Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 4
Helpful thoughts:
- Ish-bosheth and the rest of Israel knew their stability was gone after the death of Abner. Ish-bosheth had only become king because Abner had declared it to be so.
- The men who killed Ish-bosheth were from his own tribe. Perhaps they hoped that David would show them mercy if they helped him take over their own people.
- These men who murdered Ish-bosheth believed they were alleviating David of his concerns. David pointed them to the LORD, “who has redeemed my life out of every adversity.”
Questions to consider:
- Why did David have these men executed? What crime did they commit? How did they seek to justify themselves?
- Do the ends justify the means? Does God care as much about the journey as He does the end result?
- Are there any ways we might be tempted to “help” God accomplish His will through tactics of our own design? How can we show our faith in God’s Word by not just trying to accomplish a task, but also by accomplishing it according to His command and leaving the timing and results up to Him?