And the king said to Amasa, Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and do thou attend here.
David has just survived a rebellion that nearly cost him his throne. Now a second revolt breaks out under Sheba, and his first move is to hand the army to Amasa with a three-day deadline. The choice raises two questions. Was Amasa the right man? And was David acting on faith, or on panic?
Amasa was no stranger to David, and no stranger to opposing him either. A Bible dictionary sums up his record:
Son of Ithra, or Jether, by David's sister Abigail, whom Absalom in his revolt made captain of his army. David forgave him and promised him the command of the army, but Joab killed him by treachery. David left it to his son Solomon to avenge this act.
So the man now told to gather Judah had led the army of David's own son against him.
The promotion was also a piece of persuasion. One writer weighs both the risk in it and the reasoning behind it:
David uses one more means of persuasion. He declares that Amasa will be made commander of his army in place of Joab. This was a bold step on David's part. Amasa had sided with Absalom in his plot, and it was a fair question whether he could be trusted to command David's army. But David wanted to show a peace-making spirit toward the men who had joined Absalom. He also judged that Joab had proved himself too hard a man to represent the king well as commander of his army.
The order is specific: gather Judah, be back within three days. Amasa does not make it. The same writer notes what the new commander lacked:
As David had hinted he would, he passed over Joab in gathering his army. He gave Amasa — the man Absalom had appointed to lead his rebels — orders to gather the men of Judah within three days (v.4). But Amasa had no experience like Joab's, and he took longer than his orders allowed.
Commentators differ on how much blame Amasa deserves. Another writer puts as much weight on the king's impatience. He also asks a question the record never shows David asking:
David has decided to dismiss Joab, and he tries to keep the promise he made to his nephew Amasa by making him head of the army. He charges him with gathering the men of Judah to pursue Sheba. Amasa is slow to carry out his mission. Perhaps David was impatient, for Amasa was not a traitor. He had already reached Gibeon, not far from Jerusalem, when the company led by Abishai and the mighty men left the capital. The fact is that through fear of the harm Sheba might do, David falls into Joab's hands once again, and Abishai is the means of it. Could David not have inquired of the Lord at this fresh start of his reign? God had once before turned Israel's heart back; could He not do so a second time?
One commentator follows the chain. The missed deadline hands command straight back to the man David had just replaced:
The king calls Amasa to gather the tribe of Judah and chase Sheba. But Amasa is slow, and everything here depends on speed. So David gives Abishai the task of pursuing Sheba at the head of his standing guard. The special troop that Joab had lost goes with the rest, and Joab leads them. Here was fresh material for conflict. The murder of Amasa restores Joab to his old place at the head of the troops, and his success in capturing Sheba keeps him there.
Behind this verse stands Joab, unmentioned but not absent. He had been useful to David for years, and that usefulness is exactly the problem:
He knows the weak side of David's nature well... His is the misery of a soul at its best away from God, and so he must lead others away from Him too, even without meaning to. David's is the misery of having a counselor like this. Joab has made himself useful to the king in his own way, and, though conscience objects, he has to be accepted. Joab is to David like an unjudged sin. David has no power against it, and it is always at hand to strengthen the worse nature and defeat the better. Let us pray hard and seek that we have no Joabs.
- Commission. David forgives Amasa, who once led Absalom's rebel army, and hands him the royal one — pardon for a former enemy.
- Clock. The order sets a deadline of three days. Amasa lacks Joab's experience and takes longer than his orders allow.
- Counsel. One commentator presses the question David never asked. Could he not have inquired of the Lord at this fresh start of his reign? God had turned Israel's heart back to him once already.
- Consequence. Everything depended on speed, so the delay cost Amasa his post. David sent Abishai instead, Joab rode out with the troops, and Amasa's murder put Joab back in command.
- Caution. Joab was useful to David the way an unjudged sin is useful — always at hand, always strengthening the worse nature. The prayer drawn from it: that we have no Joabs.
So Amasa went to call together [the men of] Judah; but he delayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him.
David had just handed Joab's command to Amasa. At that moment a rebel named Sheba was pulling Israel away from the king. David gave Amasa three days to raise Judah and crush the revolt. Amasa missed the deadline, and the rest of the chapter turns on those lost hours.
The order went around Joab, the veteran commander David had just demoted. One writer sets the scene and names the likely reason Amasa could not deliver:
As David had said he would, he passed over Joab when gathering his army. He gave Amasa orders to raise the men of Judah within three days. Amasa was the man once appointed leader of Absalom's rebels. But he had no experience such as Joab had, and he delayed longer than he was told.
