2 SAMUEL
The Return of the King
2 Sam. 19:8-20:22
INTRODUCTION
Before looking at this passage, we need to refresh our memories about some previous episodes which relate to this passage. The first deals with Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul and son of Jonathan, David’s best friend. After David had consolidated his power, he had extended kindness to Mephibosheth because of his love for Jonathan. From that time onward, Mephibosheth was invited to dine at the king’s table. The next time the name of Mephibosheth appears is the time David flees Jerusalem because of Absalom’s rebellion. Mephibosheth’s servant Ziba approached David with 2 mules laden with breads, dried fruits, and wine for David's men. When David asked Ziba why Mephibosheth was not going with him, Ziba replied that Mephibosheth had chosen to stay in Jerusalem, hoping that at long last Israel was going to restore him to his grandfather’s throne. Although David did not investigate the matter any further, he readily accepted Ziba’s accusations and declared that henceforth all the lands belong to the house of Saul belonged to Ziba. Ziba graciously accepted the transference of property. (David makes a major mistake here. If he had thought just tiwice about what Ziba had said, he would have dismissed it immediately. The last reason on earth Absalom would have rebelled against David would be to put Mephibosheth on the throne.)
The second episode which relates to the present passage concerns Shimei. If you will recall, Shimei had cursed David and thrown stones at him as he was fleeing Jerusalem. He had declared that God was doing all this to David because he had been a man of bloodshed. He seemed to be saying that the fall of the house of Saul was David’s responsibility. When Abishai, one of David’s generals, wanted to cut off Shimei’s head because he had cursed God’s Anointed, David replied that God may have told Shimei to say these things to him. If Absalom his own son was driving him away from Jerusalem, how could he condemn Shimei for merely cursing him?
The third episode relates to Joab. Remember that Joab had explicitly and blatantly disobeyed David by killing Absalom. Twice he was informed that David wanted his son spared (one of those times by David himself), and yet he had gone ahead and killed him in cold blood. David has not been pleased with Joab up to this point. With this incident, though, Joab has crossed the line. David now intends to discipline him severely for insubordination.
THE RETURN OF THE KING (19:8-39)
After the battle is over, the men of Israel (the 10 tribes north of Judah) realize that they have really blundered. First, they realize that their rebellion against David was totally unjustified since earlier he had rescued them from the Philistines. During the time of the judges and the reign of Saul, the Philistines had plagued all 12 tribes. In fact, the Philistines had defeated Saul and his army in the northern regions of the country at Mt. Gilboa, far from Philistia. How had the 10 northern tribes repaid David for this invaluable service? They had rebelled against him in league with Absalom. Moreover, they had bet the bank on the wrong man. Apparently, they had thought that Absalom was going to prove victorious over the elderly David, and now, lo and behold, Absalom had gone off and gotten himself killed. They realized that they needed to amend their relationship with David immediately; therefore, they sent a delegation to David informing him of their desire to bring him back to Jerusalem to resume his place on the throne.
David is grateful for their plans but is perplexed why he has received no word from the tribe of Judah, the very tribe from which he was descended and had elevated to be the prominent tribe in Israel. Moreover, if any tribe needed to be embarrassed by the whole ordeal, it should have been Judah because the rebellion had broken out in her lands. David sends word to the elders of the tribe of Judah through the 2 main priests, Abiathar and Zadok. He asks the elders why Israel has sent for him and yet they have not, even though he is directly descended from Judah and not from the 10 northern tribes.
Along with this communiqué, David sends word to Amasa the leader of Absalom’s forces that he is going to replace Joab as the commander of his forces with Amasa. This was both a daring and foolish act on David’s part. It was daring because Amasa had been the military leader of the rebel forces. Replacing Joab with Amasa would be like Lincoln replacing U.S. Grant with Robert E. Lee after the Civil War. Such a move would have angered a lot of Republicans in the north, not to say how Grant would have responded. Well, this was naturally not going to set well with Joab’s forces, much less with Joab. Moreover, the way to discipline Joab was not to replace him with somebody else but to kill him. Joab was always a scary figure; a humiliated Joab was deadly.
The king travels south from Mahanaim to cross over the Jordan River, just north of the city of Jericho. Before he crosses the river, he is met by the men from Judah AND Shimei, leading a group of 1000 Ephraimites (men from the tribe of Ephraim). No longer does Shimei curse David. Instead, he calls himself David's servant and begs him to forget the wrong he had done him while fleeing Jerusalem. When Abishai hears this, he once more asks David if he can cut off the man’s head because he had cursed the Lord’s Anointed. Once more, David claims that he is sick to death of Abishai and Joab, Zeruiah’s sons. He reminds Abishai that today he has been restored to the throne and that he, not Abishai, should be giving orders. He and not Abishai is the king. Moreover, he feels that the way to respond to his enemies today is to be magnanimous towards them. He has won. He doesn’t need to crush his enemies now that he has defeated them. He’s won, and that’s all that matter. He swears to Shimei that he will not have him executed.
Some claim that David later contradicts himself when on his deathbed he advises Solomon to execute Shimei if Shimei ever leaves the area of Jerusalem. The situation, though, has changed. In the present episode, David is secure upon his throne. There is no threat from the quarters of Shimei. On the other hand, Solomon’s grasp of the throne at the beginning of his reign is tenuous at best. Shimei apparently posed a threat to the reign of the young king. The fact that he had led 1000 Ephraimites to welcome David shows that he was a man of stature in the land. As long as David lived, Shimei was safe; only David's death affected the situation.
