Joab is not a good guy. We find him in the midst of a great deal of political intrigue in the midst of David’s Court. He literally MURDERS the man that David had replaced him in office with. David is not longer running from the confrontation such as that of Absalom, but is beginning to deal with matters in a more head on manner. But there is a lesson that can be learned from his actions in pursuing Sheba, who was in rebellion against David as King.
In II Samuel 20 we find that Joab and the army (in an effort to win himself a place in David’s court most likely. Amasa, who David named to replace Joab (because of Joab’s disobedience when he killed Absalom) tarried too long in chasing down Sheba, who argued that David should no longer be King.
First, Let’s look at things from Sheba’s point of view. The nation was divided over the issue of whether or not David should be returned to the throne. The people of Judah sent for David to resolve the issue. Sheba declared that the Northern part of the nation (Israel) should not follow David. Whether or not he planned to establish himself as king or some other is not certain, but he was in rebellion. Why?
INJUSTICE IN THE LAND
Well, Absalom had sown quite a few seeds of discontent. During his period of meeting people at the palace gate he had pointed out every flaw in David’s reign and strongly implied that there was no justice to be found in David’s kingdom. This was not an unfounded accusation.
David’s reign saw far too little justice. We know that David did a great job of defending the nation against external foes, such as the Philistines, but when it came to confrontation with his own people he just didn’t want to deal well with it. David had committed adultery and murder, and escaped the penalties of the law. Amnon had raped Tamar, and while we see that David was furious over it, nothing appeared to happen. Absalom murdered Amnon later in vengeance, and once again David did nothing more than banish Absalom from his presence. Absalom took the throne from David and rather than fight, he ran. Joab murdered Absalom and David’s drastic action is to reassign Joab, basically a do-nothing approach. When David returns to Jerusalem, he finds Mephibosheth, who obviously (because he had not bathed, shaved, nor even changed clothes) had mourned the missing king (or perhaps been in hiding) David does not want to deal with justly settling the issue between Ziba (Mephibosheth’s servant who claimed Mephibosheth had sided with Absalom) and Mephibosheth, but says abruptly, "just divide the lands between the two men." Mephibosheth’s answer makes it clear that he was not interested in the lands, but rather the rebuilding of the relationship. It had to be clear to King David who was lying in that situation, but he did nothing to bring about justice.
David’s misbehavior and "do-nothing" attitude led to a vacuum that made it questionable whether he had a right to return to the throne. Sheba was leading the Israelites to a vote of "no-confidence," and David knew it before he came to Jerusalem. Did he try to resolve the issues? We have no indication that he did so.
So Sheba may have felt justified in his rebellious actions. He wasn’t right to do what he did, but he may have felt as if he was right.
BUT DAVID WAS A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART, WASN’T HE?
Of course, David was a man who loved God and had godly characteristics. But the Bible shows every Biblical character (except Jesus) with their flaws. It was much easier for David to trust God and be that man "after God’s heart" when he was in the field with the sheep than when he had the responsibilities over a whole kingdom.
In your own spiritual growth, there are places where it is easier than others to be a person who is following God’s ways and paying attention to God. With all of his responsibilities he made some mistakes. This does not mean he did not love God, have faith in God, etc. It just meant that there were times in his life when his focus wasn’t on God’s will.
GETTING BACK TO JOAB
Joab’s men rally to chase Sheba and they corner him in a town called Abel. The people there grant him refuge and Joab proceeds to build a siege ramp, a siege tower, a battering ram.. but a way to get into the city. He demonstrates that he clearly intends to get into the city and capture Sheba.
WHEN DO YOU NEED TO BUILD A SIEGE TOWER?
Despite Joab’s murderous behavior, he was seeking to bring a rebel to justice. He was right to make it clear to those who were standing on the wrong side of an issue that he was serious about the issue.
In your own life, there are times when you have to stand up for what is right. You have to let people know you are going to take appropriate action.
Stand up to gossips. Proverbs 25:23
The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
Stand up to your children.
Stand up to abusive spouses.
Stand up and build your siege tower. Your siege tower may be grounding, disciplining, or scholding a child, calling the police, confronting someone with the wrong that they have done to you. But build your tower and let people know where you stand.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BUILD A TOWER?
Sometimes you have to go ahead and prosecute the siege. A siege tower means nothing if it is an idle threat. But, in our story a woman came and called out to Joab and Joab declared exactly what needed to be done to make matters right. Joab didn’t allow himself to be distracted by other issues. Sheba was the root problem that needed to be dealt with.
Now Joab could have destroyed the whole city. They had fallen for Sheba’s political point of view and offered him shelter. However, Joab was smart enough to see that Sheba himself was the problem.
Often when dealing with issues we get distracted by peripheral issues. We get distracted by personalities. We get distracted by others who have been misled by those who come against us. We get distracted by personalities, words, and even wrong actions. Deal with the REAL ISSUE! Deal with the SHEBA, not those who have foolishly sided with Sheba.
The people of the town recognize the right of Joab’s complaint. Sheba is in rebellion against the King and must be dealt with. The people of the town see the issue as it is, without personalities, emotions, etc. Just truth. When you get the tower built, be prepared to deal with TRUTH, not feelings, not emotions.
When you discipline your children- don’t do it in unrighteous anger? When you are angry with your spouse, don’t be angry in an unrighteous anger. You may have valid issues to be angry with people, but until you learn to state your case in a straightforward manner, you will likely not get responses.
WHEN DO YOU PULL DOWN THE TOWER?
Recognize when the issue is dealt with. In this case, it was clear. Sheba’s head came flying over the wall. Joab pulled away from the siege and returned to Jerusalem. He declared the battle over and the issue settled.
Learn how to know when an issue is settled. Joab didn’t have to occupy the town to know that he had convinced them that David was king. He knew he could go back to Jerusalem.
Too often, we have to hash and rehash old battles. We wonder if the people who sided with those we had to oppose really understand our positions. Joab didn’t do that. He recognized the issue was settled. We need to learn to do the same.
