Administrative Report
(20:23-26)
23 Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; 24 and Adoram was over the forced labor, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; 25 and Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 26 and Ira the Jairite was also a priest to David.
I am sure there are things which could be said for all these men, but I will not attempt to do so. I wish to focus on only one man here, and that man is Joab. What irony! This fellow is like bad breath; you just can't seem to get rid of him. Think of it. Joab joined David while he was fleeing from Saul (see 1 Samuel 22:1-2; 26:6). It was Joab and Abner who faced off in some kind of he-man contest, which resulted in a number of deaths, including the death of his youngest brother, Asahel (2 Samuel 2). In retaliation against Abner, who killed his brother in battle, Joab deceitfully killed him. For this he was strongly rebuked by David (2 Samuel 3). It is doubtful that David would have ever chosen Joab as the commander of his army, but David offered this position to whoever would first attack the city of Jebus, and Joab took him up on this offer (1 Chronicles 11:4-6). It was Joab who manipulated David into bringing Absalom back to Israel and then giving him his freedom (2 Samuel 14). It was also Joab who put Absalom to death, in spite of David's command to the contrary (2 Samuel 18). One could hardly wonder why David replaced Joab with Amasa. The real wonder is that after Joab put Amasa to death, Joab remained commander of the army. We would never have expected chapter 20 to end as it does in the light of the way chapter 19 began (19:13).
Conclusion
In terms of the story of David's life, we should now have a strong sense of relief because David is once again in Jerusalem, reigning as King of Israel. It was a long, hard struggle for David as he waited for God to fulfill his promise that he would rule over Israel, in Saul's place. For years David had to hide from Saul, who sought to kill David as though he were an enemy. And once on the throne, there were a number of years of success, but this very success led to carelessness, and ultimately to David's fall. The outcome of that fall was a great deal of suffering and adversity, capped off by the rebellion of his son Absalom, and David's flight from Jerusalem. Now, Absalom is dead, the revolution has been crushed, and David has been brought back to Jerusalem. What a relief!
David's life is not a fairy tale. He does not live “happily ever after.” David's difficulties after his moral collapse were many, and they were extremely painful. Let all of us who look on learn from them. There are those who would say, “Well, David sinned, too.” By this, they often mean: “David sinned, but then he repented, and then he went on just as before.” That is not really true. He did sin, and he did repent, but things did not just go on as before. David's life was never the same after the fall. Let no one minimize the consequences of sin in David's life. Sin is never worth the price, and David's life illustrates that fact dramatically.
We should also recognize that all of these difficulties were ultimately for David's good, and for the good of God's people. His difficulties should teach us that sin does not pay. On the other hand, David's difficulties also served to humble David, and to make him more dependent upon God. Notice how these painful points in David's life produced a humility and graciousness in him that may not have been as evident earlier in his life. He graciously forgave Shimei for his sins against him. Was this not prompted, in part at least, by the forgiveness David had experienced from God for his sin? We see it also in David's response to Mephibosheth. David has learned to receive, as well as to give, from lovely friends like Barzillai.
The events of these two chapters in 2 Samuel underscore the reality of divine providence. There are times when God intervenes in the lives of men in a direct way. God very visibly and dramatically revealed Himself to the Egyptians and to the Israelites at the time of the exodus. There were times when God acted in conjunction with the faith and obedience of one (or more) of His saints. For example, David made it clear that the victory over Goliath would be the Lord's doing, and so it was. There are many other times when the hand of God is not apparent at all, at least to those who look on without the “eyes of faith.” God had promised David that he would reign as king, and that his kingdom would be an everlasting one. Through Nathan the prophet, God assured David that he would not die for his sin. At times it may have seemed that David's chances of survival were between “slim and none.” But God kept His promise, often by employing the most unlikely folks. He used Gentiles (a king of a nation with which David had waged war -- see 17:27) as well as Jews. He employed the actions that stemmed from faith and generosity, as well as those prompted by fleshly self-interest (as in the actions of Joab when he killed Absalom, against David's orders, and Amasa for now justifiable reason). No matter how “out of control” things may have looked, God was in complete control, using the most unlikely means to achieve what He had purposed and promised.
Think of the turning points in our text. David appoints Amasa commander in place of Joab, and by this wins the favor of the men of Judah. And yet, Amasa is late in returning to Jerusalem with the armed forces of Judah, which prompts David to send Abishai, Joab's brother, to search for Amasa. A dropped sword and an unsuspecting Amasa become the opportunity which Joab seizes to eliminate Amasa and to take his place. Two men, Sheba and an unknown soldier, urge the soldiers to act, and they do. A wise woman speaks out, convincing Joab that he need not make a war of Sheba's rebellion, and Joab agrees. This text enlightens our eyes so that we may “see” the unseen hand of God at work in the lives of His people.
