2 Samuel 20:1: “And there happened to be there a rebel, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet, and said: ‘We have no share in David, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!’”

June 29th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

There was much infighting between the 12 tribes of Israel after Absalom’s rebellion was defeated, but they finally agreed to bring King David back. The last chapter closed with the king crossing back over the Jordan River on his way to Jerusalem to be restored as king. However, the people’s sandals were hardly dry from crossing the Jordan before grumbling started again. All of the men of Judah were accompanying David and half of the people of Israel. They were like brothers bickering and arguing with each other in the back seat of a car.

A rebel from the tribe of Benjamin (old King Saul’s tribe), named Sheba, took advantage of the conflict and blew a horn, calling the men of Israel to start a new rebellion against David’s reign. The men of Judah remained faithful to David, while the men of Israel followed Sheba. But his rebellion was quickly defeated and he was killed. Scripture teaches us that we all have a rebel living in us, and if we’re not careful, that rebel will take us down. The Bible confirms this in Romans 3:10–12:

There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.

There is a part of us that doesn’t want to obey, surrender, or submit to anyone, not even God. It is foolish to follow that road since it only leads to death and destruction. On October 22, 1999, a parachutist, Jan Davis, was practicing the dangerous sport of BASE jumping—parachuting off fixed, tall objects like high cliffs or towers. She was making her jump off the 3200-foot, granite cliff of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. She knew jumping had been outlawed because 6 others had died jumping from that same spot. In fact, her own jump was meant as a protest, to prove that it was safe. She jumped that day, but as her husband and other supporters watched, her parachute did not open properly. And Jan Davis fell to her death. Her rebellion cost her life, just as it costs anyone who rebels against God’s gracious gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

“LORD, we surrender again this day and confess that we don’t want to be rebels, so please change our hearts anew.”