2 Samuel 4:8: “And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, ‘Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and the LORD has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants.’”

June 13th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

These men came to the new king and claimed that they had been serving God by killing Saul’s son. They hoped to gain favor with David by murdering his rival to Israel’s throne. But just like the other young warrior who had come to David thinking he would be rewarded for killing King Saul, these men were in for a surprise.

This new king, David, was a man of God who was not willing to strike King Saul even when he had several opportunities to, and all while Saul was trying to murder him. The men quickly discovered that David was not pleased with their murderous actions, and spoke to them of his vow to honor and preserve Saul’s family. We are again reminded that this new king was quite different from the normal monarch of that day. He was modeling actions and motives that were not normally part of a middle-east ruler’s reign 3000 years ago.

David was a type, a picture of the coming Messiah, who would display all these honorable and godly attributes, plus so many more. Perhaps one of the important lessons here is that we should be careful not to think that God will reward us by hurting someone we think is His enemy.

“LORD, we remember that we are simply sinners saved by Your grace and that we have no right to try and be some kind of avengers for You. Please forgive us our sins and use us to lead others to Your great grace and forgiveness today.”