Innocent Blood Does Not Go Unnoticed

640 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 20:11-13, “Meanwhile one of Joab's men stood near Amasa, and said, "Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David-follow Joab!" 12 But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came upon him halted. 13 When he was removed from the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. When I think of Joab, I cannot help but think of the Muslim extremist group known as ISIS. The brutality of Joab and ISIS and their utter disregard for human life is all too evident. They use cold-blooded murder as a way to stir up fear and win converts to their cause. Get the picture here. There is a large army of men who had been raised up by both Joab and Amasa. These men would all have to file by this gruesome scene and receive the fearful message that it portrays. Joab leaves a man behind to make sure everyone gets the picture. “Don't mess with Joab!” “Who do you men want to follow? Amasa or Joab” To follow Joab is to follow David” The only problem with that statement is David did not operate this way. (Oh he did at one time, with the death of Uriah the Hittite, but he had repented of that sin) David was appalled by the shedding of innocent blood and he was appalled by the actions of Joab and saw to it that Solomon would (later on) carry out justice against Joab. ISIS seeks to align themselves with the God of the Bible, but they, like Joab, are not of the same spirit. The God of the Bible hates the shedding of innocent blood (Prov 6:16,17) and the shedding of innocent blood does not go unnoticed by God. After Cain slew Abel, God approached him and said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. (Gen 4:10) When David was confronted with his sin of the murder of Uriah, he confessed it and received God's forgiveness, but Joab, Cain, and others refuse to see the wrong and faced God's judgment. Pray that all who have shed innocent blood will come to repentance, confess their sin, and receive the forgiveness offered through faith in Jesus Christ.