2 Samuel 20:1-26
Sheba Urges Israel Not to Follow David
An evil man who always stirred up trouble happened to be in Gilgal. His name was Sheba, the son of Bikri. Sheba was from the tribe of Benjamin. He blew his trumpet. Then he shouted,
“We don’t have any share in David’s kingdom!
Jesse’s son is not our king!
Men of Israel, every one of you go back home!”
So all the men of Israel deserted David. They followed Sheba, the son of Bikri. But the men of Judah stayed with their king. They remained with him from the Jordan River all the way to Jerusalem.
David returned to his palace in Jerusalem. He had left ten concubines there to take care of the palace. He put them in a house and kept them under guard. He gave them what they needed. But he didn’t sleep with them. They were kept under guard until the day they died. They lived as if they were widows.
The king said to Amasa, “Send for the men of Judah. Tell them to come to me within three days. And be here yourself.” So Amasa went to get the men of Judah. But he took longer than the time the king had set for him.
David said to Abishai, “Sheba, the son of Bikri, will do more harm to us than Absalom ever did. Take my men and go after him. If you don’t, he’ll find cities that have high walls around them. He’ll go into one of them and escape from us.” So Joab’s men marched out with the Kerethites and Pelethites. They went out with all the mighty soldiers. All of them were under Abishai’s command. They marched out from Jerusalem and went after Sheba, the son of Bikri.
They arrived at the great rock in Gibeon. Amasa went there to welcome them. Joab was wearing his military clothes. Over them at his waist he had strapped on a belt that held a dagger. As he stepped forward, he secretly took the dagger out.
Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my friend?” Then Joab reached out his right hand. He took hold of Amasa’s beard to kiss him. Amasa didn’t notice the dagger in Joab’s left hand. Joab stuck it into his stomach. His insides spilled out on the ground. Joab didn’t have to stab him again. Amasa was already dead. Then Joab and his brother Abishai went after Sheba, the son of Bikri.
One of Joab’s men stood beside Amasa’s body. He said to the other men, “Are you pleased with Joab? Are you on David’s side? Then follow Joab!” Amasa’s body lay covered with his blood in the middle of the road. The man saw that all the troops stopped there. He realized that everyone was stopping to look at Amasa’s body. So he dragged it from the road into a field. Then he threw some clothes on top of it. After that happened, everyone continued on with Joab. They went after Sheba, the son of Bikri.
Sheba passed through all the territory of the tribes of Israel. He arrived at the city of Abel Beth Maakah. He had gone through the entire area of the Bikrites. They had gathered together and followed him. Joab and all his troops came to Abel Beth Maakah. They surrounded it because Sheba was there. They built a ramp up to the city. It stood against the outer wall. They pounded the wall with huge logs to bring it down. While that was going on, a wise woman called out from the city. She shouted, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come here. I want to speak to him.” So Joab went toward her. She asked, “Are you Joab?”
“I am,” he answered.
She said, “Listen to what I have to say.”
“I’m listening,” he said.
She continued, “Long ago people used to say, ‘Get your answer at Abel.’ And that would settle the matter. We are the most peaceful and faithful people in Israel. You are trying to destroy a city that is like a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up what belongs to the Lord?”
“I would never do anything like that!” Joab said. “I would never swallow up or destroy what belongs to the Lord! That isn’t what I have in mind at all. There’s a man named Sheba, the son of Bikri, in your city. He’s from the hill country of Ephraim. He’s trying to kill King David. Hand that man over to me. Then I’ll pull my men back from your city.”
The woman said to Joab, “We’ll throw his head down to you from the wall.”
Then the woman gave her wise advice to all the people in the city. They cut off the head of Sheba, the son of Bikri. They threw it down to Joab. So he blew his trumpet. Then his men pulled back from the city. Each of them returned to his home. And Joab went back to the king in Jerusalem.
David’s Officials
Joab was commander over Israel’s entire army.
Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was commander over the Kerethites and Pelethites.
Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work hard.
Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, kept the records.
Sheva was the secretary.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
Ira, the Jairite, was David’s priest.
2 Samuel 21:1-22
David Makes Things Right for the People of Gibeon
For three years in a row there wasn’t enough food in the land. That was while David was king. So David asked the Lord why he wasn’t blessing his people. The Lord said, “It is because Saul and his family committed murder. He put the people of Gibeon to death.”
The people of Gibeon weren’t a part of Israel. Instead, they were some of the Amorites who were still left alive. The Israelites had promised to spare them. But Saul had tried to put an end to them. That’s because he wanted to make Israel and Judah strong. So now King David sent for the people of Gibeon and spoke to them. He asked them, “What would you like me to do for you? How can I make up for the wrong things that were done to you? I want you to be able to pray that the Lord will once again bless his land.”
The people of Gibeon answered him. They said, “No amount of silver or gold can make up for what Saul and his family did to us. And we can’t put anyone in Israel to death.”
“What do you want me to do for you?” David asked.
They answered the king, “Saul nearly destroyed us. He made plans to wipe us out. We don’t have anywhere to live in Israel. So let seven of the males in his family line be given to us. We’ll kill them. We’ll put their dead bodies out in the open in the sight of the Lord. We’ll do it at Gibeah of Saul. Saul was the Lord’s chosen king.”
So King David said, “I’ll give seven males to you.”
The king spared Mephibosheth. He was the son of Jonathan and the grandson of Saul. David had made a promise in front of the Lord. He had promised to be kind to Jonathan and the family line of his father Saul. But the king chose Armoni and another Mephibosheth. They were the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah. Saul was their father. The king also chose the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab. Adriel, the son of Barzillai, was their father. Adriel was from Meholah. King David handed them over to the people of Gibeon. They killed them. They put their dead bodies out in the open on a hill in the sight of the Lord. All seven of them died together. They were put to death during the first days of the harvest. It happened just when people were beginning to harvest the barley.
Aiah’s daughter Rizpah took some rough cloth people wear when they’re sad. She spread it out for herself on a rock. She stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until it rained. The rain poured down from the sky on the dead bodies of the seven males. She didn’t let the birds touch them by day. She didn’t let the wild animals touch them at night. Someone told David what Rizpah had done. She was Aiah’s daughter and Saul’s concubine. David went and got the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. He got them from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead. They had stolen their bodies from the main street in Beth Shan. That’s where the Philistines had hung their bodies up on the city wall. They had done it after they struck Saul down on Mount Gilboa. David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from Jabesh Gilead. The bones of the seven males who had been killed and put out in the open were also gathered up.
The bones of Saul and his son Jonathan were buried in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. The tomb was at Zela in the territory of Benjamin. Everything the king commanded was done. After that, God answered prayer and blessed the land.
Wars Against the Philistines
Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines. He became very tired. Ishbi-Benob belonged to the family line of Rapha. The tip of his bronze spear weighed seven and a half pounds. He was also armed with a new sword. He said he would kill David. But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, came to save David. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men made a promise. They said to David, “We never want you to go out with us to battle again. You are the lamp of Israel’s kingdom. We want that lamp to keep on burning brightly.”
There was another battle against the Philistines. It took place at Gob. At that time Sibbekai killed Saph. Sibbekai was a Hushathite. Saph was from the family line of Rapha.
In another battle against the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan killed Goliath’s brother. Elhanan was the son of Jair from Bethlehem. Goliath was from the city of Gath. His spear was as big as a weaver’s rod.
There was still another battle. It took place at Gath. A huge man lived there. He had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. So the total number of his toes and fingers was 24. He was also from the family of Rapha. He made fun of Israel. So Jonathan killed him. Jonathan was the son of David’s brother Shimeah.
Those four Philistine men lived in Gath. They were from the family line of Rapha. David and his men killed them.