Amasa's appointment had been David's way of drawing the rebels back. It was also a gamble:
This was a bold step on David's part. Amasa had sided with Absalom in his conspiracy, so it was a serious question whether David could trust him as commander of his army. But David wanted to show a conciliatory spirit toward those who had joined Absalom.
Commentators differ on how to read the delay. One reads it as plain failure on Amasa's part:
Amasa was now the leader of David's armies, so David called him to put down the revolt. But he proved a failure and could not mobilize the army.
Another writer defends Amasa and turns the question back on David:
David has decided to dismiss Joab, and he tries to keep the promise he made to his nephew Amasa by making him head of the army. He gives him the task of gathering the men of Judah to pursue Sheba, the son of Bichri. Amasa is slow to carry out his mission. Perhaps David was impatient. Amasa was no traitor, and he had already reached Gibeon, not far from Jerusalem, when Abishai and the mighty men marched out of the capital. The truth is that David, afraid of the harm Sheba might do, falls into Joab's hands again through Abishai. Could not David have asked the Lord what to do at this fresh start of his reign? God had turned Israel's heart once before; could He not do it a second time?
The delay did not come out of nowhere. One writer traces both Sheba's revolt and Amasa's murder to a fault in David himself:
In all this David shows little of the dignity of faith. Perhaps for that reason he is allowed to suffer at least enough to convince him of his folly. Sheba's rebellion and the murder of Amasa both seem to spring out of David's unbelieving "haste" on this occasion. And Amasa himself seems little qualified for the position he was raised to.
Amasa's lost hours cost him his post. The gap he left fell to the man he had replaced:
The king calls Amasa to gather the tribe of Judah and pursue Sheba. But he is slow, and here everything depends on speed. So David gives Abishai the commission to chase Sheba down at the head of his standing guard. The special troop of the dismissed Joab goes with the rest, and Joab leads them. Here was fresh material for discord at once. The murder of Amasa restores Joab to his old place at the head of the troops, and his success in capturing Sheba keeps him there.
Joab had killed before. One writer names what drove him:
Joab is ambitious and has no scruples. Every act that advances his personal interests is legitimate to him. He becomes a murderer for the third time to regain his position.
One writer explains why putting off a command is so serious:
True obedience will also be prompt. Postponed obedience is often disobedience in one of its worst forms, and it certainly shows both insubordination and self-will. As soon as a command is given, the obligation is binding. Every moment of delay — unless the one who gave the command permits it — asserts and prolongs opposition to that authority... The obligation to obey is immediate. But there is more: the habit of neglecting to obey may soon be formed, and the next step may soon be an unwillingness to obey.
- Command. David gave Amasa three days to raise Judah against Sheba. The order passed over Joab, the commander he had just removed.
- Delay. Amasa ran past the time. Commentators differ on why. Some point to his inexperience and his failure to raise the men. Others say David was too impatient to wait for a man already on the road.
- Cause. The weakness went back further than the deadline. David gave the post away to win back a faction. It came from his haste, not from faith that God could turn Israel's heart again.
- Cost. Everything depended on speed. The lost hours passed the commission to Abishai, brought Joab back into the field, and ended in Amasa's murder.
- Lesson. The duty to obey starts the moment the command is given. Delay hardens into unwillingness to obey at all.
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 fortified cities and escape our sight.
David is only just back on his throne after Absalom's revolt when a man named Sheba blows a trumpet and pulls Israel away from him. David judges this one obscure man a worse danger than his own son's whole rebellion — so why should a small revolt frighten a king more than a large one?
Sheba's trumpet call denied Israel any share in David at all. That cry outlived the man who first shouted it.
Judah and Israel were held together in practical oneness under David, the anointed of God, as fellow sharers in the blessings secured in Him for the nation; but even in His days the divisive spirit showed itself in "a worthless man." He blew a trumpet and said, "We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!" (2 Sam. 20:1). The seed was sown that day. The evil work was stopped at the time, but it still bore its bad fruit long after. In Rehoboam's reign the people answered the king, "What portion do we have in David?"
Sheba did not create the discontent he used. The previous chapter ends with Judah and Israel arguing over who loved the king most, and one writer reads that argument as the real opening for the revolt.
