2 Samuel 19-20 "Thine Is the Kingdom" Our story so far: David should have gone out to battle with his troops against Rabbah of the Ammonites. Instead he stayed home and got in trouble with the wife of one of his mighty men. She got pregnant, so David ordered Joab to make sure that Uriah got killed in battle. Then David married Bathsheba, but God sent Nathan the prophet to give word that the son of their adultery would die, and that God would punish David's sin by doing the same thing to him. Then David's eldest son, Amnon, raped his half-sister Tamar. David does nothing about it, so Tamar's brother, Absalom, takes matters into his own hands and kills Amnon. Absalom eventually rebels and seizes the throne, driving David into exile, and sleeping openly with his father's concubines. When he brings the armies of Israel against David, David orders his generals to spare Absalom. During the battle Absalom is caught by his head in a tree suspended between heaven and earth, And when Joab discovers this, he refuses to obey the king, but kills Absalom. We ended last time with David hearing the news of Absalom's death, and crying out "O my son, Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" The LORD's anointed is grieving over the usurper the rebellious son. 1. Joab's Rebuke (19:1-8a) Our passage tonight opens with Joab hearing the news: Behold the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom. Predictably this causes consternation among the troops. They have just won a great battle, but David is not happy. So the people stole into the city as people steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle. So Joab came to the king and rebuked him: These people fought for you. They died for you. All because they love you! And yet you are grieving the death of the one who was trying to kill them! You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you, for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. And Joab warns indeed, he swears by Yahweh that if David does not go out and speak kindly to his servants, then no one would follow him again. The narrator plainly wants us to sympathize with Joab and all David's loyal followers. David's actions are counterproductive. If you want to rally the troops and regain the throne, then you need to appeal to your base! David needs to shape up and get with the program. The usurper is dead! Now is the time to reward your faithful followers! All that is true. And yet the narrator of 2 Samuel also wants us to sympathize with David. O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son. Absalom is the third son to die as a result of David's sin. David understands that this has all happened because of his sin. If you lost a child because of your sin, how would you respond? But there is something more going on. David is weeping over the usurper weeping over the traitor just as David's son will weep over Jerusalem. David understands that Joab sees only one side of the picture. Joab wants justice. Joab sees that Absalom is a traitor and a usurper. Absalom is the rebellious son of Dt 21, so Absalom should die the cursed death hanged upon a tree! Joab's single-minded devotion to justice makes him a good general. He is a good military man. But David sees that there is another side. Sin has rendered justice somewhat ambiguous in this world. After all, if God had operated by strict justice in David's case, David himself would be dead. God has had mercy on David but at the price of three of his sons. Joab's demands for justice must be met. But David's longing for his son is also at the heart of the story. How do you resolve this? Is Joab right? Is David? This scenario will play itself out again 300 years later, when another father must mete out justice against his son. In Hosea 11, God says, When Israel was a child, I love him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But Israel rebelled. If God treated Israel as Israel deserved, if God treated Israel according to strict justice, then God would destroy them. And so God asks, How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. And so God promises that he will not destroy Israel forever. God himself proves to be the father who must destroy his rebellious son and yet cannot bring himself to do so. Indeed, the question before us is nothing less than how can God be just and justify the ungodly? Joab and David reflect two different perspectives on the death of the sinner. Joab shows us the result of justice the wages of sin is death. David shows us the result of mercy O that I had died instead of you. The tension in 2 Samuel 19 is unresolved. David simply leaves his grief and takes his seat in the gate. It will only find resolution at the cross. 