They came thither into the midst of the house— Houbigant, following the version of the LXX, translates the whole thus: the keeper of the house, while he was cleaning wheat in the midst of it, slept in the sun; therefore Rechab and Baanah his brother entered the house secretly, and whilst Ish-bosheth slept upon his bed, in an inner chamber, they smote him till he died, and they took his head, which they had cut off, and travelled all the night by the way of the desart, &c.
REFLECTIONS.—Abner, the stay of Saul's family, being dead, Ish-bosheth's affairs sunk the faster; and no other of Saul's house remained who could pretend to the crown, but a child of Jonathan's who was lamed by a fall; and thus was, both by his age and misfortune, unfit to retrieve their ruined circumstances. Note; (1.) The perils of tender infancy are great; to have escaped them unhurt, is a singular mercy. (2.) When God will accomplish his designs, every obstacle in the way will be removed.
In this desperate situation of Ish-bosheth, instead of endeavouring to support or comfort him,
1. Two of his servants conspire his death. Pretending business in some of the magazines, which lay near the king's apartments, they break into his chamber, and murder him. Note; (1.) The higher a man's station, the more dangerous it is. (2.) Ere we close our eyes, let us ever think of our souls, as those who know not whether they shall ever awake again. (3.) A sinking cause is oftener hastened to ruin by the treachery of pretended friends, than the attacks of avowed enemies.
2. The murderers fly, and take the head of Ish-bosheth, as thinking it the most acceptable present they can bring to David; and, pretending zeal not only for his service, but for avenging God's quarrel against the house of Saul, they would cloak their treachery and murder under the pretext of religion. Note; Religion has often been made a cloak for ambition; but God will strip the hypocrite, and cover him with confusion.