October 16, 2021
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Reading along with us in 2 Samuel? Here’s today’s reading:
2 Samuel 20 (NIV)
Sheba Rebels Against David
1 Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted,
“We have no share in David,
no part in Jesse’s son!
Every man to his tent, Israel!”
2 So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bikri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.........Continue Reading
Sheba strategically stepped into Absalom’s role to also attempt a rebellion against David. While David tried to give the job of ending this rebellion to Amasa he wasn’t as prepared as Joab to lead the military and Joab saw to it to put himself back in that position.
I do feel so awful for the 10 concubines left to a life of widowing as a result of Absalom’s sin…sometimes we forget about the ripple effect our sins have on others lives.
Boy, ever since Nathan’s prophecy in Chapter 12 David has been involved in one drama or “calamity” after another. Proof it is never good to be on the wrong side of God.
The “wise woman” saves her city from Joab’s onslaught. Quite a story.
2 Samuel 20
2 Samuel 20
Not sure why every Israelite went so easily after Sheba….so easily divided.
Joab steps in when Amasa slacks in his orders to take Sheba.
It is not unusual to find women saving the day in the Bible. We just finished in Judges reading about Deborah and Jael!
How fickle people can be. After raising a stink in the last chapter that the northern tribes had a bigger portion of David than the people of Judah did, they follow Sheba in rebellion just because he says to. As Isaiah says in 2:22, stop trusting in man who has a breath in his nostrils, of what account is he. We are not to be cynical or suspicious, but guarded in our trust of people until they show themselves worthy of it.
And Joab is such an enigmatic character in the Bible. His commitment to David is so often misguided, and here he takes matters into his own hands again. It is interesting that David does the very thing in pursuing Sheba that Absalom’s adviser said to do to David, but Absalom followed the advice of David’s inside guy not to do it. And for all of Sheba’s supposed popularity, the townspeople just kill him to save themselves. Once again a wise woman saves the day.
2 Samuel 19-23