Wednesday, October 28, 2015

II Samuel 19: The Return Of The King

After the death of Absalom, the kingdom reverts to David.  II Samuel 19 describes the return of the king to power.

The chapter begins with David still deeply broken over the loss of his son Absalom.  His troops hear him weeping loudly with the poignant cry, "O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!" (vs. 4)  We hear the further detail that the king covered his face as we wept.  Joab upbraids him and tells him that, with this mourning, he has covered the faces of all his officers with shame.  Joab further accuses the king of loving those who hate him and hating those who love him (vs. 6).  He warns David that this attitude will drive his soldiers from him and that he will have even worse troubles ahead securing his grip on the throne.  David manages to pull it together and give the traditional greeting to the troops at the gate (vs. 8).

Meanwhile, those who had been in the conspiracy with Absalom realize that they need to recall David to the throne in Jerusalem.  David prepares to cross the Jordan at Gilgal (vs. 15).  Remember that circle of stones where Joshua first crossed over several generations previously?

En route to the Jordan, David meets up with several of those who had "placed their bets" for and against him earlier.  Shimei the Benjaminite is at the front of the procession, begging the king for forgiveness for the loud insults and jeers he had cast at the departing king in chapter 16.  Magnanimous in victory, David grants him mercy.  Ziba, servant of Mephibosheth, as well as Mephibosheth himself, also meet David as he prepares to cross the Jordan.  Mephibosheth maintains that Ziba slandered him before the king and that he had, in fact, remained loyal.  (The Bible includes the detail that he hadn't trimmed his beard or taken care of his feet or washed his clothes since David's escape from Jerusalem, so there is some evidence to support his side of the story.)  Barzillai, an older wealthy man from Gilead, who had hosted David during his time of exile, also accompanies David to the Jordan as a faithful subject and wishes him well on his return to Jerusalem.

At the very end of the chapter, political tensions begin to flare up between the tribe of Judah and the rest of Israel, something which will need to be resolved in chapter 20.

No comments:

Post a Comment