No Reward

It's been a while since I was in 2 Samuel, but today, I read chapter four. Joab has just killed Abner, and now Saul's reigning son--Ish-Bosheth, is afraid. Two of Ish-Bosheth's own men kill him in the night, and take his head to David, expecting a reward. But just like when the man from Ziklag came to David, lying about killing Saul, David says this, and I think it's so funny (in a sad sort of way, of course):

"As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of all trouble, 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! 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!"

These guys thought they were doing David a favor. But they forgot that David was a man after God's heart, and that God never rewards wickedness, even if it done in His name. What a powerful truth about God portrayed in a such short passage, in a book we might be tempted to label "stories". It just goes to show that God's nature and plan is revealed throughout the entire Bible, from John and 1 Corinthians to 2 Samuel and Leviticus.

Enjoy the beautiful weather! "Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise"! (James 5:13b)

In Christ,
Ellie Faggion

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