2. Mending Fences: Political Fallout from Absalom's Rebellion (19:8b-43) The rest of the chapter deals with David taking Joab's advice and mending political fences. We get the background in verses 8-10. Israel had fled to their homes and throughout all Israel the debate is raging, what shall we do? David is the one who delivered us from the Philistines and even though we sided with Absalom, David has triumphed over Absalom, why not bring David back? And apparently the northern tribes were the first to say, bring David back! David and the Elders of Judah (19:11-15) But David recognizes that he needs the elders of Judah on his side. He appeals to his base though a base that had sided with Absalom only weeks before. And so he sends word to Zadok and Abiathar, tell the elders of Judah to come bring me back. Also, in order to heal the divide between Absalom's supporters and his own, he offers Absalom's commander, Amasa, command of the army in place of Joab. And this did the trick! And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, so that they sent word to the king, "Return, both you and all your servants." And so all Judah came and met him and brought him back over the Jordan. David and Shimei (19:16-23) Shimei was one who came that day. Shimei the one who hurled curses and stones at David just weeks before now brings 1,000 men of Benjamin with him to pledge allegiance to the king. And he said to David, Let not my lord hold me guilty or remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. Do not let the king take it to heart. For your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come this day, the first of all the house of Joseph to come down and meet my lord the king! Shimei understands that he has sinned against the LORD's anointed, and so he repents and begs David's forgiveness. Abishai, Joab's brother, responds, Kill him! He cursed the LORD's anointed! David's response is the response of the LORD's anointed when James and John called for fire from heaven against the Samaritans! Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that Ia m this day king over Israel? And so David swore to Shimei that he will not put him to death. (For those of you wondering about David's instructions to Solomon, we'll get there!) David is trying to bring peace to his people. Today is not the day for justice. Today is the day for mercy. If Joab and Abishai had their way, justice would prevail in Israel, but there would be no peace! How important is justice? Absalom had claimed that if he was king he would give justice. David says that justice is not yet possible. The kingdom must first be securely established. Only then can justice be executed. Only when God has established the throne of David securely and seated his son upon it will justice be done. [and I hope you get the double meaning of that: Solomon will do justice but even Solomon's justice pales in comparison to the justice that will be brought in Jesus Christ.] David and Mephibosheth (19:24-30) Verse 17 says that Ziba also came down to meet David, with fifteen sons and 20 servants in order to do the king's pleasure. Ziba is the servant of Saul who had control of Saul's estates. David had given that land to Mephibosheth, the crippled son of Jonathan. But when he fled from Jerusalem, Ziba had persuaded David that Mephibosheth had betrayed him, so David had restored all the land of Saul to Ziba. But now both Ziba and Mephisbosheth come to David. Mephibosheth comes in mourning with his beard untrimmed, his clothes unwashed and plainly he had not trimmed his beard since David left. This is clear evidence that he will use to support his case. David asks, well, if you supported me, why didn't you come with me? Mephibosheth replies, I wanted to, but my servant prevented me and then slandered me! Mephibosheth throws himself upon the mercy of the king and says do what seems good to you. For all my father's house were but men doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. Mephibosheth asks for nothing. He recognizes the grace and mercy of the LORD's anointed and is content. David also recognizes that Ziba has been a loyal ally, and so he sets the precedent that Solomon will follow he divides the disputed object between the two. And Mephibosheth demonstrates his true loyalty by refusing even the half of the property. Mephibosheth is one who will stand on that final day, because he renounced his land his inheritance for the sake of Christ. He is one of the very few in the OT who recognized that the presence of the LORD's anointed mattered more than a piece of real estate. He is our inheritance our portion, our cup! David and Barzillai (19:31-40) Verses 31-40 then tell how David sought to reward Barzillai the Gileadite for his gracious hospitality. Barzillai had expended a considerable part of his fortune to provide for David. He had fed and housed David's armies in Mahanaim. Think of how much several thousand men would eat in a few weeks. That was what Barzillai had spent on his hope in the LORD's anointed. At 80 years of age, Barzillai had devoted all his resources to his king. And now David wishes to reward him, so he asked him to come with him to Jerusalem. But Barzillai points out that he is too old to enjoy life in the king's court, so he asks that his son (or perhaps grandson) Chimham be allowed to take his place. The Dispute between Israel and Judah (19:41-43) But in spite of all of David's efforts to make peace, the men of Israel and the men of Judah still could not get along. Perhaps prefiguring the division a generation later, the men of Israel complain to David that the men of Judah have "stolen" him. The men of Judah responded by pointing out that they were related to David. The men of Israel reply by saying, but we wanted to bring him back first! 