II
S A M U E L
CHAP. XIX.
We
left David's army in triumph and yet David himself in tears: now here we have,
I. His return to himself, by the persuasion of Joab, ver. 1-8. II. His return
to his kingdom from his present banishment. 1. The men of Israel were forward
of themselves to bring him back, ver. 9, 10. 2. The men of Judah were dealt
with by David's agents to do it (ver. 11-14) and did it, ver. 15. III. At the
king's coming over Jordan, Shimei's treason is pardoned (ver. 16-23),
Mephibosheth's failure is excused (ver. 24-30), and Barzillai's kindness is
thankfully owned, and recompensed to his son, ver. 31-39. IV. The men of
Israel quarrelled with the men of Judah, for not calling them to the ceremony
of the king's restoration, which occasioned a new rebellion, an account of
which we have in the next chapter, ver. 40-43.
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Joab's Reproof of David.
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B. C. 1023.
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1
And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom.
2 And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the
people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his
son. 3 And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city,
as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. 4 But
the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son
Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! 5 And Joab came into the house
to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy
servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of
thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy
concubines; 6 In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy
friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes
nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we
had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. 7 Now therefore
arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this
night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befel thee from
thy youth until now. 8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate.
And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the
gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man
to his tent.
Soon after the messengers had brought the news of the defeat and death of
Absalom to the court of Mahanaim, Joab and his victorious army followed, to
grace the king's triumphs and receive his further orders. Now here we are
told,
I. What a damp and disappointment it was to them to find the king in tears for
Absalom's death, which they construed as a token of displeasure against them
for what they had done, whereas they expected him to have met them with joy
and thanks for their good services: It was told Joab, v. 1. The
report of it ran through the army (v. 2), how the king was grieved
for his son. The people will take particular notice what their princes say
and do. The more eyes we have upon us, and the greater our influence is, the
more need we have to speak and act wisely and to govern our passions strictly.
When they came to the city they found the king in close mourning, v. 4.
He covered his face, and would not so much as look up, nor take any notice of
the generals when they attended him. It could not but surprise them to find,
1. How the king proclaimed his passion, of which he ought to have been
ashamed, and which he would have striven to smother and conceal if he had
consulted either his reputation for courage, which was lessened by his mean
submission to the tyranny of so absurd a passion, or his interest in the
people, which would be prejudiced by his discountenancing what was done in
zeal for his honour and the public safety. Yet see how he avows his grief: He
cries with a loud voice, O my son Absalom! "My servants have all come
home safe, but where is my son? He is dead; and, dying in sin, I fear he is
lost for ever. I cannot now say, I shall go to him, for my soul shall
not be gathered with such sinners; what shall be done for thee, O Absalom!
my son, my son!" 2. How he prolonged his passion, even till the army
had come up to him, which must be some time after he received the first
intelligence. If he had contented himself with giving vent to his passion for
an hour or two when he first heard the news, it would have been excusable, but
to continue it thus for so bad a son as Absalom, like Jacob for so good a son
as Joseph, with a resolution to go to the grave mourning and to stain his
triumphs with his tears, was very unwise and very unworthy. Now see how ill
this was taken by the people. They were loth to blame the king, for whatever
he did used to please them (ch. iii. 36), but they took it as a
great mortification to them. Their victory was turned into mourning, v.
2. They stole into the city as men ashamed, v. 3. In compliment
to their sovereign, they would not rejoice in that which they perceived so
afflictive to him, and yet they could not but be uneasy that they were thus
obliged to conceal their joy. Superiors ought not to put such hardships as
these on their inferiors.
II. How plainly and vehemently Joab reproved David for this indiscreet
management of himself in this critical juncture. David never more needed the
hearts of his subjects than now, nor was ever more concerned to secure his
interest in their affections; and therefore whatever tended to disoblige them
now was the most impolitic thing he could do, and the greatest wrong
imaginable to his friends that adhered to him. Joab therefore censures him, v.
