Reasserting His Kingship

INTRO

Second Samuel has been pretty graphic. The book started with David given a part in the Eternal Throne that points to the coming Messiah, Jesus. But after that, things got bad. David had his affair with Bathsheba and set up Bathsheba’s husband to be killed. David’s son Amnon raped his half-sister, Tamar. And Tamar’s brother Absalom attempted to take over David’s kingdom. After that, Joab and his men killed Absalom. When messengers from the battlefield told David about Absalom’s death, David wept.

TEACHING

2 Samuel 19:1–4: Twenty thousand troops died in the battle to defeat Absalom. Even though Absalom led an army against the king and the king’s army won, the victory was turned into mourning because of how much David was mourning. Soldiers should not be grieving after such a big victory, but because David hadn’t been able to get over the loss of Absalom, the soldiers went home feeling as though they had been defeated. David was in such despair he hid his face as he mourned.

2 Samuel 19:5–7: As the man who killed Absalom and took care of the problem, Joab came to David and pretty much told David to get over his grief. Joab stated David’s mourning discredited all his soldiers had done for him and suggested David would have preferred for his own army to have died and for Absalom to have lived. David obviously needed the pep talk, but Joab’s boldness could also have created a problem. David never sought the Lord or cried out to the Lord. In the past, David lamented the deaths of Saul and Jonathan to the Lord, but he didn’t do that here. He was crying over his son without seeking God.

2 Samuel 19:8–10: When people were placed at the gate, they were positioned for authority. David sitting at the gate was a sign to his people that he was back and engaged. But the people were now unsure what they thought of the king. On one hand, David had delivered them from the Philistines. On the other, David had fled Absalom, and Absalom had been anointed king. The people were now unsure of who they were to follow. Would David rule only over Judah, over a section of the tribes, or the whole kingdom?

2 Samuel 19:11–13: David actually began to reinitiate his calling as king. He started to take active steps of restoring himself to the role of king. David knew how to play the game; he knew the political structure. This was similar to starting a campaign rally. David went to the elders of the tribe of Judah and made a familial appeal to begin the process of restoring his throne. His political strategy was in his promise to Amasa that Amasa would take Joab’s place as commander of David’s troops. David probably wanted to replace Joab with his arch-enemy Amasa because Joab had killed Absalom against David’s wishes and then had been very forward with him afterwards. But David was also trying to secure the unity of the rebel army by promoting Amasa.

2 Samuel 19:14–15: David’s political move and negotiating tactic worked. David could have been stuck in the grieving process over Absalom. He could have been stuck in the mistakes he made as a father or as a husband, but because Joab woke him up, he started to walk out his calling as God’s anointed king again.

2 Samuel 19:16–20: Shimei was the man who had followed David around when he was exiled and threw rocks and hurled insults at David and his men. Now Shimei had second thoughts about what he had done, and he hurried down to meet the king, bringing 1,000 men from Benjamin with him. This was a sign the old hostilities with Saul’s family were coming to an end. Ziba, another servant in Saul’s house, also came to meet the king. Ziba knew he had acted against the king’s wishes when he neglected to take care of Mephibosheth. The whole group helped David cross the Jordan almost as a way of kissing up to the king. But Shimei made no excuses for his past conduct. He didn’t try to shift blame, but he was ready to move forward as the first descendant from all of Joseph’s family.

2 Samuel 19:21–23: Abishai didn’t like Shimei from the first. When Shimei was insulting the king in 2 Samuel 16:9, Abishai asked David, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut his head off!” Abishai wanted to kill Shimei in chapter 16, and he still wanted to kill him. David’s response was basically, “Aren’t I the king? I’m in charge of people who were on both sides.” David made an oath to not kill Shimei, but he didn’t promise anyone else wouldn’t. In 1 Kings 2:8-9, David would tell Solomon, “Keep an eye on Shimei son of Gera . . . He uttered malicious curses against me the day I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, and I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never kill you with the sword.’ So don’t let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man. You know how to deal with him to bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.” David got the bigger picture. He was a man of integrity, but he knew how to work the system.

2 Samuel 19:24–30: Mephibosheth had not bathed or trimmed his hair since David left Jerusalem, possibly as a sign of mourning. Mephibosheth told David that Ziba left him behind and took his donkey. David wasn’t sure who was telling him the truth, so David commanded Ziba and Mephibosheth to divide their property.

2 Samuel 19:31–39: Barzillai had taken care of David when he was on the other side of the Jordan. Now, David wanted Barzillai to come with him so he could return the favor. Barzillai refused because he was so old he wouldn’t be able to enjoy all the nice things David offered. Instead, Barzillai asked David to take Chimham, who was probably Barzillai’s son, and David agreed.

2 Samuel 19:40–43: As David began to walk out his calling, there was an argument between the men of Israel (the ten Northern tribes) and the men of Judah. The men of Israel wanted to know why Judah had crossed over the Jordan with David secretly. The bitterness between the two tribes would become a division when Solomon passed away, but they all came together at this point because of King David.

CLOSING

David eventually overcame his failures and his fears because he still pursued his calling as the king. Because David pursued his calling, the people of Israel came together. First Corinthians 7:17 says, “However, each one must live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him.” When David began to walk out his calling, everyone was impacted. Ephesians 4:1 says, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received.” David had received a calling from the Lord and now he needed to walk it out.