A REBELLION SUPPRESSED - 2 SAMUEL 20

 

Amasa Fails To Do His Duty

20:4-5

David saw Sheba and his followers as a threat to his reign. He wanted to suppress the rebellion immediately. He may have overestimated the strength of the rebels, be he took it seriously and acted decisively.

He told Amasa, commander of the army, to assemble the men of Judah and bring them to Jerusalem to begin an attack on Sheba. It is a stark contrast to his handling of Absalom. 

So Amasa left to do this, but did get it done on time. 

David Turns To Abishai

20:6-7

When Amasa did not return on time, David recruited Abishai to do the job. He had been David’s commander in exile. David was worried about Sheba getting away and starting another war. So Abishai took off in pursuit of Sheba. David wanted him caught before he could take refuge in a fortified city.

Abishai took David’s “servants” with him. These were the men who stayed around David all of the time. There were the Cherethites and Pelethites, David’s personal body guards. 

There were also the “mighty men”, the 30 great warriors. You can read about them in 1 Chronicles 11. Abishai was the chief (leader) of the mighty men as a great warrior. Finally, there were the men of Joab, those fighters who had stayed with him after Amasa was made the commander of the army. 

The End Of Amasa

20:8-13

Amasa finally appeared, meeting Abishai and David’s servants at Gibeon. He may have brought some men from Judah with him. Amasa met them at the great stone in Gibeon. 

Gibeon was about six miles north of Jerusalem. When the ark of the covenant was captured by the Philistines, the tabernacle was moved from Shiloh to Gibeon. The altar of the tabernacle at Gibeon was used for sacrificial worship (1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29; 1 Kings 3:2–4), until Solomon brought the tabernacle and its furnishings furnishings to Jerusalem to furnish the Temple (1 Kings 8:4).

The great stone may be the stone Saul set up and made sacrifices on after the people sinned there. (1 Samuel 14:33) It seems to have remained a place of worship. David put Zadok there to offer sacrifices after bringing the ark to Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 16:39) Solomon offered sacrifices there also. (1 Kings 3:4) 

Joab murdered Amasa after greeting him as a brother. He left his body in the road, lying in his blood. Joab then joined his brother Abishai in the pursuit of Sheba.  

Then one of Joab’s “young men” (part of the group that killed Absalom?) rallied the people to follow Joab, either because they favored Joab as commander or because they were loyal to David. (11) They did, after Amasa’s body was removed from the road. The men of Judah followed Joab to pursue Sheba. 

The End Of Sheba

20:14-22

Sheba headed north. His family joined him (the Bichrites). Evidently, the other Israelites declined to follow him. Having just lost a battle against David’s forces, they did not want another confrontation. Sheba and his family made it to the walled city of Abel of Beth-macaah in the far north of Israel.

Joab and his fighters followed and began a siege of the city. They built mounds, or ramps, of dirt and hauled up battering rams to attack the wall. It would only be a matter of time before they breached the wall and sacked the city.

However, a wise woman intervened on behalf of the city. (16) She asked to address Joab and he listened to her. She claimed that she and the others in the city were loyal to the king. She also claimed the city was known for its wisdom. She asked Joab why he would destroy such a city.

Joab denied his desire to destroy the city. He claimed only to want Sheba for opposing David. He offered to withdraw from the city if they delivered Sheba to him. The woman went beyond that. She convinced her people to kill Sheba, behead him, and throw his head to Joab. It worked. Joab withdrew the army.

David’s Administration

20:23-26

The author closes this chapter with a summary of David’s administration. 

Joab resumed his office of commander of the army. This had to be an uncomfortable situation, as Joab has now killed Abner, Absalom, and Amasa in contravention of David’s desires. 

Benaiah, not Joab, was in command of David’s personal guard, the Cherethites and Pelethites. Benaiah was also one of the 30 mighty men. (23:28) 

Adoram supervised the forced labor. These were likely captives kept as slaves. 

There was a recorder and a secretary. Zadok and Abiathar remained as priests, probably sharing the role of high priest. David also had a personal priest named Ira the Jairite. 

Takeaways

David is back to acting like a king. He suppressed rebellion. He established his administration and attempted to stabilize the country.

God has continued to keep his covenant with David, restoring him to the throne. Notice also the grace of God. He protected Israel from other countries while Israel was in turmoil internally. It would have been the perfect time for an enemy to attack Israel, but none did.