Okay, you can turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 20. 2 Samuel 20. I'll read the chapter and then we'll look at it in some detail. 2 Samuel 20, beginning in verse 1. And there happened to be there a rebel, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet and said, We have no share in David, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Every man to his tent, so Israel. So every man of Israel deserted David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king. Now David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women, his concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in seclusion and supported them, but did not go in to them.
So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood. And the king said to Amasa, assemble the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself. So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah, but he delayed longer than the set time which David had appointed him. 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 find for himself fortified cities and escape us. So Joab's men, with the Charithites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, went out after him. And they went out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. When they were at the large stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them.
Now Joab was dressed in battle armor, and on it was a belt with a sword fastened in its sheath at his hips. And as he was going forward, it fell out. Then Joab said to Amasa, Are you in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
But Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab's hand, and he struck him with it in the stomach, and his entrails poured out on the ground, and he did not strike him again, thus he died. Then Joab and Abishai, his brother, pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. Meanwhile, one of Joab's men stood near Amasa and said, whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab. But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the highway.
And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came upon him halted. When he was removed from the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba, the son of Bichri. And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth-meachah and all the Baraites. So they were gathered together and also went after Sheba.
Then they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaica, and they cast up a siege mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart, and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down. Then a wise woman cried out from the city, Here, here, please say to Joab, come nearby that I may speak with you. When he had come near to her, the woman said, Are you Joab? He answered, I am.
Then she said to him, Hear the words of your maidservant. And he answered, I am listening. So she spoke, saying, They used to talk in former times, saying, They shall surely seek guidance at Abel. And so they would end disputes.
I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of the Lord? And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy.
That is not so. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him only and I will depart from the city. So the woman said to Joab, Watch, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.
Then the woman in her wisdom went to all the people, and they cut off the head of Sheba, the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a trumpet, and they withdrew every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem. And Joab was over all the army of Israel.
Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the Karathites and the Pelathites. Adaram was in charge of revenue, Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilad, was recorder, Sheva was scribe, Zadok and Abiathar were the priests, and Ira the Jerite was a chief minister under David. Amen.
Introduction
Have you ever had those times or seasons in your life where a lot of things go wrong for you, and you get to the point where you think, God, please let it stop. I've had enough. Give me a season, give me a time, give me a period of reprieve. And we oftentimes expect, we just assume that God is going to give us that reprieve after we have gone through that trial or difficulty.
I'm not sure why we assume that or why we expect that if we're familiar with the story of David. We see in his life one tragedy after another, one trial after another, one difficulty after another, and it does not stop here in chapter 20. He has just returned to Jerusalem after the usurpation of Absalom when Absalom stole the throne and he stole the crown from David. Absalom was eventually killed in battle.
David now returns to Jerusalem only to find that there's another man by the name of Sheba who has launched a rebellion against the crown, against the throne, and he has solicited all of Israel, all the northern tribes, to follow him. So certainly, as we have these seasons of trials and difficulties and hardships in our lives, we can pray that God will give us a reprieve. We can pray that God will send us a peaceable time. But we ought never to expect it in the sense that God somehow owes us.
It's not a formula. We've suffered for thus long, therefore now I deserve not to suffer for that long. That is simply not the way we ought to interpret God's Word or interpret history or set forth our expectations for things when the man after God's own heart went through a period of time where it was trial after trial after trial, and it certainly doesn't end until he dies and enters into that place where there is no more sorrow, no more pain, no more suffering, no more hardship. The life of David should put in order some of our thoughts concerning our lives and the way that God deals with us.
So as we look at chapter 20 tonight, it comes on the heels of chapter 19. Again, David's return to Jerusalem where he's garnered the support of the northern tribes and the southern tribes. All Israel is thrilled at the prospect of David returning to assume the throne and his reign over Israel.
Sermon Outline Announced
Well, I want to look at five things tonight. Some of these things will be brief. In the first place, the rebellion of Sheba in verses 1 and 2. Secondly, the reminder of David's sin in verse 3.
Thirdly, the murder of Amasa in verses 4 to 14. Fourthly, the destruction of Sheba in verses 15 to 22.
The Officers of David
And then finally, the officers of David in verses 23 to 26.
