Lesson 35

The Means & the End

Main Idea: You will pay the consequences for your wrongdoings no matter what your reason is for it.

Text: 2 Samuel 4

Introduction:

Have you ever done something wrong only to justify it when called on the carpet? We may have been able to weasel our way out of trouble a few times by using this tactic, but ultimately doing wrong for “good” reasons will get us in even worse trouble. You have probably heard the phrase, “The end doesn’t justify the means.” That simply means that doing wrong is still wrong even if it causes something good to happen. For instance, seeing people saved is a good thing. However, busting into someone’s house and holding them at gunpoint until they agree to get saved is not okay. “But I’ve led hundreds of people to Christ that way!” So what. It is wrong to hold innocent people at gunpoint no matter what result it produces. It is also not okay to rob a bank in order to support world missions. Are you getting the picture?

These are drastic examples, but this idea is more prevalent than we might think. In our church, what are we willing to compromise in order to get people to keep coming in? Is a church honoring God simply because it is big? Does a big crowd mean that everything is being done right? If so, then did the Super Bowl honor the Lord? Was it a successful church service? It attracted a large audience. On the other hand, what about in the sports arena? “It doesn’t matter how you play as long as you come out on with a win.” What about in the work place? Do you step on others in order to be promoted? Is that right? Does being right even matter if you are producing desired results? If so, why? These are legitimate questions that we will see answered in the lesson today. From the example before us, we will learn that doing wrong to obtain right will produce not just good results, but severe consequences that are not good.

I.  It was RIGHT for David to inherit the throne and WRONG for Ish-bosheth to have it.

  1. God rejected Saul and his household from reigning on the throne and anointed David to be the next king.
  2. Not only was David the rightful heir, but he had proven himself numerous times in his battles against Goliath and the Philistines.
  3. David has waited patiently and endured unfair treatment from Saul for quite sometime now.
  4. Ish-bosheth had no business ruling Israel and was a weak leader anyways. He appears to crawl into fear and depression upon hearing of Abner’s death.
  5. There is no doubt that David deserves to be on the throne instead of Ish-bosheth.

II.  Baanah and Rechab, do something TERRIBLE in order to get David on the throne.

  1. These two guys were captains that had worked under Saul and no doubt under Abner as well.
  2. When they see that Abner has not only changed sides, but is also now dead, they determine that the days of Ish-bosheth are over.
  3. They go to his house in broad daylight and murder him.
  4. They stab him while he is asleep on his bed.
  5. They cut his head off and take off running to David.
  6. When they arrive at David’s place (Hebron), they show him the head of Ish-bosheth and truly believe they have done something great.
  7. He was the son of Saul, David’s enemy. (revenge)
  8. Saul – and perhaps Ish-bosheth – had sought David’s life. (revenge)
  9. They thought this was God’s revenge on David’s behalf.
  10. In other words, GOD WANTED US TO BEHEAD THIS INNOCENT MAN WHILE HE WAS SLEEPING ON HIS BED.
  11. Ish-bosheth might have been in the way, but he was an innocent man.
  12. He never chased after David.
  13. It was Abner who made him king of Israel, he did not seek it himself. He should have denied the crown, but he did not seek it.
  14. He was afraid of David and was sleeping on his bed when they killed him.
  15. He was Jonathan and Michal’s brother…David’s brother-in-law!!

These two brothers did not really care about right and wrong, they just knew what would produce the results they wanted. “I mean, sure we murdered an innocent man by brutally stabbing and beheading him in his sleep, but hey…David is on the throne now. God’s anointed is on the throne! Amen! Isn’t God good! And to think he would use us in such a special way. God is in control huh David. What difference does it make how you got the crown just so long as you got it? Let’s celebrate! How about a reward for your two favorite mercenaries?”

III.  Although their actions DID result in David getting the throne, they were killed for their crime.

  1. Instead of praising them, David begins to explain something to them.
  2. He says that three chapters ago, I had a man executed for telling me the “good news” of him killing Saul.
  3. Saul really was my enemy and I killed this Amalekite for what he did.
  4. Ish-bosheth was a righteous man that was minding his own business in his house upon his bed.
  5. How much more will I punish you?
  6. So David has them executed and then has their hands and feet cut off and hung up for all to see…probably to serve as a lesson of this very principle….

You will pay the consequences for your wrongdoings no matter what your reason is for it.

Conclusion:

It is never okay to do wrong is it? Of course not, yet we justify sin all the time. We have to understand though that we will still suffer the consequences of sin no matter what our excuses or reasons for it are. If you have sin in your life, it is time to stop excusing it and to stop justifying it. Confess it and repent of it. It does not matter what has happened to you or why you are doing wrong, if you want to be right with God, you need to do what is right no matter what. Like David, God is just and fair. He will not tolerate sin no matter how justified we may think it is. He looks at sin as sin. No excuses. Let’s get serious about our sins and stop defending ourselves.