2 Samuel 18-20 The Return of the King
Psalm 48:1- 8 Security is Found in God
Ps 48:1 “Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in His holy mountain. 2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the north sides, the city of the great King. 3 God has shown Himself in her citadels as a refuge. 4 For, behold, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together. 5 They saw it, then they were astonished. They were dismayed. They hurried away. 6 Trembling took hold of them there, pain, as of a woman in travail. 7 With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish. 8 As we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of Yahweh of Armies, in the city of our God. God will establish it forever. Selah.
Observations: God will protect the city in which He dwells.
48:3 The presence of God is even better protection than a citadel.
48:8 Believers should praise God for the protection they've experienced.
Application: Our praise should match the greatness of God. We should be more excited about Him than anything else.
Prayer: Lord, You are great and greatly to be praised; thank You for being my protection. Amen.
Proverbs 13:11-13 Be Good While Waiting
Pr 13:11 “Wealth gained by dishonesty dwindles away, but he who gathers by labor makes it grow. 12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when longing is fulfilled, it is a tree of life. 13 Whoever despises instruction will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.“
Observations: 13:11 Wealth gained from deception or deceit disappears, while that gained by the means God designed benefits on multiple levels. We were made to work, and are benefited by learning to draw on God's grace to work wholeheartedly, and we become stronger in the process. Hard earned money is not lost in frivolous schemes, as are most lottery winnings and inheritances. Thus, wealth grows.
13:12 Most people can't be happy and joyful if they don't have what they think they need to be happy. See Psalm 106:13-15 (above) for the dangers of such desires. God is more than enough for our happiness if we have a Biblical relationship with Him. Seeing something other than God for happiness is being a disloyal traitor to Him. Trusting that He will fulfill our desires at the perfect time, is cause for joy rather than sickness.”Ps 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and a shield. Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly.”
13:13 Particularly when seeking what we think is necessary for our happiness, we can be tempted to ignore what God's word says about our desires. That's the quick route to destruction. Fearing God and His commands (and keeping them) is the slightly longer route to reward and living happily ever after. The wise choice.
Application: Wait for it; trust; wait for it; obey; wait for it...don't do something stupid.
Prayer: Infinitely good, and powerful and wise God, I give you all my desires, and trust that You are more than adequate for anything I need; I trust You to give me what's best, when and if it's best. Thanks for being trustworthy. Amen.
2Samuel 18-20 Ever since his sin with Bathsheba, David, the giant killer has been having huge problems. Eventually God returns David to the throne, largely through the efforts of Joab, with whom David experiences multiple conflicts. Nevertheless, God continues to use both of them to accomplish His purposes.
2 Samuel 18 Conflict of Interests
9 Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the sky and earth; and the mule that was under him went on. 10 A certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, "Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak." 11 Joab said to the man who told him, "Behold, you saw it, and why didn’t you strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten pieces of silver, and a sash." 12 The man said to Joab, "Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I still wouldn’t put forth my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.’ 13 Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against his life (and there is no matter hidden from the king), then you yourself would have set yourself against me." 14 Then Joab said, "I’m not going to wait like this with you." He took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. 15 Ten young men who bore Joab’s armour surrounded and struck Absalom, and killed him. 16 Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel; for Joab held back the people. 17 They took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Then all Israel fled everyone to his tent. 18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king’s dale; for he said, "I have no son to keep my name in memory." He called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Absalom’s monument, to this day.
19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, "Let me now run, and bear the king news, how that Yahweh has avenged him of his enemies." 20 Joab said to him, "You shall not be the bearer of news this day, but you shall bear news another day. But today you shall bear no news, because the king’s son is dead." 21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen!" The Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran. 22 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, "But come what may, please let me also run after the Cushite." Joab said, "Why do you want to run, my son, since that you will have no reward for the news?" 23 "But come what may," he said, "I will run." He said to him, "Run!" Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite. 24 Now David was sitting between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man running alone. 25 The watchman cried, and told the king. The king said, "If he is alone, there is news in his mouth." He came closer and closer. 26 The watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the porter, and said, "Behold, a man running alone!" The king said, "He also brings news." 27 The watchman said, "I think the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok." The king said, "He is a good man, and comes with good news." 28 Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, "All is well." He bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, "Blessed is Yahweh your God, who has delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king!" 29 The king said, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" Ahimaaz answered, "When Joab sent the king’s servant, even me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I don’t know what it was." 30 The king said, "Turn aside, and stand here." He turned aside, and stood still. 31 Behold, the Cushite came. The Cushite said, "News for my lord the king; for Yahweh has avenged you this day of all those who rose up against you." 32 The king said to the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" The Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you to do you harm, be as that young man is." 33 The king was much moved, and went up to the room over the gate, and wept. As he went, he said, "My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died for you, Absalom, my son, my son!"