3. Sheba: The Last Gasp of Benjamin (20:1-22) 2 Samuel 20 may be one of the least commented upon chapters in the Bible. I think it is the most forgotten episode in the life of David. Because in that day of dispute and wrangling, there was also a worthless man there a son of beliar Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew a trumpet calling all the people to listen to him and he said, We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel! So all Israel followed Sheba, and now only Judah followed David. When David returned to Jerusalem, before he did anything else, he took the 10 concubines whom Absalom had defiled, and he provided a house for them, but he would not go into them. David recognized that it was not their fault. But here are another ten lives ruined by his sin. Then David called his new general, Amasa, and ordered him to muster the troops in order to take care of Sheba. But Amasa took longer than three days to return. Exasperated, David says to Abishai (note that he doesn't mention this to Joab!) Now Sheba...will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us. David will follow Ahithophel's good advice! Strike quickly! (And don't worry about who gets the glory for the victory) So Joab's men and the Cherethites and the Pelethites and all the mighty men went out after Sheba, and as they went, Amasa finally came. Joab had accepted his demotion as the price for David's restoration. If Amasa had proved faithful, I suspect Joab would have sucked it up and followed him. After all, Joab was known for doing whatever was in David's best interest. (The one possible exception is the murder of Abner but that was in revenge for Abner's killing of Asahel). But Joab is convinced that Amasa delayed out of spite and opposition to David. And so Joab strikes Amasa down with a single blow, betraying him with a kiss.... The Joab and Abishai went after Sheba, leaving Amasa wallowing in his blood. The troops were confused and concerned seeing what Joab had done, so Joab's young man (or servant) took Amasa's body out of the road, put it in a field and covered it. Then the army moved on. Now Sheba had taken refuge in Abel of Beth-Maacah. This is an interesting name. Maacah was the name of Absalom's mother. It is also the name of Rehoboam's wife (Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, though it is not clear from 1 Kings 15, 2 Chronicles 11 and 2 Chronicles 13 whether this is the same Absalom). Sheba goes to the city of Abel, of the House of Maacah. Is this a reference to Absalom's mother the Geshurite princess? Back in 2 Samuel 10:6, when David was fighting against the Ammonites, we heard of the king of Maacah. The king of Maacah would have been neighbors with Talmai, king of Geshur, and one can only surmise that Talmai's daughter (David's wife/Absalom and Tamar's mother) was named Maacah because of her mother was from Maacah. In other words, Sheba is running to the north of Israel, to a place that will hopefully be friendly to one who is trying to perpetuate Absalom's rebellion. But as the siege continued, a wise woman from Abel asked Joab what he wants. She says that she is "one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel." You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the heritage of Yahweh? Joab replies that if Abel will surrender Sheba, the city will be spared. So the woman went to all the people in her wisdom, and they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. Abel is in the far north. It is at the edge of Yahweh-worship, a place where loyalty to the house of David is not expected. Yet this wise woman recognizes that unless they submit to the house of David, they will be destroyed. Joab may be brutal and harsh at times, but he is a rather effective evangelist in proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of David! Repent or die! And that is the message of the gospel. The difference is that we wage our war by the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, calling people to repentance and faith, warning that if they do not submit to the house of David, they will die. And that message comes not only to those who are afar off not only to the pagans, but also to the house of Israel. Abel of the house of Maacah is an Israelite town. Even the church needs to hear the warning submit to Jesus, or you will die. If you are wise, you will heed that warning, repent of your sin of following Sheba (the voice of autonomy and individualism) and you will follow the son of David. Conclusion: David's Administration (20:23-26) In 2 Samuel 8:15-18 we heard of David's administration: 8:15-18 20:23-26 Over the Army Joab Joab Recorder: Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud Jehoshaphat Priests: Zadok & Ahimelech Zadok & Abiathar Secretary Seraiah Sheva Ch&Pel Benaiah son of Jehoiada Benaiah priests David's sons Ira the Jairite was David's priest forced labor Adoram The one new position is the one in charge of forced labor. Some see this as a sign of decline. But in David's kingdom the forced laborers were those who had been captured from foreign countries. It is a sign of the success of David's military campaigns. The Kingdom of God is on the move! Rebellions have been thwarted, the King is seated on the throne in power and glory, and his administration continues in justice and righteousness! And so let us pray that our Lord Jesus Christ will thwart the rebellions in his church today indeed, let us pray that he will subdue us to his will so that his kingdom may come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.