The Book of II Samuel
Chapters 20-21
The Rebellion of Sheba.
Joab Murders Amasa.
The Judgment For The Gibeonites.
Wars With Giants.
II Samuel Chapter 20
In the previous chapter, the leaders of the Ten Tribes had met David at Gilgal, and a dispute at broke out between them and the men of Judah over the matter of bringing back the king. The disputed issue was which had the most interest in David. ‘We are more numerous’ say the elders of Israel. ‘We are nearer akin to him’ say the elders of Judah. It was this division that caused the Ten Tribes to be dissatisfied and which gave rise to the rebellion of Sheba in chapter 20. The Israelites had appeared to be loyal to David, so much so that they were hurt when the men of Judah had, without consulting them taken the lead in bringing back the king.
The Rebellion of Sheba
20:1 And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.
The term "Belial" means a wortheless, base or wicked man. It is not the name of his father.
20:2 So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.
It was the men of Judah who remained loyal to David, refusing to forsake him even when the majority of his subjects turned away from him. Thus, though the test exposed the tares, it also revealed the wheat. The men of his own tribe, those who were related to him by blood were the ones who stayed true to David. In the day of testing there will be multitudes who forsake their allegiance to Christ, yet there will always be a remnant which Satan himself cannot induce to apostatize, namely, those who are Christ’s brethren spiritually.
One of the main lessons here for us today is the unity of the church. Satan knows that few things are better devised to further his own plans than by causing divisions among the people of God. Sad it is that we are not more upon our guard, for we are not ignorant of his devices. And to be on our guard means to be constantly mortifying pride and jealousy. Those were the evil roots from which this trouble issued, as is clear from the "were we not the first to advise bringing back our king?" (19:43).
The Apostle Paul told the church at Ephesus to endeavor to keep the unity. This requires humility, meekness, patience and forebearing:
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Eph 4:1-3
This does not refer to the fact that there is one Holy Spirit. Instead it means that the church should be of one spirit: single in mind and purpose. The Holy Spirit would produce such a condition. The church should not be split up into factions. This is not just superficial unity. It is not a only unity of doctrine. It is not a mere unity in the forms of public worship. It is such as the Holy Spirit produces in the hearts of Christians, when it fills them all with the same love, and joy, and peace in believing. Of course we should not compromise the truth just for the sake of maintaining unity. We must stand for true doctrine. However we should strive to keep the peace even if that means we must be humble and loving and not insist on our own personal preferences on church matters. Also we should not fall into the same snare that Israel did here and cause division in the church when our honor is damaged.
David Confines The Ten Concubines
20:3 And 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 ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.
4 Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.
5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.
6 And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.
7 And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
There is doubt as to whether David’s choice was either a wise or a popular one. Since Amasa had held a prominent position under Absalom, it could scarcely be expected that the man who Joab had successfully commanded would now accept being subordinate to the man who so recently had been the enemy of their king. It is this which, most probably, accounts for the delay, or rather Amasa’s lack of success in carrying out the king’s orders.
Joab Murders Amasa
8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.
9 And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.
11 And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab.
12 And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.
13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
Joab is a complex character in the Bible. He is a military genius. Joab never lost a battle. The Lord used him to win many great victories over the surrounding nations and to secure David’s kingdom. He was basically loyal to David as long as it suited his own ambitious purposes. However, Joab was a murderer. He did not know the Lord. Joab was ungodly, brutal and treacherous. He had already murdered Abner who was in command of the army before him. He had also taken justice into his own hands and appointed himself public executioner when he brutally killed David’s son Absalom. David had intended to relieve Joab of his command. But David fell under Joab’s power when he used him as a tool to murder Bathsheba’s husband: Uriah The Hittite. Joab then took matters more and more into his own hands, executing or disregarding the king’s orders as best suited himself.
Joab Beseiges The City of Abel
14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-maachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.
15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.
16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.
17 And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.
18 Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.
19 I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?
20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
21 The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.
23 Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:
24 And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder:
25 And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:
26 And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.
Joab’s willingness to heed the wise counsel of the woman of Abel is not to be taken as a redeeming quality on this occasion, still less as conflicting with what we have said above about his general character. Joab had no personal grievance against the inhabitants of that city: had that been the case, it had indeed gone hard with them. Moreover, to have made a wholesale slaughter of those innocent Israelites, would obviously have been against the interests of the kingdom at large, and Joab was too political to be guilty of so grave a blunder. "And Joab returned unto Jerusalem unto the king" (v. 22). Unabashed by his crime, conscious of the guilty hold which he had over him, Joab feared not to face his master David. Thus was David’s purpose to remove Joab thwarted, and as though to particularly emphasize the fact, the chapter closes by saying, "Now Joab was over all the hosts of Israel," etc. (v. 23).
II Samuel Chapter 21
God’s Judgment On Israel In Behalf of The Gibeonites
21:1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.
One of the primary lessons here is God’s judgment of nations. This is sometimes referred to as the “retributive justice” of God. Sometimes it deals with individuals and other times it deals with whole nations. David, being wise inquired of the Lord. He did not call for the astrologers or soothsayers. There was no need to when he had access to the Lord. It’s just too bad that he waited so long. When things are not going well we should look to the Lord for the reason. We should look beyond all secondary causes and use the eye of faith to see the primary cause of events in our lives: God.
Trials do not come randomly. The unbeliever may talk of his "bad luck," but the believer should employ more God-honoring language. He should know that it is his Father who orders all his circumstances and regulates every detail of his life, Therefore, when trouble comes upon him it is both his privilege and his duty to seek unto the Lord and ask, "Show me wherefore Thou contendest with me" (Job 10:2). When the blessing of God is withdrawn from us we should at once suspect that something is wrong. True, His favor is not to be measured by His degree of blessing; and true also that His withholding of blessing does not always indicate His chastisement. No, He may be testing faith, developing patience, or preparing us for an enlarged trust. Nevertheless, it is always wise to first “examine ourselves”.
