1 Samuel 18-19 part 11
Last week as we can see from our map we left David and his men at Mahanaim where they refreshed themselves with food and water from those who supported David and Absolom and his men were chasing them down and were camped somewhere here the land of Gilead. Now tonight we will see this battle unfold as we start with,
2 Samuel 18:1 And
David numbered the people who were with him, and set captains of
thousands and captains of hundreds over them.
2 Then David sent out one third of the people under the hand
of Joab, one third under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's
brother, and one third under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said
to the people, "I also will surely go out with you myself." 3 But the people answered,
"You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us;
nor if half of us die, will they care about us. But you are worth ten
thousand of us now. For you are now more help to us in the city." 4 Then the king said to them,
"Whatever seems best to you I will do." So the king stood beside the
gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai,
and Ittai, saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man
Absalom." And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains
orders concerning Absalom.
Here we learn that David
divides his men up into groups of 3 and sends them out to battle. Now I know
how easy it is for us to get lost who is who so just for a second I want to
remind you of who these people are. First of Zeruriah is David’s sister and both
Joab and Abishai are her sons which means both of them are David’s Nephews. Now
this man named Ittai was just a man who had decided to follow David and his
men. You might recall he and all his people including their children went with
them.
Now David wanted to be
involved in this battle but the people didn’t want him to go. They wanted him
to remain behind in the city for his own safety. Now David puts an
impossible task on his army as he
doesn’t want them to kill his son Absalom. This would make it to where he men
would have to fight with care which would endanger their lives. It just seems
that David is struggling with the reality that his son must die and that there
is no way they can ever be reconciled after what he has done with his
concubines.
2 Samuel 18:6 So the
people went out into the field of battle against
The location of this
battle is not known for sure but as you can see on the map the region of
Ephraim was on the west side of the Jordan river but some say this forest was
on the east side. The reason for this is because if you remember both David’s
men and Absolom’s men were on the east side of the
2 Samuel 18:9 Then
Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under
the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth;
so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under
him went on. 10 Now a certain
man saw it and told Joab, and said, "I just saw Absalom hanging in a
terebinth tree!" 11 So
Joab said to the man who told him, "You just saw him! And why did you not
strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver
and a belt." 12 But the
man said to Joab, "Though I were to receive a thousand shekels of silver
in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king's son. For in our
hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, 'Beware lest
anyone touch the young man Absalom!' 13
"Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own life. For there is
nothing hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against
me." 14 Then Joab said,
"I cannot linger with you." And he took three spears in his hand and
thrust them through Absalom's heart, while he was still alive in the midst of
the terebinth tree. 15 And
ten young men who bore Joab's armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed
him.
Absalom
was on the run and he was riding his mule through the woods which is very
dangerous because you never know what you might run into and this is what
happened to him. He got his head caught in a tree and mule ran on. Now we have
know idea what the length of his hair would have been at this time but if his
hair was very long not only would his head of been caught is certainly possible
that his hair was tangled up in the tree as well. Can you imagine how
vulnerable and helpless he felt as he dangled their from that tree.
When
the men report to Joab that they saw him hanging there Joab gets mad that they
didn’t kill him but his men were afraid that if they had the Joab would passed
the blame on to them and make them out to be the bad guy while he remained
innocent. So, Joab takes 3 sharpened wooden sticks and he thrust them through
the heart of Absalom. Now it not talking about his actual heart this simple
means the middle of his body as we read he was still alive after this but 10 of
Joab’s men finished the job and he was dead.
2 Samuel 18:16 So Joab
blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing
Since Absalom was dead
there was no reason to continue to kill more people so Joab call the people off
and they bury Absalom in a pit. Now in verse 18 we told what Absalom had
planned for his burial which he seems to have built in honor of his dead sons
but instead he lies in a ditch now.
2 Samuel 18:19 Then
Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, "Let me run now and take the news to the
king, how the LORD has avenged him of his enemies." 20 And Joab said to him, "You
shall not take the news this day, for you shall take the news another day. But
today you shall take no news, because the king's son is dead." 21 Then Joab said to the Cushite,
"Go, tell the king what you have seen." So the Cushite bowed himself
to Joab and ran. 22 And
Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, "But whatever happens, please
let me also run after the Cushite." So Joab said, "Why will you run,
my son, since you have no news ready?"
23 "But whatever happens," he said, "let
me run." So he said to him, "Run." Then Ahimaaz ran by way of
the plain, and outran the Cushite.
Zadok was the high priest
and Ahimaaz was his son and he was loyal to David and he wanted to tell David about
what had happened. At first Joab didn’t want him to go until the next day but
after he sends the Cushite to give one version of the story and then he decides
to go ahead and let Ahimaaz run to the king as well. Apparently Ahimaaz was
faster runner and he knew all the shortcuts because he beat the Cushite to
David.