All these exchanges are of the flesh. Wanting a role in the things of God, jealousy as we watch what our brothers do, wounded self-love, being taken up with ourselves — this is certainly not the fruit of the Spirit… Those who are right act without love, and division is the sure result. This division appears in 2 Samuel 20:1-2. Satan stirs it up, using Sheba the son of Bichri for the work. Israel had just said, "I have ten parts in the king." Now Israel cries, "We have no portion in David."
The tribes that ran after Sheba knew nothing about him except that he was loud and sure of himself.
The Israelites were already angry with Judah. So Sheba's loud voice and confident tone swayed all Israel to follow him, with no thought at all about the character of their leader. What a lesson for the people of God! Friction and quarreling can lead men to accept the leadership of a wicked and worthless man! Sects form easily this way.
David's first order went to Amasa. Amasa was slow, so David turned to Abishai — and that change of hand had consequences no one intended.
The king calls Amasa to gather the tribe of Judah and chase Sheba. But Amasa is slow, and everything depends on speed. So David gives Abishai the commission to pursue Sheba at the head of his standing guard. The special troop of Joab, who has lost his command, goes with the rest, and Joab leads them. Here at once was material for discord again, and the murder of Amasa restores Joab to his old place at the head of the troops.
One writer doubts that Amasa was really the problem. He suspects David's own fear was at work, and asks what David might have done instead.
Perhaps David was impatient. Amasa was not a traitor, and he had already reached Gibeon, a town not far from Jerusalem, when Abishai and the mighty men marched out of the capital (v. 8). The fact is that through fear of the evil Sheba might do, David once again falls into Joab's hands through Abishai. Could not David have asked the Lord for guidance at this fresh start of his reign? God had once before inclined Israel's heart; could He not do so a second time?
David feared Sheba would escape into walled cities. In the end one woman inside such a city saw where the trouble really lay.
This war between brothers comes to an end through the death of Sheba, the real culprit… Joab accuses Sheba of having "lifted up his hand against the king, against David" (v. 21). This got to the heart of the matter, for Sheba's attack was aimed at the king. The woman of the city of Abel realizes that the only way to restore peace is by judging the guilty one… It is not, as people often say, a matter of everyone admitting his wrongs and humbling himself. That does not remove the evil. The one who had lifted up his hand against David must be cut off.
- Cause — the revolt grew out of a quarrel between Judah and Israel. It was all of the flesh: being right was no protection against acting without love.
- Cry — Sheba's cry denied Israel any portion in David. That seed came up again in Rehoboam's reign and split the kingdom for good.
- Crowd — Israel followed a loud, confident voice without weighing the man's character. Sects form this way.
- Command — everything depended on speed. David passed the order from the slow Amasa to Abishai, and that change handed Joab back the army.
- Cure — One wise woman ended the war by cutting off the man who had lifted his hand against the king. General regret would not have removed the evil.
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.
David has barely returned to his throne when a fresh revolt breaks out. The force that marches out of Jerusalem is not quite the force he ordered, and that raises the question behind the rest of the chapter: who really commands David's army?
One writer traces the chain of events that produced this mixed column of troops, and what it cost.
The king has not even reached Jerusalem before a shadow appears. A little more than a generation later, that shadow would be the beginning of the end for Israel's independence. The king calls Amasa to gather the tribe of Judah in pursuit of Sheba; but he is slow, where everything depends on speed. David therefore entrusts Abishai with the commission to pursue Sheba at the head of his standing guard. Joab has been stripped of his post, yet his own special troop goes with the rest — and Joab is at their head. Here at once was material for fresh discord. The murder of Amasa restores Joab to his old place at the head of the troops, and his success in capturing Sheba keeps him there. Joab is shrewd and brave, and just as unscrupulous. His figure dominates this whole last part of David's reign.
One writer weighs Amasa's delay against David's alarm, and asks what David failed to do.
Amasa is slow to carry out his mission. Perhaps David was impatient. Amasa was not a traitor, and he had already reached Gibeon, not far from Jerusalem, when the company led by Abishai and the mighty men marched out of the capital (v. 8). The fact is that through fear of the evil that Sheba might do, David once again falls into Joab's hands through Abishai. Could not David have inquired of the Lord at this renewing of his reign? God had once before inclined Israel's heart; could He not do so a second time?
David gave the command to Abishai. The men who marched were Joab's.
But verse 7 tells us it was Joab's men, with the Cherethites and the Pelethites (David's bodyguard) who went with him. Joab himself was not going to be left out, whatever David's orders were. They started on their way to pursue Sheba.
