Pastor and 1st Lady Mims

Mims Chapel Church

Week 10, February 1

LESSON 10

The Insubordinate Servant

Lesson Text:

2 Samuel 18:9-17, 33; 19:1-8; Proverbs 19:10-12

Memory Verse
"Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter"
Ecclesiastes 10:20

Key Terms
Copse • A thicket, grove, or growth of small trees.
Coup d'etat (koo' de-tä') • The violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group.

Insubordinate • Not submissive to authority; disobedient or rebellious.

Suggested Emphasis

King David's eldest son Absalom harbored envy and recrimination in his heart for four years after his return to the palace (after the exile imposed because he murdered his half-brother Amnon). The prince was carefully plotting a coup d'etat against his father. Finally, at the culmination of his scheming, he asked the king for leave to visit Hebron, on the pretense of religious duty. Instead, the plan was to be declared king there by a group of conspirators, and then to spread the news throughout Israel. Absalom had cultivated relationships throughout the realm, and once he made a claim to the throne, large numbers gathered to his side.

David and an entourage of faithful servants fled Jerusalem ahead of Absalom's triumphal reentry into the city. From a vantage point across the Jordan River, with precious time bought by the royal advisor Hushai's misleading counsel to Absalom (2 Samuel 17:14), David marshalled his forces to engage the rebel army (2 Samuel 18:1). However, the father instructed his generals to restrain from hurting his rebellious son (2 Samuel 18:5). This set the parameters of a looming conflict between David and his chief lieutenant Joab.

Emphasis 1:

Ignoring the King's Wishes

By providence, David's men completely routed the rebels; Absalom himself had to flee into a forest. As he was riding his mule through a dense copse to escape his father's warriors, Absalom tried to ride under a low-hanging thicket, and got his hair tangled in the brush. He was so snarled that his mule rode out from beneath him, leaving him suspended in the air (2 Samuel 18:9). Trapped as he was, Absalom was spotted by a soldier, who reported the matter to Joab.

The general upbraided the man for not striking down their enemy on the spot; he told the man that in his fecklessness he forfeited a substantial reward for killing Absalom. However, the soldier defended his inaction by reminding Joab that the king had straightly charged them to spare Absalom. Moreover, he remarked that "if I had betrayed the king by killing his son-and the king would certainly find out who did it--you yourself would be the first to abandon me" (2 Samuel 18:13, NLT). The soldier's candor irritated the general. "I will not waste time here with you," he told the man (2 Samuel 18:14, NASB), and hurried to where the prince was still trapped in the copse. Joab launched three spears into Absalom's torso; then his armor bearers followed behind and finished off the rebel (2 Samuel 18:15).

Emphasis 2:

Upbraiding the King's Show of Grief

Soon enough, King David learned of Ab-salom's death, and his grief was extravagant. "The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And thus he said as he walked, '0 my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, 0 Absalom, my son, my son!'" (2. Samuel 18:33, NASB). What was initially regarded as a great victory by the David's warriors turned painfully awkward and uncomfortable. The soldiers crept back to the loyalist camp, shamefaced like deserters. For this reason, David's public mourning precipitated a confrontation with Joab. On hearing about the king's stupor, his lieutenant came to his residence to challenge him. "We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, your daughters, and your wives and concubines," Joab scolded. "Yet you act like this, making us feel ashamed of ourselves" (2 Samuel 19:5, NLT). He said David couldn't tell his friends from his enemies. Then he demanded the king go out and congratulate the soldiers that won him the victory, "for I swear by the LORD that if you don't go out, not a single one of them will remain here tonight."

Emphasis 3:

Unseemly for a Servant to
Rule His Master

Joab was emboldened to defy the express command of his leader, and then even to castigate him. The protocols of their relationship were disintegrating. Regardless of the relative merits of his decisions to slay Absalom and to confront David, the general was proverbially "poking a bear" when he routinely resorted to insubordination.
An immediate repercussion was that David replaced him as the captain of the hosts (2 Samuel 19:13). In the end, their conflict would even cost Joab his life!

It is just unseemly to give the impression that a servant is ruling over his master. We should not openly disrespect the people we serve. We may have to address an ill-advised directive or a poor decision by a leader, but we "rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father" (1 Timothy 5:1). There is an orderly and respectful way to express our differences of opinion. And, ultimately, we have to accept the appropriateness of leaders having the authority to make the final decisions.

Missions Application Questions

What might have been the arguments, pro and con, for killing Absalom?
Why did Joab rebuke David about his mourning for Absalom? What was wrong with Joab's approach?
What should a follower do if he discovers leadership is engaged in unscrupulous behavior?

World Missions Prayer Points

Let us pray for the discretion to entreat a leader, rather than rebuke him.
Let us pray for the courage to resign a position, rather than stay and be insubordinate.
Let us thank God for the grace He continually show us, and for the opportunities he gives us to show grace to others.