5-7. He speaks a great deal of reason, but not with the respect and deference
which he owed to his prince. Is is fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked?
A plain case may be fairly pleaded with those that are above us, and they may
be reproved for what they do amiss, but it must not be done with rudeness and
insolence. David did indeed need to be roused and alarmed; and Joab thought it
no time to dally with him. If superiors do that which is foolish, they must
neither think it strange nor take it ill if their inferiors tell them of it,
perhaps too bluntly. 1. Joab magnifies the services of David's soldiers:
"This day they have saved thy life, and therefore deserve to be
taken notice of, and have reason to resent it if they be not." It is
implied that Absalom, whom he honoured with his tears, sought his ruin and the
ruin of his family, while those whom by his tears he puts a slight upon were
such as preserved from ruin him and all that was dear to him. Great mischiefs
have arisen to princes from the contempt of great merits. 2. He aggravates the
discouragement David had given them: "Thou hast shamed their faces;
for, while they have shown such a value for thy life, thou hast shown no value
for theirs, but preferrest a spoiled wicked youth, a false traitor to his king
and country, whom we are happily rid of, before all thy wise counsellors,
brave commanders, and loyal subjects. What can be more absurd than to love thy
enemies and hate thy friends?" 3. He advises him to present himself
immediately at the head of his troops, to smile upon them, welcome them home,
congratulate their success, and return them thanks for their services. Even
those that may be commanded yet expect to be thanked when they do well, and
ought to be. 4. He threatens him with another rebellion if he would not do
this, intimating that rather than serve so ungrateful a prince he himself
would head a revolt from him, and then (so confident is Joab of his own
interest in the people) "there will not tarry with thee one man.
If I go, they will go. Thou hast now nothing to mourn for: but, if thou
persist, I will give thee something to mourn for (as Josephus expresses it)
with a true and more bitter mourning."
III. How prudently and mildly David took the reproof and counsel given him, v.
8. He shook off his grief, anointed his head, and washed his face, that he
might not appear unto men to mourn, and then made his appearance in public in
the gate, which was as the guild-hall of the city. Hither the people flocked
to him to congratulate his and their safety, and all was well. Note, When we
are convinced of a fault, we must amend, though we are told of it by our
inferiors, and indecently, or in heat and passion.
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David's
Return to the Jordan.
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B. C. 1023.
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9
And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying,
The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of
the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom.
10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why
speak ye not a word of bringing the king back? 11 And king David
sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of
Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing
the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house.
12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore
then are ye the last to bring back the king? 13 And say ye to
Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and
more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the
room of Joab. 14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah,
even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto
the king, Return thou, and all thy servants. 15 So the king
returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the
king, to conduct the king over Jordan.
It is strange that David did not immediately upon the defeat and dispersion of
Absalom's forces march with all expedition back to Jerusalem, to regain the
possession of his capital city, while the rebels were in confusion and before
they could rally again. What occasion was there to bring him back? Could not
he himself go back with the victorious army he had with him in Gilead? He
could, no doubt; but, 1. He would go back as a prince, with the consent and
unanimous approbation of the people, and not as a conqueror forcing his way:
he would restore their liberties, and not take occasion to seize them, or
encroach upon them. 2. He would go back in peace and safety, and be sure that
he should meet with no difficulty or opposition in his return, and therefore
would be satisfied that the people were well-affected to have him before he
would stir. 3. He would go back in honour, and like himself, and therefore
would go back, not at the head of his forces, but in the arms of his subjects;
for the prince that has wisdom and goodness enough to make himself his
people's darling, without doubt, looks greater and makes a much better figure
than the prince that has strength enough to make himself his people's terror.
It is resolved therefore that David must be brought back to Jerusalem his own
city, and his own house there, with some ceremony, and here we have that
matter concerted.
