Thursday
Evening Bible Study
September
6, 2012
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved?
We’ve seen
David become king of Israel.
We’ve seen
David commit a terrible sin, adultery with Bathsheba, followed by the murder of
her husband Uriah.
And now we have seen the fallout of David’s sin take place as his oldest
son Absalom rebels, chases David out of Jerusalem, and a civil war breaks out.
David’s forces were victorious, but against David’s explicit orders,
Absalom was killed by Joab.
When David hears of Absalom’s death, even though his forces won, he is
devastated that his son is dead.
(2 Sa 18:33 NKJV) Then the
king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And
as he went, he said thus: “O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I
had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!”
19:1-8 David Mourns Absalom
:1 And Joab was told, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for
Absalom.”
:2 So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the
people. For the people heard it said that day, “The king is grieved for his
son.”
:3 And the people stole back into the city that day, as people who are
ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.
:4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice,
“O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
:5 Then Joab came into the house to the king, and said, “Today you have
disgraced all your servants who today have saved your life, the lives of your
sons and daughters, the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines,
:6 in that you love your enemies and hate your friends. For you have
declared today that you regard neither princes nor servants; for today I
perceive that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it would
have pleased you well.
:6 hate your
friends
Lesson
Love your friends too
Some people might think that Joab shouldn’t be so hard on David. After all, Jesus said to “love your enemies”
(Mat. 4:44)
(Mt 5:43–44 NKJV) —43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I
say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who
hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
But Joab’s point isn’t so much that David loved his enemies, but that he
wasn’t loving his friends.
I think we need to be careful in balancing all this, that we don’t act in a
neglectful way to our friends just because we’re out there “loving our
enemies”. I think we need to be careful
that we don’t neglect our families because we’re involved in ministry.
Sometimes we can get so involved in helping others with our ministry, that
we neglect people who ought to be at the top of our caring list.
Sometimes we neglect our families because we are too busy
at church.
:7 Now therefore,
arise, go out and speak comfort to your servants. For I swear by the Lord, if you do not go out, not one
will stay with you this night. And that will be worse for you than all the evil
that has befallen you from your youth until now.”
:8 Then the king arose and sat in the gate. And they told all the people,
saying, “There is the king, sitting in the gate.” So all the people came before
the king. For everyone of Israel had fled to his tent.
:7 speak comfort to
your servants
Lesson
Leadership burdens
David would rather go off and mourn his son, but he needs to wipe away his
tears and encourage his people.
As a leader, you don’t always have the same kinds of rights that others
have.
Others could have the luxury of grieving over the loss of their son, but
David won’t have that luxury.
The priests had similar restrictions placed on them.
When other people lost loved ones, they went through their grieving,
touching the dead body, preparing it for burial, things that would make a
person “unclean”.
Not so with the priests. The high
priest couldn’t even do this for his own mother and father. (Lev. 21:10-12)
(Le 21:10–12 NKJV) —10 ‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on
whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the
garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself for
his father or his mother; 12 nor
shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the
consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am
the Lord.
There are times in ministry when you want to just run away and hide.
It might be personal struggles that you are facing, perhaps struggling with
things like depression.
It might be about difficulties in your family.
It might be difficulties with people in the church.
Don’t get me wrong – there are times to take a break, but when you are in a
leadership role, there are also times when you need to learn to suck it up and serve.
Illustration
Go To Church
A husband and
his wife arose one Sunday morning and the wife dressed for church. It was just
about time for the service when she noticed her husband hadn’t moved a finger toward getting
dressed. Perplexed, she asked, “Why aren’t you getting dressed for church?” He
said, “Cause I don’t want to go.” She asked, “Do you have any reason?” He said,
“Yes, I have three good reasons. First, the people there are cold. Second, no
one likes me. And third, I just don’t want to go.” The wife replied, wisely, “Well,
honey, I have three reasons why you should go. First, the people are actually
quite warm. Second, there are a few people there who like you. And third, you’re
the pastor! Get dressed!”
