2 Samuel 20:4-7
Verse 5 But when Amasa went to summon Judah, he took longer than the time the king had set for him.
Having settled back into the palace and taken care of his personal responsibilities David got started on pursuing the matter at hand in regards to Sheba and the tribes he was trying to draw away from the kingdom God had placed David in charge of. It was necessary to get his army men in on the mission and that required figuring out what his army looked like now that Sheba had taken some of the military with him.
Isn’t it interesting David chose to incorporate Amasa into the army he was gathering? This man who had been chosen by his son to lead the men of Israel in the battle to against David was now being chosen to aid the very king he had tried to kill. Whether David was trying to give Amasa a second chance at doing the right thing or if he was wanting the man to prove his loyalty, the king made the choice and the man was sent on his way.
Amasa had a relatively easy job, he was to gather the men of Judah together, a matter of rallying the troops to go out in pursuit of Sheba and the men of Israel. David sent him with a deadline for gathering the men together and getting them to Jerusalem all ready to go. Even though David had trusted Amasa to do his bidding the man ended up showing his lack of loyalty to King David and took his sweet time gathering the men.
When Amasa didn’t return in the three days given David knew he had to send the troops out without him. Though Joab had been his number one man for many years, the king knew he could no longer trust him. A man who would willingly go so blatantly against the king’s orders was not the man you wanted to have leading your men into battle against another revolting citizen.
So the king calls Abishai, Joab’s brother, to lead the king’s men out in pursuit. Poor David, in a matter of days he had been betrayed by his number one man, had another man start another revolt against him and now the man he was trying to give a second chance had turned back on him leading David to have to put his hot-headed big mouth commander in charge of pursuing the man leading the revolt. He must have felt like he was losing men he could trust.
Making It Personal
When have you found yourself questioning who you could trust? What caused you to question the trust of those around you? Can your friends trust you?
Making It Personal Kids
Have you ever felt like you don’t have anyone you can trust? Why did you feel that way? Can people trust you?
Closing Prayer
Father, we are so thankful for the second chances You give us, help us not to take them for granted. Give us wisdom to know who we can trust and help us not hold back trust from those who are worthy of it because of those who have mistreated us in the past. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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