2 Samuel 20:1,2,4-13
And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and 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. So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.
Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present. So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him. And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.
And there went out after him Joab’s men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab’s garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died.
So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.
And one of Joab’s men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab. And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still. When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): This happened immediately upon the crushing of Absalom’s rebellion—the occasion of it was that foolish quarrel, between the elders of Israel and the elders of Judah, about bringing the king back. It was a point of honour that was disputed between them, which had most interest in David. “We are more numerous,” say the elders of Israel. “We are nearer akin to him,” say the elders of Judah.
THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): Foolish quarrels have dangerous consequences. When men’s spirits are exasperated in popular tumults, some crafty and ambitious head fails not to improve the circumstances for his own advancement.
ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): “Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite.” He probably belonged to the family of Saul; and he seems to have had considerable influence in Israel to raise such an insurrection.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Perhaps he had been in the rebellion of Absalom, and had a grudge against David for the removal of the kingdom out of that tribe. Sheba “blew a trumpet.” He said, “we have no part in David;” so he interpreted what the men of Judah said, because they claimed kindred to David, the rest of the Israelites had no interest in him; thus they, who just before said they had ten parts in him, now had none at all: “neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse,”—so he calls David by way of contempt, as if he was no king, but a private person, and a descendant from a mean family.
MATTHEW HENRY: The men of Israel had complained to David of the slight which the men of Judah had put upon them. If he had countenanced their complaint, commended their zeal, and returned them thanks for it, he might have confirmed them in his interest; but he seemed partial to his own tribe: Their words prevailed above the words of the men of Israel; as some read the last words of the foregoing chapter. David inclined to justify them, and when the men of Israel perceived this, they flew off with indignation…It is as impolitic for princes to be partial in their attentions to their subjects, as it is for parents to be so to their children; both should carry it with an even hand.
MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): “Then said the king to Amasa, assemble me the men of Judah,” and march in the head of them as their general, as I promised thee, 2 Samuel 19:13. The business required haste. “Within three days, be thou here present,” to receive orders and instructions from me.
JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): “But Amasa tarried longer,”—either through his own remissiveness, or the people’s unwillingness to be commanded by this new general.
MATTHEW HENRY: It seems the men of Judah, though forward to attend the king’s triumphs, were backward enough to fight his battles.
THE EDITOR: Why would the men of Judah want to fight under Amasa? As the general of Absalom’s forces, Amasa had led them into defeat against Joab. Losing battles was never one of Joab’s deficiencies—another reason why Joab’s garment and girdle of command literally did not fit Amasa properly, 2 Samuel 20:8. War is all about killing or being killed, and soldiers hate following an unsuccessful general, because his ineptitude endangers their lives. However, an experienced perceptive commander like Joab understood soldiers, and certainly recognized their hesitancy to serve under Amasa. And undoubtedly, with his eye on regaining his position as captain of the host, Joab assessed his own personal support among them. Whether David thought Amasa’s delay was caused by Judah’s reluctance, or Amasa’s incompetence is not known, but he knew the danger of delay, and turned to a harder, more efficient warrior—Abishai, Joab’s brother. “Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom,” he told Abishai, “take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.”—“Thy lord’s servants?” Who was in command here? Was David referring to himself? Or Joab, as Abishai’s immediate superior officer? It’s unclear, but the listed order of those who pursued Sheba is absolutely clear: Joab and his men took the lead.
G. CAMPBELL MORGAN (1863-1945): Joab appears once more in all the rugged and terrible strength of his nature.
MATTHEW HENRY: The great stone in Gibeon was the place appointed for the general rendezvous. There the rivals met; and Amasa, relying upon his commission, went before, as general both of the new-raised forces which he had got together, and of the veteran troops which Abishai had brought in.
THE EDITOR: Gibeon—what a blood-soaked place! Here Abner and Joab had set their men to “play” that deadly game of mutual destruction, “by the pool of Gibeon.”
MATTHEW HENRY: Joab here took an opportunity to kill Amasa with his own hand; thus he slew Abner, and went unpunished for it, which encouraged him to do the like again. He did it impudently, at the head of his troops, and in their sight, as one that was neither ashamed nor afraid to do it, that was so hardened in blood and murders that he could neither blush nor tremble. He did it at one blow, so he needed not strike him again—he did it in contempt and defiance of David and the commission he had given to Amasa; for that commission was the only ground of Joab’s quarrel with him, so that David was struck at through the side of Amasa, and was, in effect, told to his face that Joab would be general, in spite of him.
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Why was Joab allowed to slay Amasa? A holy God permitted it, for most certainly He could have prevented it had He so pleased. Why, then, did He suffer David’s purpose to be so rudely thwarted?
THE EDITOR: I think it was to show David the complete folly of his own carnal wisdom, and to restore him to seeking God’s counsel.
JOHN GILL: One of Joab’s men stood by the body of Amasa—no doubt by Joab’s order, to satisfy the people as they came up, and reconcile them to this fact, and to exhort them not to stop; for though Amasa was dead, Joab had taken the command of the army, and the pursuit was carried on with as much rigour as ever; “he that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab,”—he that likes Joab should be general, and is in the interest of David, let him follow after Joab; Joab and David are put together, as if their interests were the same; though there seems to be an indecency in placing Joab first.
THOMAS COKE: Joab, having successfully put an end to Sheba’s rebellion, returned to Jerusalem with such a weight of popularity, as effectually to shield his murder of Amasa from all attempts of inquiry or chastisement—reinstated likewise in supreme command over the army, 2 Samuel 20:14-23. Thus it seemed good to God’s wisdom to permit Joab’s unruly and impetuous ambition, at one time separate from all sense of duty, and at another joined to it, to punish the guilt of four notorious rebels in succession: Abner, Absalom, Amasa, and Sheba; two of them, indeed, treacherous and sudden; but all, in the retributions of Providence, judicial and just.