Illustration
OTHERS MAY, BUT YOU CANNOT
- G.D. Watson (1845-1924)
If God has called you to be really like Jesus He will draw you into a
life of crucifixion and humility, and put upon you such demands of obedience,
that you will not be able to follow other people, or measure yourself by other
Christians, and in many ways He will seem to let other people do things which
He will not let you do. Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious
and useful, may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out
their plans, but you cannot do it, and if you attempt it, you will meet with
such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent. Others may
boast of themselves, of their work, of their successes, of their writings, but
the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing, and if you begin it,
He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise
yourself and all your good works. Others may be allowed to succeed in making
money, or may have a legacy left to them, but it is likely God will keep you
poor, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, namely, a
helpless dependence upon Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying your
needs day by day out of an unseen treasury. The Lord may let others be honored
and put forward, and keep you hidden in obscurity, because He wants to produce
some choice fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in
the shade. He may let others be great, but keep you small. He may let others do
a work for Him and get the credit for it, but He will make you work and toil on
without knowing how much you are doing; and then to make your work still more
precious He may let others get credit for the work which you have done, and
thus make YOUR REWARD TEN TIMES GREATER WHEN JESUS COMES. The Holy Spirit will
put a strict watch over you, with a jealous love, and will rebuke you for
little words and feelings or for wasting your time, which other Christians
never feel distressed over. So make up your mind that God is an Infinitely
Sovereign Being, and has a right to do as He pleases with His own. He may not
explain to you a thousand things which puzzle your reason in His dealings with
you, but if you absolutely sell yourself to be His love slave, He will wrap you
up in Jealous Love, and bestow upon you many blessings which come only to those
who are in the inner circle. Settle it forever, then that you are to DEAL DIRECTLY
WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, and that He is to have the privilege of tying your
tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that He does not
seem to use with others. Now, when you are so possessed with the living God
that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this PECULIAR,
PERSONAL, PRIVATE, JEALOUS GUARDIANSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OVER
YOUR LIFE, then you will have found the vestibule of Heaven.
19:9-18 The King
Returns
:9 Now all the people were in a dispute throughout all the tribes of
Israel, saying, “The king saved us from the hand of our enemies, he delivered
us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled from the land because
of Absalom.
:10 But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now
therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing back the king?”
The common people were wondering how David could win the battle, but not be
invited back to be the king over Israel.
:11 So King David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to
the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to
his house, since the words of all Israel have come to the king, to his very
house?
:12 You are my brethren, you are my bone and my flesh. Why
then are you the last to bring back the king?’
Zadok and Abiathar had been loyal to David and had only stayed back in
Jerusalem at David’s request, so act as spies for David.
David now encourages the priests to talk to the leaders of David’s own
tribe of Judah and suggest they bring David back as the king.
Keep in mind, the tribe of Judah had been unfaithful to David. They had chosen Absalom to be their
king. Absalom had started his plot of
rebellion at Hebron, the “capital” city of Judah.
:13 And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so
to me, and more also, if you are not commander of the army before me
continually in place of Joab.’ ”
:14 So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah, just as the heart
of one man, so that they sent this word to the king: “Return, you
and all your servants!”
Amasa had been appointed the head of the armies of Israel by Absalom.
In trying to unify the nation after this civil war, David offers to keep
Amasa on as head of the army. Amasa was
one of David’s nephews.
It may be that David is a bit angry at his former chief general, Joab, for
killing Absalom.
:15 Then the king returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to
Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to escort the king across the Jordan.
:15 Gilgal
Play Gilgal map
clip.
David is coming from Mahanaim.
The people of Judah are coming from Jerusalem.
They meet at Gilgal, down in the Jordan River valley.
This was the place where Joshua first set up camp in the Promised Land
after they crossed the river Jordan.
Through the history of Israel, you will see significant things take place
at Gilgal.
It’s kind of like getting back to your “roots”.
:16 And Shimei
the son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was from Bahurim, hurried and came
down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
:17 There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of
the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and
they went over the Jordan before the king.
We are going to look at Shimei and Ziba a little more closely. We’ve seen these fellows back when David was
evacuating Jerusalem.
Keep in mind that Josephus had told us that when David’s army fought
Absalom, David’s army was only four thousand strong.
19:18-23 Mercy for
Shimei
:18 Then a ferryboat went across to carry over the king’s household, and to
do what he thought good. Now Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king
when he had crossed the Jordan.
:18 Shimei
Shimei was a relative of King Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin.
