2 Samuel 20 – Rivals hurt the cause

Joab, the down-downgraded commander (2 Sam 19:13), kills the new commander, Amasa, while the army is in pursuit of a new enemy, Sheba, son of Bichri. This compounds the other delays the army has trying to reach this rebel. First, Amasa was late in getting the army off, secondly, Joab has to convince the army to follow him, and finally, the soldiers are stopping to look at Amasa’s dead body on the road. Ultimately, the mission fails; Sheba has fled to a fortified city. Now the city must be put under siege, destroying the city and wasting valuable time and lives in the process. Our own pride and desire for power is costly to those around us. It is the Lord’s name and renown (Isaiah 26:8) we should be pursuing and not our own.