There is a one very clear example of divine providence in our text, and that is God's providential preparation of the nation Israel for its future division. Observe the words spoken by Sheba in our text:
“We have no portion in David, Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; Every man to his tents, O Israel!” (2 Samuel 20:1b)
Compare the words spoken by Sheba in our text with these words, spoken by Israel after the death of Solomon:
When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; To your tents, O Israel! Now look after your own house, David!” So Israel departed to their tents (1 Kings 12:16).
It is almost as though Sheba's words become the motto of those who rebel in Israel. The roots of division between Judah and the other tribes of Israel run deep in Israel's history, but it is evident that Israel was a divided kingdom for a very short time in David's day. This division is never completely healed. It may lay dormant for the years of Solomon's reign, but it comes to life after his death. In all of this, God is preparing the nation for the division He purposes. The second time the nation divides, it will not reunite. The northern kingdom will fall to Assyria, as a lesson to Judah, a lesson which will not be heeded. And so the southern kingdom will also fall, this time to the Babylonians. God is providentially preparing the nation for their coming division in the events of our text.
Our text gives us insight into the spiritual condition of the nation at this time in their history. It is quite easy to see Israel's sinfulness in relationship to the divinely-appointed leadership of David. The nation has demanded a king, and God has given them one. When God replaces Saul with David, it is through him that the Davidic dynasty is initiated. David has refused to raise his hand against God's anointed, and yet the tribes of Israel find it easy to heed the advice of Sheba and forsake David as their king. They renounce David as their king, in spite of the fact that God has anointed him. They think of their king as someone they own, someone who is obliged to give them what they want, when they want it. And if he does not, then they feel free to reject him. Israel's rebellion against David is also rebellion against God.
But let us not make the mistake of assuming that because Israel sinned in rebelling against David, Judah is faithful to God in remaining loyal to him. When the people of Israel are arguing with the people of Judah, the Israelites argue that since they consist of ten tribes they have ten times the ownership of David, ten times the claim on him. In other words, David is ten times more obligated to them. But when the people of Judah speak of their relationship to David, their claim to him is that he is near kin. Neither the ten tribes of Israel nor the tribe of Judah speak of David as God's anointed king. Both tribes follow David for self-serving reasons. Thus, Judah is hardly better for following David than the men of Israel are for leaving him.
Is this not true of all mankind, throughout all the ages? When God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in the Garden of Eden. He gave them freedom to eat of every tree of that garden, except one, which He prohibited. Satan came along and convinced them that if their perception of their needs and how to meet them did not square with God's leadership, then they were free to act autonomously, independently of God. And so they did. And from that moment on, man has rebelled against God's leadership.
When the Lord Jesus Christ came to the earth, He was God's Messiah, God's Anointed One. He was God's King. At first, many followed our Lord, excited about the possibility of His kingdom. But when they learned that His kingdom did not square with what they hoped for, they renounced Him as their king, professing that their king was Caesar.
It is the same today. There is a great deal of discussion and debate about this issue of lordship, but it is difficult to deny that Jesus Christ does not just want us to trust in Him as our Savior, but to obey Him as our Lord. How slow and reticent we are to accept this. How quick we are to renounce His lordship in our lives. The Bible speaks clearly, commanding us to do certain things and to abstain from others. And yet when these commands conflict with what we want, we quickly and unashamedly turn from the lordship of Christ, setting aside His commands as culturally irrelevant (or some other equally weak excuse for rebellion and disobedience). When God's appointed leaders (husbands, parents, governing authorities, church leaders) ask us to do that which we disdain, we reject their leadership and seek some other leaders, who will “lead” us in the way we really wanted to go all along. How disinclined we are to submit to God's leadership.
Ultimately there is but one “Leader” that we must follow, and that is the person of our Lord Jesus Christ:
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven (Colossians 1:13-20).
Those who reject Him do so to their own peril, and someday they will acknowledge Him as God's King:
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:5-11).
God gives men the opportunity to trust in Jesus Christ as God's Savior, God's sin-bearer, as well as to submit to Him as God's King. Those who submit to Him as Savior and king are granted the forgiveness of sins and a place in His kingdom. Those who reject Him will someday acknowledge Him as King, but they will forever be banished from His kingdom, suffering the penalty of eternal doom for their rebellion. He whom God has appointed as our Sovereign King is also He whom God sent as God's Suffering Servant, who bore the penalty for our sins, and who offers to us eternal life. Let us submit to Him as Savior and Lord, and let us live as His loyal subjects, for His glory and our eternal good.
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