Averted
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Context:
Context:
Back ground for Today's lesson:
When the king crossed over to Gilgal, Kimham crossed with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel had taken the king over.
Soon all the men of Israel were coming to the king and saying to him, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, steal the king away and bring him and his household across the Jordan, together with all his men?”
All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “We did this because the king is closely related to us. Why are you angry about it? Have we eaten any of the king’s provisions? Have we taken anything for ourselves?”
Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king; so we have a greater claim on David than you have. Why then do you treat us with contempt? Weren’t we the first to speak of bringing back our king?”
But the men of Judah pressed their claims even more forcefully than the men of Israel.
2 Samuel 19:40
Typically this is the atmosphere ripe for the appearance of a troublemaker! ENTER Sheba!
Scripture 2 Sam 20:1-2,4-21
Scripture 2 Sam 20:1-2,4-21
Sheba Rebels Against David
Sheba Rebels Against David
Sheba Rebels Against David
1 Now a troublemaker (Belial in KJV) named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted,
“We have no share in David, no part in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, Israel!”
(KJV} And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite:
Smith's Bible Dictionary - Belial
Belial.
The meaning of this word as found in the Scriptures is worthlessness , and hence reckless, lawlessness. The expression son or man of Belial must be understood as meaning simply a worthless, lawless fellow.
The term as used in ( What harmony is there between Christ and Belial ? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?) is generally understood as an term of Satan, and as the personification of all that was bad.
(AMP) There happened to be there a base and contemptible fellow named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite.
2 So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bikri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
14 Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel Beth Maakah and through the entire region of the Bikrites, who gathered together and followed him.
15 All the troops with Joab came and besieged Sheba in Abel Beth Maakah. They built a siege ramp up to the city, and it stood against the outer fortifications. While they were battering the wall to bring it down,
16 a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come here so I can speak to him.”
17 He went toward her, and she asked, “Are you Joab?”
“I am,” he answered.
She said, “Listen to what your servant has to say.”
“I’m listening,” he said.
18 She continued, “Long ago they used to say, ‘Get your answer at Abel,’ and that settled it.
19 We are the peaceful and faithful in Israel. You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”
20 “Far be it from me!” Joab replied, “Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy!
21 That is not the case. A man named Sheba son of Bikri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Hand over this one man, and I’ll withdraw from the city.”
The woman said to Joab, “His head will be thrown to you from the wall.”
Averted
Averted
,
Vs. 1
(KJV} And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite:
Smith's Bible Dictionary - Belial
Belial.
The meaning of this word as found in the Scriptures is worthlessness , and hence reckless, lawlessness. The expression son or man of Belial must be understood as meaning simply a worthless, lawless fellow.
The term as used in ( What harmony is there between Christ and Belial ? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?) is generally understood as an term of Satan, and as the personification of all that was bad.
(AMP) There happened to be there a base and contemptible fellow named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite.
A war of words ensued between the tribes—Israel resting their argument on their superior numbers; “they had ten parts in the king,” whereas Judah had no more than one. Judah grounded their right to take the lead, on the ground of their nearer relationship to the king.
This was a claim dangerous to the house of David; and it shows the seeds were already sown for that tribal dissension which, before long, led to the dismemberment of the kingdom.
D. THE MALCONTENTS OF ISRAEL
The aftermath of David’s war with Absalom included a revolt by the northern tribes—the malcontents of Israel—from the rule of David. This revolt almost became worse than the war with Absalom (). Hardly had the revolt of Absalom been subdued before this new revolt was disrupting David’s rule. The land of Israel had just begun to change their allegiance back to David from Absalom when they changed it again away from David. For David, trouble followed trouble.
To study this revolt by the malcontents of Israel, we will note:
1. the cause of the revolt,
2. the contention in the revolt, and
3. the captain of the revolt
1. The Causes of the Revolt
“And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David’s men with him, over Jordan?” (). The initial cause of the revolt was a perceived slight. This is a common cause and a condemning cause.
