”And there happened to be there a rebel, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet, and said: “We have no share in David, Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; Every man to his tents, O Israel!” So every man of Israel deserted David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king.“ II Samuel 20:1-2 NKJV
a. There happened to be a rebel: Sheba took advantage of David’s weakened position after Absalom’s failed rebellion and the conflict between Judah and the other ten tribes (2 Samuel 19:40-43). He based his rebellion on three principles common to rebels:
· We have no share in David: Sheba denied the king’s sovereignty. He claimed that David had no right to reign over him or the ten tribes of Israel.
· The son of Jesse: Sheba devalued the king’s identity. Jesse was a humble farmer and Sheba wanted to emphasize David’s humble beginning.
· Every man to his tents: Sheba decided to go his own way and drew others with him. He acted on his low opinion of David.
i. G. Campbell Morgan thought the phrase We have no share in David, nor do we have an inheritance in the son of Jesse was an effective slogan promoted by Sheba.
“The story should teach us that popular and plausible catchwords ought to be received and acted upon with great caution.”
b. Israel deserted David: Sheba succeeded in drawing away the ten northern tribes and David had another civil war to deal with.
i. In 2 Samuel 19:40-43 leaders from these same ten tribes argued with the tribe of Judah over who honored David more. Their response to Sheba’s rebellion shows that their desire to honor David had nothing to do with honoring him, but in exalting themselves.
ii. We might say that the tribe of Judah treated the other ten tribes unfairly, but “Injustice is never corrected by a yet deeper wrong.” (Morgan)
iii. We might say that it is in the nature of men to divide. We have to be held together by the Holy Spirit. Paul put it like this: I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3). We don’t make the unity of the Spirit, we keep the unity of the Spirit – but we must keep what He makes.
c. The men of Judah…remained loyal to their king: The desertion of the ten tribes was distressing but the loyalty of the men of Judah was wonderful. When others desert or divide it gives a greater opportunity to demonstrate loyalty.
i. We should imitate the loyalty Judah showed to their king. This means we must be loyal to Jesus in spite of the mocking of the multitude. We must be loyal to Jesus in spite of the rebellion of the flesh. We must be loyal to Jesus in spite of the times when He seems distant. (Guzik)
Loyalty!
“we must be loyal to Jesus in spite of the mocking of the multitude. We must be loyal to Jesus in spite of the rebellion of the flesh. We must be loyal to Jesus in spite of the times when He seems distant.”
Will we be able to remain loyal to the King when the multitude turns on Christianity?
I pray that I am able, what about you?
Blessings
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