Now a wicked man, a Benjaminite named Sheba son of Bichri, happened to be there. He blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no portion in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Each man to his tent, Israel!” (2 Samuel 20:1)
After Absalom’s revolt was finally over and done, another one quickly arose. David wasn’t getting any breaks in trying to unite the tribes of Israel. A man named Sheba wanted to make sure that it would be another long-fought battle for David. And so, the civil war had not ended. David faced opposition after opposition. From Saul to Absalom, and now to Sheba.
When Jesus began his public ministry and traveled around the country of Israel, he also faced major opposition. Similar to David, Jesus inaugurated his Kingdom and started with Israel first (Matt. 4:17). Looking to unite the Jews under God’s Kingdom, Jesus faced incredible amount of pushback from many in Israel. It almost appeared to be a “spiritual civil war.” Although, many did accept and follow Jesus as king, he experienced so much opposition that he was eventually crucified. But we know that this was actually all part of God’s salvation plans. Jesus was the Sacrificial Lamb for Israel, and also the world. Through his resurrection and ascension, Jesus has brought peace (Rom. 5:1). And for the last 2,000 years he’s been working hard in uniting this Kingdom.
So if you’re part of Jesus’ Kingdom, that means you shouldn’t expect your life to be all nice and cozy just yet. That’ll come with the new heavens and the new earth (Rev. 21-22). But for now, in this fallen world, we should expect there to be warfare. Paul told us “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens” (Eph. 6:12). So we need to be aware of the things we get involved with. There are evil forces trying to oppose God’s specific purposes for your life. We gotta ask ourselves, if that “thing” we’ve been upset about with our spouse, or friend, or coworker really that important? Could the enemy be distracting you? Problems will continue to arise. You have an enemy, and enemies don’t like to be visible, so be aware. Don’t give up! Listen to Paul’s instructions: “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk — not as unwise people but as wise — making the most of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).