The Rebellion of Sheba
But note in the first place, the rebellion of Sheba, verses 1 and 2. And there happened to be there a rebel. We might also call him a scoundrel. or a worthless man, or literally a son of Belial, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet and said, notice how the chapter, at least the largest section in this chapter, begins and ends with the blowing of a trumpet, here in verse 1 and then at verse 22, the blowing of the trumpet with reference to the destruction of Sheba.
He blew a trumpet, verse 1, and said, We have no share in David, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O Israel. Now remember the occasion. We've outlined it briefly.
David returns to Jerusalem. The northern tribes express their enthusiasm at the return of David in chapter 19, verses 9 and 10, and then again in chapter 19, verses 40 to 43. also indicated in verses 40 to 43 in chapter 19, is the quarrel between the north and the south. Remember, the northern tribes didn't like the fact that Judah was bringing David back across the river Jordan. And they asked specifically in verse 41, why have our brethren, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king, his household, and all David's men with him across the Jordan?
So all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is a close relative of ours, why then are you angry over this matter? Have we ever eaten at the king's expense or has he given us any gift? And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, we have ten shares in the king. Therefore, we also have more right to David than you.
Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to advise bringing back our king? Yet the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel." This man Sheba capitalizes on this particular quarrel. He sees what's happening, he understands what's going on, this division between the north and the south, fighting over David, fighting over position.
He is described as a rebel. To rebel against God's king is to rebel against God himself. As well, he was a Benjamite, so that means he's probably sympathetic to Saul and his reign. Remember that Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin.
As well, he is an opportunist. At the time of this quarrel, he then makes this particular plea. He blows the trumpet and says, we have no share in David, nor do we have an inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O Israel.
Robert Alter says, the northerners, resentful of the harshness of the Judahites' words, in which the members of David's own tribe claimed a special proprietary relationship with the king, are ripe for the appeal of a demagogue such as Sheba. who is at once identified as a worthless fellow. You see, the northern tribes judged the Judahites very severely. They thought that they were using their position as being from the tribe or the same tribe as David to try and garner favor with him. They simply said, no, he's part of our tribe to be sure, but he's never benefited us directly.
This should have been an easy crossing. There shouldn't have been any problems. There shouldn't have been any hitch whatsoever, but men being as men are, they start to argue and quarrel and whine and cry, and so the northerners, as Alter suggests, are ripe for this usurpation. Van Hoy says, the underlying weakness of northern support for David had apparently never been fully overcome, and Sheba was able to exploit a long-simmering discontent and undermine the unity and stability of the kingdom.
And essentially what this man does is publicly repudiates the kingship of David. So just as we believe everything is going to return to normal, Absalom has met his end, David is now coming back, there's another problem in terms of the kingdom. And as we have observed many times, if it were not for the sovereignty of God overruling the sinfulness of men, the kingdom would never advance, the kingdom would never be stabilized, the kingdom would never be. Thankfully, the Lord God Most High values His kingdom more than men do, and as a result, He causes it to flourish and to prosper.
Israel's Desertion and Judah's Loyalty
Now note the response to the rebellion of Sheba. We have both Israel and Judah indicated. Notice in verse 2. So every man of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri.
So their claims of allegiance in chapter 19 was very short-lived. I mean, the enthusiasm they show in 1909-10 and then the enthusiasm they show in 1940-43 certainly does not last long. As soon as Sheba makes this public repudiation of David's kingship, it says that every man of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba, the son of Bichri. I don't know how David functioned or managed to cope with all of this rejection, but certainly he was a better man than I am.
He managed to motor on, he managed to press on, he managed to persevere, even in the midst of these things. As well, with reference to Israel, the specific claim in 1943 is absolutely contradicted by their practice. Remember in 1943, as they are quarreling with the Judahites, they say, we have ten shares in David. We have ten pieces of David because we are ten tribes.
Now they join a rebel who has the gall to say, we have no share in David. So they go from the 10 shares of David to the no share of David, just over however long this took. The text doesn't indicate it took very long whatsoever. So Israel departs from, defects from, turns against David.
Now Judah thankfully maintained loyalty, the end of verse 2. But the men of Judah from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem remained loyal to their king. So we have again the line drawn in the sand. When we get to 1 Kings chapter 12 and the monarchy officially splits, We ought to appreciate the fact that relations between the North and the South never seem to be that solid to begin with.