He didn’t like David, and as David was fleeing from Absalom, Shimei was one
of those people who rubbed it in David’s face.
He followed David’s entourage shouting curses and throwing stones.
(2 Sa 16:7–8 NKJV) —7 Also Shimei said thus when he cursed: “Come out! Come out!
You bloodthirsty man, you rogue! 8 The Lord has brought upon you all the blood
of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the
hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil,
because you are a bloodthirsty man!”
When David’s nephew Abishai offered to relieve Shimei of his head for his
disrespect, David told him to leave Shimei alone.
(2 Sa 16:11–12 NKJV) —11
And David said to Abishai and all his servants, “See how my son who
came from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this
Benjamite? Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the Lord has ordered him. 12 It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his
cursing this day.”
And now this
same Shimei is the first to greet David on the other side of the Jordan, with
his hat in his hand.
:19 Then he
said to the king, “Do not let my lord impute iniquity to me, or remember what
wrong your servant did on the day that my lord the king left Jerusalem, that
the king should take it to heart.
:20 For I, your servant, know that I have sinned. Therefore here I am, the
first to come today of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the
king.”
:20 the house of
Joseph
But isn’t Shimei from Benjamin?
Since Joseph is
the largest of all the other tribes, he’s using “Joseph” to refer to all the
other tribes, he’s the
first among all those welcoming David back.
:21 But Abishai
the son of Zeruiah answered and said, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for
this, because he cursed the Lord’s
anointed?”
:22 And David said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that
you should be adversaries to me today? Shall any man be put to death today in
Israel? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?”
:23 Therefore the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king
swore to him.
:22 Shall any man
be put to death today
Lesson
Patience
I’m not sure this is an example of “loving our enemies”. I don’t think that’s the principle we’re
seeing demonstrated here.
What David is saying is that this is not the time to be rough on dangerous
enemies.
Shimei is not a safe person. He’s
only kissing up to David because he made such a fool of himself in kissing up
to Absalom earlier and cursing David.
He is a man who has his own agenda and has no real loyalty to David.
But this is not the time to be dealing harshly with all those who were
against David.
It also probably doesn’t hurt that Shimei has 1,000 men with him either.
There will be a day.
When David gives his dying instructions to his son Solomon, he mentions
Shimei, warning Solomon to keep his eye on him. (1Ki. 2:8-9)
(1 Ki 2:8–9 NKJV) —8 “And see, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a
Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I
went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him
by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not
put you to death with the sword.’ 9 Now
therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know
what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with
blood.”
What Solomon will do is to test Shimei.
He will put him on a sort of “house arrest” and not do anything to Shimei
unless Shimei doesn’t follow Solomon’s rules.
And there will be a day when Shimei won’t follow Solomon’s
rules.
Shimei is a self-willed man who does only what he thinks
he wants to do.
And the day will come when Solomon will have Shimei
executed.
(1 Ki 2:36–46 NKJV) —36 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him,
“Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from
there anywhere. 37 For it
shall be, on the day you go out and cross the Brook Kidron, know for certain
you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.” 38 And Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As
my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei dwelt in
Jerusalem many days. 39 Now it
happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran away to
Achish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look,
your slaves are in Gath!” 40 So
Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his
slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41 And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to
Gath and had come back. 42 Then the
king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by
the Lord, and warn you, saying,
‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall
surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’ 43 Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I gave
you?” 44 The king said
moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges, all the wickedness
that you did to my father David; therefore the Lord will return your wickedness on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of
David shall be established before the Lord
forever.” 46 So the king
commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and
he died. Thus the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
But David is wise enough to know that at this particular time, it would be
counterproductive to take action against Shimei.
Patience isn’t just about waiting for the right time to “kill” someone or
get revenge.
Sometimes if we are patient and show mercy, it can change people and you
don’t need to “kill” anyone.
19:24-30 Mephibosheth’s story
:24 Now Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. And he had
not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from
the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace.
:25 So it was, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the
king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”
:24 Mephibosheth
Mephibosheth was the son of David’s friend Jonathan (2Sam. 9).
David had given Mephibosheth all of the properties of King Saul.
We first met Mephibosheth back in
2Sam. 9, when David was working to keep a promise to his best friend Jonathan.
David had promised to love on the
descendants of Jonathan, and Mephibosheth was that person.