The next person to greet David was Mephibosheth. Now Mephibosheth was in sad shape when he met David. From the moment that Mephibosheth heard that David had been deposed, he had been so sorrowful that he had neglected himself. His clothes had not been changed or washed; his mustache had not been trimmed, and his toenails had not been cut. David does not ask Mephibosheth about his appearance; he asks him only why he did not accompany David when he fled Jerusalem.
Mephibosheth replies that Ziba had deceived David. Mephibosheth had saddled his mount in order to ride with David when David was fleeing Jerusalem. Although he does not say so, Mephibosheth implies that Ziba had taken the mount away from him. Moreover, Mephibosheth knows that Ziba has deceived David because he had hurried back with the news that David had transferred all the lands from Mephibosheth to Ziba. David apparently is bamboozled by this turn of events. Apparently, he is also defensive because he had so rapidly rendered a verdict against Mephibosheth.
What follows has importance for not only right now but also for the future. When David declares that the land shall be split between Ziba and Mephibosheth, Mephibosheth replies that Ziba can have all the land, that he in fact does not care about the land. The fact that the king has returned is all that matters to him. With this response Mephibosheth proves his innocence because if he had been concerned only about himself as Ziba had claimed, then he would have jumped at David's offer. That he did not points to his innocence.
How does this story have significance for the future? When David fled from Jerusalem, the only part of his household he left behind were the 10 concubines to care for his house. With him fled his wives, remaining concubines (if any), and sons, including Solomon. While all this is transpiring, the eyes of the young man Solomon were most likely fixed on his father David. Years later, Solomon is going to be presented with a difficult situation in which he must determine for 2 women the identity of a child. When he proposes that he split the child in 2 and give ½ to each of the women, the false claimant accepts his proposal, while the true mother rejects it in order to spare the life of the child. She would rather this child be given to the false claimant than to have her baby killed. Just like Mephibosheth, she was not concerned about herself but only for the welfare of somebody else.
Eyes are all about us, especially the eyes of our little ones, whether they acknowledge it or even know it. For example, I love senior adults. I always have. I never knew why until I studied this lesson—I got that love from my parents. My parents always loved senior adults. Some of my mother’s best friends were people 20 or 30 years older than herself. My dad always treated senior adults with great respect. He loved to tease them, especially if he beat them in cards or in dominoes. I would just as soon be around older people than people my own age. This is due to the unseen influence of my parents. I feel many times compelled to speak the truth when everybody else is coming up with lame excuses for inexcusable behavior. My mom told me that I got that from my dad. I don’t think this was born into me; I just think that our parents have this tremendous influence upon the way we related to life. As a result, we really need to concentrate not only on what we teach our children but on how we live our lives. This episode between David and Mephibosheth demonstrates once more than children go by what their parents do more than what we teach them
(For the same of time, we will skip the story of Barzillai.)
SHEBA'S REBELLION (19:40-20:22)
After the king crosses the Jordan River, he is met belatedly by the men of Israel (the 10 northern tribes). When they arrive, they are incensed that the men of Judah not only arrived first but also did not wait for the Israelites to ferry the king across the Jordan. Speaking directly to the king, they inform him that it was they who first suggested that the king be brought back.
The king does not respond, which he should have. Instead, the men of Judah reply in harsh words to the Israelites. They justify their actions by the fact that they are blood relatives of David. He, like them, had descended from Judah. Second, they had been faultless in their relations with David. They had not done this in order to gain something from David; in fact, they had gained nothing from bringing him across. They had done this only because they were related to the king.
The Israelites reply that whereas the men of Judah are related to David, the truth is that he is king over ALL the tribes and not just the tribe of Judah. Since they represent 10 of the tribes while the Judahites represent only one tribe, they have more of a claim on David than the Judahites. They reject the reasoning of the Judahites.
David makes a crucial error in this episode in that he says nothing but allows the tribes to fight it out among themselves. He could have acknowledged that the Israelites were the first to suggest his return. Second, he could have apologized for not waiting for the Israelites before he crossed the Jordan River. Instead, he protects himself and says nothing. His conduct is going to bring immediate disaster and create a hostile precedent for the future which will bear fruit when his grandson Rehoboam ascends the throne. As in the case of Mephibosheth, we can positively affect the future; as in this case, we can negatively affect the future.
Moreover, all that was necessary for peace was for one of the parties to back down. The Israelites could have acknowledged Judah’s argument and tried to understand their reasons. The men of Judah could have just as easily apologized for not waiting. But no!!!! These are stubborn men with too much pride and ego at stake. They would rather destroy the kingdom than admit that they had done something wrong.
Sheba, the one of Bichri, a Benjaminite, overhears what is being said and cries out: “We have no portion in David. Every man to his tent!” In other words, he is calling out for an open break between the 10 northern tribes and the tribe of Judah. Sheba reckons that since David belongs exclusively to the Judahites, they can have him. They will secede from the union and form their own kingdom. The Israelites immediately leave the scene while the Judahites escort David all the rest of the way back to Jerusalem from the Jordan.