We see it already here in both 1st and 2nd Samuel that there is this sort of a delicate situation between these two groups of tribes. So 1st Kings 12 is the official split of the monarchy, but in this instance we see it as well.
The Reminder of David's Sin
Now notice secondly the reminder of David's sin. It records for us David's return to Jerusalem and what happens when he comes to his house. Now, Davis recognizes that the author could have appended this at the end of the chapter, just sort of an incidental note with reference to the concubines that he had left behind. But the fact that it's right up at the front tells us that the author wants us to take notice of this.
He wants us to remember that we are most likely in the situation we are in because of David's sin. David's sin with Bathsheba and Uriah launched a whole series of events. We have seen that chapters 9 to 20 as a whole could be summarized as the consequences for David's sin. Up to that point, up to chapter 8, we see David's reign in a very positive light.
But from 9 to 20, we see it in a negative light. We see trial, difficulty, hardship, specifically consequential to the sin that David had committed. Verse 3 reminds us of these various women. Remember in 12, 11 and 12, through the prophet Nathan.
In fact, you can go there just so we can appreciate what our author is doing in chapter 20 at verse 3. Remember in 2 Samuel chapter 11, specifically verses 10 to 12. I'm sorry, chapter 12, verses 10 to 12. This is God, through the prophet Nathan, reproving David for his sin of adultery and murder.
Verse 10, Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sign. Turn over to 1516, when David departs from Jerusalem after the usurpation by Absalom, he leaves his wives in Jerusalem. 1516, then the king went out with all his household after him. But the king left ten women, concubines, to keep the house.
Notice in chapter 16, specifically in verses 20 to 22, the word of the Lord is brought to fruition. Absalom said to Ahithophel, give advice as to what we should do. And Ahithophel said to Absalom, go into your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. then the hands of all who are with you will be strong." Remember Ahithophel gave this advice, which was wise, it was savvy. I'm not saying it was morally acceptable, it was absolutely reprehensible, but it was wise from a political standpoint.
Ahithophel knows that if Absalom goes in to David's wives, then all Israel will know that the breach is real. There's no chance for reconciliation after Absalom does this. David and Absalom aren't going to get back together again. This is going to rupture them once and for all, then all the support for Absalom will be consolidated, their hand will be strengthened, because there's no fear whatsoever that Absalom and David are going to make peace.
And so note specifically in verse 22, they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went into his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. So we come back to chapter 20, David returns to his house at Jerusalem, the author is suggesting to us that home will never be the same again. The effects of sin is such that the life that David enjoyed prior to this Absalom rebellion is never going to be restored. David looks after them in terms of food and shelter and security and all those sorts of things, but he no longer has relations with them.
The king took the ten women, his concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in seclusion and supported them, but did not go into them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood."
Sin's Consequences on Others
Never believe or never think that the sin that you commit has no consequences on other people. The sin of David had consequences at least on these ten women. These ten women were not homeless, this is Davis. David situated them in secluded quarters, nor were they starving or destitute, for David provided for them.
But he would have nothing more to do with them. They were confined, isolated, and alone. They passed the days of their bland existence as de facto widows. They would no longer know the joys of a husband.
They would no longer have children. They would no longer be able to reap the benefits associated with being a healthy young woman in Israel at this particular time. David's sin had far-reaching effect and far-reaching consequences, and I think it would be good for us to remember that in our own lives. So often people engage in wickedness or some sort of activity that they find pleasurable for the time, but there's a ripple effect.
It affects persons that are closest to them. It affects friends. It affects relationships. When pastors sin, they fall into sexual sin.
It affects their wives. It affects their children. It affects the entirety of the church. We ought to think about the consequences of sin.
David should have thought more before he went into Uriah. When David saw her and he was pleased with her, he should have put the brakes on and stopped the whole process from going out of control. So these women are destitute, desolate, and alone until they will go to die. And we could go further back and realize that in Deuteronomy 17, 17, the prohibition against the king multiplying wives is the word of the living God. with reference to principles governing warfare, and specifically the king, in Deuteronomy chapter 17.
