Tethered

February 8th, 2025

Tethered

2 Samuel 20:4-22

4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.” 5 So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. 6 And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us.” 7 And there went out after him Joab's men and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier's garment, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened on his thigh, and as he went forward it fell out. 9 And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab's hand. So Joab struck him with it in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow, and he died.

Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 And one of Joab's young men took his stand by Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” 12 And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway. And anyone who came by, seeing him, stopped. And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. 13 When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

14 And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-maacah, and all the Bichrites[c] assembled and followed him in. 15 And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah. They cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart, and they were battering the wall to throw it down. 16 Then a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come here, that I may speak to you.’” 17 And he came near her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” And he answered, “I am listening.” 18 Then she said, “They used to say in former times, ‘Let them but ask counsel at Abel,’ and so they settled a matter. 19 I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord?” 20 Joab answered, “Far be it from me, far be it, that I should swallow up or destroy! 21 That is not true. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, called Sheba the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.” 22 Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, every man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

Defying Orders

During the Korean Conflict, General Douglas Macarthur defied the orders of President Harry Truman, prompting the president to fire him. MacArthur was a highly-decorated war hero, and far more popular with the American people than Truman. Their standoff caused national tension at the beginning of the Cold War. I think of that episode as I read about David’s stormy relationship with Joab (20:4–23).

David never could control his nephew Joab. Unlike Sheba or Absalom, Joab is loyal to David. He’s a brilliant politician and David’s toughest, bravest soldier. He is also a loose cannon, and a constant source of trouble. When David tried to make peace in chapter 3 by making Abner his general, Joab murdered him. Joab also killed Absalom against David’s orders, and yelled at David for mourning his son instead of thanking his troops. Finally, David made the Harry Truman decision: he replaced Joab with Amasa (19:13).

Getting His Old Job Back

Unfortunately, Amasa isn’t half the general that Joab was. He can’t handle the crisis of Sheba’s rebellion, and is incapable of enforcing David’s orders (20:4–5). And Joab does not intend to accept this demotion. He approaches Amasa as a friend, wearing a disguise, then spills Amasa’s guts all over the ground with a hidden dagger (6–12). Joab then immediately rallies the troops back to his leadership. Amasa is still writhing in his own blood in the road while he makes his speech—a slight distraction. So Joab has his body thrown in a ditch, takes over the army, and takes care of business (10–13). After thrashing Sheba’s troops, he negotiates with a woman in the city where Sheba is hiding. She ends the war by tossing Sheba’s head over the wall. Joab rides back to Jerusalem, presents the head to David, and reclaims his old job (14–22).

David's Fragile Kingdom

You have to admire Joab’s abilities: he always gets the job done! He has also murdered, manipulated, mutinied, and is now dangerously powerful. Compare Joab’s influence in this story with David’s: David gives one failed order in 20:6, then fades from the action. No one listens to him anymore. Meanwhile, everyone obeys the orders of Joab, the man of action who secures the victory. Joab is now running the Kingdom, not David. At the beginning of 2 Samuel, everything David touched turned to gold. By the end of chapter 20, everything he touches falls apart. He is ineffective, irrelevant, and out of control. The kingdom that once looked so strong is now so fragile.

Tetherball

But that’s why v23–26 are so important in this story. They tell us of the kingdom’s problems, yes. But they also testify of the kingdom’s perseverance. After all that David, and God’s kingdom, have been through, they are still standing, by the grace of God.

Not long ago, I played a game of tetherball with a group of church kids. It’s a simple concept: a ball is tied by a rope to the top of a steel post, while two teams beat the tar out of it from opposite directions, both trying to wrap the rope all the way around the post. The ball gets battered this way, then that way. But at the end of the game, it is still tethered. This is David at the end of his life: battered in every direction, by his own sin, the choices of others, and by events beyond his control. But at the end, he is still tethered by God’s promise (ch 7). In the same way, we are tethered by God’s promise of a better king. Jesus shed his own blood to bring us peace, brings us under his control by the Holy Spirit, and is building a kingdom that will never fade or fail. In Christ, our battered lives are firmly tethered (Heb 6:19).

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