2 SAMUEL 20:1-12 " TEXT: v9 ART THOU IN HEALTH MY BROTHER?"
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.
Passage has its own lessons based: straight, historic reading/ narrative
These include:
[i] The fact that there was a certain shallowness in Israel's profession
Had but earlier rallied around/David…only to leave Him so quickly again
It took the word of one man (Sheba) to ignite the spark
[ii] Fact: the enemy can come in like a flood i.e. quickly and with
great devastation and that we need to be quicker than he is to avoid
any delay
[iii] The swiftness of men's feet to shed blood
Joab was trigger happy and seems to have had no or little alternative to the murderous use of the sword
[iv] David's inability to deal with Joab was fuelled partly by his own
compromise when he himself resorted to the sword in the murder/Uriah
Only as awe stand fast in the things/God can we have moral strength to
confront the great moral needs that surround us
These are the immediate lessons that lie on top from a grammatical and historical reading of this passage
Having said that, we want to move outside this immediate reading
The murder of Amasa by Joab is full of gospel instruction/warning
Joab is evidently the villain of the piece
Amasa is the victim - although (as we will see) not without blame
I want to draw the picture here of the Devil luring a well meaning but spiritually slow sinner to his destruction
4 things to be seen
1) JOAB OPERATED IN A DAY WHEN THERE WAS WIDE SPREAD REJECTION OF THE KING OF ISRAEL:
A/ There had once (and that lately) a wide spread and general reception of the King/Israel i.e. David
Previous chapter: People were quick to bring the King back
They were pretty loud in their profession of faith, but ankle deep
Therefore they were quick to take offence when others more determined in their desire to have him back
B/ It is possible to grow up with a rich, strong gospel heritage
To be born in a culture where the Bible was revealed and the things of God held (to a large degree) with some respect
But the goodness of this is not complete
Not enough in itself to convey grace to the soul
The things/God are very personal and being surrounded by a mere
Christian culture without personal saving faith has its dangers too
Bible likened those/shallow faith to the seed that fell on shallow ground
No real root for the soil was scarcely covering/rock
What happened/that parable?
And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time:
afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake,
immediately they are offended. (Mark 4:17)
Here they were offended - caused to stumble - because another group came in and sought first claim upon their King
A true Christian would not be offended at such a thing
Their King (even Jesus) is sufficient enough for all who trust Him
If they cannot claim a unique part in Him, they are but thankful that
they have even a small part in Him - a saving part in Him
Whatever the degree…Bible calls it:
the good part that shall not be taken away from them (Luke 10:42)
No true Christian would forsake the Lord in such circumstances
That they would follow an upstart like Sheba is inexcusable
But these men had a skin deep profession/love for David
C/ Let me proclaim unto you another King of whom David was a type
One to whom Nathaniel truly said:
Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. (John 1:49)
Not merely King/Israel, but the King of the whole earth
To Him one day every knee shall bow etc., (Philippians 2:11)
But He is despised in this day in which we live
Even those who were reared in an age when He was respected have forsaken Him and left Him for their own tents an d ways
What can they hope to gain by such a thing?
What long term advantage can they boast of in their action?
I fear that there is none and their loss will be of a momentous kind
I cannot help but one who in other circumstances said:
And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them,
Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have
laid him. (John 20:13) supplementing these words with this
proposition:
Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. (John 20:15)
Was determined to have her King even in the most trying circumstances
2) ALTHOUGH JOAB WAS SOMETIMES USED BY THE KING OF ISRAEL, YET HIS HEART WAS NOT TOWARDS HIM:
A/ We have described Joab as the villain/piece here
Really must say a bit more about him in this regard
He stood with David during some pretty rough times in David's life
David was pleased to use him at certain times and to certain ends
Likely that Joab was pleased also to use David for his own ends also
Yet Joab does not come across/spiritual man even if on the right side
In this passage (v4) David was passing him by, but nevertheless (we repeat) he had used him in the past to his own ends.