He was also crippled.
David had given all of King Saul’s
lands and wealth to Mephibosheth and treated him like his own son.
Yet when David was fleeing from Absalom, Mephibosheth didn’t flee with
David. Instead, David was met by Ziba,
the servant who had been in given the responsibility of managing all of
Mephibosheth’s property.
Ziba had shown up with food and donkey’s to help David on his journey, and
told David a story about Mephibosheth being glad David was leaving, and hoping
that the nation would now make him king. (2Sam. 16:3)
(2 Sa 16:3 NKJV) —3 Then the king said, “And where is
your master’s son?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is staying in
Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of
my father to me.’ ”
We kind of got the picture that Mephibosheth was laughing at David and
expecting that he would become king.
Yet now we see
that Mephibosheth hasn’t taken care of himself and has apparently been mourning
the loss of David.
:26 And he answered,
“My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, ‘I will saddle
a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go to the king,’ because your
servant is lame.
:27 And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the
king is like the angel of God. Therefore do what is good in your
eyes.
:28 For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king.
Yet you set your servant among those who eat at your own table. Therefore what
right have I still to cry out anymore to the king?”
:26 my servant
deceived me
Now we hear a completely different story.
Mephibosheth claims that he wanted to go with David, but Ziba tricked him,
left him at home, and told David a monstrous lie about Mephibosheth.
Lesson
Truth?
A week or so we saw on TV the movie, “Catch Me If You Can”, about Frank
Abagnale Jr., who as a teenager deceived many people.
Solomon wrote,
(Pr 18:17 ESV) The one who states his case first seems right, until the other
comes and examines him.
At first we thought Ziba was telling the truth. Some of you might now believe
Mephibosheth. I’m not so sure.
Mephibosheth’s lack of care for himself might indicate
that he was sad over David leaving, or it could be that Ziba just stopped all
care for Mephibosheth.
I’m not sure we are any closer to the truth.
And I think that David thinks the same thing.
Truth is so important if we really want to grow as believers.
(Eph 4:15 NKJV) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him
who is the head—Christ—
The movies have glamorized Frank Abagnale’s life, but it
really wasn’t as glamorous as we think. After
getting out of prison, he turned his life around, works for the FBI, and says
the most important thing in his life is his wife and kids.
:29 So the king
said to him, “Why do you speak anymore of your matters? I have said, ‘You and
Ziba divide the land.’ ”
:30 Then Mephibosheth said to the king, “Rather, let him take it all,
inasmuch as my lord the king has come back in peace to his own house.”
:29 You and Ziba
divide the land
I think this means that David can’t tell which one is telling the
truth. So he splits the estate between
Ziba and Mephibosheth. (like Solomon splitting the baby)
There are other things that make this decision a complicated one.
Ziba had shown David kindness by providing donkeys and food when David fled
Jerusalem.
Ziba has been among the first to welcome David back.
Don’t forget the 1,000 men of Benjamin standing with Ziba and Shimei. This is the tribe of Ziba and
Mephibosheth. Who knows what side
they’re on?
Lesson
Making decisions is tough
I’ve read lots of commentaries that discuss whether David did this thing
right or that thing wrong. Frankly, if
we don’t have a clear word that David does something right or wrong, perhaps we
just don’t know all that went into David’s decision.
19:31-40
Barzillai’s reward
:31 And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went across the
Jordan with the king, to escort him across the Jordan.
Play Rogelim
map clip.
Rogelim is somewhere about 40 miles north of Mahanaim, where David has made
his headquarters. Barzillai was one of
the fellows who helped David while he was down and out.
:32 Now Barzillai
was a very aged man, eighty years old. And he had provided the king with
supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man.
:33 And the king said to Barzillai, “Come across with me, and I will
provide for you while you are with me in Jerusalem.”
:34 But Barzillai said to the king, “How long have I to live, that I should
go up with the king to Jerusalem?
:35 I am today eighty years old. Can I discern between the good and
bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any longer
the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a
further burden to my lord the king?
:36 Your servant will go a little way across the Jordan with the king. And
why should the king repay me with such a reward?
:37 Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city,
near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let
him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you.”
:38 And the king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do
for him what seems good to you. Now whatever you request of me, I will do for
you.”
