2 Samuel 20:1-13  (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 20:1-13.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

2 Samuel 20:12 (NIV) 
1 Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bicri, 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, O Israel!” 
2 So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

On verses 1-2:  Just as Sheba led a revolt against David by convincing the people that David was not for them, so Satan wants you to believe that God is not good, that He is not for you but against you, or that you simply don’t need him.  If you believe those lies, you will end up deserting Jesus the Son of David, just like all the men of Israel deserted King David (v2).  May we be like the men of Judah who “stayed by their king all the way” (v2).

2 Samuel 20:3 (NIV) 
When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and put them in a house under guard. He provided for them, but did not lie with them. They were kept in confinement till the day of their death, living as widows.

On verse 3:  Finally toward the latter part of his life, David confronts a sin that had plagued him for decades: his taking many wives and concubines.  David knew that God’s Word prohibited a king from taking many wives and concubines (Deuteronomy 17:17), but for decades David stubbornly resisted God’s Word.  Finally, after seeing how his taking of many wives and his penchant for adultery had nearly destroyed him and his family, as just as Deuteronomy 17:17 had warned, David’s heart on the issue finally changes.  He repents by no longer sleeping with his concubines but continues to provide for them and protects them with a security guard.  He treats them as “widows”, meaning he no longer saw them as bound to him and allowed them to live normal lives, as much as could be done for women whom he had treated for years as his sex slaves.  That David treated them as “widows” also suggests that the old David – the one that had insisted on doing relationships and sex the world’s way – had died and a new David, one that was intentional about honouring God in this area, had taken his place.

Is there a sin that has plagued you for a long time that you need to finally confront and cut off?   For example, maybe like David you have been approaching the area of relationships and sex the world’s way and have suffered because of it.  Perhaps it’s time that the old you – the one that insisted on doing it the world’s way – be replaced with a new you, one that is intentional about honouring God in this area and experiencing His blessing as a result.

2 Samuel 20:4-7 (NIV) 
Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.” 
But when Amasa went to summon Judah, he took longer than the time the king had set for him. 
David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bicri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your master’s men and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and escape from us.” 
So Joab’s men and the Kerethites and Pelethites and all the mighty warriors went out under the command of Abishai. They marched out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.

On verses 4-7:  Amasa was David’s new military commander in chief (2 Samuel 19:13), but when David told Amasa to have his men ready to fight Sheba within 3 days, Amasa couldn’t get the job done in time (v4-5).  So David commissioned Abishai to lead the charge against Sheba instead (v6-7).

What’s the lesson here?  When you agree to get something done within a certain time, keep your word and get it done within that time.  Otherwise, you will be seen as unreliable or not very capable, and future opportunities that could have gone to you will go to someone else.

What if you can’t get something done in time?  Don’t wait until the deadline has already passed to tell the person you can’t make it.  Rather, go and tell that person as early as you can that you won’t be able to meet the deadline. Apologize to them and humbly request a reasonable extension of time.

2 Samuel 20:8-13 (NIV)
 While they were at the great rock in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was wearing his military tunic, and strapped over it at his waist was a belt with a dagger in its sheath. As he stepped forward, it dropped out of its sheath.
 Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” Then Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
10  Amasa was not on his guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab plunged it into his belly, and his intestines spilled out on the ground. Without being stabbed again, Amasa died. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri.
11  One of Joab’s men stood beside Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!”
12  Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road, and the man saw that all the troops came to a halt there. When he realized that everyone who came up to Amasa stopped, he dragged him from the road into a field and threw a garment over him.
13  After Amasa had been removed from the road, all the men went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.

On verses 8-13:  David had chosen Amasa to replace Joab as military commander in chief (2 Samuel 19:13).  Envious of Amasa and bitter at his demotion, Joab deceptively murders Amasa in cold blood.  Similar to how he murdered Abner in 2 Samuel 3, Joab approaches Amasa warmly as a friend and stabs him in the stomach when Amasa least expects it.

What can we learn from this?  Left unchecked, envy and bitterness can kill.  You need to find healthy ways to deal with envy and bitterness lest they wreak havoc in and through your life.  It’s no wonder the Bible tells us to “get rid of all bitterness” (Ephesians 4:31).

As James 3:13-18 says:
13  Who are the wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good lives, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
14  But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
15  Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
16  For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17  But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
18  Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

Father, I pray that I would not be a slave to bitterness and envy.  Rather, any bitter or envious feelings I surrender to You.  Please help me to handle those feelings in a healthy way that glorifies You and is healthy for me.   In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

opyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.