The Bloody Hands of Ambitious Men Text: 2 Samuel 4:5-8
Introduction: The Stench of Self-Serving Zeal
There is a certain kind of man who is always sniffing the political winds. He has no fixed principles, no bedrock loyalties, no fear of God. His only compass is his own advancement. He is a pragmatist in the basest sense of the word. He believes that the ends justify the means, which is another way of saying that his own personal ends justify whatever wicked means he can get away with. Such a man is a walking disaster, a stench in the nostrils of God and a plague upon any nation he inhabits.
In our text today, we meet two such men, Rechab and Baanah. They were captains in the army of Ish-bosheth, the flagging son of Saul who was clinging to a fragment of a kingdom. But with the death of Abner, the real power behind the throne, these men saw their opportunity. They could see that the house of Saul was a sinking ship, and they were determined not to go down with it. Instead, they decided to ingratiate themselves with the rising power, David, by offering him a gruesome gift, the head of their master. They were ambitious opportunists, and they cloaked their treachery in the language of divine providence. They thought they were serving David, and even serving God. But they were only serving themselves.
This is a timeless temptation. Men will commit heinous acts and then baptize them with pious language. They will carry out a bloody assassination and call it God's vengeance. They will betray their lawful ruler and present it as a gift to the rightful king. They do this because they have profoundly misjudged the character of the man they are trying to impress, and more importantly, they have profoundly misjudged the character of the God they claim to serve. They thought David would be a man like them, a man who would welcome any advantage, no matter how sordid. They thought God's kingdom could be advanced by the methods of the devil. They were tragically, and fatally, mistaken.
This passage serves as a stark warning to all who would use wicked means to achieve what they perceive to be a righteous end. It teaches us about the nature of true justice, the character of a godly leader, and the folly of thinking you can curry favor with God through acts of treachery. God does not need your sin to accomplish His purposes.
The Text
So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went forth and came to the house of Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day while he was taking his midday rest. They came to the middle of the house as if to get wheat, and they struck him in the belly; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. Thus they came into thehouse, as he was lying on his bed in his bedroom, and they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. And they took his head and went on the way leading to the Arabah all night. Then they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; thus Yahweh has given my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his seed.”
(2 Samuel 4:5-8 LSB)
A Coward's Plot (v. 5-6)
The scene opens with a picture of calculated treachery.
"So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went forth and came to the house of Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day while he was taking his midday rest. They came to the middle of the house as if to get wheat, and they struck him in the belly; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped." (2 Samuel 4:5-6)
Notice the details. Rechab and Baanah were not just random thugs; they were "sons of Rimmon the Beerothite," men of some standing, and captains in Ish-bosheth's own army. This was not an act of war; it was an act of treason. They were insiders, men who had sworn loyalty to the house of Saul. Their crime was compounded by their betrayal of trust.
They chose their moment carefully: "in the heat of the day while he was taking his midday rest." This was a time of vulnerability, a time of peace. Ish-bosheth was not on the battlefield; he was at home, resting. The assassins did not face him in honorable combat. They snuck in like thieves. Their method was cowardly. It was a craven act, devoid of any courage or honor.
Their pretext was mundane: "as if to get wheat." As captains, they would have had legitimate reason to be at the royal storehouse. They used their official position as a cloak for their murderous intent. This is how wickedness often operates. It puts on a mask of normalcy, of routine business, to get close to its victim. They exploited the system they were supposed to be upholding. They struck him "in the belly," a fatal, vicious blow, and then they fled. Their actions are described in a clipped, factual way that only emphasizes the brutality of it all.
The Grisly Trophy (v. 7)
The narrative then repeats and adds a gruesome detail, ensuring we understand the full depravity of their deed.
"Thus they came into the house, as he was lying on his bed in his bedroom, and they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. And they took his head and went on the way leading to the Arabah all night." (2 Samuel 4:7)
The repetition drives home the point: he was helpless, "lying on his bed in his bedroom." This was the ultimate violation of sanctuary and hospitality. A man's home is his castle, but these men turned it into a slaughterhouse. They didn't just kill him; they "beheaded him." This was not done out of simple bloodlust. The head was their proof of deed. It was their resume, their application for a new job in David's administration. They saw this severed head not as a symbol of their own dishonor, but as a trophy that would secure their future.
