Be Worried if you Think This is Good News

2 Samuel 4:10
when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news!

David suffered at the hands of King Saul. When King Saul learned that David had been anointed king to replace him, he hated David. On many occasions, King Saul attempted to kill David.

If King Saul had found an opportunity, he would have killed David instantly. David had so many opportunities to kill King Saul but he didn’t. Everyone knew that Saul was unfairly dealing with David. Jonathan, Saul’s own son sympathized with David and sided with him.

Common sense was that David should have just killed Saul in the many opportunities he had. What seemed obvious was to do what he would do to you if he had a similar chance. David, however, argued that since God had chosen and ordained Saul, it would be a direct confrontation against God to kill Saul. Even if Saul deserved death, David said that it should be left to God to kill him.

When David became king, some sycophants tried winning his favor by celebrating the death of Saul in a war. They brought the death of King Saul to King David and expressed it as if it was good news. David had them killed instantly. The death of God’s chosen one cannot be good news. If you think this bad news of death is good news, you deserve death!

Later on, during David’s leadership, some people went and killed Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and brought his head to David. They thought killing the son of Saul is good news for David because it meant there was no one to threaten his leadership. They thought they are putting the matter to rest. They believed David will reward them. They believed that the bad news of the murder is good news.

Our text today tells us that David reminded them that he killed those who thought Saul’s death was good news. David immediately ordered his soldiers to kill these two men who thought that the murder of an enemy is good news. They died because they thought that bad news is good news.

It is bad news if anyone dies even an enemy who tried killing you. Be worried if you think that it is good news. It is bad news if anyone fails even the one who laughed at your failure. Be worried if you think that it is good news.

It is bad news if any relationship breaks, even if it is for a person who left you for another. Be worried if you think that it is good news. It is bad news if anyone loses a job. Be worried if you think it is good news. It is bad news if anyone loses money. Be worried if you think that it is good news. It is bad news if anyone gets publicly embarrassed and ashamed. Be worried if you think that it is good news.

We should never ever celebrate the pain of someone else as good news to us. We must repent of those moments when we have seemed elated that someone is in trouble. We must repent of those moments when we feel the worst that happens to a person is a score in our favor. May God help us, so that the bad news of others, even our worst enemies will not be treated as good news. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

1. Rei Kesis YouTube Channel (subscribe, click on notification and share) –http://youtube.com/reikesis
2. Rei Kesis books on Amazon (Amazon will sell and deliver anywhere in the world. For those in Kenya you can buy from any ABC close to you. ABC is Adventist Book Center) –https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rei+kesis&ref=nb_sb_noss
3. Rei Kesis daily blog –https://reikesis.com/