I. The men of Israel (that is, the ten tribes) were the first that talked of
it, v. 9, 10. The people were at strife about it; it was the great
subject of discourse and dispute throughout all the country. Some perhaps
opposed it: "Let him either come back himself or stay where he is;"
others appeared zealous for it, and reasoned as follows here, to further the
design, 1. That David had formerly helped them, had fought their battles,
subdued their enemies, and done them much service, and therefore it was a
shame that he should continue banished from their country who had been so
great a benefactor to it. Note, Good services done to the public, though they
may be forgotten for a while, yet will be remembered again when men come to
their right minds. 2. That Absalom had now disappointed them. "We were
foolishly sick of the cedar, and chose the branch to reign over us; but we
have had enough of him: he is consumed, and we narrowly escaped being consumed
with him. Let us therefore return to our allegiance, and think of bringing the
king back." Perhaps this was all the strife among them, not a dispute
whether the king should be brought back or no (all agreed it was to be done),
but whose fault is was that it was not done. As is usual in such cases, every
one justified himself and blamed his neighbour. The people laid the fault on
the elders, and the elders on the people, and one tribe upon another. Mutual
excitements to the doing of a good work are laudable, but not mutual
accusations for the not doing of it; for usually when public services are
neglected all sides must share in the blame; every one might do more than he
does, in the reformation of manners, the healing of divisions, and the like.
II. The men of Judah, by David's contrivance, were the first that did it. It
is strange that they, being David's own tribe, were not so forward as the
rest. David had intelligence of the good disposition of all the rest towards
him, but nothing from Judah, though he had always been particularly careful of
them. But we do not always find the most kindness from those from whom we have
most reason to expect it. Yet David would not return till he knew the sense of
his own tribe. Judah was his lawgiver, Ps. lx. 7. That his way home
might be the more clear, 1. He employed Zadok and Abiathar, the two chief
priests, to treat with the elders of Judah, and to excite them to give the
king an invitation back to his house, even to his house, which was the glory
of their tribe, v. 11, 12. No men more proper to negociate this affair
than the two priests, who were firm to David's interest, were prudent men, and
had great influence with the people. Perhaps the men of Judah were remiss and
careless, and did it not, because nobody put them on to do it, and then it was
proper to stir them up to it. Many will follow in a good work who will not
lead: it is a pity that they should continue idle for want of being spoken to.
Or perhaps they were so sensible of the greatness of the provocation they had
given to David, by joining with Absalom, that they were afraid to bring him
back, despairing of his favour; he therefore warrants his agents to assure
them of it, with this reason: "You are my brethren, my bone and my
flesh, and therefore I cannot be severe with you." The Son of David
has been pleased to call us brethren, his bone and his flesh, which
encourages us to hope that we shall find favour with him. Or perhaps they were
willing to see what the rest of the tribes would do before they stirred, with
which they are here upbraided: "The speech of all Israel has come to the
king to invite him back, and shall Judah be the last, that should have been
the first? Where is now the celebrated bravery of that royal tribe? Where is
its loyalty?" Note, We should be stirred up to that which is great and
good by the examples both of our ancestors and of our neighbours, and by the
consideration of our rank. Let not the first in dignity be last in duty. 2. He
particularly courted into his interest Amasa, who had been Absalom's general,
but was his own nephew as well as Joab, v. 13. He owns him for his
kinsman, and promises him that, if he will appear for him now, he will make
him captain-general of all his forces in the room of Joab, will not only
pardon him (which, it may be, Amasa questioned), but prefer him. Sometimes
there is nothing lost in purchasing the friendship of one that has been an
enemy. Amasa's interest might do David good service at this juncture. But, if
David did wisely for himself in designating Amasa for this post (Joab having
now grown intolerably haughty), he did not do kindly by Amasa in letting his
design be known, for it occasioned his death by Joab's hand, ch. xx.