The king is not to multiply weapons, he's not to multiply wealth, and he's not to multiply wives. This is simply unacceptable, and yet Israel falls into this, like the nations around them, and we see that the consequences of sin affect a whole multitude of people.
The Murder of Amasa
So notice in the third place the murder of Amasa, verses 4 to 14. Note first Amasa's duty in verses 4 and 5. Remember he is the military commander. He was appointed by Absalom during Absalom's usurpation.
He appoints Amasa. And then when David comes back to court the favor of the people of Israel, he says that he is going to appoint Amasa as the military commander, probably seeking again the support and the favor of those people, and as well as a diss to Joab. Remember, Joab was specifically responsible for the death of Absalom. David didn't want that to happen.
And Joab was involved in that. So Amasa is the military commander. He's been lawfully appointed by David himself. So as we proceed through the narrative, what Joab does here is an act of murder.
It is cold-blooded, it is hard-hearted, it is calloused, it is wicked. And yet it is something we've come to expect with Joab, because he dispatched Abner in much the same way, and he gets rid of Absalom in much the same way. So he is the military commander and David gives him instruction. Notice in verse 4.
Why within three days? Because Sheba must be crushed. this attempt or this revolt, or it's not a revolt yet, it's more of a secession, but it will turn into a revolt specifically against the crown. And if David has learned anything, David has learned that you put down would-be revolters in a harsh and severe manner. So he tells Amasa, gather the troops, come back to me and be present here for yourself so we can deal with this Sheba situation.
Verse 5. So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah, but he delayed longer than the set time which David had appointed him. Now we don't know why he delayed longer, the text does not indicate, but as we go on in the text, it was to his own demise. If he would have been a bit more punctual, at least humanly speaking, some of the things that go on from here may not have happened.
So Amasa's late, he fails to get it done in time. Now note David's response in verses 6 and 7. Even though Amasa has not returned with the troops, we've still got a Sheba problem. So he tells Abishai, we've got to take care of this Sheba problem.
If we don't take care of the Sheba problem, we're going to have great, great travail. So verse 6, David said to Abishai, notice not Joab, Abishai and Joab are brothers, remember that. And Joab is present there, but David addresses Abishai directly. Again, David's not thrilled with Joab.
David did not want Absalom to die. David did not want Joab to do the sorts of things that he did. So he tells Abishai, now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your, note this, Lord's servants and pursue him, lest he find for himself fortified cities and escape us.
So Joab's men, See, there's a bit of a hint here that Joab, though he has been excluded by David, hasn't been excluded by the people. The Lord's servants, as your Lord's servants, as David refers to the military, David being the Lord, are called Joab's men. Joab is still on top. Joab ends on top throughout this particular narrative.
As I've suggested many times, Joab is one interesting fellow. He is loyal to David. He's not always morally upright. He's not always the godliest sort of a fellow.
But we see that there is still support within the military for Joab specifically. But you see the thrust of David. We need to deal with the Sheba problem. He says in verse 7, So Joab's men, with the Carathites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, went out after him.
And they went out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
Joab's Deception and the Killing
Now note Joab's plan. Verses 8 to 10. The location. They are at this large stone which is in Gibeon.
That's an interesting location because in chapter 2 it was the place where the civil war began between the North and the South. Remember they had that with the young men who had the swords and they would basically walk by each other and stab each other? This is the particular location. And then the author describes for us what Joab is wearing.
And that's important because Joab is going to deceive Amasa so that he can put this sword into Amasa's belly. That's what's behind the description. Now, Joab was dressed in battle armor. On it was a belt with a sword fastened in its sheath at his hips. and as he was going forward it fell out.
It seems to be the case that it was positioned in such a way that it would be natural for it to fall out and wouldn't cause someone to think that Joab was actually drawing his sword. If he walks up to Amasa and he takes his right hand and he withdraws his sword, typically the sheath and the sword would be on the left hip of a right-handed man. So if Joab does this action, Amas is going to know what Amas is going to get. And so David can't, I'm sorry, Joab can't do that.
So he puts the sheath in front of him, it's a bit clunky, it's a bit awkward, so that the sword can fall out. He can then conspicuously pick it up with his left hand. Now make no mistake about it, if Joab wanted Absalom dead, when Absalom was hanging in that tree, Joab could have done it. Joab is a skilled warrior, not just with his right hand, but with his left hand as well.
