”When they were at the large stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. Now Joab was dressed in battle armor; on it was a belt with a sword fastened in its sheath at his hips; and as he was going forward, it fell out. Then Joab said to Amasa, “Are you in health, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab’s hand. And he struck him with it in the stomach, and his entrails poured out on the ground; and he did not strike him again. Thus he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.“ II Samuel 20:8-10 NKJV
a. Amasa came before them: Amasa didn’t assemble the army of Judah quickly enough, but he didn’t want to be left out of the battle. He joined the troops loyal to David at Gibeon.
b. Joab took Amasa by the beard: Joab approached Amasa with cunning and deception. Holding the beard was a sign of a friendly welcome, and the fallen sword made it seem that Joab was unarmed.
c. He struck him with it in the stomach: Joab showed how ruthless he was. He murdered Amasa – the man who replaced him as commander of David’s armies – out of both rivalry and concern that Amasa did not genuinely support David. (Guzik)
i. “It is very likely that Amasa did not immediately die: I have known instances of persons living several hours after their bowels had been shed out.” (Clarke)
Ruthless
Joab was ruthless, “without pity or compassion; cruel; merciless”. This was the commander of David’s army and unfortunately his ruthlessness reflects his leadership from the top down onto the rest of the soldiers.
Joab lived by the sword and will die by the sword. He was executed by Solomon because of the blood guilt he caused on David’s house.
Blessings
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