Justice Served

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

JUSTICE SERVED

2 Sam 4

4:1 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 2 Now Saul's son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Recab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin-Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, 3 because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have lived there as aliens to this day. 4(Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became crippled. His name was Mephibosheth.) 5 Now Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. 6 They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Recab and his brother Baanah slipped away. 7 They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. 8 They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, "Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to take your life. This day the LORD has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring." 9 David answered Recab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of all trouble, 10 when a man told me, 'Saul is dead,' and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 How much more — when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed — should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!" 12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner's tomb at Hebron.

NIV

This is a horrible story about two men who thought their evil deed was a good deed. How can it be alright to slip into a man’s bedroom and kill him in his sleep and then disfigure him? How did they think it would bring them honor and a reward from King David for killing Saul’s son? Did they not hear that King David had the men who killed Abner put to death, for Abner was a trusted man of Saul? King David served up the same justice to these two men for their act of evil against Ish-Bosheth. What can we learn here other than it is never right to commit any unrighteous act, and that would include thoughts, against other persons. It is our thinking that can get us into that unrighteous state, even if no visible act has been committed. Of course, that was a different time and culture, and killing or murder was more common then in our time and culture. Some acts of violence were just a part of war, just as they are in our time. We may also see that in some of our larger metropolitan cities, there are large acts of murder and other violence that should not be, according to the law of our land. Evil will always exist until Jesus returns and puts an end to the influencer of all evil thoughts and acts. We should be aware of our attitudes, feelings, thoughts, and even our possible negativity. Anything that disturbs our relationship with our Lord and with others is not appropriate for any believer. Yet, how do we still struggle with our attitudes and feelings? Is it because we are held captive in this flesh that is perishable and corruptible? However, we are not supposed to make any provisions for the flesh or excuses that we are only human. If we are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus, then we should be more like him in our attitudes and feelings, which are the driving force of our actions, or at a minimum, our words. Jesus made that clear that it is what comes out of our mouth that defiles our bodies because what we say comes from within our heart, attitude, or feelings. Can we put forth an effort, or do we need to submit more to the Lord, to have the right or righteous attitudes and feelings in our relationship with others? David showed us that justice will be served against any evil act. God will serve justice, and thank you, Lord Jesus, for serving justice for us, freeing us from the penalty of death. Yet, we still should be aware of our transformation as a result of the Spirit who dwells within. Let us live in submission and live in peace and harmony with each other, especially in our attitudes and feelings, or our thoughts, for we live in Jesus, as justice was served on that cross.