And when the narrator or the author tells us he didn't have to strike him again, Joab knew where to pierce a man so that his entrails would fall out. Joab's no lightweight on the field of battle. But the specific reference here is to present to us how he was able to pull off this deception over a man, Amasa, who was a military leader as well. Amasa is not a lightweight.
He has not been commander of Israel because he just fell off the turnip truck. Gil explains the situation in terms of his clothing thus. He says, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof. The sword and the belt was not on his thigh, but on his loins, on the outside of his clothes. and was put into a sheath too large and placed in such a position that with the least motion, when he pleased, it would easily drop out of it without drawing attention, and so give no suspicion of his design.
Again, the typical warrior position would be on the left hip for a right-handed soldier. To put it in the front and make it clunky and it could fall out was the design of Joab, so it would not draw attention from Amasa. Now note as well the deception of his address in verse 9. He addresses Amasa as my brother.
I mean this man is full of deception here. Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. This doesn't mean he wrenched him, it was a sign of affection. This is something that was commonly done.
You grab the beard and you lean in to give them a kiss. Not in some homosexual, sodomite way, but a sign of respect, a sign of affection, a sign of love. So you see what he's doing. He does this, he calls him my brother, he goes in for this sign of affection, and this disarms Amasa.
He doesn't know what's coming. He thinks, as far as he's concerned, that Joab is just showing him the sign of affection, the sign of brotherly love. He addresses him as brother. His right hand would be his typical hand to wield the sword.
That right hand is on his beard. He doesn't know what's going to happen. Amasa is completely in the dark here. Verse 10, the narrator tells us, Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab's hand, his left hand.
The author expects you to realize that, because if his right hand is on the beard of Amasa, he's only got one other hand, and now his hand is on that sword. and he struck him with it in the stomach, and his entrails poured out on the ground, and he did not strike him again. Thus he died." This is a chapter that has both a decapitation and a disemboweling. I could hear the liberals now going nuts at the thought of a 2 Samuel 20 situation. He was not suspected because the sword was in his left hand and he was able to kill Amasa with precision.
Go back to 2 Samuel 15 for just a moment. I'm sorry here. Second Samuel 18, forgive me. Verse 14, then Joab said, I cannot linger with you.
And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom's heart while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree. Probably these weren't spears. They might've been something like sticks. What we learn in this account with Amasa is that Joab knew how to kill people and for whatever reason, At this particular instance, he didn't deal the death blow.
Perhaps he wanted some plausible deniability if David asked him outright, did you kill Absalom? Notice that David never does ask Joab that. No, I didn't kill him, your highness. Well, yeah, but you began the work that the ten young men, according to verse 15, finished.
The ten young men who bore Joab's armor surrounded Absalom and struck and killed him. With Joab, we see that he had the ability to deliver a particular blow to the stomach of Amasa to pour out his guts. And then notice specifically what Joab does. 10b. Then Joab and Abishai, his brother, pursued Sheba, the son of Bichri.
This man is a trained killer. He doesn't sit and sort of muse on the situation. There's no grief. There's no remorse.
This is business as usual for Joab. Davis says, no need to cry over spilled blood. It's merely a clinical matter for Joab. An obstacle has been removed and he proceeds to the next item on the agenda.
We've gotten rid of Amasa. Now let's go get Sheba, the son of Bichri.
The Henchman's Exhortation
Now note, this henchman's exhortation, verses 11 to 13. He's not identified, he's just one of Joab's men and we learn that Amasa is still an obstacle. He's an obstacle for the people that were supposed to go in pursuit of Sheba. Verse 11, meanwhile one of Joab's men stood near Amasa and said, whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab.
Gil notes the order there, that's not a good thing. Whoever is for Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab. The author is telling us that David has returned, but David doesn't have the sort of control over the kingdom that he once exercised. We've got Joab mentioned first.
We've got Joab's men, the army, in verse 7. Again, these could be subtle hints that not everything is as it seems. Not everything is going to be as strong as it once was. And so, specifically, the henchman says, follow.
Verse 12, Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came upon him halted. You get the picture. They're not quick to rush after Sheba while this man is wallowing in his blood.
