2 Samuel 4: Group Study Handout

How to use: read 2 Samuel 4 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, hears of Abner’s death and becomes weak. This news troubles all Israelites. Two captains named Rechab and Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, plot against Ishbosheth.

Key verse

“David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity, when someone told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ thinking that he brought good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house on his bed, should I not now require his blood from your hand, and rid the earth of you?”
2 Samuel 4:9-11 (WEB)

Outline

2 Samuel 4:1–3 Ishbosheth's Weakening Leadership
2 Samuel 4:4 Mephibosheth's Backstory
2 Samuel 4:5–8 The Assassination of Ishbosheth
2 Samuel 4:9–11 David's Condemnation of the Murderers
2 Samuel 4:12 Justice Served

Discussion questions

In v1, how does Saul’s son react to the news of Abner's death?
What do Rechab and Baanah do in v5 when they enter the house of Ishbosheth?
David's reaction in vv. 9-10 raises a question: what does he mean by 'as Yahweh lives'?
Why does David refer to Ishbosheth as a 'righteous person' in v11?
When have you faced a situation similar to David's response in v12, where you had to deal with treachery?

Go deeper

Passages that echo 2 Samuel 4: Psalm 34, 2 Samuel 9, 2 Samuel 2.

Before next time: read 2 Samuel 5.