2 Samuel 4:1-12

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Matthew 11:28-30
• Hymn — Blow Ye the Trumpet, Blow
• Prayer of Invocation
• Prayer of Confession
• Assurance of Pardon — Jeremiah 31:33-34
• Scripture Reading — John 13:1-11
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Hymn — Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee
• Sermon
• Hymn — Fairest Lord Jesus (vv. 1–2)
• Lord's Supper
• Hymn — Fairest Lord Jesus (vv. 3–4)
• Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14

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Sermon Title: Wolves, Sheep, and the Kingdom of the True King

Scripture: 2 Samuel 4:1-12

I. The Condition of Wolves

A. The passage opens with weakness on every side: Ish-bosheth's courage fails (2 Samuel 4:1), and Mephibosheth, the only remaining heir of Saul, is a crippled five-year-old (2 Samuel 4:4) B. Recab and Baanah, formerly captains in Saul's army, recognize their weakened position aligned with a failing house and seek to leverage a bold act to gain power under David C. Their condition of weakness is not itself the problem — weakness rightly felt leads to repentance and dependence on the king

1. The proper response to weakness is to come like the Prodigal Son — empty-handed, with the filth of one's sins, not with a trophy
2. The problem is their response to weakness: they give themselves more of themselves, reaching for power through worldly means D. Recab and Baanah confuse the kingdom of God with the kingdom of the world
3. The kingdom of the world asks: What have you done for me lately? How have you made up for your past?
4. The kingdom of God says: Come naked, come sinner — you are forgiven (Isaiah 55:1) E. The narrow gate of Matthew 7:13-14 is not merely a distinction between worldly living and church attendance — it is about how one enters alignment with the true King: through Christ alone or through worldly methods

II. The Cowardice of Wolves

A. Recab and Baanah present themselves as courageous in contrast to Ish-bosheth's failed courage, yet the text deliberately repeats the account of their deed (vv. 6–7) to underscore that they are in fact cowards — attacking an unsuspecting man asleep in his own bed B. David himself names Ish-bosheth righteous and Recab and Baanah wicked (2 Samuel 4:11) C. The haunting reality: wolves often do not know they are wolves

1. Recab and Baanah invoke God's name over their act (2 Samuel 4:8), genuinely believing it is courageous and even godly
2. The most dangerous villains are not those who love evil for evil's sake, but those convinced that their evil is good — self-deception precedes deception of others
3. Adam and Eve did not eat the fruit out of love for wickedness, but because they were convinced it was the path to becoming like God D. C.S. Lewis: Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive — for they torment us with the approval of their own conscience

III. The Condemnation of Wolves

A. David's response mirrors his response to the Amalekite in 2 Samuel 1 — those who bring him the heads of his enemies expecting reward are themselves executed B. David goes further: the hands and feet of Recab and Baanah are cut off and their bodies hung beside the pool at Hebron — displayed before David's own loyal subjects in Judah, not before Israel as a threat

1. This is a remarkably unusual act for an ancient Near Eastern king
2. As with the laments over Saul, Jonathan, and Abner, David is showing his subjects that he does not need men's violent scheming to establish his kingdom C. David's declaration in 2 Samuel 4:9: As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity — God alone is his redeemer; he needs no Amalekite, no Abner, no Joab, no Recab or Baanah D. The diagnostic question the first four chapters of Second Samuel press upon us: Do I believe God needs me?
3. Wolves say: God needs me; without me his purposes will not stand
4. Sheep say: I am nothing more than clay in the Potter's hands — an instrument God can set aside at any moment (cf. Mordecai's words to Esther)
5. If God is a co-regent with you rather than sole Lord of your heart, you are acting as a wolf E. On the last day, what will be exposed is the difference between those who used Christ for their own gain and those who were used by Christ for God's glory (Matthew 7:15) F. Come to the King's table — and to Christ himself — not with a head in your hand but with the slop of your sin, naked, to be dressed and forgiven (Isaiah 55:1)