Thursday, February 4, 2010

2 Samuel Chapters 16-18

16:3-4 - Ziba (Miphosheth's servant) comes to David with gifts and his loyalty. When David asks where Mepib is, Ziba tells David that he is back in Jerusalem and has his heart set on taking back the throne of his father Saul. This is all a lie as we find out in chapter 19...Mephibosheth is not in rebellion against David. So why does Ziba do this? I think it is as simple as him trying to move up in the world. Instead of be attached to a crippled descendant of Saul...he sees his chance to become a servant of the King of Israel.

16:5-8 - Shimei is right in asserting that David has brought these curses down on his own head, but he is wrong about why. Shimei is cursing David because he thinks he is the illegitimate king of Israel and that he stole the throne from Saul. David is really curse because of his sin with Bathsheba and the terrible parenting skills that followed.

16:11-12 - David does not allow his men to kill Shimei because he is able to step back and look at the big picture. David shows us how to deal with anger. He says, "What do I care if this loser calls curses down on me - my own son is trying to kill me!?" He knows there are more important things then revenge. David has once again returned to utterly trusting God. He knows that if God wants the cursing of Shimei to stop...it will. If we all looked at the big picture, I think we would be a lot less likely to blow up in anger about most insignificant things.

16:16ff - Notice that Hushai never really vows to follow Absalom specifically. He says he will follow the king and that he will follow the king that the Lord chooses. Absalom is clearly doubtful as he questions Hushai, but he decides to accept his counsel anyway (Probably because he is arrogant and can;t imagine why anyone wouldn't want o follow him). David's plan to have an inside man works, and Hushai is able to win Absalom;s confidence without breaking his loyalty to David.

16:20ff - Ewwwwww! Ahithophel (I will use Ahi from now on in reference to him) tell Absalom to sleep with his father's concubines so that everyone in Israel can see. Why would he offer this gross advice? Well, it would signify that Absalom is taking over as the king. In the ancient near east, if you sleep with the king's harem - you take the kings power. This incident also fulfills the prophecy that Nathan made (Chpt. 12), that David's sons would sleep with his wives in the daylight for all to see.

17:1-4 - Ahi tells Absolam to strike fast, before David get s a chance to organize his forces. Ahi knows that if they kill David, the rest of Israel will follow Absalom. This advice is the correct advice...this is what Absalom should have done.

17:5-14 - Interestingly enough, Absalom doesn't just take Ahi's advice up front (Which is weird since the people think that Ahi's counsel is almost as good as getting it straight from God (v.23) - he turns and asks Hushai the double-agent what he thinks. While Hushai does make a very convincing speech, we are told the reason why Absalom decides to follow Hushai's advice in verse 14...because the Lord wanted Ahi's advice to be ignored. If you have noticed there is a recurring theme running through the lives of the people over the last few chapters...as followers of God, we should do our best with the gifts we been given, but understand that God is the one that brings about the good fruit.

17:23 - This is kinda shocking when you first read it - he just goes home and kills himself...why would he do that? Well, he knows the battle is lost. He knows that if David (The expert strategist) is allowed to raise up his army and fight back, Absalom will not win. Ahi is the traitor and he knows that he will be killed for his betrayal. He goes home and does it himself. The interesting thing to think about here is the parallels between Ahi and Judas. They both betrayed men from the line of David...they both hung themselves after betraying their leader...they both sold out for the hope of wealth...modern scholars even think that the place where David got the news that Ahi had betrayed him is near the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed. Just interesting stuff.

18:3 - While Absalom fails to understand the importance of David being alive (Ahi wanted to kill David quickly so he could not influence people anymore)...the men of David understand his great worth. He wants to go out to battle and they beg him to stay behind. David is able to listen to the advice of people he leads and take it to heart - good leadership trait.

18:8 - Caution - strategic military content. David's men and heroes and guerrilla warriors. They are the mighty men used to fighting individually against numerous opponents. David chooses to face the much superior forces of Absalom in the forest where their vast numbers mean nothing and his men can use their guerrilla tactics o their full extent. The bible even says that the forest claim more men then the sword that day...it's kinda hard to stay in formation when there are trees and everywhere.

18:9 - Absalom is caught in a tree while fleeing in the forest by his luxuriant, long hair. He is killed by his pride. His hair isn't helmeted to tied down, because he puts so much stock in his appearance (my thoughts).

18:14 - Joab - ever the realist - ignores David's instructions and kills Absalom immediately. He does what needed to be done, but what he knew David would be unable to do.

18:18 - Absalom spent so many years trying to undermine his father's authority and steal his father's throne that he never began his own family. The only legacy he left behind was a legacy of pride and arrogance...a monument he built for himself, that would come to represent a monument of folly.

18:20ff - Joab has seen David react very violently to "good news" that he took badly int he past, so he doesn't want to send Ahimaaz to tell David that Absalom is dead, because Ahimaaz is the son of Zadok (The loyal priest). So he sends a foreigner instead. Yet, Ahimaaz really wants to go, so he does anyway, running past the Cushite and getting to David first. Fortunately for him, he doesn't really know what happened and tells David, "There was a bunch of confusion going on, I'm not sure about Absalom." (David must be thinking, "Thanks for nothing Ahimaaz!)

18:33 - David does not react in violence because he knows the only person to blame is himself. The guilt of all the things that have torn his family apart since his affair with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah all come crashing down on him at the death of his son. In this tragic verse he is not the warrior king...he is the broken-hearted father. If David can teach us anything, it is...there is very little in this world more important than handling your business as a husband and father!

1 comment:

Ish said...

It blows my mind that David is still paying for his sins several years later. He did what he did with Bathsheba and Uriah before Absolom was born. And now that Absolom is grown, David encounters this series of events that lead him to remember what he did for this to happen. All the more importance for us to be very careful with what we do, especially in leadership. The price is high for not being responsible.