10. 3. The point was hereby gained. He bowed the heart of the men of Judah to
pass a vote, nemine contradicente--unanimously, for the recall of the
king, v. 14. God's providence, by the priests' persuasions and Amasa's
interest, brought them to this resolve. David stirred not till he received
this invitation, and then he came as far back as Jordan, at which river they
were to meet him, v. 15. Our Lord Jesus will rule in those that invite
him to the throne in their hearts and not till he be invited. He first bows
the heart and makes it willing in the day of his power, and then rules in
the midst of his enemies, Ps. cx. 2, 3.
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David Pardons Shimei.
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B. C. 1023.
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16
And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted
and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. 17 And there
were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the
house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they
went over Jordan before the king. 18 And there went over a ferry
boat to carry over the king's household, and to do what he thought good. And
Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over
Jordan; 19 And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity
unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the
day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it
to his heart. 20 For thy servant doth know that I have sinned:
therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to
go down to meet my lord the king. 21 But Abishai the son of
Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because
he cursed the LORD's
anointed? 22 And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons
of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any
man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am
this day king over Israel? 23 Therefore the king said unto Shimei,
Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.
Perhaps Jordan was never passed with so much solemnity, nor with so many
remarkable occurrences, as it was now, since Israel passed it under Joshua.
David, in his afflictive flight, remembered God particularly from the land
of Jordan (Ps. xlii. 6), and now that land, more than any other, was
graced with the glories of his return. David's soldiers furnished themselves
with accommodations for their passage over this river, but, for his own
family, a ferry-boat was sent on purpose, v. 18. A fleet of
boats, say some; a bridge of boats was made, say others; the best
convenience they had to serve him with. Two remarkable persons met him on the
banks of Jordan, both of whom had abused him wretchedly when he was in his
flight.
I. Ziba, who had abused him with his fair tongue, and by accusing his master,
had obtained from the king a grant of his estate, ch. xvi. 4. A greater
abuse he could not have done him, than, by imposing upon his credulity, to
draw him in to do a thing so unkind to the son of his friend Jonathan. He
comes now, with a retinue of sons and servants, to meet the king (v.
17), that he may obtain the king's favour, and so come off the better when
Mephibosheth shall shortly undeceive him, and clear himself, v. 26.
II. Shimei, who had abused him with his foul tongue, railed at him, and cursed
him, ch. xvi. 5. If David had been defeated, no doubt he would have
continued to trample upon him, and have gloried in what he had done; but now
that he sees him coming home in triumph, and returning to his throne, he
thinks it his interest to make his peace with him. Those who now slight and
abuse the Son of David would be glad to make their peace too when he shall
come in his glory; but it will be too late. Shimei, to recommend himself to
the king, 1. Came with good company, with the men of Judah, as one in their
interest. 2. He brought a regiment of the men of Benjamin with him, 1000, of
which perhaps he was chiliarch, or commander-in-chief, offering his own and
their service to the king; or perhaps they were volunteers, whom by his
interest he had got together to meet the king, which was the more obliging
because of all the tribes of Israel there were none, except these and Judah,
that appeared to pay him this respect. 3. What he did he hastened to do; he
lost no time. Agree with thy adversary quickly, while thou art in the way.
