19:16-23
As David began the journey from Gilgal to Jerusalem, he had several personal encounters. The first is with the Benjamite man, Shimei. You might remember that Shimei confronted David as he ascended the Mount of Olives. He threw rocks and dirt and cursed David.
Now Shimei realizes that David, restored as king, might retaliate. So, he made a show of appearing with 1,000 men from Benjamin to help David and his entourage cross the Jordan. Shimei was from the tribe of Joseph. He made sure to tell David he was the first of the people from the northern kingdom to welcome him. He acknowledged that he acted wrongfully and begged David’s forgiveness.
Predictably, Abishai thought Shimei should be executed for cursing the LORD’s anointed. But, David spared his life, evidently because he did not want the day of his restoration to be one of bloodshed.
But David did not actually forgive Shimei. He later instructed Solomon to “bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol”. (1 Kings 2:8-9)
David And Ziba
19:17-18
Ziba, who had provided for David as he left Jerusalem, also appeared with his sons and servants. The writer says they “rushed” to meet David. They sought to help David and his family cross the river and come back home.
David And Mephibosheth
19:24-30
The next person to shown to appear was Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, for whom David had provided. He actually met David in Jerusalem. (25) This means this encounter happened later. He was unkempt, not having groomed himself since David left Jerusalem, presumably as a form of grieving.
David asked Mephibosheth why he had not gone with David out of Jerusalem. Mephibosheth blamed it on Ziba, saying he did not help the crippled man onto a donkey and then slandered him to David.
Mephibosheth further said David was like an angel of God for taking care of him, so he could do whatever seemed right to him. David did not declare for one man over the other, but divided their land between them.
This seems to be a matter of pragmatism rather than justice.
If David believed Mephibosheth, he should have restored all of his property. But, Ziba was a man of wealth and helpful to David, so David only restored half.
Mephibosheth even said Ziba could have it all, that he was just glad David was home.
David and Barzillai
19:31—40
Barzillai is the man who provided a great deal of food to sustain David and his people in exile. (17:27) He returned to escort David over the river. David invited him to come with him to Jerusalem so that David could provide for him there in gratitude for all he had done.
But Barzillai declined, citing his old age. He just wanted to go home and die there. As an alternative, Barzillai offered a man named Chimham who was also loyal to David. David agreed.
Then the whole group crossed the Jordan: David, his household, at least some of the army, Shimei and a thousand Benjamites, and the people of Judah.
David And The Men of Israel
19:41-43
All of Israel apparently wanted David to return to Jerusalem as king. However, David only invited Judah. Notice that the northern tribes are referred to collectively as Israel in contrast to the one tribe of Judah. This mirrors the future division of the kingdom under Rehoboam (son of Solomon).
When men of Israel arrived, they complained to the tribe of Judah about being left out. A heated argument ensued. Judah said they did it because David was a close relative, but they did not receive anything from David. That did not pacify Israel. They felt that as a greater number of tribes, they had more claim to David. Plus, they were the first to speak of bringing David back. Nonetheless, Judah prevailed and the resentment remained in Israel.
Notice that David did not intervene. Either he was being passive, or he wanted the solid support of Judah and was willing to take his chances with the rest of Israel.
Israel Rebels
20:1-2
The resentment of Israel turned into a rebellion. Sheba, from the tribe of Benjamin, called for them to withdraw from the procession of David’s supporters to Jerusalem. So, Israel did so, following Sheba.
Judah remained loyal to David and accompanied him to Jerusalem.
David And The Concubines
20:3
Finally, David made it back to his house. He had left 10 concubines there to take care of the house in his absence. Absalom then made a show of having sex with all of them. (16:22)
David gave them their own house. He provided for them. He posted a guard to protect them. But, he did not resume sexual relations with them.
It seems that David acted compassionately toward the concubines. But, the language saying they were “shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood” makes it sound like they were prisoners. They were reminders of Nathan’s words to David, that his wives would be given to another. Likely, he did not want that reminder every day.
Takeaways
The Lord restored David to the throne, continuing to work with and through David to accomplish his purposes.
Sin can have painful consequences.
Consequences often are God’s way of working for our sanctification.
No comments:
Post a Comment