Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Samuel 20-22.

We see in today’s passage the political problems which King David faced reaching full bloom.  At the end of yesterday’s passage we saw the tribe of Judah claiming precedence over the other tribes because of their closer relationship with King David.  Today’s passage begins with Sheba son of Bikri trying to take advantage of both this dispute between the tribes and King David’s weakness following Absalom’s attempt to usurp the throne.  My reading of the situation is that King David attempted to strengthen his hold over the tribe of Judah by making Amasa commander of his army in order to compensate for his weakened support from other tribes.  When Amasa took too long to raise the levy of troops from Judah, King David sent the men he had out under Abishai, Joab’s brother.  Nevertheless, Joab went along, and, after killing Amasa, took command of the army.  It seems to me that at least part of the reason Joab killed Amasa was because Amasa had supported Absalom’s rebellion.

I love the imagery in the psalm of David recorded here. It brings to my mind the climactic scene of an action movie.  The “victim” has been brought low by their enemies and cry out to the protagonist, who rises from their place of power and comes out to rescue the “victim” from the villain.  When you see that scene in an action movie, you cannot help but think about the villain, “Oops, you didn’t want to do that.”  And that is the image which David tells us those who put their trust in God should keep in mind when the waters of life rise around them.  Do not put your trust in your own ability.  Instead put your trust in God and faithfully follow His commands.

When I wrote the above, I felt like the water was rising around me.  I was crying out to God in desperation because of events in my life.  Shortly after I finished writing it, I received communications, through two different media, that revealed to me that my concerns were unfounded. God is good.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.