Friday 25th October
Read 2 Samuel 11:18-21
“Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: ‘When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, “Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?” If he asks you this, then say to him, “Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”’” (NIVUK)
What a vivid imagination! Joab is rather concerned that this defeat will make David angry and call into question Joab’s leadership and therefore provides a rather detailed, pre-emptive, response to David’s anger. The messenger probably appreciated this also as David has a reputation for responding poorly to news others think he may be looking forward to hearing.
It is a crafty message, perhaps even more clever than we know. As we will see, the messenger leaves out the rather obtuse section about a woman killing the son of a judge by dropping something on him from above (cf Judges 9). Perhaps Joab is aware that David’s downfall may come at the hands of a woman also, which prompted the murderous plan in the first place. He is suggesting that David will be thinking about such things, or at least should be…
When even ‘servants’ of David are at risk (v21c), the wise ones redouble their efforts to stay on the right side of those who have lost their moral compass. How often do you second-guess conversations in order to avoid confrontation? Or are we brave enough to call out the questionable behaviour.
