II Samuel Chapter
4 "Personal Conflicts ." This Bible
Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription is provided with written permission by http://www.theseason.org II Samuel 4:1 "And when Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled." The war horse of the house of Saul was dead and gone, and when Ish-Bosheth heard of the death of Abner he became frightened. Remember Abner set up Ish-Bosheth's throne; Abner placed him on that throne, and was the brains behind the crown when Saul was dead. Ish-Bosheth was a king with no direction, and he was scared. II Samuel 4:2 "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 son of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin:" Notice that Rechab, was not of the tribe of Benjamin but a Beerothite, he lived in the land of the Benjamites. The name "Rechab" was the head of the house of the Kenites, and they had no part in the lineage of Israel. "Rechab" was a man that was the father of the people that will take over the priesthood from the Levites many years later. The Rechabites [Kenites] will assume control coming out of Babylon, and become the religious leaders even at the time of Christ. I Chronicles 2:55 tells us of his lineage, and marks them for the position that they will hold. I Chronicles 2:55 "And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez [Jerusalem]; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hamath, the father of the house of Rechab." By the time that the Jews came out of captivity in Babylon, the offspring of Rechab would have complete control over the temple and the traditions that were allowed to be taught there. The scribes were the keepers of the records, both of God's Word through the prophets, as well as the records of the lineage of the people. These scribes wove the lineage of Cain and the Kenites through the records to the point that most preachers today simply cannot tell where the lie exists, and what is the truth. It was no wonder that they sought to kill Jesus from the start of His ministry, for Jesus knew the truth, and that their traditions were a lie. During every moment of Jesus' life, these sons of Rechab plotted to kill Jesus, and when Jesus hung on the cross, it was even at the demand of the Jewish Kenite Religious leaders, the very offspring of this Rechab that murdered Ish-Bosheth while morning the death of Abner on his bed. These two men that were captains under Abner knew of Abner's plan, however the transfer of power to David had not taken place yet. They were not captains under David's army, but under the house of Saul's army. It is important that the parentheses be paid attention to, for it calls attention that though he lived in the land of the Benjamites, he was not of the lineage of any of the tribes of Israel. He only served in the forces of Abner's army. "Beerothite" meant that he came from the Hivite town where "El Bireth" exists today, just north of Jerusalem and was possessed by the Benjamites. II Samuel 4:3 "And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.)" This verse is a continuation of the prior verse. The deeds of Rechab and the reaction of his people make it look mighty suspicious. Remember that the mark that was placed on Cain's head, was that he would always be a vagabond, and this is what happen to these Kenites at Beerothites, for they fled out of the land of Benjamin once their well known leader was killed. God put a mark on the head of the Kenites way back in Genesis 4 and it continues to the end of this earth age. Genesis 4:11 "And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;" Genesis 4:12 "When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." Murdering and plotting to murder was nothing new to the Kenites, for Jesus even told this to their face when he faced them in their role of scribe and Pharisee, in John 8:44; "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." To understand the full extent of Rechab's identity requires that you understand what happened in the Garden of Eden, when Satan tempted Eve. From that sexual union between Eve and Satan came Cain, the son of Satan. The seed of the wicked one are the offspring of his son, Cain. This is given only so that we would know what kind of a man this Rechab was, and why he would be plotting the death of Saul's son. He was not part any lineage of Israel, nor did he seek anything but favors and monetary gain from this murder. We should always be cautious and watchful for these things that happen, for they are events that are examples for us that are living in these end times. They are examples of how the Kenites will stop at nothing to advance their causes. The law was nothing to them but a tool to be used when it benefited them and their causes. II Samuel 4:4 "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." Jonathan was a brother in law to David, as well as the Ish-Bosheth, so this young boy was a nephew to David as well as Ish-Bosheth. Mephibosheth was only five years old when the news of his father's death came to them. When his nurse heard of the death of Jonathan, she picked up the lad, and intended to flee, and in her haste she dropped the boy and he became crippled because of the fall. Mephibosheth was well cared for by his uncle Ish-Bosheth, and we know when David heard of his conditions, he again will be well looked after. By the time of Ish-Botheth's death, though, Mephibosheth will be thirteen years old. II Samuel 4:5 "And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth, who lay on a bed at noon." Verse four was placed into this chapter, and it has nothing to do with the subject of this chapter, except to divert your attention. We are back again with the plot to murder Ish-bosheth the king of the house of Saul. Mephibosheth and Joanathan have nothing to do with what is going on, but at the stroke of the Kenite pen, we have a diversion. When the heat of the day come in this area, it is time to rest and lay down. This is common to that area, and in the plot to kill Ish-bosheth, what better time to murder him than when he least expects it to happen. When all the people are at rest, it would give these two murderers Rechab and Baanah a little time to leave the scene of the crime. II Samuel 4:6 "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." Two things to notice here, and the first is that these two had the run of the palace, for their being there was not unexpected. Secondly their approach was through the stores, for the Kenites position themselves where the merchandising