One of the most misunderstood biblical traditions is the sacrifices. Perhaps we’re too quick to look at it as a form of currency. On the surface it appears to be the payment that is required for sin so it’s easy to reason, “Make the payment, be forgiven.” But God was not so moved by David’s “burnt offerings and peace offerings”, but “by prayer for the land”. The sacrifices are supposed to be the final, visible evidence of a heart wholly returned and committed exclusively to God.
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“Justice” and “judgment” are terms that we might relate most to someone guilty of wrong, worthy of punishment. This is only one side of God’s justice—to resolve the inequities of a sinner’s treatment of others in this life—but there is another side: Rewarding the righteous. Whereas sinners are judged and condemned, the righteous are judged and redeemed. The message is that EVERYONE will be judged and justice meted out, whether for condemnation or redemption. No one will “escape” judgment—they’ll only experience a different outcome depending on their personal, behavioral choices.
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There are two groups of things listed here: “rock”, “fortress”, “refuge”, “shield”, and “stronghold”; and “deliverer”, “God”, “horn of my salvation”, and “savior”. One of the common denominators of the first group is that they’re all fixed in one place. They’re strongholds built on a strong foundation with strong walls for protection and the best place to be when the enemy attacks. The second group reveals God’s role in that He responds to our call and comes to our rescue. The biblical definition of how to prepare for, fight, and win spiritual battles is much different than our human notions of what it means to fight and win.
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To summarize what is really being said in this exchange with a woman of the city Joab is in the process of destroying in order to get to the traitor Sheba hiding inside, is actually a dispute concerning how to act according to the Word of God. In Deuteronomy 20, God provided laws for warfare—a sort of “code of conduct”, if you will—which stipulated under what conditions something was to be captured or completely destroyed.
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The definition of a “worthless fellow” is someone who has completely rejected God’s Law and lives according to his own. Sheba isn’t trying to convince others of an alternate interpretation or opinion—he is calling into question the whole of God’s commandments and encouraging everyone to go back to their own place to undertake following their own will and ways. Sheba gives the illusion of being a respectable authority who facilitates the obliteration of God’s ways, paving the way for each individual to do whatever seems right in their own eyes.
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One of the ways that Israel was visibly different from the nations around her was in the way her kings and military were equipped. Chariots and horses were staples of the kings and armies of the surrounding nations—they were oddities in Israel. This is because whereas they symbolized man’s ultimate, personal attempt to do things according to his own strength, the lack of them portrayed trust in God to deliver regardless of the earthly circumstances.
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It’s not 100% but overwhelmingly true that sin can be identified as something that provides immediate pleasure accompanied by long-term negative results, and that righteous acts often provide no immediate satisfaction but produce long-term positive results. The personality that has become engaged in a lifestyle of sin is revealed by their incessant demands for immediate satisfaction and often keep company with persons of similar demeanor. This is why I’ve come to appreciate most the people in my life who consistently and foremost tell me the absolute truth.
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