Monday, October 26, 2015

II Samuel 16: Placing Their Bets

With the kingdom in upheaval and the future of the monarchy uncertain, those around David and Absalom make their calculations and place their bets on who to support: the deposed king or the crafty usurper.

First up is Ziba, who approaches David as he is leaving Jerusalem.  (Ziba, you may recall, is the former servant of Saul who tracked down Jonathan's crippled son Mephibosheth for David.)  Ziba is betting that David will prevail over Absalom.  He comes out with provisions and gifts for the departing king and his entourage.  Moreover, he reports that Mephibosheth is delighted at David's downfall and is gleefully planning for the return of the kingdom to his family.  David rewards Ziba by proclaiming that all of Mephibosheth's holdings now belong to Ziba.

Soon after, a scalawag named Shimei (also of the house of Saul) appears and places his bet against David's return to power.  Shimei throws stones and debris down upon David and his men.  He attacks David with verbal accusations and insults.  So obnoxious and annoying is Shimei that one of David's fighters, Abishai, offers to go over and behead him.  But David refuses the offer, saying that he must humbly accept God's judgment and that maybe he will find favor in God's sight by enduring such abuse from the tongue of Shimei.

We then hear again of the double-agent Hushai who is worming his way into Absalom's inner circle.  Absalom is at first suspicious that Hushai abandoned his friend David so easily, but Hushai appeals to Absalom's vanity and says that he is merely placing his bets and switching over to the winning side (vs. 18).  His duplicity appears to be working.

Finally, Absalom is advised by Ahitophel to go "all in" in his campaign against David.  The way to show Israel that you're serious and beyond redemption in your father's eyes, Ahitophel says, is to publicly bed his concubines in the sight of Israel.  So a tent is placed on the roof of the palace, and Absalom becomes a stench to his father through his actions toward the concubines.  Thus the prophecy of Nathan from II Samuel 12:11 is fulfilled.  The consequences of David's sin against Uriah, however, continue.

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