April 25
Reading: 2 Samuel 20
1 Now there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said,
“We have no portion in David,
and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse;
every man to his tents, O Israel!”
2 So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem. 3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.
4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.”
5 So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him.
6 And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us.”
7 And there went out after him Joab’s men and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier’s garment, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened on his thigh, and as he went forward it fell out.
9 And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?”
And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab’s hand. So Joab struck him with it in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow, and he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.
11 And one of Joab’s young men took his stand by Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.”
12 And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway. And anyone who came by, seeing him, stopped. And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. 13 When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
14 And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-maacah, and all the Bichrites assembled and followed him in. 15 And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah. They cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart, and they were battering the wall to throw it down.
16 Then a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come here, that I may speak to you.'”
17 And he came near her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?”
He answered, “I am.”
Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.”
And he answered, “I am listening.”
18 Then she said, “They used to say in former times, ‘Let them but ask counsel at Abel,’ and so they settled a matter. 19 I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the heritage of the LORD?”
20 Joab answered, “Far be it from me, far be it, that I should swallow up or destroy! 21 That is not true. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, called Sheba the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.”
And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.”
22 Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, every man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
23 Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites; 24 and Adoram was in charge of the forced labor; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; 25 and Sheva was secretary; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 26 and Ira the Jairite was also David’s priest.
In 2 Samuel 20 Israel is still recovering from Absalom’s attempt to usurp the throne. Sheba, “a worthless fellow,” sees his opportunity and seeks to take the throne for himself. He uses the historical rift between the tribe of Judah and the other tribes to sow discontent with King David again.
In verse 3 David deals legally and graciously with the concubines that his son, Absalom, violated.
Amasa, Absalom’s army commander (2 Samuel 17:25), is now the commander of David’s army (2 Samuel 19:11-13) and is commanded to rally Judah to deal with the rebellion. (vs. 4) He does so, but then is nowhere to be found. Joab, now ever suspicious of the one who was given his position, is bothered by Amasa’s delay. Abishai, Joab’s brother is put in command of the army. For the good of the nation King David wants this new rebellion crushed immediately.
Joab, when Amasa returns to the army, murders him for all to see. The message to Israel is clear, “Do what the King says, and it doesn’t hurt to keep a wary eye on Joab.”
Sheba, now fearful, takes up hiding in the city of Abel, which is to the north of the Sea of Galilee. Joab and the army find him there and besiege the city. It takes a woman of wisdom to see through all the clamor of the warriors and know what to do. She gets the leaders of the city to slay Sheba and save the city from the coming battle. Thus ends a worthless rebel.
The world is full of people who want power and will do anything to get it. This chapter shows us three of them. There is Sheba, then Amasa, then Joab. These people struggling for power almost always come to a bad end. God is the only one who grants legitimate power and authority. David is the only one who has been anointed king. We must not rebel against the Lord’s anointed.
In these tumultuous days, it is important to resist the temptation to see the world in terms of power and oppressors. Sin and Satan are our enemies. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. With only one exception in the history of the world, rebellions always lead to disaster and come to a bad end. “”Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit’ says the Lord.” (Zechariah 4:6)