B/ In this message, we are viewing Joab as a viable picture or at least
a reminder) of the Evil One i.e. the Devil himself
This does not produce us any serious difficulties in light of the AOF
Any type/picture can be pushed too far, but we do have evidence from
the Bible of how God uses even the Devil to carry out His will
Classic: Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being
of the number of the twelve. (Luke 22:3) Entered in to do
what?
And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! (Luke 22:22)
Again: For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! (Matthew 18:7)
God has often used Satan to accomplish His divine will - without making God a sinner and without making the Devil a saint
(Another subject in itself on how this can be so- but it is so)
C/ The Devil is a resolute enemy of God and of Christ
He has no heart for the things of God - but he can be found in the company of those who do
Joab did not go off with the Sheba led faction
Later on (v13ff) he pursued Sheba until he had him killed
The devil may be found everywhere, working in the world's camp and
working at one/same time in the Lord's camp doing much mischief
D/ What mischief he can stir up even among the Lord's own people
Makes sense for him to be active especially in gospel meetings
This is where the most damage is inflicted upon his dark kingdom
This is where he does the most damage, especially to people like Amasa
3) JOAB LURED AMASA TO HIS DEATH WITH THE WEASEL WORDS OF A DECEIVER:
A/ When Joab caught up with Amasa, his intention was to kill him
The Devil was a murderer from the very beginning (John 8:44)
What is Satan's big plan? Answer:- To bring people to hell
He wants to lure people (who in this life have the door of gospel mercy
opened to them...many free and indiscriminate offers/gospel pardon
preached to them…many opportunities to be eternally saved) into
the place of ultimate rejection of the gospel and into death itself
There is a place where the power/Gospel does not reach
The grave is final when it comes to the gospel
There are no evangelists to the dead
Satan wants to get people outside the gospel pale
B/ One effective way is to achieve this end is to lure people with comforting words and deceive them into false assurance
This was accomplished with a smoothness here that is amazing
Joab greeted Amasa as a friend - "my brother"
He enquired (ironically) about his health - all to set Amasa at ease
Not hard to apply: A great deal of preaching today that is extremely
positive on the outside. But inside full of the most deadly poison
Comes in many forms, but it was roundly condemned in Jeremiah 6:14
They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
At least Amasa but gave the impression…but many false preachers
gone further and with their weasel words have gone forth with their
false doctrines offering alternatives to the doctrine of salvation by
the sheer and free grace/God alone and given false assurance
C/ That Amasa was chloroformed to the reality /Joab's weasel words seen: he ignored the sword in Joab's hand (v9)
Joab was an assassin of the highest order
Many great strings on his bow - His military tactics/courage etc.,
But he was a dab hand with a knife too and a dab hand at luring his
victims into a state of ease - remember Abner in the gate (3:27)
But all this knowledge was blown away or played down
D/ The Devil is the arch deceiver - his words soothe and allure
He has lured people in to hell in the past with the simplest of thoughts i.e. that it is time enough to repent etc.,
Or that we can trust the boys who prophesy smooth things etc.,
E/ On most vital matter - listen only to the truth/God in the Bible
Go search/scriptures and see if these things I tell you are not so
If I err...then disregard my words and let God's word set the line
Outside of Christ, the greatest danger lurks - In Christ: Only safety
4) AMASA PAID THE AWFUL AND ULTIMATE PRICE FOR HIS DELAY AND SIMPLICITY:
A/ Amasa was so fooled by Joab's words/actions (took him by/beard) and
so blind to the significance/sword in his hand - he was easy meat
Paid the ultimate price for his position of trust - perished quickly
B/ He had delayed in the obeying of orders and created problems
(Whether this was all of his own doing does not detract from the story)
A sinner delaying in fleeing/Christ for salvation causes great problems
Bible calls sinners to an immediate faith
C/ The Devil waits with the instruments/death in his very hand
Awaits only his chance to plunge the soul/unsaved into the abyss/death
Note the removal of the body out of the way - Joab is good at that too
The same old tricks get played again/again on the sinner by Satan
Don't fall to the Devil's tactics - Appeal
THE END