.

2. Effective leadership comes from one’s dependence on the Spirit’s revelations and directives. When a person has no divine directive, he becomes confused and ineffective. David’s leadership prowess is directly attributed to stoic obedience to the Spirit’s directives. Hence, one must be discipline in spending time daily to tap into the Spirit’s revelations and directives. People perceive David’s prowess in his leadership from a consistent manner in which he approaches every decision point; there is an uncanny air of confidence about his handling of every battle and crisis as if he is perpetually on a roll. How can one capture the Spirit’s promptings in clear precision and not be muddled with one’s fantasies? In David’s case, it is in the posture and the quality of his heart that is after God. Not to be confused with one who is selective in his allegiance with God, who trades off what is less important in exchange for the thing that he selfishly pursues. Effective leadership starts with self-control and obedience in the mundane things of life.

Applications

1. If you lack confidence, do not focus on acquiring the virtue of courage for you are missing the point. “Confidence” relates to a state when one is sure that a course of action will bring resolution to a certain situation; it can also be a general assurance that God is with him to prosper in all his endeavors. Therefore, to acquire the virtue of confidence, one must be discipline to listen to the Spirit’s voice and to obey Him regardless of circumstances.
2. Do you often find yourself at the mercies of others and constantly hoping to be treated well? As long as you are doing what is right, God protects you from all dangers and no one can harm you. Distance yourself from those who often try to belittle you by drawing attention to your weaknesses and your failures. For such are weak attempts to dent your spirit and must be rejected immediately without needing to respond.

Dear Lord, give me the resolve and faith to trust the Spirit’s voice and to obey you in the mundane things of life. I will discipline myself to eat well, exercise well, to deliver what I’ve promised, and to meditate on your word. Help me to be sensitive to your voice and to be courageous in all my endeavors. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.