“And
there happened to be a rebel, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a
Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet, and said: “We have no part in David, nor do
we have inheritance in the son of Jesse.” (v.1)
There has
always been the struggle between good and evil. Sense the beginning, Satan has
been throwing doubt into the hearts and minds of men leading them to choose
evil instead of good, drawing them to the dark side. Here in our text, Sheba,
from the tribe of Benjamin (king Saul’s tribe) takes advantage of the infighting
going on between the 12 tribes to bring a new rebellion against king David’s
reign just when it seemed the tribes were ready for unification.
Scripture
teaches that all of us have a rebel living in us, and if we’re not careful,
this rebel will take us down. Romans 3:10 reminds us, “There is none righteous,
no not one, none who understand, none who seek after God” (v.12). This signifies
that a part of us doesn’t want to obey, surrender or submit to anyone, not even
God - and that rebellion is human nature. Sheba’s misleading claim not only led others to rebel, (to bite the apple so to speak) but, to his
eventual death as well. Sound familiar?
The sad consequence
from this story is found in the last line of our text, from the mouth of Sheba,
“nor do we have any inheritance in the son of Jesse.” David was God’s chosen
leader of the people, a foreshadowing of king Jesus. Sheba, by denouncing David,
was denouncing God’s Son and His kingdom. Thereby, revoking his inheritance.
Scripture
reminds us, “Only the fool has said in his heart there is no God.” Just as
Sheba rebelled against David and lost everything, so will those who deny God
lose their citizenship in heaven.
The Truth
“But
whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before
My Father who is in heaven.” ( Matthew 10:33)