They then traveled "all night." There is a frantic energy to their flight. They were driven by a mixture of fear of being caught and eager anticipation of their reward. They were hurrying to cash in on their crime, carrying their bloody prize through the darkness. The darkness of the night was a fitting backdrop for the darkness of their hearts. They were men of the night, and their deed was a deed of darkness.
A Pious Lie (v. 8)
Finally, they arrive at Hebron and present themselves to David. Their speech is a masterpiece of self-serving, blasphemous spin.
"Then they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; thus Yahweh has given my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his seed.”" (2 Samuel 4:8)
Look at how they frame their treachery. First, they identify the victim as David's "enemy, who sought your life." They are trying to create a sense of solidarity. "We are on your side, David. We have eliminated your problem." They are painting their personal ambition as loyalty to David's cause.
But the most audacious part is the second half. "Thus Yahweh has given my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his seed." They dared to attribute their sordid little murder to the sovereign hand of God. They took the name of Yahweh and attached it to their cowardly assassination. This is the height of arrogance. They are not only presenting David with a severed head, but they are presenting him with a theological justification for it. They are saying, "God did this, and we were just His humble instruments. You should be pleased, David. God is on your side, and He has used us to prove it."
They fundamentally misunderstood two things. They misunderstood David, and they misunderstood God. They thought David was a man who would be pleased with murder as long as it benefited him. They had not been paying attention. They didn't know about the time David cut off a corner of Saul's robe and was struck in his conscience. They didn't know how David had twice spared Saul's life when he had him at his mercy. They certainly didn't know how David had executed the Amalekite who claimed to have killed Saul. They had no category for a man who trusted God's timing and refused to seize the kingdom through bloodshed. They judged David by their own corrupt standards.
And more grievously, they misunderstood God. They thought Yahweh operated like the petty, tribal deities of the pagans, a god who could be manipulated and who would endorse any atrocity committed in his name. They confused God's sovereign providence with His moral approval. Yes, God is sovereign over all things, including the wicked acts of men. But His sovereignty never makes Him the author of sin. God uses the wrath of man to praise Him, but He does not for one second approve of that wrath. Rechab and Baanah were claiming divine sanction for their sin, and in so doing, they were sealing their own doom.
Conclusion: God's Kingdom, God's Rules
The story of Rechab and Baanah is a cautionary tale for every generation of the church. It is a story about the corrosive nature of worldly ambition when it cloaks itself in the language of faith. These men wanted a particular outcome, the unification of the kingdom under David, which was indeed God's will. But they sought to bring about God's will through satanic means.
This is the perennial temptation of the pragmatist. "The goal is good, so a little shady dealing, a little compromise here, a little violence there, is acceptable." But the kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of this world. God is not interested in simply achieving the right ends; He is jealous for the right means. You cannot build the house of the Lord with the tools of the devil.
David's response, which we will see in the following verses, is swift and righteous. He will have no part in their blood-guiltiness. He knows that a throne established on the foundation of assassination is a throne built on sand. He will not allow the name of Yahweh to be associated with treachery. David shows us what true, godly leadership looks like. It is a leadership that trusts God's promises and God's timing, and refuses to take unholy shortcuts.
We live in a highly politicized age where many Christians are tempted to think that the ends justify the means. They are tempted to overlook wickedness in their political allies, to excuse lies, to celebrate cruelty, as long as it seems to advance "our side." But Rechab and Baanah are a permanent warning against this mindset. God does not need our clever, sinful strategies. He does not need us to lie for Him, to cheat for Him, or to kill for Him. He needs us to be faithful, to be righteous, to have clean hands and a pure heart.
The kingdom was coming to David. God had promised it. But it had to come in God's way and in God's time. In the same way, the kingdom of Christ will triumph. It is an unshakable promise. Our job is not to force it into existence through carnal means, but to bear witness to it through righteous living, even when it looks like the other side is winning. We must trust that the God who judges righteously will bring about His purposes without the help of our bloody hands.