2 Samuel 20

2 Samuel 20:1

I. Sheba’s Rebellion and Death (Chap. 20)20:1, 2 A wicked rebel named Sheba, of the tribe of Benjamin (and possibly related to Saul), took the words of Judah (2Sa_19:42) and turned them into the basis for a rebellion. The men of Judah had claimed David as their own. Sheba now defiantly announced that the ten tribes had no part in David and were seceding. Only the tribe of Judah was left to David. Later events indicate that Sheba had a relatively small following. The expression “every man of Israel” must be understood in a restricted sense, involving only the dissident men of the ten tribes. 20:3 On reaching Jerusalem, the king found the ten . . . concubines whom he had left there, who had been dishonorably treated by Absalom. David arranged for them to be kept in a house in seclusion for the rest of their lives, as if in widowhood. 20:4-7 By now Joab had been demoted, and Amasa, Absalom’s rebel commander, was in charge of David’s army. The king ordered him to assemble the soldiers of Judah . . . within three days to pursue and capture the rebel leader, Sheba. For some unexplained reason, Amasa did not complete the job within the time given, so David ordered Abishai to take command and set out with chosen men to prevent Sheba from getting established in fortified cities. Joab was among those who went with Abishai. 20:8-10a As they reached a large stone marker in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab, . . . dressed in a soldier’s battle armor, advanced to meet Amasa, and as he did so his sword dropped to the ground. It seems that he did this purposefully. He then picked up his sword and moved toward his unsuspecting cousin. With a great show of friendliness, Joab grabbed Amasa’s beard as if to kiss him, then killed him with one thrust of the sword. 20:10b-13 When Joab and Abishai began to pursue Sheba, their followers were immobilized by the sight of Amasa wallowing in his blood on the highway. Not until his body was removed did Joab’s men follow him. 20:14-22 The hunt for Sheba led to the far north, to the city of Abel of Beth Maachah. This was located north of the waters of Merom. It was a city famous for its wise people. As Joab laid siege to the city, a wise woman called down to him and asked him why he was going to destroy a mother . . . city in Israel (i.e., an important city) that had always been proverbial for its wisdom. When Joab explained that he was simply after the rebel leader, Sheba, who was hiding inside, she agreed to have him killed and his head . . . thrown over the wall as proof that he was dead. As soon as this was done, Joab blew the trumpet and returned to . . . Jerusalem, his mission accomplished. Sheba’s revolt probably did not last more than a week. 20:23-26 David had demoted Joab, appointing first Amasa (2Sa_19:13) and then Abishai (20:6) in his place. But Joab had regained his position as commander-in-chief. The list of the king’s important officials in verses 23-26 is largely the same as that in 2Sa_8:15-18. Joab headed the army; Benaiah was in charge of David’s bodyguard; Jehoshaphat . . . was the recorder; Sheva (same as Seraiah) was the scribe or stenographer; Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. (Zadok and Ahimelech were the priests in the earlier list.) The only other differences were that Adoram was in charge of revenue and Ira the Jairite was David’s priest (or chief minister), whereas David’s sons had been mentioned in chapter 8.