“Avshalom had put ‘Amasa in charge of the army in place of Yo’av. ‘Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Yitra the Isra’eli, who had had sexual relations with Avigal the daughter of Nachash, Tz’ruyah’s sister and Yo’av’s mother.”-2 Samuel 17:25
It was a good thing that David decided to act quickly and flee to Machanayim.
Why?
Because as soon as he left, Absalom rolled in with his troops.
Interestingly, Avshalom didn’t follow either Achitofel’s or Hushai’s instructions.
Instead, he concocted his own plan that was a combination of both.
He led the army himself as Hushai proposed, but also gathered a small group of men, as Achitofel suggested.
The problem was the men Absalom had gathered to fight alongside him weren’t exactly battle-ready homies.
On top of that, Avshalom put a guy named Amasa in charge of the army.
Who was this dude?
It’s actually a little confusing.
Here in verse 25, it says his father was Yitra the Israelite.
But in 1 Chronicles, it says his papa was Yeter the Ishmaelite.
What gives?
Most scholars think his father was an Ishmaelite (an Arab) and his mother was Avigayil, a Hebrew.
In other words, this homie was the product of an illegitimate union.
That made him Joab’s cousin, but not in the best way.
Politically speaking, this actually explains a lot.
If Joab chose to side with David, it makes sense that his cousin Amasa would flip sides and side with David’s enemy.
My point is these two cousins were destined to clash, especially when it came to power and position.
So here’s what’s coming to me in terms of the takeaway.
We can already see that Avshalom’s plan was doomed from the start.
Why?
Because his rebellion didn’t have a strong foundation.
It was full of family drama, power struggles, and shaky leadership.
When narcissism and ego drive the show instead of wisdom and loyalty to God, collapse is only a matter of time.
Ya feel me?
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Therefore, everyone who hears
these words of mine and puts
them into practice is like a wise man
who built his house on the rock.
The rain came down,
the streams rose,
and the winds blew
and beat against that house;
yet it did not fall,
because it had its foundation on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words of
mine and does not put them into practice
is like a foolish man who built
his house on sand.
The rain came down,
the streams rose,
and the winds blew
and beat against that house,
and it fell with a great crash.”
-Matthew 7:24-27
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