Deliver the Man
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Kids fighting and the words get more and more heated
Eventually they start to posture and then fists are thrown
Then the crowd jumps in and everyone is fighting before you know it
This happens because our hearts are prone to sin.
41 Then all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?”
42 All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is our close relative. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?”
43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?” But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
1 Now there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said, “We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!”
2 So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
Pray
1. The Squabble That Divided Them (2 Sam. 19:41-43)
1. The Squabble That Divided Them (2 Sam. 19:41-43)
41 Then all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?”
42 All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is our close relative. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?”
43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?” But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
Israel had previously said that they had 10 shares in David
No bribe or gifts or special treatment had been given by David to Judah
They entered into a war of words with each other and it led to a fractured country
2. The Rebellion that Was Incited (2 Sam. 20:1-2)
2. The Rebellion that Was Incited (2 Sam. 20:1-2)
1 Now there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said, “We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!”
2 So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
Sheba is a worthless man - son of Belial
Sheba is also a descendent of Saul
He incites rebellion and calls of even those in David’s army to retreat
All of Israel listens, but Judah held fast
Application
When all the world is in rebellion against King Jesus, what will you do?
Will you hold fast or be like Israel and abandon the true king?
3. The Carnage That Ensued (2 Sam. 20:3-13)
3. The Carnage That Ensued (2 Sam. 20:3-13)
David’s Concubines
3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.
David was forgiven of his sin but the consequences still remained
David’s sin affected everyone in the kingdom
These women were like wives and were made to be in perpetual widowhood because the Law forbid David from reuniting with them
Joab Kills Amasa
4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.”
5 So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him.
6 And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us.”
7 And there went out after him Joab’s men and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
8 When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier’s garment, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened on his thigh, and as he went forward it fell out.
9 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.
10 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. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.
11 And one of Joab’s young men took his stand by Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.”
12 And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway. And anyone who came by, seeing him, stopped. And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him.
13 When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
Joab is a nationalist but he is not fully loyal in heart to the king
He thinks he can control David
He kills his cousin and David’s new commander of his army
He is a soldier’s soldier and the army loved him, so David could do nothin to him now
Joab only cares about himself and will stop at nothing to get people out of his way
4. The Wisdom that Saved a City (2 Sam. 20:14-22)
4. The Wisdom that Saved a City (2 Sam. 20:14-22)
14 And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-maacah, and all the Bichrites assembled and followed him in.
15 And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah. They cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart, and they were battering the wall to throw it down.
16 Then a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come here, that I may speak to you.’ ”
17 And he came near her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” And he answered, “I am listening.”
18 Then she said, “They used to say in former times, ‘Let them but ask counsel at Abel,’ and so they settled a matter.
19 I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord?”
20 Joab answered, “Far be it from me, far be it, that I should swallow up or destroy!
21 That is not true. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, called Sheba the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.”
22 Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, every man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
Sheba retreats with his clan in a city called Abel in the region of
They were under seige and earthen ramps were being pile up against the walls to take the city
A wise woman recognizes the times and yells for Joab from the wall
Joab agrees to leave if they turn over Sheba
His head is tossed from the wall
They got rid of the cause of their problems and it was a worthless man
Joab leaves
Conclusion
What in the world do we do with a story like this?
We know that it is important enough for God to record it in the Bible for us.
2 It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.
There are some hard passages in the Bible. This passage and the next both reveal two of them.
The Bible doesn’t sanitize human lives and sinfulness.
David was a good king but he was far from perfect.
Israel was God’s chosen people but they were also not sinless. They were often divided and against each other.
What happens here with David serves as a foreshadowing of the division the country would go through under his son Solomon’s reign. There was really nothing David could do about it.
It reminds us of what happens among sinful people. We also are a sin sick people.
However, things are somewhat better for us. While we may face the same struggles and divisions within the ranks of the church, we have a much better King who died to break down this wall of hostility between us.
Because of the shed blood of Jesus, our sin-sick hearts can be replaced with new ones. Our divisiveness can be replaced with unity and love. We can come together as a body that loves one another and serves one another.
This passage also serves to remind us that all rebellions against the true King will one day be put down. Jesus Christ will have no rivals and will root out all of his enemies, though they hide in the caves and pray for the earth to fall on them as Revelation tells us.
We have to make a choice and be wise like the woman of Abel. She knew that the source of the problem had to go. For her town it was Sheba, but for us it is our old self. We must deliver up the old man. Only then will we find lasting peace.
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
If you want to be free, you must submit to the King of kings and Lord of lords. The paradox of the faith is that to be free, you must become a bondservant of Christ. In the end, though, Jesus is the only one that can deliver.
