Sheba’s Rebellion
20:1 Now a wicked man named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He blew the trumpet and said,“We have no share in David; we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse! Every man go home, O Israel!”
Sheba was an influential Benjaminite who believed that the house of Saul should once again reign over Israel. He sensed that the other ten tribes were jealous of Judah, so he blew a trumpet and rallied the other ten tribes behind him. He told every man to go home and not to accept David as king.
20:2 So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stuck by their king all the way from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.
The ten northern tribes rejected David and decided to follow Sheba as king. Judah still recognized David as king.
20:3 Then David went to his palace in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace and placed them under confinement. Though he provided for their needs, he did not have sexual relations with them. They remained in confinement until the day they died, living out the rest of their lives as widows.
After Absalom slept with the concubines, then David never cohabited with the concubines again. David saw this as incest, which was a violation of the Mosaic Law.
20:4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together for me in three days, and you be present here with them too.”
Amasa was Abasalom’s general. After General Joab killed Absalom, David removed Joab from power and gave his position to Amasa. David hoped that appointing Amasa as general would lead all of the other tribes to reinstate David as king. King David gave General Amasa three days to establish an army from Judah.
20:5 So Amasa went out to call Judah together. But in doing so he took longer than the time that the king had allotted him.
General Amasa could not enlist an army from Judah in three days.
20:6 Then David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bicri will cause greater disaster for us than Absalom did! Take your lord’s servants and pursue him. Otherwise he will secure fortified cities for himself and get away from us.”
King David needed Joab, but he did not turn to him. Instead, he commanded General Abishai to purse Sheba and end the rebellion. Abishai was the younger brother of Joab.
20:7 So Joab’s men, accompanied by the Kerethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors, left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.
The army from Judah set out to find Sheba and execute him for treason. Sheba was another king who was not anointed by a prophet of God. This meant that he had no chance of becoming king. All unanointed kings of Israel ended up being assassinated.
20:8 When they were near the big rock that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire and had a dagger in its sheath belted to his waist. When he advanced, it fell out.
Joab was very upset that General Amasa was given his military commander position. Amasa was the commander of Absalom’s army, so Joab saw him as a traitor.
20:9 Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” With his right hand Joab took hold of Amasa’s beard as if to greet him with a kiss.
Joab was the cousin of Amasa. Joab showed his respect to a higher-ranked officer and as a brother (or cousin) from the same tribe of Judah.
20:10 Amasa did not protect himself from the knife in Joab’s other hand, and Joab stabbed him in the abdomen, causing Amasa’s intestines to spill out on the ground. There was no need to stab him again; the first blow was fatal. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri.
Joab was a very skilled and dangerous soldier. He killed his cousin with one deadly stroke.
20:11 One of Joab’s soldiers who stood over Amasa said, “Whoever is for Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab!”
Joab was very dangerous to David, because the army loved him. It was the generals, not the kings, who actually have controlled national politics throughout history. The men loved Joab and asked him to return and command them.
20:12 Amasa was squirming in his own blood in the middle of the path, and this man had noticed that all the soldiers stopped. Having noticed that everyone who came across Amasa stopped, the man pulled him away from the path and into the field and threw a garment over him.
Joab threw his cousin Amasa into the field, covered him with a garment, and continued on his march. He did not even bury his own cousin.
20:13 Once he had removed Amasa from the path, everyone followed Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.
Everyone followed General Joab in the pursuit of Sheba.
20:14 Sheba traveled through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth Maacah and all the Berite region. When they had assembled, they too joined him.
Sheba gained more soldiers as he traveled through Israel.
20:15 So Joab’s men came and laid siege against him in Abel of Beth Maacah. They prepared a siege ramp outside the city which stood against its outer rampart. As all of Joab’s soldiers were trying to break through the wall so that it would collapse,
General Joab began to siege the city. He was a veteran soldier, so the city would stand little chance against Joab.
20:16 a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen up! Listen up! Tell Joab, ‘Come near so that I may speak to you.’”
A wise woman wanted to talk to General Joab.
20:17 When he approached her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” He replied, “I am.” She said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” He said, “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
The woman did not want her city destroyed, so she summoned General Joab.
20:18 She said, “In the past they would always say, ‘Let them inquire in Abel,’ and that is how they settled things.
Abel was a leading city of Israel who always supported King David. The city of Abel was always known for giving wise counsel. Abel was advanced in their politics, so they were often asked to solve the problems of many other Israelite cities.
20:19 I represent the peaceful and the faithful in Israel. You are attempting to destroy an important city in Israel. Why should you swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”
The woman informed General Joab that he was about to destroy a very important and influential city in Israel.
20:20 Joab answered, “Get serious! I don’t want to swallow up or destroy anything!
General Joab was not at all interested in destroying the city.
20:21 That’s not the way things are. There is a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Sheba son of Bicri. He has rebelled against King David. Give me just this one man, and I will leave the city.” The woman said to Joab, “This very minute his head will be thrown over the wall to you!”
Sheba was a terrorist who threatened the safety of Israel. Many nations today do not know how to deal effectively with terrorism, but Joab did. Joab gave the city a choice. Either turn over the terrorist or he will destroy the city.
20:22 Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it out to Joab. Joab blew the trumpet, and his men dispersed from the city, each going to his own home. Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.
Joab defeated terrorism without launching a single attack, without losing a single soldiers, and without depleting the economy. Joab defeated terrorism with one simple request. Modern nations could learn from this counter-terrorist strategy.
20:23 Now Joab was the general in command of all the army of Israel. Benaiah the son of Jehoida was over the Kerethites and the Perethites.
David’s new cabinet was introduced. David did not remove Joab from his position as commanding general. Benaiah was commander of the Kerethites and Perethites, which were the king’’s special troops.
20:24 Adoniram was supervisor of the work crews. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the secretary.
Adoniram was the secretary of labor. Jehoshaphat was the secretary who recorded all of the affairs of state.
20:25 Sheva was the scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests.
Sheva was the official scribe. Zadok and Abiathar remained as chief priests.
20:26 Ira the Jairite was David’s personal priest.
Jairite was David’s special minister.