Common Cause – Perceived Slight
The ten tribes thought Judah got more honor in bringing back David than they did. How often a perceived slight is the cause of trouble. Someone does not get as much praise or honor or recognition or attention as they think they should, and so they stir up trouble as a result.
This problem abounds in political circles, in business, in schools, in family relationships, and in churches—some church troubles, as an example, have started over nothing more important than leaving out someone’s name in the Sunday bulletin. Or a prayer request doesn’t get in the prayer list.
Very Condemning Cause -- (Hypocrisy).
The complaint by the malcontents was a very condemning complaint since it was so hypocritical. Nothing is said or admitted by the complainers about the fact that they had just been part of a conspiracy against David – their complaint is that they feel they have been dishonored because Judah led the procession back to Jerusalem without them.
Their conspiracy was more than just a perceived slight on David’s honor, it attacked it violently.
But complainers have a short memory about their own failure to give due honor and recognition. They are chiefly concerned about their own honor and recognition.
My experience is:
“You will find that people who get upset quickly over perceived slights by others; are the same people who are very poor at giving due honor and recognition to others.”
If these complainers had been chiefly interested in David’s honor in his return to Jerusalem——they probably would not have noticed any personal slight.
Point: It is important to cultivate the ability to give recognition and honor to others.
It would not have mattered to them who did what so long as David was honored. They would have been more concerned about slights for David than for themselves. All of this exhorts us to be more concerned about Christ’s honor than our honor. Few are like Apostle Paul who said that even though some preached Christ “to add affliction to my bonds” (), he still would “rejoice, yea, and will rejoice” () that Christ was preached.
- But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
Paul did not have time to get upset about slights, for he was too concerned about honoring Christ. May we all be that way.
Point : Sometimes a Spirit of Rebellion is what leads to a Spirit of Dishonor!
The ten tribes had just made fools of themselves in following Absalom, who was no better than Sheba; and these tribes had paid dearly for their folly, for they had lost at least twenty thousand men in battle against David ().But despite their great loss, they now turn right around and repeat their mistake. Why? Because they were deficient in character. The ten tribes’ loyalty to David could not suffer a small slight. They had not the character to suffer slights
2. The Contention in the Revolt.
The perceived slight led to a contention between Judah and the northern tribes over bringing David to Jerusalem.
The theme of the contention. The contention was over who merited having the prominence in returning David back to the land. The tribe of Judah said they should have the prominence because “the king is near of kin to us” () while the ten tribes said they should have the prominence because “we have ten parts in the king” (). The argument was “numbers” against “nearer” in regard to who should have the prominence in bringing back David to the city of Jerusalem. It was a pathetic argument which had no value whatsoever.
· Any privilege in escorting the king should be given to loyalty, not to numbers or near of kin qualifications. Numbers and nearer mean nothing if it is not associated with loyalty. And none of the tribes had any loyalty to boast about. They had all been part of the conspiracy, as we noted above. Furthermore, Judah had to be exhorted by David into being part of the return, and the other tribes spent their time arguing among themselves about bringing back the king rather than actually doing it. It is generally the people who have the least merit for honor who contend the most about rights and privileges.
3. The Captain of the Revolt - Sheba
To learn something about Sheba, the new captain of the ten tribes, we will look at:
1. his character,
2. his clan, and
3. his comments.
Sheba’s Character. Sheba is described by Scripture as “a man of Belial” (). This is a proverbial term “used of wicked, ungodly men; [it] implies in the formation of the word worthlessness.
What this term “a man of Belial” says is that Sheba was a man of very poor character. He was not a man of sterling attributes, full of gallant and noble deeds, and exhibiting great prudence. And yet, in spite of the great deficiencies in his character, he became Israel’s captain.
Why do men who are deficient in character become leaders of nations? The answer is that those who lack character are prone to follow those who lack character. The ten tribes had just made fools of themselves in following Absalom, who was no better than Sheba; and these tribes had paid dearly for their folly, for they had lost at least twenty thousand men in battle against David But in spite of their great loss, they now turn right around and repeat their mistake. Why? Because they were deficient in character. The ten tribes’ loyalty to David could not suffer a small slight. They had not the character to suffer slights.