Observations: 18:1-8 It's clear that Yahweh gives the victory in delivering David, yet David doesn't praise Him, neither in this chapter nor the next.
18:9-18 Joab ignores David's command to spare Absalom the rebel. David's inaction and irresponsibility, as well as Absalom's usurping of the throne resulted in the death of at least 20,000 Israelites. The burial of Absalom is fitting that of a rebellious son (Dt 21:20-21). Apparently Absalom's sons had died and would not be able to carry on his name, so he built his own monument, with no trust in God for a legacy. Joab's defiance of David's command in the interests of preserving the kingship and punishing evildoers presents an interesting dilemma. Should Joab obey a bad command from a defective human ruler who isn't seeking God's will? He followed David's directive in violation of the law in Uriah's murder, but not this time. Joab is humanly responsible for David's success. He goes against David's will in following the law in killing the usurper Absalom, the rebel commander Abner, and possibly disloyal Amasa (next chapter). There's no record of Joab seeking God's will in his actions, and one could charge him with self-interest. One could argue that his responsibility was to obey David, and trust God for the results. However, up until this point, he has always done what is wise from a military and political standpoint.
18:19-33 This section details bringing the news to the King, who responds to the good news of Yahweh's deliverance and preservation of his throne with lament for Absalom. David again is irresponsible, wishing he was dead instead of Absalom. He should have rejoiced and recognized that God had delivered him so he could continue his job of shepherding and ruling God's people (not that he was doing that great a job of it).
Application: When Divine and human commands come in conflict, “we must obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29).
Prayer: Lord, may I always be sensitive to Your will in any given situation, guided by Your objective truth, rather than my subjective and sometimes defective values and feelings. Amen.
2 Samuel 19 King Reproved and Returned
9 All the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, "The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, and he saved us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he has fled out of the land from Absalom. 10 Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why don’t you speak a word of bringing the king back?" 11 King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, "Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house? Since the speech of all Israel has come to the king, to return him to his house. 12 You are my brothers, you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?’ 13 Say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you aren’t captain of the army before me continually in the place of Joab.’" 14 He bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as one man; so that they sent to the king, saying, "Return, you and all your servants." 15 So the king returned, and came to the Jordan. Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to bring the king over the Jordan.
16 Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. 17 There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went through the Jordan in the presence of the king. 18 A ferry boat went to bring over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, when he had come over the Jordan. 19 He said to the king, "Don’t let my lord impute iniquity to me, nor remember that which your servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come this day the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king." 21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered, "Shall Shimei not be put to death for this, because he cursed Yahweh’s anointed?" 22 David said, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be adversaries to me? Shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? For don’t I know that I am this day king over Israel?" 23 The king said to Shimei, "You shall not die." The king swore to him.
24 Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither groomed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace. 25 It happened, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, "Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?" 26 He answered, "My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, I will saddle me a donkey, that I may ride thereon, and go with the king; because your servant is lame. 27 He has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God. Do therefore what is good in your eyes. 28 For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right therefore have I yet that I should cry any more to the king?" 29 The king said to him, "Why do you speak any more of your matters? I say, you and Ziba divide the land." 30 Mephibosheth said to the king, "Yes, let him take all, because my lord the king has come in peace to his own house."
31 Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim; and he went over the Jordan with the king, to conduct him over the Jordan. 32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even eighty years old: and he had provided the king with sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man. 33 The king said to Barzillai, "Come over with me, and I will sustain you with me in Jerusalem." 34 Barzillai said to the king, "How many are the days of the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am this day eighty years old. Can I discern between good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be yet a burden to my lord the king? 36 Your servant would but just go over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward? 37 Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, by the grave of my father and my mother. But behold, your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good to you." 38 The king answered, "Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good to you. Whatever you require of me, that I will do for you." 39 All the people went over the Jordan, and the king went over. Then the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned to his own place.
