Bible Commentaries
2 Samuel 20

Verses 1-2

Rebellion of Sheba

When the tribes argue, the enemy sends a man who stimulates division. Sheba, “a worthless fellow”, abuses the situation of disagreement between Judah and Israel to withdraw Israel from following David. He wants to take advantage of the disagreement. He turns against David. Similarly, a division with evil motives is always directed against the Lord Jesus.

All men of Israel listen to the call of Sheba. Those who have just spoken in favor of David withdraw from him again to follow a wicked man. Those who have called that “ten parts of the king” are of them (2 Samuel 19:43), now call that they “have no inheritance in the son of Jesse”, that is, that they have no portion in him. That is how it went when the Lord Jesus was here. First they were calling ‘hosanna’ and shortly thereafter ‘crucify Him’.

Only Judah remains faithful to David. They follow him from the Jordan to Jerusalem. If we apply this spiritually, we see an important way. The Jordan is a picture of the death and resurrection of Christ, and Jerusalem is the place that the LORD has chosen to make his Name dwell there. When the people who had left Egypt had passed through the Jordan, they came into the promised land.

Thus we may be aware that we died and rose with Christ and are thereby brought into the heavenly places, of which the promised land is picture. As a result, we shall want to be in the place that is now the dwelling place of God, the church. In practical terms, this means visiting the local church where we see what the church is being expressed (Matthew 18:15-Proverbs :).

Verses 3-10

Joab Kills Amasa

What David does with the concubines is right. He cares for them, but no longer has sexual relations with them, because they were taken over by Absalom (2 Samuel 16:21-Song of Solomon :). He must also have been ashamed that he made these women the prey of his rebellious son. What he does with the concubines may be right, but for the women it is a bad consequence of his wrong actions. They are condemned to widowhood, without the freedom to belong again to a man. That was a hard fate for a woman at the time.

When he has put things in order internally, he wants to secure the support of the men of Judah. He orders Amasa to bring the men of Judah to him within three days. But it is all very difficult. Amasa needs more time. Were the men of Judah so difficult to mobilize? Did they no longer like fighting? Unfortunately, there are also many Christians who boast of belonging to the Lord Jesus, but who, when it comes to battle, they don’t want to go. They were too attached to their peace and ease to venture a new adventure with Him.

Amasa does not seem to be the right man for the task. In any case, he cannot manage to bring the men from Judah to David within three days. Maybe he was not David’s good choice. David therefore sees the danger looming that Sheba will strengthen and a new uprising will break out. That is why he sends Abishai out for it.

Joab has not received a command, but he is there too. He sees his chance to solve a problem that bothers him. How is exactly is with the sword that falls out is not clear. It can be a cunning act of Joab. By pretending that the sword is falling, he can take it in his hand, without it constituting a threatening and disturbing movement for Amasa. In any case he has the sword in his hand when he meets Amasa. With feigned interest he asks Amasa how he is doing, while he takes his beard to greet him with a kiss. Just like his feigned words, this expression of love is also feigned. It is the ‘Judas kiss’ in the Old Testament, the kiss behind which lies a treacherous and murderous heart.

The way in which Joab works is described in detail to indicate that he works in a cool, deliberative and calculating way. It’s almost inevitable that Joab acts out of jealousy. He is passed by as a general by David, possibly because of his murder of Abner or the murder of Absalom or both. But he cannot accept his relegation.

Things can happen in a person’s life that disables him from leading. It is often difficult to accept that. Some can never accept it and will do everything to restore themselves to their lost position, often at the expense of others.

Verses 11-22

Joab Lets Sheba Kill

Immediately after the murder of Amasa, Joab takes over command. This crime brings delay in the pursuit. After the dead body of Amasa is removed from the road, the men of Joab continue the hunt for Sheba. Sheba appears to have entrenched himself in Abel. When Joab besieges the city and starts demolishing it, a wise woman appears on the city wall. She asks for the reason of the siege and destruction of the city. Joab responds in a way that demonstrates his political and diplomatic gifts. However, God does not play any role in the negotiations between the woman and Joab.

The woman agrees with Joab’s demand and convinces the people in the city. The result is that the head of Sheba is cut off and thrown to Joab. Thus, through the intervention of a wise woman, the judgment of the culprit is carried out and the city is spared. Her wisdom is shown in this that by handing over a worthless fellow, she spares an entire city.

Another example of a wise woman is Esther, who also saved a people by her performance. The wise actions of a few have consequences for the whole. By this one act the peace for the city returns (cf. Ecclesiastes 9:13-Ezra :). Because there was no such wisdom in the church of Corinth, there was division there and they had lawsuits with each other (1 Corinthians 6:2-Deuteronomy :).

At Abel obviously many wise people dwelt. That call came from the city. We can apply this to a local church. There are big differences between local churches. In one is death in the pot, in the other is brotherly love and fellowship. From a local church a testimony goes out. This can be a testimony of wisdom or love or freshness from one person or a few persons, like here from this one woman. In the church too, the actions of a single person can have consequences for the whole.

Verses 23-26

David’s Officers

At the end of the chapter the officials of David are mentioned. For good governance of his kingdom, David has people around him who help him to do so. Joab is again the commander over the whole army of Israel, because he has eliminated his competitor. David is condemned to him by his weakness. Also some priests are mentioned, because approaching God is of the utmost importance. Honoring and consulting God is the basis for peace in the realm.

Perhaps the general lesson of this chapter is that fidelity to David leads to a certain victory, although sometimes everything seems lost. There is also something to be learned from the behavior of the subjects of David. Jealousy, dissatisfaction with the position that we ourselves or others get among the people and also among the leaders, leads to a wrong practice, as we notice in the actions of Sheba and Joab. The lesson here is that we must be content with the way the Lord wants to use us and accept how He wants to use others. That will save us from jealous and competitive struggle, where we disadvantage others in favor of ourselves.