II Samuel 4:1-5:16
Remember the Amalekite that delivered the news of Saul’s death to David in II Samuel 1, which we looked at two days ago? It should not take much insight to see the parallels between that Amalekite and the two sons of Rimmon who assassinate Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son. Like the Amalekite, these two assassins misjudge David, thinking they can curry favor with him by handing him Ish-bosheth’s head. David himself even spells it out for us:
But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when one told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?”
2 Samuel 4:9–11
We can, of course, simply read these stories as basic history, a chronicle of the events leading up to David’s ascension to the throne of Israel. But we are meant to see more. We should see the difference between vice and virtue, between wickedness and righteousness, between disgrace and honor. We should see that David does not come to the throne by grasping for it or scheming for it. He ascends to the throne because the LORD brings him to it, even when the path is paved by wicked actors.
And, indeed, that is what we read:
And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him. … And David knew that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.
2 Samuel 5:10,12
Let’s learn from David here. Let’s not seek our own advantage by dishonorable means. Let’s trust the Lord to fulfill His purposes in His time and in His way. He is, after all, God Almighty. And He is good.