21:2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)
These offenses happened many years before under the previous king Saul. Saul broke a solemn treaty that Joshua and the other leaders of Israel made with the Gibeonites. They promised to spare the Gibeonites and let them continue to live in the land that Joshua conquered. God had been longsuffering with the nation of Israel. But God does not forget the sins of the past. A nation that is going against God’s law may seem to be getting away with it for some time, but eventually the judgment of the Lord will come down on it.
This principle of the longsuffering of God followed by his sure judgment applies to individuals and the world as a whole, as well as to nations. As with the judgment of nations, so it is with his judgment of this entire world. Peter wrote that the Lord is not slack concerning his judgments, but rather is longsuffering and does not want any one to perish. This gives people opportunity to repent:
2 Pet 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2 Pet 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2 Pet 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2 Peter 3:8-10
Fallen human nature is so sinful that, instead of responding favorably to God’s great mercy by repenting, it sees for itself an opportunity to multiply offenses:
"Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness" (Isa. 26:10). No, instead of "learning righteousness" man only adds to his unrighteousness: "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Eccl. 8:11). Men regard God’s patience as indifference to their sins, thereby emboldening themselves in their wickedness.
21:3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD?
21:4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.
This reply showed that the Gibeonites were neither spiteful nor mercenary. They had been patient and sought justice, not revenge.
21:5 And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,
21:6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.
Verses 5 and 6 show that the Gibeonites had some spiritual understanding of the Lord. Their asking for "seven" of the descendants of Saul showed they understood that number signified completeness. Their suggestion that these seven men should be "hanged," intimated that they knew this form of death signified accursedness (Deut. 21:23). Their words "hang them up before the Lord in Gibeah" demonstrated their knowledge that satisfaction must be offered unto God’s justice before His wrath could be turned away from Israel. Their declaration "Saul, whom the Lord did choose" was a remarkable acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God.
21:7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
21:8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:
9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.
Sometimes we do not understand God’s judgments. But make no mistake: his judgments are righteous and he will vindicate himself. David is at no fault in delivering these men. God required that David honor this request for the nation and it was for the welfare of the nation that it was done. It is better that these seven should die, than famine should come upon the entire nation.
10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:
13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.
14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.
I have heard it said “If God does not bring judgment upon America, then he will need to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah”. Today America seems to be prospering materially even though it is overwhelmed with its sins. We have rampant abortion, pornography, homosexuality, fornication and adultery.
This is the entertainment culture: pop icons are worshipped in America similar to the way the ancient Greeks worshipped their super-human gods. Gross materialism drives people with the desire to make money and achieve “the American dream”. People are devoted to their own personal pleasure and comfort.
Families have two working parents while children are penned up like cattle in “corral care”. Divorce is epidemic and children are growing up with only one parent. Fathers are often seen as obsolete. Parents are afraid to properly discipline their children for fear of their neighbors turning them into the state. We kicked God out of the schools, and then we are surprised that children are killing each other right in their schools.
Churches have become big business promoting a gospel of self-improvement, not the gospel of Christ. They have a form of godliness but deny its power. For the time has come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Here’s how Paul described men in the end times: “Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Does this not describe America today? How will America escape the wrath to come? I believe that God has used this great nation as a force for good in the world. It has been a launching pad to spread the gospel throughout the rest of the world and has forcefully put down evil governments. This is one of the few places where men can worship freely. Yet that freedom is threatened. The Ten Commandments and One Nation Under God are out. The ultimate goal of the anti-theists is to remove all discussion of God from the public square. Homosexuals have come out of the closet, but Christians have gone in. It’s time for Christians to come out of the closet and take a stand for God’s word.
We need to pray for our nation and its leaders. We should pray that the people would repent and turn to Christ for salvation. Our leaders need wisdom and divine guidance. If America does not reverse its present course the judgment of God is sure to eventually come down on it.
Israel Defeats The Philistines and Descendants of Raphah
15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.
16 And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.
17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.
18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.
“The giant” refers to Raphah. He was the father of the tribe of Rephaim a race of giants ranging from around 9 to 11 feet tall. Even during the time of Moses, there were only a few of these families in existence.
19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.
21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.
22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
Verse 22 does not necessarily imply that all four giants were brothers. Instead it means that they were all descendents of Raphah.
Satan Is A Powerful Foe
The spiritual picture for us here is that Satan is a powerful foe as were these giants. But with God's strength we can be victorious. The lost people whom we come in contact with are not our enemies. They are the wheat of the harvest that we are to gather into the Lord’s barn. As the Apostle Paul said, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood:
Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Eph 6:10-13
We battle not against human beings but rather against spiritual wickedness. In this battle we demolish false arguments and pretensions that oppose the truth of God. Our weapons are not RPG’s, assault rifles and smart bombs. Our weapons in this war are the truth of the gospel, the Word of God, righteousness, faith and salvation.
2 Cor 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2 Cor 10:4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2 Cor 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2 Cor 10:3-5
This is not a war where we kill the bodies of our enemies. Instead it is a war of the heart where thoughts are brought into obedience to Christ. With these weapons we can capture rebels and bring them back to God and change them into men whose hearts' desire is obedience to Christ. We will use these weapons against every rebel who remains after we have first used them on ourselves and have made our own surrender to Christ.
These accounts of the wars with the Philistines in II Samuel chapter 21 were probably given here as the historical basis for the psalm of thanksgiving that directly follows in chapter 22.
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