2 Samuel 20:1 - Meaning and Application

David, in the middle of his victories, has the sorrow of seeing his kingdom thrown into disorder and his family disgraced.

His subjects rebelled at the urging of a worthless man, and they followed him after they had turned away from the man after God’s own heart. Notice, first, that this happened right after Absalom’s rebellion was crushed. We should not think it strange, while we live in this world, if one trouble ends only for another to begin. Deep trouble sometimes calls to deep trouble.

Second, the people had just been coming back to their loyalty when they suddenly turned away again. When peace has only recently been made, it should be handled with great care and patience, so the peace does not break apart before it is fully settled. A broken bone, once it has been set, needs time to knit again.

Third, the leader of this rebellion was Sheba, a Benjamite by birth (2 Samuel 20:1), who lived in Mount Ephraim (2 Samuel 20:21). Shimei and Sheba were both from Saul’s tribe, and both held onto the old bitterness of that family. There is an inherited hatred against the kingdom of the Messiah in the serpent’s offspring, and they keep making attempts to overthrow it (Psalm 2:1, 2:2). But he who sits in heaven laughs at them all.

Fourth, the cause of this trouble was that foolish quarrel we saw at the end of the previous chapter, between the elders of Israel and the elders of Judah, over bringing the king back. It was a matter of pride over who had the greater claim to David. “We are more numerous,” the elders of Israel said. “We are closer kin to him,” the elders of Judah said. One would think David was safest and happiest when his people were competing over who loved him best and who would honor him most, yet even that became the opening for rebellion.

The men of Israel complained to David about the slight they had received from the men of Judah. If David had now supported their complaint, praised their loyalty, and thanked them for it, he might have kept them firmly on his side. But he seemed to favor his own tribe, and the words of Judah carried more weight than the words of Israel. David leaned toward justifying Judah, and when Israel saw that, they turned away in anger. “If the king will let himself be taken over by the men of Judah, let him and them enjoy one another. We will choose a king for ourselves. We thought we had ten shares in David, but that will not be allowed. Judah is telling us, in effect, that we have no part in him, so we will have no part in him either. We will not continue to follow him to Jerusalem, and we will not own him as our king.”

This was announced by Sheba (2 Samuel 20:1), who was probably a man of influence and had likely been active in Absalom’s rebellion. The offended Israelites took the hint and went away from David to follow Sheba (2 Samuel 20:2), meaning that most of them did so, while only the men of Judah stayed with David.

From this we learn, first, that it is as unwise for rulers to show favoritism to their subjects as it is for parents to show favoritism to their children. Both should deal evenhandedly with those under their care. Second, those people do not understand what they are doing when they treat the affection of those beneath them as something small, and do not honor or receive it properly. Hatred from people whose love has been despised is a serious thing.

Third, the start of conflict is like water breaking loose, so it is wise to stop it before it goes further (Proverbs 17:14). How much trouble can a little spark of this fire set off! Fourth, twisting someone’s words destroys peace. Much harm is done by forcing hostile meanings onto what has been said or written, and by drawing conclusions that were never intended. The men of Judah said, “The king is near of kin to us.” The men of Israel answered, “Then you mean we have no share in him,” even though Judah meant nothing of the kind.

Fifth, people are very quick to move to extremes. “We have ten shares in David,” they said, and almost at once, “We have no part in him.” One day, “Hosanna,” and the next day, “Crucify.”

David’s concubines were kept apart for life, and he had to confine them because Absalom had defiled them (2 Samuel 20:3). David had taken many wives, which went against God’s law, and they became a grief and shame to him. Those in whom he had once taken sinful pleasure were now a burden he had to put away.

He had to shut them up, first as a duty, because they had been made unclean to him by the shameful sin his son committed with them. Those he had loved now had to be avoided. He had to do it, second, for prudence, so they would not be seen openly and shamed, and so that people would not keep speaking about what Absalom had done to them, a thing that should not even be mentioned (1 Corinthians 5:1). That vile act was to be buried in obscurity. He had to do it, third, as an act of justice, to punish them for their easy yielding to Absalom’s lust, perhaps because they had given up hope of David’s return and counted him as lost. Let no one expect to do evil and still come away well.