I mean, if people slow down on the freeway to see somebody changing attire, you might imagine that people are going to slow down to see Amasa wallowing in his blood. The henchman recognizes this, drags him out of the way, and throws a garment over him because we've got bigger business. We've got to get Sheba. Let us not forget Sheba.
Verse 13, when he was removed from the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba, the son of Bichri.
The Destruction of Sheba
And that brings us fourthly to the destruction of Sheba, in verses 15 to 22. The location, we're told it's Abel and Bathmeyikah, or it might be Abel-Bathmeyikah. It's the northernmost part of the nation of Israel. So, Sheba has gone up there.
It's a fortified city, so we read in verse 15, they came and besieged him in Abel of Bathmeyikah. They cast up a siege mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart. And all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down.
The Wise Woman of Abel
Now note specifically this wise woman. The careful reader will remember 2 Samuel 14 verses 1 to 20. There was a wise woman from Tekoa that was put up to a particular scheme by Joab to bring reconciliation to David and Absalom. This is prior to the usurpation.
So we have another wise woman who intercedes on behalf of the city, so that Joab and his men don't destroy the entirety of the city. Note specifically her petition, verses 18 and 19, well she requests Joab, verses 16 and 17, and then in verse 18, so she spoke saying, they used to talk in former times, saying, they shall surely seek guidance at Abel, And so they would end dispute. Seems to be a city that was known for wisdom. It seems to be a city that was known for dispute settling.
Verse 19, I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Probably the mother in Israel isn't her, it's probably the city. A city could be referred to as a daughter, a larger city, or a principal city might be known as a mother in Israel.
And then she asks specifically, why would you swallow up the inheritance of the Lord? Now, probably behind this is Deuteronomy 20. When the children of Israel went to a city that was not under the ban, these are foreign cities, they would, before they attack, ask the persons in the city if they wanted peace. If they wanted peace, then there was a particular procedure that Israel would employ to bring peace to that city.
Now, it wouldn't be as favorable as the foreigners might like, but it would spare their lives. So the lady here, the wise woman, again thinking in terms of this perhaps, says you ought to seek peace from Abel, Beth, Maacah. You ought not just come in and besiege the wall and destroy all of the inhabitants. And then Joab responds, notice specifically.
Joab answered and said, far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy. Those of us who have followed Joab's career kind of put tongue-in-cheek at this point, don't we? Joab, we don't know for a moment that this is outside of your wheelhouse. I mean, you're certainly capable of destroying this entire city with the sword that's hanging in the front of you.
I mean, you've got mad skills to do that very thing. But in this instance, he wants to assuage this particular woman. He says in verse 21, That is not so, but a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against the king, against David. Interesting.
He has to specify the king. These have been tumultuous days, right? If you're in the northernmost part of Israel, you don't have email, you don't have an internet connection, you don't have CNN, whatever the Jerusalem equivalency is, you may not have heard at this point. There has been tumult and he has to describe that the king is David.
And then he says, deliver him only and I will depart from the city. Now note the woman's response. This is a very wise woman. So the woman said to Joab, watch, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.
Great answer, wise woman. This will actually solve the problem that is Sheba. And then the woman, in her wisdom, went to all the people, and they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent.
So Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem. The plan was successful. Joab comes out on top. Joab is effective.
Joab is successful. Joab has accomplished this particular task in putting down the rebellion posed by Sheba. This then caused everybody, hopefully, to return to happily ever after, and David assumes control of the north and the south, and that's essentially what verses 23 to 26 indicate, the officers of David. Verse 23 ought not to be a surprise, and Joab was over all the army of Israel.
If we've seen the writer's hints along the way, we probably assume that he was never not over all the army of Israel. They were always Joab's men. Joab did this successfully. Then we have Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the Carathites and the Pelathites, no change there.
Adoram was in charge of revenue, this is Adoniram, and the same Adoniram, just a different form of the word there, in 1 Kings chapter 4. We have Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilad, was recorder. Sheba was scribe. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests.
That's not been changed. And Ira the Jarite was a chief minister under David. Now this chief minister under David was probably a personal priest. He has Zadok and he has Abiathar, but then he has sort of like a chaplain.