Here is, (1.) The criminal's submission (v. 18-20): He fell down
before the king, as a penitent, as a supplicant; and, that he might be
thought sincere, he did it publicly before all David's servants, and his
friends the men of Judah, yea, and before his own thousand. The offence was
public, therefore the submission ought to be so. He owns his crime: Thy
servant doth know that I have sinned. He aggravates it: I did
perversely. He begs the king's pardon: Let not the king impute iniquity
to thy servant, that is, deal with me as I deserve. He intimates that it
was below the king's great and generous mind to take it to his heart;
and pleads his early return to his allegiance, that he was the first of all
the house of Joseph (that is, of Israel, who in the beginning of David's
reign had distinguished themselves from Judah by their adherence to Ishbosheth,
ch. ii. 10) that came to meet the king. He came first, that by
his example of duty the rest might be induced, and by his experience of the
king's clemency the rest might be encouraged to follow. (2.) A motion made for
judgment against him (v. 21): "Shall not Shimei be put to death
as a traitor? Let him, of all men, be made an example." This motion was
made by Abishai, who would have ventured his life to have been the death of
Shimei when he was cursing, ch. xvi. 9. David did not think fit to have
it done then, because his judicial power was cut short; but, now that it was
restored, why should not the law have its course? Abishai herein consulted
what he supposed to be David's feelings more than his true interest. Princes
have need to arm themselves against temptations to severity. (3.) His
discharge by the king's order, v. 22, 23. He rejected Abishai's motion
with displeasure: What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? The
less we have to do with those who are of an angry revengeful spirit, and who
put us upon doing what is harsh and rigorous, the better. He looks upon these
prosecutors as adversaries to him, though they pretended friendship and zeal
for his honour. Those who advise us to what is wrong are really Satans,
adversaries to us. [1.] They were adversaries to his inclination, which was to
clemency. He knew that he was this day king in Israel, restored to, and
re-established in, his kingdom, and therefore his honour inclined him to
forgive. It is the glory of kings to forgive those that humble and surrender
themselves: Satis est prostrasse leoni--it suffices the lion that he has
laid his victim prostrate. His joy inclined him to forgive. The
pleasantness of his spirit on this great occasion forbade the entrance of any
thing that was sour and peevish: joyful days should be forgiving days. Yet
this was not all; his experience of God's mercy in restoring him to his
kingdom, his exclusion from which he attributed to his sin, inclined him to
show mercy to Shimei. Those that are forgiven must forgive. David had severely
revenged the abuses done to his ambassadors by the Ammonites (ch. xii.
31), but easily passes by the abuse done to himself by an Israelite. That was
an affront to Israel in general, and touched the honour of his crown and
kingdom; this was purely personal, and therefore (according to the usual
disposition of good men) he could the more easily forgive it. [2.] They were
adversaries to his interest. If he should put to death Shimei, who cursed him,
those would expect the same fate who had taken up arms and actually levied war
against him, which would drive them from him, while he was endeavouring to
draw them to him. Acts of severity are seldom acts of policy. The throne is
established by mercy. Shimei, hereupon, had his pardon signed and sealed
with an oath, yet being bound, no doubt, to his good behaviour, and liable to
be prosecuted if he afterwards misbehaved; and thus he was reserved to be, in
due time, as much a monument of the justice of the government as he was now of
its clemency, and in both of its prudence.
24 And Mephibosheth the son
of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor
trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed
until the day he came again in peace. 25 And it came to
pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto
him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth? 26 And he
answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I
will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because
thy servant is lame. 27 And he hath slandered thy servant
unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do
therefore what is good in thine eyes. 28 For all of
my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou
set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right
therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king? 29 And the
king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said,
Thou and Ziba divide the land. 30 And Mephibosheth said unto the
king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in
peace unto his own house.
The day of David's return was a day of bringing to remembrance, a day of
account, in which what had passed in his flight was called over again; among
other things, after the case of Shimei, that of Mephibosheth comes to be
enquired into, and he himself brings it on.
I. He went down in the crowd to meet the king (v. 24), and as a
proof of the sincerity of his joy in the king's return, we are here told what
a true mourner he was for the king's banishment. During that melancholy time,
when one of the greatest glories of Israel had departed, Mephibosheth
continued in a very melancholy state. He was never trimmed, nor put on clean
linen, but wholly neglected himself, as one abandoned to grief for the king's
affliction and the kingdom's misery. In times of public calamity we ought to
abridge our enjoyments in the delights of sense, in conformity to the season.
There are times when God calls to weeping and mourning, and we must comply
with the call.