One reference work explains who these guards were and where they stood when David's throne was last in danger.
Bodyguard of David and officers sent to do service... They were faithful to David at the revolt of Absalom. 2 Sam. 8:18; 2 Sam. 15:18; 2 Sam. 20:7, 23; 1 Kings 1:38, 44; 1 Chr. 18:17.
The Pelethites are harder to pin down. One dictionary links their name to speed, but admits the meaning is not settled:
These men formed part of David's guard, and they are always grouped with the Cherethites. It is uncertain where they came from or what the name means. Gesenius calls them "public couriers," no doubt because peleth means "swiftness." The Septuagint and the Vulgate, the early Greek and Latin translations, leave the name untranslated. Some trace the word to the Philistines.
These men stood closest to the king. One writer turns that into a picture for today.
Among the warriors of David were also those "Cherethites and Pelethites." They served as a special bodyguard for the king. Doesn't this remind us that even today, perhaps more than ever, we need men of God who take special care to "guard" the holy person of our Lord? They make sure that all the basic truths about His person are held fast and defended. These truths include His eternal sonship, His virgin birth, His sinless humanity, His divine person, His atoning death, His resurrection and ascension, and His second coming.
Within a few verses this march costs Amasa his life, and Joab has his command back. One writer weighs what that service was really worth:
From a practical viewpoint Joab had done well for David's kingdom, but it was the prosperity of the kingdom for which he was zealous, not for the honour of God. David had refused to have Saul killed by his men, but Joab had not hesitated to kill Abner, Absalom and Amasa.
- Delay — Amasa was slow where everything depended on speed. His delay opened the door to all that followed.
- Fear — David acted from dread of what Sheba might do, instead of asking the Lord. So he fell back into Joab's hands.
- Intrusion — David appointed Abishai, yet Joab's men marched, and Joab marched at their head. He would not be left out.
- Guard — the Cherethites and Pelethites stayed loyal through Absalom's revolt. Guarding the king's person is still work worth doing.
- Motive — Joab served the kingdom's success well and God's honour not at all. Results are not the measure of a servant.
When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. And Joab was girded with his coat, his dress, and upon it was the girdle of the sword which was fastened on his loins in its sheath; and as he went forth it fell out.
Verse 8 reads like a plain list of details: a meeting place, a man's clothing, a belt, a sword that slips from its sheath. Every detail matters, because the next two verses turn the scene into a murder. The question is whether the falling sword was an accident or a rehearsal.
David feared what Sheba son of Bichri might do. He sent Abishai to hunt him down. But Amasa, David's new commander, had the job first, and he was slow. One commentator defends Amasa and turns the question back on David:
David has decided to dismiss Joab. He tries to keep the promise he made to his nephew Amasa by making him head of the army. He orders him to gather the men of Judah and pursue the son of Bichri. Amasa is slow to carry out his mission. Perhaps David was impatient, for Amasa was not a traitor. He had already come to Gibeon, not far from Jerusalem, when the company led by Abishai and the mighty men left the capital. The fact is that David feared the harm Sheba might do, and so he falls into Joab's hands once again, this time through Abishai.
The place where they met has its own history with Joab:
Near "the great stone" in Gibeon, Joab killed Amasa by treachery. Later, as retribution, he fled to that same city and took hold of the horns of the altar for protection. But that is where he was put to death.
David's orders named Abishai. Verse 7 shows who actually marched:
But verse 7 tells us it was Joab's men, with the Cherethites and the Pelethites (David's bodyguard) who went with him. Joab himself was not going to be left out, whatever David's orders were.
Joab's reason was personal. He kept a long list of grudges:
Joab, as we shall see, never forgives anything. It may be a stain on his family, or someone taking his position, or the danger of competition for the place of supreme command.
The verse lingers on what Joab was wearing. Amasa had every reason to be on guard, and was not:
Amasa suspected nothing. He ought to have remembered Joab's murder of Abner. He should have known that Joab would bitterly resent his promotion above him to the rank of commander of David's armies. Joab was dressed in battle armour and had a sword in his left hand. Amasa did not even notice it, all the more so because Joab spoke to him in friendly terms: "Is it well with you, my brother?" Then he came close to kiss him. But "the kisses of an enemy are deceitful", and Joab plunged his sword into Amasa's chest.
The dropped sword handed Joab something most planned murders lack: a cover story.