You'd have a military chaplain. I think John Owen was the chaplain to Cromwell at one point. You would have that, it would be common. But back in chapter 8, this post was served by David's sons specifically.
Well, the sons have not proven themselves to be the most noble characters, so now Ira the Jarite is now the chief minister under David. Now, why is this important? Because of the structure of the book, we have argued that there is a particular outline or flow in the book. The commencement of David's reign at Hebron is chapters 1 to 4.
The consolidation of David's reign over all Israel is in chapters 5 to 8. And that's a positive view, 5 to 8, positive, an optimistic, a good look at how David orchestrated the affairs of the kingdom. The consequences of David's sin is in chapters 9 to 20, and then the close of David's reign is chapters 21 to 24. Well, the author at the end of chapter 8 gives us a list of David's officers. just like he does at the end of chapter 20.
It signals for us a change in the narrative structure. It shows us that structurally we are leaving the section dealing with the consequences of David's sin, and 21 to 24 is the close of David's reign. And with reference to Joab, before we close with a few concluding observations, Davis makes an observation concerning Joab that I think is perceptive. We have in Sheba utter rebellion, right?
I mean, we have no share in David, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his ten, so Israel. There's no question as to whose side Sheba's on. He's certainly not on David's side.
Joab's an anomaly. I mean, he does things that serve David, but is he submissive to David? Would David authorize this wholesale murder of Amasa? David just appointed Amasa to serve as the military commander.
Remember when David gave Abner the same treatment? David disowned that vehemently. He wanted no part of it whatsoever. He didn't want to be associated with the thought of the fact that Joab had murdered Abner.
So Davis makes this observation. Joab is both intensely loyal and completely uncontrollable. That's probably very much the case. Completely uncontrollable.
How do you stop a Joab? Thankfully, he's loyal to David and he does accomplish the thing. But you know, brethren, loyalty to the kingdom also implies, or should imply for kingdom citizens, submission to the king. Right?
And this is not Joab. He says, he does not raise the standard or revolt against David like Sheba, nor does he seek David's throne like Absalom. Joab is faithful to David. He does not try to become king, and yet he acts as his own king.
He is extremely loyal to David, but essentially unsubmissive to David. Could it be that 2 Samuel 20 depicts a double rebellion? There is Sheba who wants to leave the Davidic kingdom behind. And then there is Joab who will not be controlled within the kingdom, but is ever hacking and slicing away to keep his own position unrivaled.
I mean, that's probably why Amasa got the point. Probably why Abner got the point. Joab didn't like the thought of being replaced, did he? I mean, he's David's military commander.
He kills with precision. He's a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. And then we've got Abner, and then we've got Amasa. Well, Joab doesn't like these rivals.
He will brook no rivalry, so he gives them the sword to dispatch that. So on the one hand, he's loyal to David, but he's not submissive to David. I think the lesson here for us is we need to be loyal kingdom citizens, but that loyalty must not be to secure our position or to secure our benefit, but we must be submissive to the king himself in that pursuit of loyalty.
Application and Concluding Observations
So, in terms of some concluding thoughts. First, we see the rebellion of Sheba. The rebellion against the authority of God himself. If you rage against King David, you're raging against Yahweh who appointed him in 1 Samuel 16.
And then we see that this can happen in the church today. We can see that there are Shebas that profess faith in Jesus Christ. Again, Davis says there are Shebas in the church. Some of them are evangelicals of the stricter sort.
They rebel against rightful authority. They are determined to go their own way, to call their own shots. They lift up their hand against the king. What can you say of a man who sows discord among brethren?
He's a Sheba. He's got the Sheba spirit. We're not to sow discord among brethren. Proverbs 6, 16 says, There are six things which Yahweh hates, yea, seven are an abomination to Him.
And specifically in 19b, it is one who sows discord among brethren. I mean, it's obvious when Sheba calls all Israel to reject the rule of David. How come it's not so obvious in the church when there's a Sheba who calls all Israel to rage against Christ and against instituted leadership and against the authority of Scripture? That's a Sheba spirit that must be crushed, not by physical means or by the employ of a joab, for instance.
But brethren, we, if we have that rage against authority, we need to guard our hearts. We need to kill that. Secondly, we see the fickleness of Israel. I don't know how else to describe it.