II. When the king came to Jerusalem (since he could not sooner have an
opportunity) he made his appearance before him (v. 25); and when the
king asked him why he, being one of his family, had staid behind, and not
accompanied him in his exile, he opened his case fully to the king. 1. He
complained of Ziba, his servant who should have been his friend, but had been
in two ways his enemy; for, first, he had hindered him from going along with
the king, by taking the ass himself which he was ordered to make ready for his
master (v. 26), basely taking advantage of his lameness and his
inability to help himself; and, secondly, he had accused him to David of a
design to usurp the government, v. 27. How much mischief is it in the
power of a wicked servant to do to the best master! 2. He gratefully
acknowledged the king's great kindness to him when he and all his father's
house lay at the king's mercy, v. 28. When he might justly have been
dealt with as a rebel, he was treated as a friend, as a child: Thou didst
set thy servant among those that did eat at thy own table. This shows that
Ziba's suggestion was improbable; for could Mephibosheth be so foolish as to
aim higher when he lived so easily, so happily as he did? And could he be so
very disingenuous as to design any harm to David, of whose great kindness to
him he was thus sensible? (3.) He referred his cause to the king's pleasure (Do
what is good in thy eyes with me and my estate), depending on the king's
wisdom, and his ability to discern between truth and falsehood (My lord the
king is as an angel from God), and disclaiming all pretensions of his own
merit: "So much kindness I have received above what I deserved, and what
right have I to cry any more unto the king? Why should I trouble the king
with my complaints when I have already been so troublesome to him? Why should
I think any thing hard that is put upon me when I hitherto been so kindly
treated?" We were all as dead men before God; yet he has not only
spared us, but taken us to sit at his table. How little reason then
have we to complain of any trouble we are in, and how much reason to take all
well that God does!
III. David hereupon recalls the sequestration of Mephibosheth's estate; being
deceived in his grant, he revokes it, and confirms his former settlement of
it: "I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land (v. 29),
that is, Let it be as I first ordered it (ch. ix. 10); the property
shall still be vested in thee, but Ziba shall have occupancy: he shall till
the land, paying thee a rent." Thus Mephibosheth is where he was; no harm
is done, only Ziba goes away unpunished for his false and malicious
information against his master. David either feared him too much, or loved him
too well, to do justice upon him according to that law, Deut. xix. 18, 19; and
he was now in the humour of forgiving and resolved to make every body easy.
IV. Mephibosheth drowns all he cares about his estate in his joy for the
king's return (v. 30): "Yea, let him take all, the presence
and favour of the king shall be to me instead of all." A good man can
contentedly bear his own private losses and disappointments, while he see
Israel in peace, and the throne of the Son of David exalted and established.
Let Ziba take all, so that David may be in peace.
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Mephibosheth
Meets David.
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B. C. 1023.
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31
And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan with
the king, to conduct him over Jordan. 32 Now Barzillai was a very
aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of
sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man.
33 And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed
thee with me in Jerusalem. 34 And Barzillai said unto the king,
How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto
Jerusalem? 35 I am this day fourscore years old: and
can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what
I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women?
wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?
36 Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should
the king recompense it me with such a reward? 37 Let thy servant,
I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, and be
buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant
Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem
good unto thee. 38 And the king answered, Chimham shall go over
with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and
whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee.
39 And all the people went over Jordan. And when the king was come over, the
king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned unto his own place.
David had already graced the triumphs of his restoration with the generous
remission of the injuries that had been done to him; we have him here gracing
them with a no less generous reward of the kindnesses that had been shown to
him. Barzillai, the Gileadite, who had a noble seat at Rogelim, not far from
Mahanaim, was the man who, of all the nobility and gentry of that country, had
been most kind to David in his distress. If Absalom had prevailed, it is
likely he would have suffered for his loyalty; but now he and his shall be no
losers by it. Here is,
I. Barzillai's great respect to David, not only as a good man, but as his
righteous sovereign: He provided him with much sustenance, for himself
and his family, while he lay at Mahanaim, v. 32. God had given
him a large estate, for he was a very great man, and, it seems, he had
a large heart to do good with it: what else but that is a large estate good
for? To reduced greatness generosity obliges us, and to oppressed goodness
piety obliges us, to be in a particular manner kind, to the utmost of our
power. Barzillai, to show that he was not weary of David, though he was so
great a charge to him, attended him to Jordan, and went over with him, v.
