2 Samuel 20:4

4 Then the king told Amasa, “Mobilize the army of Judah within three days, and report back at that time.”

2 Samuel 20:4 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 20:4

Then said the king to Amasa
Whom he had promised to make general of his army, ( 2 Samuel 19:13 ) ; and by the following order declared him such:

assemble me the men of Judah within three days;
which was done by the sound of the trumpet, or by the proclamation of a herald; it seems that the men of Judah, who attended David to Jerusalem, were gone to their respective cities and places of abode, or there would have been no occasion for such a summons; though it is strange they should, when the men of Israel appeared so inclinable to a new rebellion:

and be thou here present;
to take the command of them.

2 Samuel 20:4 In-Context

2 So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed with their king and escorted him from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.

3 When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them. So each of them lived like a widow until she died.

4 Then the king told Amasa, “Mobilize the army of Judah within three days, and report back at that time.”

5 So Amasa went out to notify Judah, but it took him longer than the time he had been given.

6 Then David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of Bicri is going to hurt us more than Absalom did. Quick, take my troops and chase after him before he gets into a fortified town where we can’t reach him.”