take place, and where the goods are stored. II Samuel 4:7 "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." This again is one of the signs that they were a Kenite for they moved freely through out the palace, and their acts went far beyond just a murder, but a vicious act added to their destructive mind. These men had the trust and shared information with the men at the top to know that David would soon be the king, and they wanted to be in on the ground floor in the new kingdom. They did this to position themselves inside the next palace, for this is the way of the Kenite. These son's of Cain want to be in a position of authority, without being in the forefront. The Kenites are the hidden ones, they try to control and make things happen through deception, without the people knowing just where the damage is coming from. We see it today through the Kenites' workings within and through the one world system. They have their four hidden dynasties, that of Education, Economics, Politics and Religion, and everything that is done is said to be; "for the people". Yet their movements and agendas are done in secret. The trade agreements are hidden under a school bill, and the things affecting education are hidden under other misinformation. The markets, and every part of our life are affected through some fashion that is completely unexpected, for all of their workings are done in secret and hidden behind closed doors. They are not going to get away with their murdering plots with David, for David was to smart for them. David will see right through them, for it has been tried before and it did not work. II Samuel 4:8 "And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king; "Behold the head of Ish-Bosheth 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." These Kenites first of all just did not understand the love and compassion that God's people have for each other. They saw an opportunity to gain a foothold into the palace of David, only they never paid much attention to what went on in Hebron, when Abner one of Saul's leaders was killed. Though the people of Israel saw the mourning and compassion for Abner, all these two Kenites saw was that Abner was killed at Hebron. These sons of Satan wanted the free access to the wheat and grains that they had in Ish-Bosheth's palace, only it will not work with David. By their own mouth they will condemn themselves. II Samuel 4:9 "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," II Samuel 4:10 "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:" David is reminding these two murderers that their scheme had been tried on him before and it just didn't work. It makes a person think that this Rechab and the man that brought the head of Saul to David were of the same family. They just don't catch on that murder is not right, no matter what the reason. The other man claimed to be an Egyptian, but lied and ended up to be an Amalekite, and it gets you to thinking that maybe this so called Beerothite was from the same family of Kenites. The Amalekites and the Kenites were intermixed, through many years of living together. I can just see these two Kenite men standing there with the kings head in their hand, expecting a reward, and here David is telling them that he cut the head off of that other fellow that did the same thing. They now know that they are in the wrong place, and the welcome mat was not out for them by David. You can see that in their minds they would like to blame it on someone else real quick, but the damage had already been done out of their own mouths. They were proud to take the blame, and admitted that they murdered the king in his sleep, until they saw the reaction of David. II Samuel 4:11 "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?" I'm sure that these men can see their life is doomed as they are standing before king David and he has just pronounced their death sentence. Did you get that, "Take you away from the earth". David understood that at death the soul returns to the father, however many preachers today think that the soul of the dead is still out there in the hole in the ground. This is what capital punishment is all about, when you commit murder, God expects that soul that caused the murder to be dispatched back to him to where he will stand in judgment before the murdered soul that he has sent back. This is called "Capital punishment" and it is of God and very much part of God's laws. David is about to carry out capital punishment on these two Kenite murderers that are standing before him. II Samuel 4:12 "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 of Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron." David understood who these men were and what they did. The reason that the hands were cut off, was that they had been in the granary in the first place, and they were thieves, besides murderers. And now they were trying to steal from David as well, and David saw right through their motives. It is well known that if you cut a man's hands off, he will not steal again. This is common today in the Arab countries, and it works very well as a deterrent. When the feet are cut off, it is sure that he will not be carrying tales to people any more, and going in places where he is not suppose to be. We see that the punishment was fair, and these men received their just punishment here on earth for the deeds caused by their plotting minds. David identified these men as to who they were, by the manner that he had them killed. Evil men never announce their coming in. nor the intensions, but we are to be cautious of those we don't know. Whenever someone uses words that don't fit the situation, compliments that are just not warranted, and boast you up when they know nothing about you: Look out...they are about to get into your pocket, and do you wrong in some manner. When anyone unknown to you tries to build you up with flatteries, he or she is about to take advantage of you through your own pride. Remember that pride cometh before the fall. This is Satan's main method of operation. God expects you to use common sense in all matters, so don't blame God for those stupid things that you allow yourself to be tricked into. God gave us instructions through His Word to be our example, and He expects each of us to use it as our guide. David just gave us a lesson as to how to size up a person, before you give out the rewards; and then deal justly with the person.
Home .~ Plough .~ Seeds .~ Vine .~ Potter .~ Seasons .~ Sonshine .~ Rain .~ Field |