Past Behavior, Present Behavior

Why are we surprised when people who have done wrong things in the past do it again? In 2 Samuel 20 there’s an account of David sending out his new general, Amasa, to raise an army and go after a man who instigated a rebellion once David returned to the throne in Jerusalem. Sheba’s revolt was unorganized and unsuccessful, but David did not want Sheba to raise any more trouble, so David wanted him killed.

Amasa had been Absalom’s general and David, in an attempt to pacify Absalom’s followers, had elevated Amasa to the commander of his army. David’s nephew, Joab, had been the captain of the army for many years. When Amasa did not rally the necessary troops in the time David had allowed, David sent Joab, and troops faithful to Joab, out to find Sheba. On his way Joab’s army met Amasa’s army. And treachery occurred.

Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” Then Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. ¹⁰ Amasa was not on his guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab plunged it into his belly, and his intestines spilled out on the ground. Without being stabbed again, Amasa died. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bikri (NASB, 2 Samuel 20: 9-10).

Joab had no orders to harm Amasa, so why did he kill him? Just like in 2 Samuel 3:26-30 when Joab killed another potential commander of David’s army (Abner), Joab was out to keep his rank in David’s kingdom. He ruthlessly murdered his rivals for the 2^nd in command of David’s kingdom. He had done it before, so we should not be surprised that he does it again. Joab used deception to draw the unsuspecting Abner to his death by Joab’s hand, and here Joab does it again. He greets Amasa, his cousin, with kindness and apparent friendliness as one would a family member. Once Amasa is close enough, Joab fatally stabs him.

Maybe we don’t go to the point of killing our rivals, but where do we act in a way that undermines someone else’s position or authority? Self-promotion at the expense of others runs rampant in our society. We are ordered by Christ to look out for the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4 NASB: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”) This does not mean we don’t take care of our needs, but it means taking other people’s needs into account in all we do.