“On arrival at the big rock in Giv‘on, ‘Amasa came to meet them. Yo’av was wearing his battle clothes, over which he had girded a belt with a sheathed sword; but as he came forward it fell out.”-2 Samuel 20:8
In verse 8, we’re told that Amasa finally arrived at Gibeon (a city in Benjamin territory) with a group of militia troops he had managed to amass.
However, to his shock, guess who he ran into?
Standing there in the field was Joab, the commander whom David had supposedly booted out.
It looks like Joab never accepted the King’s decision nor ever gave up his authority.
The truth is, the men under Joab’s command stayed loyal to him.
They probably figured, if the past was any indication, that David deposing him would be a short-lived thing anyway.
So we see that despite David’s official decision to make Amasa his new general, the reality was that nothing had really changed.
The soldiers of Israel had no desire to serve under Amasa.
They preferred to stick with the familiar, which was to stay loyal to Joab and Avishai.
I mean, think about it.
Why do you think David had to order Amasa to go out and gather a militia army made up of a bunch of farmers, herders, and merchants in the first place?
It’s because none of the soldiers under Joab’s command were about to switch loyalties so easily.
This leads to our takeaway.
Titles don’t change hearts.
David may have officially promoted Amasa, but the men of Israel never really followed him.
Their loyalty was still with Joab, the man they had fought beside, bled with, and trusted for years.
And that’s the thing about leadership.
You can hand someone authority on paper, but you can’t hand them credibility.
That has to be earned over time.
David’s decision might’ve been right politically, but practically, it didn’t stick.
Why?
Because loyalty runs deeper than a royal decree.
It’s a good reminder for us, too.
You can’t force people to follow you just because you’ve been given a title.
People follow consistency.
They follow those who’ve proven themselves in the trenches.
In other words, leadership is never just appointed.
It’s accepted.
Ya feel me?
Done.
When getting my MBA in Management, we learned there are three types of authority: legal, technical, and implied.
Legal authority is what David gave to Amasa, which empowered him with the authority to control and order the people, but (as you point out) doesn’t overcome loyalty.
Technical authority is what we would call being the “Duty Expert”. There is always someone who doesn’t have the formal education or the social skills or the title, but knows how to do everything right and is who people turn to in order to get things done right.
Implied authority is what people think you have, and is best demonstrated by the nephew of the CEO; he may only work in the Mail Room as a clerk, without any official title, but people will do what he says because they assume (being family to the boss) that he has the ear of the boss, so it would be better not to tick him off by ignoring him.
I think your lesson is also applicable to respect because, like loyalty, it has to be given before it can be earned.
Very educational, Steven. Thanks for sharing. Be blessed!