Second Samuel 19:31

The Bible says in Second Samuel 19:31-39, “ 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.” This is an interesting conversation between King David and a man named Barzillai. David wants Barzillai to come back with David to Jerusalem. But Barzillai is eighty years old, and Barzillai knows himself and his capabilities and where he is in life. Of course, age is relative. Some people live longer than others. Some people have better health and strength at age eighty. The lesson here is that you need to know yourself and what you are capable of doing. The potential for a senior citizen is this: because they have lived longer than others, they should know a lot more than others, and some of them do. Older means wiser. That is one of the reasons to have great respect for those who are older. That is also one of the reasons that pastors are called “elders.” Yes, there are exceptions, but in most cases the older Christians have had time to grow in the Lord and to learn the hard lessons of the Christian life that only time can teach. The older Christians have proved that they are going to follow the Lord no matter what happens. The older Christians have a lifetime of good works that demonstrate that they really are Christians. The older Christians know how to endure hardships and have learned patience and longsuffering because of how much they have already suffered. The older Christians have learned that love is the most important commandment, and they have learned to not only believe in the Lord but also to love Him, to love other Christians, and to even love their enemies.

The Bible says in Second Samuel 19:40-43, “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.” These verses show that people can argue about anything. Basically, they are arguing over who loves king David more and who has the greatest claim to be close to him. They were all Israelites. They should be united based upon that fact. The ten northern tribes of Israel are now in contention with the tribe of Judah. That does not bid well for the future. Jesus said, “A nation divided against itself cannot stand.”

The Bible says in Second Samuel 20:1-2, “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.[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.[3] And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.” Now we see the word “Israel” refer to the northern ten tribes that view themselves separate from Judah. We see the same type of thing happen in America with political parties. Instead of being united as Americans, some give a greater allegiance to their political party and thus there are divisions. The divisions became worse when they followed the wrong leader. One of the reasons that Sheba should not have been listened to was because it says in verse one that he was “a man of Belial.” In other words, he was actively involved in false religion. You need to find out what people believe in all the issues of the day. Their personal religious beliefs will affect their policies and decisions.

Verse three tells us that David stops going “in unto” his ten concubines. He should have done that a long time ago. He should have never had the ten concubines. At least we see one good result of the rebellion of Absalom. Absalom went in unto the concubines of David, and that was a shameful thing in more ways than one. God knows how to change things.

The Bible says in Second Samuel 20:4-12, “Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.[5] So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.[6] And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.[7] And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.[8] When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.[9] And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.[10] But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.[11] And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab.[12] And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.” Once again we see that Joab was an extremely violent man. He did not just kill people in war: Joab was a murderer. Give Joab any reason at all to kill someone, and he killed them. Amasa was late from returning from an important mission, and the scripture does not tell us why he was late. Maybe because he was plotting against David, but maybe not. There is a lesson here: do not judge and do not jump to conclusions. To do so will lead to actions that you should not commit.

The Bible says in Second Samuel 20:13-26, “When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.[14] And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-maachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.[15] And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.[16] