David's Kingdom Restored
Chapters 19 through 21
The true characteristics of a good king can be seen in these passages.
Even with all his mistakes as a human being David was still a good king.
Absalom had tried to destroy the kingship of his own father and take over as Israel's new king, but he had failed.
He failed because his father was a warrior king and Absalom had no experience in leading a nation or the military.
The main reason Absalom had failed was the fact that Jehovah had chosen David to be King of Israel and not Absalom.
It had caused the death of Absalom and another son of David had lost his life.
We must see that our children will follow in our footsteps so we need to lead our own lives in a Godly manner, praying that they follow this path rather than a wicked and corrupt path.
Why are Joe Biden's children so corrupt? It is because Mr. Biden has been a corrupt politician all his days.
Absalom had divided Israel and David would have to reunite this nation once again.
We can be sure that all the surrounding nations were looking at Israel because of all these things and Israel had begun to look like a weak nation.
A divided nation is always a weaker nation!
The Jews are known to be a stiff necked and disobedient people and they needed a strong leader just as they have today.
To the world America looks like a weak nation today and you can bet wicked nations have their eyes upon us. and those nations that are led by tyrants are laughing at our leaders.
I dare say that if Biden remains president after this next election, America will be drawn into war because him and his policies have made America to be so weak.
We must pray for our leaders no matter who they are!
Only through the salvation of our leaders can they change the way they think!
How did King David restore the nation of Israel?
*****2Sa 19:1 And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom.
2Sa 19:2 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.
David was a king who could be touched by his mistakes and learn from them.
What Joab and much of Israel saw as a great victory, King David could only see the loss of his son!
We all mourn for the death of our children!
Much of Israel could not understand the emotions of King David, after all, Absalom would have killed him and taken over the Kingship of Israel.
It was a rebellion that could have had dire consequences.
Most of us find it hard to know why David had fled Jerusalem, but it was because King David wanted Jerusalem to always be a city of peace as the name reflects.
In fact, the Lord has commanded that we pray for this and also promises blessings when we do.
Psa_122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Not only are we to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but we will also be rewarded for doing so!
David knew in his heart that his sin had been the main cause of the things that happened to Israel and we should know that this was another reason for his mourning.
David knew he was to blame for all these things even more than Absalom was to blame.
Because of these things David and those with him returned to Jerusalem without much fanfare.
*****2Sa 19:3 And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.
2Sa 19:4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!
Those with David could not feel victorious while their king could only think of the death of his son.
Out of respect for the king’s sorrow, his army came into the city silently in small parties as if they were disgraced fugitives, rather than shouts of triumph for their great victory.
It was a great victory as far as a battle goes, but everyone that died was a citizen of Israel and not just Absalom.
In fact most of the dead were of the ten tribes of Israel and not so much of Judah.
King David covered his face because he certainly felt shame and he knew he was more to blame than anyone else.
When our sin causes harm to our families then we should feel shame!
Many times our children follow in our footsteps and we need to be sure we are leading them on the right path.
The choices we make in life can also affect many other people!
It was time for David to take responsibility for his actions and begin the work to restore Israel as a nation.
*****2Sa 19:5 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;
2Sa 19:6 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.
We have seen Joab at his worst and at his best, but we cannot discard his loyalty to King David.
Joab was quick to see answers to problems and it was time for David to be King and later work on his ability to be a father to his children.
We could see Joab as unfeeling and he was, but David did not need to throw away the fruits of his victory.
He would never regain his nation by showing his emotions to a son that grew an army to kill him and take control of Israel.
Had Absalom had the victory he would have certainly killed his father and all his brothers and probably many others who had fled with David.
Absalom's rapid success also proved to David that he had many enemies in Israel.
The death of Absalom had only proven that he was a worthless son and none of David's sons were worthy to be the next king but Solomon the son of Bathsheba who she was raising right, according to the Word of God.
Solomon gained much of his wisdom from his mother.
It was time for David to be King David again.
*****2Sa 19:7 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 befell thee from thy youth until now.
2Sa 19:8 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.
Those who had supported Absalom began to debate if they truly wanted David to be King of all of Israel again.
When the king went and sat at the gate of Israel, probably all his people and his army came and passed in review before him.
David had saved the nation of Israel from years of anarchy and a fresh civil war and he had saved Jerusalem from certain destruction.
Those that supported Absalom had fled to their tents which means they all left Jerusalem and went home with the tales of what had happened.
The hearts of these people had been after Absalom who was now dead.
2Sa 15:13 And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.
Twenty thousand fellow Israelites had fallen in this battle to usurp the throne of King David.
Over ten thousand of them had died because of the location that King David had chosen to set up his ambush.
Israel was still in turmoil, as many others mourned the death of their own sons and had no pity for King David.
*****2Sa 19:9 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.
2Sa 19:10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?
Notice that our Scripture says "all of Israel" for those who had chosen Absalom, but "all of Judah" is referred to as the servants of David.
In order for these tribes of Israel to accept Absalom they would have had to renounce King David and David knew this.
This is why King David did not return until the nations summoned him back.
Had Absalom lived these people were bound by their decision to make Absalom their king, but he had not lived, so they would have to agree that David was to be their king again.
Israel was not in one accord for David at this time.
Some of the older still remembered the attacks of the Philistines and how David had saved them from these things, which was a good thing.
The younger had nothing to base their favor upon as to King David.
Many believed that David was so flawed that he could not be a good king ever again.
This is what happens when a child of God sinks into deep sin, even though they are forgiven by the Lord, they may never be able to be a good servant of the Lord and the world does forget sin so easily, as does Jehovah.
In reality, there was no real reason not to bring back David as King of Israel!
These tribes of Israel presented one stipulation that King David would see that Amasa would replace Joab as general of the Armies of Israel.
Amasa was the son of Abigail, a sister to King David.
Joab was the son of Zeruiah another David's sisters.
*****2Sa 19:14 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.
2Sa 19:15 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.
We must understand that life duties do not cease just because we are having a bad day!
We should also understand that as David was restored to his throne, we also see a type of Christ as the Lord Jesus will return one day, He will claim the throne of His father David.
The Lord Jesus will put down the rebellion of a world turned to the Antichrist!
We can see Absalom as a type of the Antichrist in these passages.
The Lord Jesus will not only be King of Israel, but He will also be King of this entire world and rule for one thousand years from Jerusalem and there will be a peace that this world has never seen!
The rightful King, King Jesus will return to Jerusalem as did King David!
David had won an easy and a complete victory over Absalom!
We can almost show pity to David if not for the fact we know the truth of David and the things he had done, but he had been forgiven and who are we to not forgive those the Lord has forgiven?
We must forgive those that the Lord has forgiven or we cannot be a true Christian!
David could not mourn for his son until these other things were accomplished.
It was not David who rebelled against these people, it was they who had rebelled against King David, and it was they who should invite him back to the kingdom of Israel.
Many who had cursed David had now repented and welcomed him back to the kingdom.
Even Mephibosheth came to welcome David with a story about Ziba.
If we remember Ziba had brought a different story about Mephibosheth and David did not know the real truth.
Being Judge of Israel and not know the truth of them, David divided the lands of Saul between Ziba and Mephibosheth.
Barzilla who was 80 years old came had welcomed David. This man had supplied the things David and his men needed during his exile and David wanted to reward him.
We pick our lesson back up here.
*****2Sa 19:33 And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem.
2Sa 19:34 And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem?
We must understand we will not be rewarded by the Lord for just being obedient to the Word of God.
The reward for this is our salvation and our eternal life in Heaven.
It is when we go above what we are commanded to do that we earn rewards.
Winning souls to the Lord is where we earn our greatest rewards!
The more we are like the Lord Jesus Christ, the greater our rewards will be!
Barzilla had a strong loyalty to the King David and this is the loyalty we need to show to the Lord.
What are we to do?
We are to begin with these things:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
We must never forget that those who have given their hearts to the Lord and confessed their sins, become the Lord's brothers and sisters and as His family we are also heirs to His rewards.
After this we are to be kind to one another:
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Just like Barzilla, as we grow older, we have very little interest in this world and are prepared to meet our Savior.
Barzilla had been very rich himself and even those small pleasures that come from riches no longer were of interest to him.
Money simply cannot buy happiness no more than it can buy our salvation!
We must also not be distressed as we get older, we are almost at home!
We will be going to a place far greater than any paradise upon this earth and we will live eternally in this place called Heaven.
Doing deeds for others makes us feel better than any riches!
Barzilla did have one request.
*****2Sa 19:37 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.
Chimham the son of Barzilla needed experience in a part of the world he had never seen.
Not the riches of David, he was already rich, but the workings of government and the pageantry of royalty while maintaining a relationship with Jehovah.
King David would later commend Chimham with his brothers to the care of Solomon.
1Ki 2:7 But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.
But, as we know, there are always troublemakers in every crowd.
*****2Sa 20:1 And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.
2Sa 20:2 So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.
There was a great need for unity, peace, and faithfulness, but there are always those who reject these things.
There are always those who thrive on division in every nation, and nothing will ever please them.
Sheba was a worthless and wicked man.
What would normally be a call to disperse and return to their homes became a call to join this wicked man in rebellion.
Having just gone through the rebellion with Absalom, the nation of Israel chose to come back together under King David, a wise choice.
It was of the mothers of Israel who decided that there had been enough war and they put a stop to this man named Sheba.
*****2Sa 20:21 The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
2Sa 20:22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.
I believe this woman decided it was not the time to lose more of the sons of Israel to a foolish war and she knew what needed to be done to stop it.
She knew how most of the people felt about ridiculous wars.
Amen
