05. The Fall of Saul’s house ( 2Samuel 4:1 – 12)

Ish-bosheth was assassinated by his own men, who held a grudge against Saul. Meanwhile, another of Saul’s descendants, Mephibosheth, became crippled during a desperate escape. This chapter marks the fall of Saul’s house.

👉 Read 2Samuel 4:1 - 12

Q1. Ish Bosheth the son of (           ) had two men, named (           ) and (           ). They were the (            ). 

Ish Bosheth the son of ( Saul ) had two men, named ( Baanah ) and ( Recab ). They were the ( Beerothites ).

Beeroth was one of the Gibeonite towns that were annexed to the Israelites through the Gibeonite contract in Joshua 9:17. However, later, Saul, out of misguided jealousy for Israel, attempted to exterminate the Gibeonites, as later acknowledged in 2 Samuel 21. 

Although 2 Samuel 4:3 does not explicitly state that the Beerothites fled because of Saul’s attack, they likely sought refuge in Gittaim as a result of Saul’s attack. This context also helps explain why the narrative emphasizes that Rechab and Baanah were Beerothites, suggesting their assassination of Ish-bosheth may have been driven, at least in part, by hostility toward Saul’s house.

Q2. How did Mephibosheth become crippled?

He was dropped during the escape upon hearing the news of Saul’s death in battle. 

His nurse thought he would be killed by someone who had a grudge against Saul, after Saul’s death.

Q3. They thought David would welcome them if they brought Ish Bosheth’s head. “The Lord has granted (      ) to my lord the king this day aginst (       ) and his descendants.” However, David called them (      ) men. David ordered them to be executed and their (     ) and (      ) be hung, but buried (        ) in the tomb of Abner.

They thought David would welcome them if they brought Ish Bosheth’s head. “The Lord has granted (Vengeance ) to my lord the king this day aginst ( Saul  ) and his descendants.” However, David called them ( wicked ) men. David ordered them to be executed and their ( hands ) and ( feet ) be hung, but buried ( Ish Bosheth ) in the tomb of Abner.

Mephibosheth’s nurse and the two assassins acted according to a common mindset of the time—seeking vengeance on a person by targeting their offspring. But David did not see punishing a son for his father’s sin as just. True wickedness is trying to resolve evil by committing another evil. Taking vengeance into one’s own hands, especially against the offender’s family, is not justice—it is wickedness.

Now, there was no longer a legitimate heir to Saul’s throne, and the conditions for David to become king naturally came to full maturity