2 Samuel 18:24 Now
David was sitting between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof
over the gate, to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked, and there was a man,
running alone. 25 Then the
watchman cried out and told the king. And the king said, "If he is alone,
there is news in his mouth." And he came rapidly and drew
near. 26 Then the watchman
saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and
said, "There is another man, running alone!" And the king
said, "He also brings news." 27
So the watchman said, "I think the running of the first is like the
running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok." And the king said, "He is a
good man, and comes with good news."
Here is where we see
the suspense building. I can imagine how David heart was pounding in
anticipation of what news these 2 men had. Ahimaaz must have had a particular
style of running as the watchman was able to recognize him from afar off based
on how he was running. We also see that David was being optimistic as thought
he might be receiving good news.
2 Samuel 18:28 And
Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, "All is well!" Then he bowed
down with his face to the earth before the king, and said, "Blessed be the
LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my
lord the king!" 29 The
king said, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" Ahimaaz answered,
"When Joab sent the king's servant and me your servant, I saw a
great tumult, but I did not know what it was about." 30 And the king said, "Turn
aside and stand here." So he turned aside and stood still.
Ahimaaz had his
chance to the whole truth but perhaps out fear he lies to David telling him he
doesn’t know what happened to his son but that they were victorious against
them. Now it the Cushite turn.
2 Samuel 18:31 Just
then the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, "There is good news, my lord
the king! For the LORD has avenged you this day of all those who rose against
you." 32 And the king
said to the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" So the Cushite
answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against
you to do harm, be like that young man!" 33 Then the king was deeply moved,
and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said
thus: "O my son Absalom -- my son, my son Absalom -- if only I had died in
your place! O Absalom my son, my son!"
Even though Absalom had
rebelled against him and committed acts of sin worthy of death David could not
find any joy in the death of son and tore him to peaces as he wished he could
have died in his place. This same thing hold true today. I have heard of many
wicked children who have committed some of the most unthinkable crimes but no
matter how stained they are with sin most mom’s and dad’s will still be there
for them and love them no matter what and I don’t know of any parent who want
their child to die before they do. So, I think we can kind of relate to David’s
heartbreak here.
2 Samuel 19:1And Joab
was told, "Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for
Absalom." 2 So the
victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people. For the
people heard it said that day, "The king is grieved for his
son." 3 And the people
stole back into the city that day, as people who are ashamed steal away when
they flee in battle. 4 But
the king covered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, "O my
son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!"
5 Then Joab came into the house to the king, and said,
"Today you have disgraced all your servants who today have saved your
life, the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives and the
lives of your concubines, 6
"in that you love your enemies and hate your friends. For you have
declared today that you regard neither princes nor servants; for today I
perceive that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it would
have pleased you well. 7
"Now therefore, arise, go out and speak comfort to your servants. For I
swear by the LORD, if you do not go out, not one will stay with you this night.
And that will be worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you from
your youth until now."
Under normal
circumstance this victory should have been followed up by great happiness that
the battle was over but because of David’s mourning it caused everyone else to
mourn because it gave his men the sense that he wasn’t pleased with what they
had done. These men had risked their life for David and he was sending them the
message that his rebellious son was greater than they were this why Joab rebuke
David sharply for his behavior and David recognizes his mistake and sits at the
gate so that as the soldiers go by that they will know that he approves of
their victory.
2 Samuel 19:8 Then
the king arose and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying,
"There is the king, sitting in the gate." So all the people came
before the king. For everyone of
Here we see that all the
tribes start remembering all the battles that David had won and what he done
for them and they wanted him restored as the king. The only one lacking was
2 Samuel 19:14 So he
swayed the hearts of all the men of
David was on his way back
to his thrown but even more show up to help as we continue in verse,
2 Samuel 19:16 And
Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was from Bahurim, hastened and
came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. 17 There were a thousand
men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba (zie-bah) the
servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with
him; and they went over the
Here we have these men
showing their respect for David and they are there to help him and men back to
2 Samuel 19:24 Now
Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. And he had not cared
for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day
the king departed until the day he returned in peace. 25 So it was, when he had come to
Here David find out about
the deception of Ziba and learn that Mephibosheth had stayed loyal to him all
this time after all. Now we are not given the reason why David makes this decision
but he decides to give half of Saul’s property to Ziba and the other half to
Mephibosheth. Then Mephibosheth makes it clear that he is not concerned about
the property but only that King has returned in peace.
2 Samuel 19:31 And
Barzillai (bar-zill-ay-eye) the
Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went across the
Barzillia was one of the
men who came to David’s aid with food and water and so David wanted to honor
him and his family by having them join him in
1 Kings 2:7 "But
show kindness to the sons of Barzillai (bar-zill-ay-eye) the Gileadite, and
let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I
fled from Absalom your brother.
2 Samuel 19:41 Just
then all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, "Why
have our brethren, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king, his
household, and all David's men with him across the Jordan?" 42 So all the men of
As we come to the
end of this chapter we see the division that is between the northern and
southern tribes. This is just the beginning of their jealousy and hatred toward
one another. We end with