:39 Then all the people went over the Jordan. And when the king had crossed
over, the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own
place.
:40 Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him. And all
the people of Judah escorted the king, and also half the people of Israel.
:40 Chimham
We think this is the son of Barzillai.
It has been suggested that David must have given Chimham a piece of
property near Bethlehem which eventually became an inn. This inn was still around in Jeremiah’s day,
it was on the road from Israel to Egypt.
It was the last place to stop before crossing the desert to Egypt.
(Je 41:17 NKJV) And they departed and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is
near Bethlehem, as they went on their way to Egypt,
Some have suggested that Joseph and Mary may have even stopped there as
they fled from King Herod with the baby Jesus.
On his deathbed, David would also leave instructions to Solomon regarding
Barzillai:
(1 Ki 2:7 NKJV) “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let
them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled
from Absalom your brother.
Lesson
Don’t forget to say “thanks”
David wants to honor his friend. He
follows through.
(Lk 17:12–19 NKJV) —12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men
who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they
lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show
yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were
cleansed. 15 And one of them,
when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 and fell down on his face at His
feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed?
But where are the nine? 18 Were
there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”
19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way.
Your faith has made you well.”
thanks – eucharisteo
(“well” + “grace”) – to be grateful, feel thankful; give thanks
Have you been shown “grace” by someone? Then show that you have been “well-graced” by
saying “thank you”.
Play “Biker”
clip
19:41-43 Quarrelling over David
:41 Just then all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king,
“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?”
:42 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?”
:43 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.
:41 all the men of
Israel came to the king
An argument breaks out among the people of who should have claim to
David. The rest of Israel seems jealous
that the tribe of Judah got to David first.
It seems that everyone likes a winner.
Yet just a short time ago, they were all out to kill David and follow
Absalom.
Lesson
Don’t pay read your press clippings
It’s easy to fall in love with having people like you. But watch out, people can change real quick.
Every major league baseball pitcher knows that the fans will cheer as long
as you throw strikes. But as soon as you
start walking people, the “boos” will come.
Illustration
Winston
Churchill knew that public favor was no proof of real success. Once, after he gave a speech for which 10,000
people came out, a friend asked, “Winston, aren’t you impressed that 10,000
people came to hear you speak?”
Churchill replied, “Not really.
100,000 would come to see me hang.”
Illustration
In 1996, at 68, Walter F. Mondale retired to his home state to teach
and practice law. After his mauling in
the lopsided ‘84 presidential election, Mondale dropped off the national scene
for several years. James Johnson,
Mondale’s old campaign manager and chief aide, remembers Mondale calling him
one day in 1986 from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport to say that he’d “hit
bottom.” He said a woman had stopped
him in the airport and told him she’d wanted to meet him all her life. She asked him to wait while she got her two
children so they could meet him, too.
Mondale waited, making sure his hair was combed and his tie was
straight. When the woman returned with
her kids, she said, “Children, let me present to you senator (George) Mc
Govern.”
“They can’t even remember which of the defeated candidates I am!” Mondale joked to Johnson on the phone.
-- Fort Wayne Gazette, 11-17-96, p. 4A.
20:1-22 Sheba’s
Rebellion
: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
tents, O Israel!”
:1 Sheba
This man is
also from Benjamin, the tribe of Saul.
Josephus records that Sheba was at this contentious meeting of the nation
as they argued about David. He stands up
in the middle of the meeting and leads a group in rebellion.
Blowing a
trumpet is like gathering your troops together, a call to action.
He wants
everyone to go home and stop following David.
:2 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.
:2 deserted David
It seems that all of this takes place while David is making his way back to
Jerusalem.
Not everyone is in love with the idea of David being king.
:3 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.
:3 his concubines
When David had left Jerusalem fleeing from Absalom, he had left these ten
gals back in Jerusalem to keep the palace neat and clean.
But when Absalom came to Jerusalem, Ahithophel advised Absalom to have sex
with these women. This would be a symbol
to the nation that Absalom was taking his father’s place, and it would also
make David hate Absalom.
These women will now be secluded for the rest of their lives. David won’t be intimate with them, though he
will support them financially.
:4 And the king
said to Amasa, “Assemble the men of Judah for me within three days, and be
present here yourself.”
