Vengeful Wrath Does not Work Righteousness

2 Samuel 4:1-12
    1 When Saul's son heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost heart, and all Israel was troubled. 2 Now Saul's son had two men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin. (For Beeroth also was part of Benjamin, 3 because the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there until this day.) 4 Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
    5 Then the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out and came at about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon. 6 And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. 7 For when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom; then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain. 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.”
    9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity, 10 when someone told me, saying, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?” 12 So David commanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.

Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth was saved at the age of five when Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle, but his guardian nurse dropped him and made him lame.  Ishbosheth another son of Saul became king of Israel for 7 years after Saul’s death in battle instead of David, who was chosen by the LORD to be king after Saul.  After Abner was murdered, sons of Saul’s captains gave up hope for Saul’s line in Ishbosheth to rule, and murdered him in his bed by subterfuge.  They thought they did well in bringing his head to David as a sign of loyalty to prove they supported David as king, but David reminded them how he was not pleased when Saul died as the LORD’s anointed, and was not pleased now either.  He told them that it was wicked to kill a righteous man in his bed, and had them executed for this heinous act.  Then he buried Ishbosheth‘s head with Abner.  This demonstrates that righteousness and loyalty are not won by wicked works of plotting murder to prove allegiance, but allowing God to have His way of vengeance or restoration as He chooses.  Taking matters of perceived justice in our own hands never works the righteous works of God (Romans 12:19, James 1:20).  Putting matters into His hands and awaiting His sovereign timing is what He expects from us.  Remember those who tried to please the earthly leader here by taking what they perceived as justice and suffered for it at the price of their lives.  Our anger at what we see as injustice is not made right by sinful violence.  Vengeful wrath does not ever work righteousness; at best it is merely selfish and misguided thinking.