40 So the king went over to Gilgal, and Chimham went over with him. All the people of Judah brought the king over, and also half the people of Israel. 41 Behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, "Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away, and brought the king, and his household, over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?" 42 All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, "Because the king is a close relative to us. Why then are you angry about this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s cost? Or has he given us any gift?" 43 The men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, "We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more claim to David than you. Why then did you despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king?" The words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
Observations: 19:1-4 God is curiously absent from David's thinking in this chapter, appearing once on David's lips in an ill-considered oath regarding Joab. Whether motivated by fatherly affection, guilt for the consequences of his affair with Bathsheba (sword not depart from your house), political motives, or a concern for God alone to be his deliverer (we're being gracious here), David makes another self-centered, unwise emotional response to a problem he has caused, lamenting the death of a rebel rather than celebrating God's deliverance of him. This is not the man with a passion for God's reputation and His people who slew Goliath. David fails to demonstrate self-control, governing his life by his feelings rather than noble objectives.
19:5-7 Loyal Joab once again rescues David, this time from himself, by reproving David for his dissing of the troops who just rescued him. As Joab notes, David appears more loyal to his enemies than his friends.
19:9-43 David indirectly appeals for Israel to accept him back as king, granting forgiveness and favors to Judah, especially in his dealings with Amasa, Shimei, Mephibosheth, and Barzillai, as the returning king.
19:13 Amasa was the leader of Absalom's army (17:25), but a nephew of David, and cousin to Joab. David appoints him to Joab's place, possibly to secure the support of the men of Judah, and possibly because of David's disapproval of Joab's role in the death of Absalom, and rebuke (10:5-7). David's dissing of Joab is astounding.
19:16-23 Shimei repents and is forgiven by David, but David later instructs Solomon to kill him, indicating the move was largely political.
19:24-30 Mephibosheth had been grieving since David was away, and explains that Ziba had deceived both of them. Not wanting to make more enemies, David restores half the property he had given to Ziba, instead of punishing the deception.
19: Barzillai gets blessed for his loyalty to the king in exile, and passes on the blessing to his son.
Application: The ability to rule oneself is the prerequisite for leading others; one must always consider the impact of one's actions (and emotional expression) on others.
Prayer: Lord, may You guard my mind and heart with Your power and perspective, so I bring about Your purposes in blessing others. Amen.
2 Samuel 20 Anarchist Loses His Head
4 Then the king said to Amasa, "Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and be here present." 5 So Amasa went to call the men of Judah together; but he stayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him. 6 David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get himself fortified cities, and escape out of our sight." 7 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 came to meet them. Joab was clothed in his apparel of war that he had put on, and on it was a sash with a sword fastened on his waist in its sheath; and as he went forth it fell out. 9 Joab said to Amasa, "Is it well with you, my brother?" Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand. So he struck him with it in the body, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and didn’t strike him again; and he died. Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 There stood by him one of Joab’s young men, and said, "He who favors Joab, and he who is for David, let him follow Joab!" 12 Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway. When the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came by him stood still. 13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
14 He went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth Maacah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him. 15 They came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down. 16 Then a wise woman cried out of the city, "Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, ‘Come near here, that I may speak with you.’" 17 He came near to her; and the woman said, "Are you Joab?" He answered, "I am." Then she said to him, "Hear the words of your handmaid." He answered, "I do hear." 18 Then she spoke, saying, "They were used to say in old times, ‘They shall surely ask counsel at Abel’; and so they settled it. 19 I am among those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the inheritance of Yahweh?" 20 Joab answered, "Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. 21 The matter is not so. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city." The woman said to Joab, "Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall." 22 Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. They cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. He blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
23 Now Joab was over all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites; 24 and Adoram was over the men subject to forced labour; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; 25 and Sheva was scribe; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 26 and also Ira the Jairite was chief minister to David.
Observations: 20:1-3 Just what David needs, an anarchist, Sheba. The fact that Israel follows him says something about their confidence in David's leadership. The Benjaminites tended to be a feisty lot. They eventually were the only tribe to remain loyal with Judah in comprising the Southern Kingdom.
20:4-5 The reason for the delay/failure of Asama to follow David's time-sensitive order to gather troops isn't given, but the delay is viewed by David as damaging, and by Joab as disloyal. David sends Abishai as leader of Joab's men to deal with Sheba's threat. Joab is the star of the chapter, putting down the rebellion with a minimum of bloodshed.
20:6-14 Joab's method of dealing with disloyalty is to permanently eliminate the problem. He kills/murders Amasa. David instructs Solomon (1Kg 2:5) to payback Joab for this killing, as well as that of Abner. In both cases Joab's and Israel's interests are served.
20:14-22 Joab pursues Sheba and wisely listens to a wise woman's counsel at Abel. The town turns over the traitor, and is spared. Joab is usually portrayed as a bloodthirsty warrior, but it's obvious that he is interested in preserving the kingship, not to “swallow up and destroy.” Though Joab is unappreciated and dissed by David, he still does his job well, living for a higher objective than the praise of men. He winds up being the major actor in the chapter, preserving the kingship of David.