Joab picked up the sword, but Amasa did not see it in his hand. Then he struck Amasa on purpose, so that he died. He might have talked his way out of the accusation of murder by saying that Amasa fell onto the sword and it was an accident. But 1 Kings 2:32 records the reckoning that came on unscrupulous Joab for the innocent blood he had shed.
Ambition explains everything Joab does:
Joab is an ambitious man. He seeks to advance in the world and to win the first place in the kingdom… He can tell right from wrong. But he only opposes what is wrong when it crosses his own plans. And when something right runs against his interests, he crushes it. Nothing stops him. He has no scruples in satisfying his ambition. Someone has said of him: "We find Joab wherever there is evil to do or much to gain."
Joab may have told himself he was serving his king. One commentator answers that:
Perhaps this bloody man thought he was serving his king all the while he was serving his own self-interests. Impossible! What a man does in his own interest, he does against God. In a time of peace, the blood of war had stained Joab's "belt and shoes" — his service and his walk. This was a defilement. War must overtake him in turn. He must learn that there could be no peace for him. Peace is kept for those who make peace.
- Place. Joab killed Amasa at the great stone in Gibeon. Gibeon is also where Joab himself later died. The crime scene became the place of sentence.
- Motive. Joab came uninvited. The mission was Abishai's, but Amasa held the command Joab wanted back.
- Method. The armour, belt and loose sword are not scenery. They are the cover for a greeting, a kiss and a fatal blow.
- Cover. A sword that "fell out" leaves room to plead accident — ambition plans its alibi along with its crime.
- Reckoning. Blood on the belt and shoes marked Joab's service and his walk. Peace is for those who make peace, so war overtook him in the end.
And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou well, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
Joab greets Amasa as a brother and leans in to kiss him. Amasa had taken Joab's command, yet he suspects nothing. How did a sign of affection become the cover for murder, and what does it show about the man who used it?
Amasa had every reason to be on his guard: Joab had already murdered a rival commander, Abner. The verse says Joab's right hand took Amasa by the beard. One writer explains what the other hand held.
Amasa suspected nothing. Yet he should have remembered Joab's murder of Abner (2 Samuel 3:26-27). He should also have known that Joab would deeply resent his promotion above him to commander of David's armies. Joab wore battle armour and held a sword in his left hand. Amasa did not even notice it, since Joab spoke to him as a friend: "Is it well with you, my brother?" Then Joab came close to kiss him. But "the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" (Prov. 27:6), and Joab plunged his sword into Amasa's chest at the same time, making sure he killed him with one stroke.
(Proverbs 27:6 reads in the ESV: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.")
Amasa and Joab were cousins, so the word "brother" was not empty flattery. One writer sets out what Joab never forgave.
Amasa replaces Joab at the head of the army of David's rebellious son. He was a cousin to Joab — a cousin through his mother, but also through his mother's dishonour. Joab never forgives anything — a stain on his family, the taking of his position, or the threat of a rival for the supreme command.
Another writer draws out the contrast in that proverb.
A friend's wounds, on the contrary, are faithful, for in them God's will is done, even though it is misunderstood and resented for a while. An enemy betrays himself by the very profuseness of his kisses.
One writer turns the scene into a warning about our own love. He sets Joab beside Judas, who also used a kiss.
It is easy to pretend love, and to hide malice by professing to act in love. Joab can kiss the man he is about to murder (2 Sam. 20:9-10), and Judas can kiss His Master to betray Him... Unfeigned love is an unselfish love that thinks of the good of others.
On paper Joab had served David's kingdom well. One writer asks what he was really zealous for.
From a practical viewpoint Joab had done well for David's kingdom, but it was the prosperity of the kingdom he was zealous for, not the honour of God. David had refused to have Saul killed by his men, but Joab had not hesitated to kill Abner, Absalom and Amasa.
Years of loyal service had concealed what this one moment revealed.
Sooner or later the flesh, however clever it may be, must uncover itself and show its true character. For a long time Joab could keep company with David, the Lord's Anointed, and hide the motives that drove and controlled his heart. But an occasion always arises when the natural heart shows itself hostile and rebellious.
David let the murder pass. One source traces that weakness back to David's own past sin.
This roused Joab's jealousy, and he craftily killed Amasa and took back his place at the head of the army. 2 Sam. 20:4-10. David had said before this, "These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me." But his own sin in the matter of Uriah left him weak in the face of Joab's murder of Amasa.