:5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah. But he delayed longer
than the set time which David had appointed him.
:5 But he delayed
Amasa is now in charge of the army.
But he doesn’t seem to want to respond to David’s orders too
quickly. Perhaps he is not wanting to
show David too much respect too quickly.
: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 find for himself fortified
cities, and escape us.”
:6 will do us more
harm
David feels that Amasa’s delay shows that he can’t trust him. He asks Abishai to take care of Bichri.
David isn’t treating the situation with Sheba like he did with
Absalom. With Absalom, David seemed to
wonder if his time of being king wasn’t over.
But now David is secure in his calling as king, and he knows that he
needs to deal with this rebellion.
:7 So Joab’s men,
with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, went out after
him. And they went out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
These are the same six hundred men that stayed loyal to David when Absalom
had revolted (2Sam. 15:18). These are
the elite troops, David’s personal body guards.
:8 When they were at the large stone which is in Gibeon,
Amasa came before them. 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.
:9 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.
:10 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.
:8 Gibeon
Play Gibeon map
clip.
Gibeon is an important city of Benjamin six miles northwest of Jerusalem.
:10 Amasa did not
notice
Joab is quite good at this. He’s an
old warrior who knows how to kill people.
He’s killed Abner in revenge for killing his brother Abishai.
He’s killed Absalom against David’s wishes.
If I were to meet Joab today, I would keep my distance.
What is Joab’s motive?
It could be loyalty for his king.
As much trouble as Joab was at times, up to this time he has stayed loyal
to his uncle David. It could be that he
perceives that Amasa is going to cause David trouble.
It could be to get his job back.
Amasa has taken Joab’s job. Abner
might have also taken Joab’s job.
:11 Meanwhile one
of Joab’s men stood near Amasa, and said, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is
for David—follow Joab!”
:12 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.
:13 When he was removed from the highway, all the people went on after Joab
to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
Seeing the dead body of their new commander, the army came to a halt. When the body is moved out of the way, the
march continues.
:14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth Maachah
and all the Berites. So they were gathered together and also went after Sheba.
:14 Abel … Beth Maachah
Play Abel Beth
Maachah map clip.
A little town up in the north, about 100 miles north of Jerusalem.
:15 Then they
came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maachah; 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.
:16 Then a wise woman cried out from the city, “Hear, hear! Please say to
Joab, ‘Come nearby, that I may speak with you.’ ”
:17 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.”
: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 disputes.
Abel is a place known for people who are wise.
It’s an interesting thing that it’s a woman who steps up to negotiate with
Joab.
:19 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?”
She wants to know why Joab has come to apparently seek to destroy their
city, though they are fellow Israelis.
:20 And Joab answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me, that I
should swallow up or destroy!
: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.
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.”
:22 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.
Apparently the people saw the wisdom in removing Sheba’s head.
A wise woman saved her city by dealing with the rebel.
20:23-26 David’s
Government
:23 And Joab was over all the army of Israel; Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
Joab gets his old job back.
Benaiah will eventually become the head of the army under Solomon.
:24 Adoram was in charge of revenue; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was
recorder;
:25 Sheva was scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were the priests;
:26 and Ira the Jairite was a chief minister under David.
:6 Take your lord’s
servants and pursue him
Lesson
Time for strength
When Absalom rebelled against David, David seemed filled with doubts.
I can’t help but wonder if he was struggling with his own guilt over his
sin with Bathsheba, especially when so much ties to that sin – Bathsheba’s
grandfather Ahithophel helping Absalom, Absalom fulfilling the prophecy about
sex with David’s wives…
I understand what it is to be weak and unsure of yourself when it comes to
handling difficulties and conflict.
Yet at this point in David’s life, he seems to have gotten a second wind,
and he realizes the extent of the danger of another civil war.
It’s time to deal with the problem.
He can’t take the chance of waiting or moping or being depressed.
There are times when we are faced with difficult times, and we just need to
be strong.
(1 Co 16:13–14 ESV) —13
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all
that you do be done in love.
How can we be strong when we feel so weak?
(Is 40:30–31 NKJV) —30
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly
fall, 31 But those
who wait on the Lord Shall renew their
strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be
weary, They shall walk and not faint.
You have to go back to the source of real inner strength –
God.