20:23-26 The list of “officials” is similar to that in 2Sam 8. Joab is back over the military. A supervisor of the tribute/forced labor is added, and David's sons who were previously listed as ministers (priests) are absent and Ira shows up in their stead. We don't hear more about him.
Application: We need to do what accomplishes the right objective, even if those we're trying to help are unappreciative and fight against us. (A particularly important lesson for parents.)
Prayer: God who loves the unlovely, may I mirror Your love in my dealings with others, not serving them for their appreciation, but for Your approval. Amen.
Digging Deeper:
God in a nutshell: God superintends the free-will choices of His creatures, to bring about His desired ends. He can use a forest, or an oak tree, or a sword, or a wise woman, or a warrior to bring about the punishment of those who don't follow His will, and to bring the continuation and fulfillment of His promises. He rewards and blesses those who are loyal to Him and to the authority that accomplishes His purposes.
Us in a nutshell: We frequently fight against God's purposes and the very people He's sent to help us. When we respond to circumstances based upon how we feel rather than what God has revealed, we usually cause ourselves and others damage. That's because our value systems are not always trained to value what God values. Forgiving those who've caused us grief is a very God-like thing.
Where to Go for More:
Truthbase.net
2Samuel complete text
2 Samuel 18
18:1 David numbered the people who were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. 2 David sent forth the people, a third part under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the people, "I will surely go forth with you myself also." 3 But the people said, "You shall not go forth; for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore now it is better that you are ready to help us out of the city." 4 The king said to them, "I will do what seems best to you." The king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom." All the people heard when the king commanded all the captains concerning Absalom. 6 So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the forest of Ephraim. 7 The people of Israel were struck there before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men. 8 For the battle was there spread over the surface of all the country; and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
9 Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the sky and earth; and the mule that was under him went on. 10 A certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, "Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak." 11 Joab said to the man who told him, "Behold, you saw it, and why didn’t you strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten pieces of silver, and a sash." 12 The man said to Joab, "Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I still wouldn’t put forth my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.’ 13 Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against his life (and there is no matter hidden from the king), then you yourself would have set yourself against me." 14 Then Joab said, "I’m not going to wait like this with you." He took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. 15 Ten young men who bore Joab’s armour surrounded and struck Absalom, and killed him. 16 Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel; for Joab held back the people. 17 They took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Then all Israel fled everyone to his tent. 18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king’s dale; for he said, "I have no son to keep my name in memory." He called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Absalom’s monument, to this day.
19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, "Let me now run, and bear the king news, how that Yahweh has avenged him of his enemies." 20 Joab said to him, "You shall not be the bearer of news this day, but you shall bear news another day. But today you shall bear no news, because the king’s son is dead." 21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen!" The Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran. 22 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, "But come what may, please let me also run after the Cushite." Joab said, "Why do you want to run, my son, since that you will have no reward for the news?" 23 "But come what may," he said, "I will run." He said to him, "Run!" Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite. 24 Now David was sitting between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man running alone. 25 The watchman cried, and told the king. The king said, "If he is alone, there is news in his mouth." He came closer and closer. 26 The watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the porter, and said, "Behold, a man running alone!" The king said, "He also brings news." 27 The watchman said, "I think the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok." The king said, "He is a good man, and comes with good news." 28 Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, "All is well." He bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, "Blessed is Yahweh your God, who has delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king!" 29 The king said, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" Ahimaaz answered, "When Joab sent the king’s servant, even me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I don’t know what it was." 30 The king said, "Turn aside, and stand here." He turned aside, and stood still. 31 Behold, the Cushite came. The Cushite said, "News for my lord the king; for Yahweh has avenged you this day of all those who rose up against you." 32 The king said to the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" The Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you to do you harm, be as that young man is." 33 The king was much moved, and went up to the room over the gate, and wept. As he went, he said, "My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died for you, Absalom, my son, my son!"
2 Samuel 19
19:1 It was told Joab, "Behold, the king weeps and mourns for Absalom." 2 The victory that day was turned into mourning to all the people; for the people heard it said that day, "The king grieves for his son." 3 The people sneaked into the city that day, as people who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. 4 The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, "My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son!" 5 Joab came into the house to the king, and said, "You have shamed this day the faces of all your servants, who this day have saved your life, and the lives of your sons and of your daughters, and the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines; 6 in that you love those who hate you, and hate those who love you. For you have declared this day, that princes and servants are nothing to you. For today I perceive that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it would have pleased you well. 7 Now therefore arise, go out, and speak to comfort your servants; for I swear by Yahweh, if you don’t go out, not a man will stay with you this night. That would be worse to you than all the evil that has happened to you from your youth until now." 8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. They told to all the people, saying, "Behold, the king is sitting in the gate." All the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled every man to his tent.