31. Let subjects learn hence to render tribute to whom tribute is due
and honour to whom honour, Rom. xiii. 7.
II. The kind invitation David gave to him to court (v. 33): Come
thou over with me. He invited him, 1. That he might have the pleasure of
his company and the benefit of his counsel; for we may suppose that he was
very wise and good, as well as very rich, otherwise he would not have been
called here a very great man; for it is what a man is, more than what
he has, that renders him truly great. 2. That he might have an opportunity of
returning his kindness: "I will feed thee with me; thou shalt fare
as sumptuously as I fare, and this at Jerusalem, the royal and holy
city." David did not take Barzillai's kindness to him as a debt (he was
not one of those arbitrary princes who think that whatever their subjects have
is theirs when they please), but accepted it and rewarded it as a favour. We
must always study to be grateful to our friends, especially to those who have
helped us in distress.
III. Barzillai's reply to this invitation, wherein,
1. He admires the king's generosity in making him this offer, lessening his
service, and magnifying the king's return for it: Why should the king
recompense it with such a reward? v. 36. Will the master thank that
servant who only does what was his duty to do? He though he had done himself
honour enough in doing the king any service. Thus, when the saints shall be
called to inherit the kingdom in consideration of what they have done for
Christ in this world, they will be amazed at the disproportion between the
service and the recompence. Matt. xxv. 37, Lord, when saw we thee hungry,
and fed thee?
2. He declines accepting the invitation. He begs his majesty's pardon for
refusing so generous an offer: he should think himself very happy in being
near the king, but, (1.) He is old, and unfit to remove at all, especially to
court. He is old, and unfit for the business of the court: "Why should
I go up with the king to Jerusalem? I can do him no service there, in the
council, the camp, the treasury, or the courts of justice; for how long
have I to live? v. 34. Shall I think of going into business, now
that I am going out of this world?" He is old and unfit for the diversions
of the court, which will be ill-bestowed, and even thrown away, upon one that
can relish them so little, v. 35. As it was in Moses's time, so it was
in Barzillai's and it is not worse now, that, if men be so strong that they
come to fourscore years, their strength then is labour and sorrow, Ps. xc.
10. These were then, and are still, years of which men say they have no
pleasure in them, Eccl. xii. 1. Dainties are insipid when desire fails,
and songs to the aged ear are little better than those sung to a heavy heart,
very disagreeable: how should they be otherwise when the daughters of music
are brought low? Let those that are old learn of Barzillai to be dead to the
delights of sense; let grace second nature, and make a virtue of the
necessity. Nay, Barzillai, being old, thinks he shall be a burden to the
king, rather than any credit to him; and a good man would not go any where
to be burdensome, or, if he must be so, will rather be so to his own house
than to another's. (2.) He is dying, and must begin to think of his long
journey, his removal out of the world, v. 37. It is good for us all,
but it especially becomes old people to think and speak much of dying.
"Talk of going to court!" says Barzillai; "Let me go home and die
in my own city, the place of my father's sepulchre; let me die by the
grave of my father, that my bones may be quietly carried to the place of
their rest. The grave is ready for me, let me go and get ready for it, go and
die in my nest."
3. He desires the king to be kind to his son Chimham: Let him go over with
my lord the king, and have preferment at court. What favour is done to him
Barzillai will take as done to himself. Those that are old must not grudge
young people those delights which they themselves are past the enjoyment of,
nor confine them to their retirements. Barzillai will go back himself, but he
will not make Chimham go back with him; though he could ill spare Chimham,
yet, thinking it would gratify and advance him, he is willing to do it.
