The Bible Recap - Day 139 (2 Samuel 19-21) - Year 6

Episode Date: May 18, 2024

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Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. We open today with David mourning the death of Absalom. As far as we know, he doesn't have any idea how Absalom died or that Joab had anything to do with it. But Joab knows, and it seems like he's feeling a lot of guilt over David's grief and his own rebellion against David's orders to protect Absalom. He rebukes David for not being more grateful over their victory and for letting the death of his enemy weigh him down, even though it was his son.

David responds in the way Joab suggests by putting a stop to his grief and going home to Jerusalem to appear before the people. But it seems like David might harbor some resentment for Joab's harsh words, whether he was right or not. The people of Israel aren't really sure what to do with David now. Should they still regard him as king? There are two primary responses

and they're divided along tribal lines, Judah, David's tribe, and then the rest of Israel. Interestingly, the ones who are hesitating the most about reinstating David as king are his own people, Judah. As he's attempting to convince the leaders of Judah to reinstate him, David does something unexpected. He replaces Joab, the commander of his army, with Amasa, who was the commander of Absalom's army

approximately 24 hours earlier. Some people believe this was because Joab, the commander of his army with Amasa, who was the commander of Absalom's army approximately 24 hours earlier. Some people believe this was because Joab had disobeyed David's command not to harm Absalom, but we have no evidence that David even knew about that. It seems more likely that this choice is motivated either by David's bitterness over Joab's rebuke or by David's attempt to get the tribe of Judah back on his side.

Regardless, David's plan works and Judah gets on board and reinstates him as king. But you can imagine this whole thing probably feels like a slap in the face to Joab, even though he sticks by David. The first thing David does once he's re-kingified is pardon a bunch of his enemies. Shimei, the one who'd been hurling curses at him

as he fled Jerusalem, comes groveling before him because cursing the king is punishable by death. But David pardons him and makes an oath that he won't kill him. Then Mephibosheth approaches David and he has an entirely different version of the story than the one we heard from his servant Zeba back when he brought David the donkey in chapter 16. According to Mephibosheth's version, he did not try to take the kingdom back from David. And David seems to believe him.

David has already given Zeba all that belonged to Mephibosheth, but now he offers to split things up 50-50 so he can honor his commitment to both men, even though at least one of them is clearly lying. David also makes a generous offer to Barzili the Gibeonite, who is one of the three men who brought him food and provision when he was in exile. But Barzili is like, I'm old, don't waste your time pampering me, but I know someone else who would be happy to go instead.

And David agrees to take the man, who is probably Barzili's son, back to Jerusalem with him. David resumes business as usual, the man who is probably Bar-az-alai's son, back to Jerusalem with him. David resumes business as usual, but there's still a division between Judah and the rest of Israel. However, the tables have turned. Now Judah is backing David, and the rest of Israel is against him. A Benjamite named Sheba decides to rally a following.

And remember, the Benjamites are Saul's people, and they think that the king should still be a Benjamite, not someone from the tribe of Judah like David. Sheba makes a call for the military men of Israel to leave David's army, and they do. Uh-oh. David realizes this is a problem, so he calls on his brand new military commander, Amasa, the one who replaced Joab, and tells him to get their army ready to attack in three days. But Amasa procrastinates,

so David calls in the second string, including Joab, the former commander. Awkward. When Amasa finally shows up on the scene, Joab pretends to greet him, but fakes him out and stabs him instead. Joab loves to stab people. He stabbed Abner and Absalom and now Amasa.

So if your name starts with an A, all I'm saying is steer clear of Joab. With Amasa dead, Joab picks up where he left off as commander of David's army and he goes after Sheba and his crew. When they get to the city of Abel, they besiege it because Sheba is inside. Joab is ready to destroy the whole town, but a wise woman who describes herself as peaceable and faithful comes to reason with Joab. She basically says, look, there's no reason for you to kill us all. Our town has a rich history of glorifying God. Just tell us what you want. Joab says they're just there for Sheba. So the woman says, don't worry, I got you. We'll toss his head over the wall.

Just give me a sec. She is repeatedly praised for her wisdom in this passage. Then here comes Sheba's head over the wall, just like she promised. She saved an entire city. And Joab's army goes back home, having eliminated the most recent threat to David's kingship.

Chapter 21 tells us about a three-year famine in the land. When David asked God about it, God says that Saul had committed some sin that had to be dealt with. If I were David, I would probably be like, Saul is dead and I'm not Saul. Why am I being punished for what he did? I didn't particularly like him either, remember? But David is far more humble than I am and recognizes that he has inherited not only the kingdom but the consequences of the previous king's decisions. The problem was, Saul had killed some Gibeonites after promising to spare them, so David asks

the Gibeonites how he can make it right, and they say they want to kill seven of Saul's descendants to make things even. David doesn't seem to consult God on the matter, but he probably weighs his options and decides it's better for seven people to die than for many more people to die from the famine. God never endorses David's response, and in fact, the famine continues even after the seven men are killed, and it doesn't cease until their bodies are buried, which some commentators believe was a sign that God was displeased with David's choice here.

Today's reading ends with a few battles of the Philistines being recounted from various times in Israel's history, all of which have Israel as victorious over their enemies. What was your God shot today? I was reminded of how seriously God takes sin. The land of Israel was suffering because Saul had broken a promise to the Gibeonites. This happened a long time ago, but God cares about justice, and he brought famine to catch David's attention so that he would address the situation and make things right. It comforts me to know that God doesn't forget. It comforts me to know that he can be trusted to handle those

things. It frees me up not to take matters into my own hands. It frees me up to pursue Him instead of vengeance. It frees me up to love both Him and my enemies. When I'm the one who has been wronged, God can be trusted to handle it, to work in the hearts of those who have wronged me on my behalf. And when I'm the one who has wronged others, the same thing is still true. He's going to work in me on their behalf. Our God is working to restore all things. And that includes not just my story, but also my heart. He's where the joy is. Have you checked out our new spring merch yet? They would make great gifts for graduates, birthdays, or just for yourself. We have a fun new He's Where the

Joy Is t-shirt, plus some great new drinkware, a tumbler, and a water bottle, and a scripture memory kit for Psalm 16 11 brought to you by our friends at Dwell Differently. And by the way, that's the verse where I got the phrase, He's Where the joy is. So we'll help you memorize it. You can check out all our new spring merch in our store at thebiblerecap.com or click the link in the show notes. Ever find yourself at a loss for words when it comes to prayer?

Hope Nation's Pastor Chad will guide you through those moments in his podcast, Talking to God. Join Pastor Chad to learn more about prayer movements and common topics that resonate with your everyday needs. Click the link in the show notes to check it out.