9 All the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, "The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, and he saved us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he has fled out of the land from Absalom. 10 Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why don’t you speak a word of bringing the king back?" 11 King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, "Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house? Since the speech of all Israel has come to the king, to return him to his house. 12 You are my brothers, you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?’ 13 Say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you aren’t captain of the army before me continually in the room of Joab.’" 14 He bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as one man; so that they sent to the king, saying, "Return, you and all your servants." 15 So the king returned, and came to the Jordan. Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to bring the king over the Jordan.
16 Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, who was of Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. 17 There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went through the Jordan in the presence of the king. 18 A ferry boat went to bring over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, when he had come over the Jordan. 19 He said to the king, "Don’t let my lord impute iniquity to me, nor remember that which your servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come this day the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king." 21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered, "Shall Shimei not be put to death for this, because he cursed Yahweh’s anointed?" 22 David said, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be adversaries to me? Shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? For don’t I know that I am this day king over Israel?" 23 The king said to Shimei, "You shall not die." The king swore to him.
24 Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither groomed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace. 25 It happened, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, "Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?" 26 He answered, "My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, I will saddle me a donkey, that I may ride thereon, and go with the king; because your servant is lame. 27 He has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God. Do therefore what is good in your eyes. 28 For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right therefore have I yet that I should cry any more to the king?" 29 The king said to him, "Why do you speak any more of your matters? I say, you and Ziba divide the land." 30 Mephibosheth said to the king, "Yes, let him take all, because my lord the king has come in peace to his own house."
31 Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim; and he went over the Jordan with the king, to conduct him over the Jordan. 32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even eighty years old: and he had provided the king with sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man. 33 The king said to Barzillai, "Come over with me, and I will sustain you with me in Jerusalem." 34 Barzillai said to the king, "How many are the days of the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am this day eighty years old. Can I discern between good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be yet a burden to my lord the king? 36 Your servant would but just go over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward? 37 Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, by the grave of my father and my mother. But behold, your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good to you." 38 The king answered, "Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good to you. Whatever you require of me, that I will do for you." 39 All the people went over the Jordan, and the king went over. Then the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned to his own place.
40 So the king went over to Gilgal, and Chimham went over with him. All the people of Judah brought the king over, and also half the people of Israel. 41 Behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, "Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away, and brought the king, and his household, over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?" 42 All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, "Because the king is a close relative to us. Why then are you angry about this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s cost? Or has he given us any gift?" 43 The men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, "We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more claim to David than you. Why then did you despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king?" The words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
2 Samuel 20
20:1 There happened to be there a base fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew the trumpet, and said, "We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, Israel!" 2 So all the men of Israel went up from following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah joined with their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem. 3 David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in custody, and provided them with sustenance, but didn’t go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.
4 Then the king said to Amasa, "Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and be here present." 5 So Amasa went to call the men of Judah together; but he stayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him. 6 David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get himself fortified cities, and escape out of our sight." 7 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 came to meet them. Joab was clothed in his apparel of war that he had put on, and on it was a sash with a sword fastened on his waist in its sheath; and as he went forth it fell out. 9 Joab said to Amasa, "Is it well with you, my brother?" Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand. So he struck him with it in the body, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and didn’t strike him again; and he died. Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 There stood by him one of Joab’s young men, and said, "He who favours Joab, and he who is for David, let him follow Joab!" 12 Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway. When the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came by him stood still. 13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
14 He went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth Maacah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him. 15 They came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down. 16 Then a wise woman cried out of the city, "Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, ‘Come near here, that I may speak with you.’" 17 He came near to her; and the woman said, "Are you Joab?" He answered, "I am." Then she said to him, "Hear the words of your handmaid." He answered, "I do hear." 18 Then she spoke, saying, "They were used to say in old times, ‘They shall surely ask counsel at Abel’; and so they settled it. 19 I am among those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the inheritance of Yahweh?" 20 Joab answered, "Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. 21 The matter is not so. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city." The woman said to Joab, "Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall." 22 Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. They cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. He blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
23 Now Joab was over all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites; 24 and Adoram was over the men subject to forced labour; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; 25 and Sheva was scribe; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 26 and also Ira the Jairite was chief minister to David.
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