The Death of Ish-bosheth

When word came that Abner was dead, Ish-bosheth lost heart, and Baanah and Rechab, the men who were meant to protect him, waited until the king lay asleep at midday, killed him, and hurried to David with his head. They expected a reward, but David rebuked them sternly and had them put to death.

They assumed David would be glad of Ish-bosheth’s death, yet what David wanted was not an enemy’s head but a living man who still had the chance to turn back. Because they had dressed up a deed born of their own greed as though it were done for God, they were judged for the evil in their hearts, even though the outcome served David well. More than once David saw his enemies collapse of their own accord, but each time he mourned, and he never took revenge with his own hand.

God looks less at the outcome than at the heart of the one who brings it about, and at the way it is done. David waited patiently because he believed that God alone is the Lord of life and the one who would one day repay on his behalf; seeing that faith, God judged the house of Saul and granted David a united kingdom. In the end, the different fates of Saul and David were the fruit of the choices each had made.