II Samuel 3:39
And even though I am the anointed king, these two sons of Zeruiah--Joab and Abishai--are too strong for me to control. So may the Lord repay these evil men for their evil deeds.
When King Saul died, his commander-in-chief Abner set up Saul's son Ishbosheth as king over Israel (II Samuel 2:8-9), but then argued with Ishbosheth and changed his allegiance to David (3:7-12), and would have peacefully united Israel and Judah under King David. But when Joab, David's commander-in-chief found out that David had sent Abner on his way in safety, he, against his king's wishes, called Abner back and murdered him in revenge for his own brother's death. David was very wise, recognizing that his commander was more politically powerful than he was even as king, and put him into God's hands.
There are several lessons here. A very relevant one is that the one in power is not necessarily the one with the most power--the power behind the throne is the one to be reckoned with politically. God is ultimately the One Who controls all things, so when things seem to be getting out-of-hand, beyond reasonable control, then God can be trusted to set all things right, both personally and politically. Good to know in these present troubling times.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