- Motive. Joab had lost his command to Amasa. By one account he forgave nothing: not a stain on his family, not a rival, not the loss of the top post.
- Mask. The greeting and the kiss were the weapon's cover; the very lavishness of an enemy's kisses is what gives him away.
- Moment. Long service beside the king hid Joab's true motives. But the flesh must uncover itself in the end, and one occasion exposed the whole man.
- Measure. Joab served the kingdom's success, not God's honour. Good results are no proof of a right heart.
- Mirror. The scene tests our own love. Love that is not pretended is unselfish and seeks another's good — the opposite of a kiss with a sword behind it.
And Amasa had taken no notice of the sword that was in Joab's hand so he smote him with it in the belly and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. And Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.
On the road at Gibeon, Joab greets Amasa as a brother and kills him with one thrust. Why did the head of David's army murder a fellow commander, why did David do nothing, and what does God make of a servant whose loyalty is self-interest?
Amasa had every reason to be on guard, and he was not.
Amasa suspected nothing. Yet he should have remembered Joab's murder of Abner, and he should have known that Joab would resent Amasa's promotion above him to commander of David's armies. Joab was dressed in battle armor and held a sword in his left hand. Amasa did not even notice it, especially since Joab spoke to him in friendly terms, "Are you in health, my brother?" and came close to kiss him. But "the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" (Prov. 27:6), and Joab plunged his sword into Amasa at the same time, making sure he killed him with one stroke.
Joab's sword fell from its sheath, and he picked it up. That detail could have given him an excuse.
Joab wore a sword at his waist in its sheath, and the sword fell out. He picked it up, but Amasa did not see the sword in his hand. Then he struck Amasa on purpose, so that he died. He could have lied his way out of the charge of murder. He could have said that Amasa fell on the sword by accident. But 1 Kings 2:32 gives the reckoning with unscrupulous Joab for the innocent blood he had shed.
One writer sets Joab's kiss beside another famous one.
It is easy to feign love, and hide malice by professing to act in love. Joab can kiss the man he is about to murder, and Judas can kiss his Master to betray Him. The flesh can act like Israel long ago. Scripture says of them, "With their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their covetousness" (Ezek. 33:31). Unfeigned love is an unselfish love that thinks of the good of others.
Amasa now held Joab's command, and Joab wanted it back.
Joab is ambitious and has no scruples. For him, every act that advances his personal interests is legitimate. To regain his position, he becomes a murderer for the third time.
Joab had killed like this before and paid no price. David did nothing this time either.
He treacherously killed Abner in cold blood, claiming that Abner had killed his brother Asahel; but Asahel had died in battle. He was also the unscrupulous instrument of David's sin in the killing of Uriah. Amasa was made captain of the army in Joab's place. This roused the jealousy of Joab, and he killed Amasa by a trick and resumed his place at the head of the army. David had said before this, "These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me." But his own sin over Uriah left him weak when Joab murdered Amasa.
Joab's crime worked. The revolt collapsed and the kingdom held together.
Amasa proved inefficient in his first commission. Then Joab murdered Amasa in cold blood. Without David's instruction, Joab took up Amasa's commission and carried it out fast and well. That freed David from the threat of a broken kingdom. In practical terms Joab had done well for David's kingdom. But he was zealous for the prosperity of the kingdom, not for the honour of God.
Joab won his position back. One writer weighs what that success was worth before God.
Perhaps this bloody man thought he was serving his king all the while he was serving his own self-interests. Impossible! What a man does in his self-interest, he is doing against God. In time of peace Joab's "belt and shoes," his service and his walk, had been stained with the blood of war. This was a defilement. War must overtake him in turn. He must learn that there could be no peace for him, since peace belongs to those who make peace (James 3:18).
- Peace spoken. Joab greeted Amasa as a brother and reached for his beard as if to kiss him. The warmest words in the chapter covered the coldest act.
- Peace broken. One stroke was enough. Joab wore armour and held a ready sword. The falling sword gave him an excuse he never even had to use.
- Peace purchased. Joab murdered his way back to the command he had lost, and the kingdom did benefit. But he was zealous for the kingdom, not for the honour of God.
- Peace unpunished — for a while. David, weakened by his own sin over Uriah, could not touch him; delay is not acquittal.
- Peace denied. He shed the blood of war in a time of peace, and peace belongs to peacemakers. His belt and his shoes — his service and his walk — carried that defilement.