Sheba’s clan. Sheba was “a Benjamite”. This meant he was from the same tribe as King Saul. This tribe seemed to never get over the fact that they had lost the monarchy. It did not bother them that Saul was a wretched king, for they liked the honor and privileges of having one from their own tribe being king regardless of his character. When Saul was replaced by David, they were unhappy.
As a result, a spirit of rebellion against David seemed to forever simmer in that tribe. It was forcefully illustrated by the cursing of Shimei who was of the tribe of Benjamin, for in his cursing he made a special complaint about David taking Saul’s throne. So it is not surprising that the captain of this latest revolt against David came from the tribe of Saul. Too many of that tribe reflected the rebellion that was in the heart of Saul which was a rebellion against God’s Holy Word. Rebellion against God’s Word is very prominent today, too. There are many spiritual Benjamites in every age. And they are trouble to the peace and prosperity of the nation, church, school, and home.
Sheba’s Comments. ““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” (). Sheba’s comments are summarized in the phrase, “We have no part in David.” How very condemning was that comment. In the previous verse in Scripture, the ten tribes were exalting themselves in the fact that they had “ten parts in the king” ().
Now Sheba says they have “no part.” ----- Characterless people like Sheba run to extremes. They are so fickle. On one day they cannot say enough good about David. On the next day they cannot say enough bad about him.
This is the kind of crowd that one day threw palm branches on the road and shouted many Hosannas to Christ but not many days later were shouting to Pilate to have Christ crucified.
· This type of crowd will slobber affection on the new pastor when he comes to the church, but they will also be the first to call for his resignation.
They can go from “ten parts” to “no part” over the slightest of slights, for their character and their faith is very lacking in substance.
4. The Chasing of the Malcontents
David realized that the revolt by the malcontents must be stopped quickly, or it would gain momentum, and “Sheba [could] . . . do us more harm than did Absalom”). So he ordered his men to “pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities and escape us” (Ibid.). We note the slowness to start the chase, the slaying at the beginning of the chase, and the span of the chase.
The slowness to start the chase. David ordered Amasa, his newly appointed army captain, “Assemble me the men of Judah within three days . . . but he tarried longer than the set time which he [David] had appointed him”. At least two reasons caused this slowness to assemble the troops to chase Sheba. They were:
· the disenchantment with Amasa and
· the disinterest in David.
First, the disenchantment with Amasa.
Amasa was the wrong man to gather together an army. Amasa would have difficulty rallying the troops to fight because he lacked ability and he lacked acceptance. His lack of ability was manifested in the war against David. He could not with a larger force defeat an enemy with a smaller force. He was not good at rallying men to fight. This lack of ability would promote lack of acceptance. The troops would not be excited about rallying around Amasa again after the great defeat they had experienced under his leadership when fighting David.
Second, the disinterest in David. Another reason that would slow down the gathering of an army was that the men of Judah were not very interested in following David at this time. Earlier David had to prod them into coming to the Jordan to bring him back to Jerusalem. They had then come together to usher David home. But their dedication was not real strong. They could argue with the northern ten tribes about their right and privilege to lead in bringing David back to Jerusalem. But they were more concerned about their own honor than David’s honor, and when David’s honor became the issue following the revolt led by Sheba, we discover slackness in the dedication of Judah for David.
The premise of Joab’s promise. The premise in Joab’s promise about sparing Abel only if Sheba is delivered to his troops instructs us that we forfeit our claim for protection or exemption or privilege when we use our protection, exemption, and privilege to protect evil.
They were protecting a vile man under the cloak of counsel, character, citizens, and consecration.
Joab exposed this clever, but corrupt practice which rulers of our world need to also do when nations try to conceal evil in the same way.
It is incumbent on Christians to be most careful and watchful, when any difference arises, to guard against carnal feeling of every kind, and strive to the very utmost to manifest the spirit of Christ?
When Christians Argue and Fight – They always lose and the Devil always wins.