IV. David's farewell to Barzillai. 1. He sends him back into his country with
a kiss and a blessing (v. 39), signifying that in gratitude for his
kindnesses he would love him and pray for him, and with a promise that
whatever request he should at any time make to him he would be ready to oblige
him (v. 38): Whatsoever thou shalt think of, when thou comest
home, to ask of me, that will I do for thee. What is the chief
excellency of power but this, that it gives men a capacity of doing the more
good? 2. He takes Chimham forward with him, and leaves it to Barzillai to
choose him his preferment. I will do to him what shall seem good to thee,
v. 38. And, it should seem, Barzillai, who had experienced the
innocency and safety of retirement, begged a country seat for him near
Jerusalem, but not in it; for, long after, we read of a place near Beth-lehem,
David's city, which is called the habitation of Chimham, allotted to
him, probably, not out of the crown-lands or the forfeited estates, but out of
David's paternal estate.
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Quarrel
between Israel and Judah.
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B. C. 1023.
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40
Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him: and all the
people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of Israel.
41 And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the
king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have
brought the king, and his household, and all David's men with him, over
Jordan? 42 And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel,
Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for
this matter? have we eaten at all of the king's cost? or hath he given
us any gift? 43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah,
and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in
David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first
had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer
than the words of the men of Israel.
David came over Jordan attended and assisted only by the men of Judah; but
when he had advanced as far as Gilgal, the first stage on this side Jordan, half
the people of Israel (that is, of their elders and great men) had come to
wait upon him, to kiss his hand, and congratulate him on his return, but found
they came too late to witness the solemnity of his first entrance. This put
them out of humour, and occasioned a quarrel between them and the men of
Judah, which was a damp to the joy of the day, and the beginning of further
mischief. Here is, 1. The complaint which the men of Israel brought to the
king against the men of Judah (v. 41), that they had performed the
ceremony of bringing the king over Jordan, and not given them notice, that
they might have come to join in it. This reflected upon them, as if they were
not so well affected to the king and his restoration as the men of Judah were,
whereas the king himself knew that they had spoken of it before the men of
Judah thought of it, v. 11. It seemed likewise as if they intended to
monopolize the king's favours when he had come back, and to be looked upon as
his only friends. See what mischief comes from pride and jealousy. 2. The
excuse which the men of Judah made for themselves, v. 42. (1.) They
plead relations to the king: "He is near of kin to us, and
therefore in a matter of mere ceremony, as this was, we may claim precedency.
It was into our country that he was to be brought, and therefore who so fit as
we to bring him?" (2.) They deny the insinuated charge of self-seeking in
what they had done: "Have we eaten at all of the king's cost? No,
we have all borne our own charges. Hath he given us any gift? No, we
have no design to engross the advantages of his return; you have come time
enough to share in them." Too many that attend princes do so only for
what they can get. 3. The men of Israel's vindication of their charge, v.
43. They pleaded, "We have ten parts in the king" (Judah
having Simeon only, whose lot lay within his, to join with him), "and
therefore it is a slight upon us that our advice was not asked about bringing
back the king." See how uncertain the multitude is. They were lately
striving against the king, to drive him out; now they are striving about him,
which shall honour him most. A good man and a good cause will thus recover
their credit and interest, though, for a time, they may seem to have lost
them. See what is commonly the origin of strife, nothing so much as impatience
of contempt or the least seeming slight. The men of Judah would have done
better if they had taken their brethren's advice and assistance; but, since
they did not, why should the men of Israel be so grievously offended? If a
good work be done, and well done, let us not be displeased, nor the work
disparaged, though we had no hand in it. 4. The scripture takes notice, by way
of blame, which of the contending parties managed the cause with most passion:
The words of the men of Judah were fiercer than those of the men of
Israel. Though we have right and reason on our side, yet, if we express
ourselves with fierceness, God takes notice of it and is much displeased with
it.
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