The Kiss of Shock

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II Samuel 20:4-10 (KJV)

4. Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.
5. So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.
6. And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.
7. And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
8. When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.
9. And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
10. But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and she out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.

Our text contains one of the most shocking stories in all of the Old Testament. David is fighting yet another conspiracy attempt. Sheba, a Benjamite of the family of Saul, is attempting to lead the people of Israel in a revolt against King David. David sends out his newly appointed general of the armed forces of Israel, Amasa, to gather the troops and put an end to the conspiracy. It is important to remember the background of Amasa:

1. Amasa is of the family of David -- he is the king's nephew (II Samuel 17:25).
2. Amasa has been forgiven of many mistakes by the king (II Samuel 19:13).
   Amasa had been the general of armed forces for Absalom's army (II Samuel 17:25).
3. Forgiven of his past, Amasa is David's general, leading troops against Sheba.

With the future ahead of him, mistakes behind him, Amasa dies a brutal death at the hand of Joab, a wicked assassin. The kiss that Joab gives to Amasa becomes a kiss of shock as Amasa realizes his dreams vanishing before his very eyes. In this setting, we must ask the question, "Why?" "Why does God allow good things that happen to us to turn so bad?"

1. Bad things are fragments of the whole picture.
   "The detached fragments of life are meaningless, bewildering, staggering; but put them together, and they manifest a design and purpose" A.W. Pink.
   1. God is the artist, the world is His canvas.
      "Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places" (Psalm 135:5).
   2. All events are part of His work of art.
      "Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commanded it not? (Lamentations 3:37). This is a rhetorical question. Nothing happens out of God's plan.
2. The whole picture is only, always and forever a good work.
   Whether that work is the history of the world or the history of the life of God's child, what God ordains to occur, in the big picture, is only and always wise and good.
   "And we know that all things work together for good . . ." (Romans 8:28). "The goodness of God endures continually" (Psalm 52:1).
3. The issue is not deliverance from the bad things, but trust in all things.
   "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him" (Job 13:15).
   There are those who want to know now what it is that God intends for good, but "None of us is able to ascertain absolutely the reason or reasons which lie behind any calamity that may overtake either ourselves or any of our fellows" A.W. Pink.
   "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter" (John 13:7).