The fickleness. I mean, chapter 19, they are gung-ho. They're fighting over who is going to bring David across the Jordan. And in the next chapter, mere verses away.
They joined in a man or with a man who says, We have no share in David, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O Israel. They could have used a great big dose of Matthew 6.33 in the north in those days. Seek first the kingdom of God and and his righteousness and all other things will be added to you." They sought their own privilege, they sought their own position, they sought their own whatever it was, and they got hurt and upset and they took it personally when Judah transported David across the Jordan River.
I mean, when you stop and think about what causes this rift, isn't it silly? You mean you cry, whine, grumble, and complain because Judah transported David across the Jordan? You know, in the church, when you see these church splits, or you see people who rupture relationships, or they'll never have anything to do with each other again, if you trace it back, sometimes it's as insignificant as, well, we didn't get to bring David over the Jordan. It's something insignificant.
It's something small. But because of our sin, our pride, our lack of humility, our arrogance, our selfishness, we let it get blown out of proportion. We judge people falsely. Oh, you Judahites, you're only doing this to curry favor with David.
No, he's of our tribe. It's legit that we would bring him across the river. Brethren, we cannot judge the motives of our brethren as always diabolical and wicked and wrong and evil and vile. We need to be charitable one to another.
And then as well, we ought to see the lesson that verses 23 to 26 teach us. The lessons of verses 23 to 26, the officers of David indicate what? There was still a military to command, taxes to be collected, recording needing to be done, scribes to conduct their scribal business, and priests to minister. What does the author communicate in verses 23 to 26?
The kingdom, though fragile, still exists. God has His kingdom. And though it may be battered, though it may be besieged, though it may be assaulted, it stands. They're still officers.
We leave this section of the consequences of David's sin reminded of 2 Samuel 7 and the promise of Yahweh. that God will indeed preserve his kingdom, that God will indeed station a man over his kingdom, and though David is imperfect, David's greater son will take the reigns and the control of that kingdom, and he will administrate it with justice and righteousness and equity throughout eternity. And then the final lesson, the final observation is the typical significance that we observe in the chapter. In the first place, the acceptation and subsequent rejection of God's anointed. The acceptation, Israel accepts David in chapter 19, Israel rejects David in chapter 20.
In John 6, 15, after Jesus does miraculous things, the people seize him by force and try to make him a king. At the end of chapter 6, they all bail. They all leave him. We get to chapters 18 and 19 and they're crying out, away with him, away with him, crucify him.
David knew something of acceptation and utter rejection, just like David's greater son would experience in his life, according to his humanity. Secondly, we ought to see the proper identification of one who rejects God's anointed. a son of Belial that rejected David in the Old Covenant, he's still a son of Belial who rejects the Lord Jesus Christ today. He's a scoundrel, he is a rebel, he is a worthless man. Not worthless because he can't do wonderful things, but worthless spiritually.
So the typical significance of Sheba is all those in this new covenant age that reject God's anointed. And then the third thing I think we ought to gather by way of typical significance is the prophesied end of those who rise up against God's anointed. It is a mortal head wound. A mortal head wound.
The promise in the garden was that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. And what do we find in this occasion when Sheba the worthless man rebels against the Lord's anointed? He receives a mortal head wound. It wasn't blunt force trauma, it was the actual removal of his noggin.
It was thrown down and this then showed the people that this rebellion was suppressed. The same thing is true in the life, the death, and the resurrection of our Lord. It is that means by which He crushes the head of the devil and subdues that rebel and subdues that enemy.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us close in a word of prayer. Our Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the life of David as we have had cause to consider so many times. You sustained him, even through great trial and great difficulty.
And wave after wave comes, and the Lord God Almighty keeps His servant. We praise you for this, and help us to learn from this, and help us to realize your providence and your government over our lives. And as well, God, we thank you for this image, this picture that we have in scripture of the skull-crushing seed of the woman bringing redemption to the people of God. how we thank you for the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, David's greater son, how we thank you for what he accomplished at the cross, where he disarmed principalities and powers, where he has destroyed the work of the devil, and in this we greatly rejoice, Lord God. We pray that you would go with us, that you would watch over us, that you would bring us together on the Lord's day, that we may worship you in spirit and truth.
And we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.