WATCH OUT FOR ENEMIES

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

Proverbs 27:6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Sometimes our worst enemies can be people we thought we could trust. They fly under the radar, taking advantage of their relationship with you to plot and scheme things to your disadvantage.

At other times, we misinterpret instances where friends who say things to correct us through constructive criticism as being incidents of attack that intend to wound us from the inside out. In our prideful nature, we reject words spoken in rebuke, even though they may speak truth about a part of our lives that needs changing.

The truth of the matter is that just because someone close to you is silent doesn’t mean they wish good for you. Conversely, just because some speaks out against you doesn’t mean that they are doing it out of malice. Rather, they are often doing it out of a deep love for you, a love you are blinded from seeing.

These truths are born out of the wise words of Solomon found in the 6th verse of Proverbs, Chapter 27. Look again at his words:

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. Proverbs 27:6

Want a biblical example of how this proverb applies? You can go back to the time of Solomon’s father, King David to find just that. Consider this passage from 2 Samuel:

Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, “We have no share in David, no part in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, Israel!”

So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bikri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and put them in a house under guard. He provided for them but had no sexual relations with them. They were kept in confinement till the day of their death, living as widows.

Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.” But when Amasa went to summon Judah, he took longer than the time the king had set for him.

David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bikri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your master’s men and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and escape from us.” So Joab’s men and the Kerethites and Pelethites and all the mighty warriors went out under the command of Abishai. They marched out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bikri.

While they were at the great rock in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was wearing his military tunic, and strapped over it at his waist was a belt with a dagger in its sheath. As he stepped forward, it dropped out of its sheath.

Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” Then Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 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.

One of Joab’s men stood beside Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let  him follow Joab!” Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road, and the man saw that all the troops came to a halt there. When he realized that everyone who came up to Amasa stopped, he dragged him from the road into a field and threw a garment over him. After Amasa had been removed from the road, everyone went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bikri.  2 Samuel 20:1-13

Joab was a skilled military commander who was fiercely loyal to his uncle King David but also intensely ruthless when it came to pursuing his own self interest, specifically, to become the commander of the king’s fighting forces. This ruthlessness led to the following sinful actions:

1. Joab killed David’s son Absalom.

You’ll recall that David’s son rebelled against his father and attempted to take his throne away. David, although angered that his son would do such a thing, ordered that Absalom not be killed if captured but Joab willingly chose to disobey the order. You’ll recall that Absalom was riding a mule and as he passed under the thick branches of a large oak tree, his hair got caught in the tree, removing him from the mule and leaving him hanging from the tree. Seizing the moment, Joab took Absalom’s life by plunging three javelins into his heart (2 Samuel 18:6-15). It wouldn’t be the last time he would murder as we’ll see next.

2. Joab killed Abner

Abner was a chief army officer under King Saul. After Saul was killed in battle, he became loyal to Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, who had become the next king of Israel. A battle ensued between Ishbosheth and David and when Joab’s brother Asahel tried to go after Abner, Abner struck Asahel down and killed him in self defense. Later, Abner would switch his loyalty to David and met with him to express his commitment to Israel’s king. After the meeting, Joab went after Abner and killed him for two reasons, first to avenge his brother’s death and, second, to eliminate a potential competitor for the position of David’s top military leader. The events led King David to lament in the following words:

“I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. May his blood fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family!” 2 Samuel 3:28-29

3. Joab killed Amasa.

Joab’s cousin Amasa also had strong military talents. Militarily, he had led the rebellion of Absalom against David but after Absalom fell, David recruited Amasa to be his chief officer. Of course, you can guess that Joab coveted the job Amasa was given and secretly looked for the opportunity to kill him. That came after Amasa had been sent to rally the men of Judah in three days to fight against a new threat as a man named Sheba fled Jerusalem followed by the men of Israel who pledged allegiance to Sheba.

When Amasa failed to return in time, David became impatient and ordered Joab’s older brother, Abishai, to lead some men in pursuit of Sheba, a group that included Joab. David’s fear was that the rebellion of Sheba would be worse than the rebellion started by his own son.

As we read in the passage from 2 Samuel 20, while on the way to find Sheba, the group ran into Amasa who was on his way back to the king. In no way did Amasa feel anything strange or unusual when Joab approached him, greeted him by saying, “How are you my brother?”, and grabbed his beard as if to kiss him. It was a friendly greeting at that moment, or so it seemed, but the kiss was only a ruse for what Joab really had in mind. For the scriptures tell us that Joab took his dagger and plunged it into Amasa’s belly so forcefully that Amasa’s intestines poured out. There would be no need for a second stab. Amasa died and Joab had removed yet another military leader in his way to seizing the top commander position in David’s military. And he did it behind the guise of a loving kiss.

Friends, there are many Joabs out there unfortunately, people who seem like they are our allies when they are really our foes. A kiss might not be sincere and we may not find out until the schemer’s plot has been hatched and we’re negatively impacted by its outcome.

The message is clear. Look out for your enemies and never forget they may be closer than you think, close enough to kiss you before they betray you.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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