Sheba and our Congress have a lot in common

 2 Samuel 20:1-13

Sheba, a Benjaminite and the English Standard version of the Bible calls him a worthless man, and Holman Christian Standard Bible calls him a wicked man.  He was not happy with how things were going and believed Israel was being left out and I’m sure that he was not going to get the same access to David as the people of Judah.  So Sheba blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no portion in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son.  Each man to his tent, Israel!” 

This is what happened, the men of Israel deserted David and followed a worthless man.  It reminds me of the Congress of the United States and the number of wicked and useless men and women who are there for one reason, to cause division so they can have more power and control.

Sheba, like many of those in our Senate and House cared little for the welfare of the Nation. Sheba and our Congress have a lot in common.  And it always amazes me that people have so little trust and will not be open to seeing anything but what they like and approve. That is the way the men of Israel and the people of the USA operate.

So we have the men of Judah escorting David back to Jerusalem.  It seems the first thing the King does is look to the welfare of the ten concubines he had left behind to manage his house.  He builds them a place to stay and never again has any intimate relationships with them.

Now Amasa, the new head of David’s army, has been given an order but does not meet the timeline of three days to get the men of Judah to go after and put down the rebellion that Sheba has began.  It may be one of the more significant mistakes David has made in leadership, and yet at the time he made it sound like all of us would have said it was a smart move.  You do recall that Amasa was over Absalom’s army, you know the guys that lost and yet to unify the nation he put him in charge.  Also, a factor may have been that Joab was the one to kill his son Absalom.

So the next choice for General of the Army is Abishai the brother of Joab, and I’m sure that was a good choice, and he gathers the men of Judah, and they went after the worthless man Sheba and all that followed after him.  At some point, Amasa shows up and Joab goes out to meet Amasa, and as he is walking up to him his sword falls to the ground.  That is not what one would expect from a warrior and it was probably a deceptive move so Amasa would have no fear of him.  Let’s observe verses 9-10, “And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab's hand. So Joab struck him with it in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow, and he died.”  I had this observation; never cross a warrior, they are only interested in one thing, winning and often will do what other men will not do, but they are going to win at any cost!

So Joab put one of his young men at the road where Amasa lies dead with this message for the remainder of the men who came with Amasa. “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.”  And the people joined up with the army of Joab and his brother to pursue Sheba.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice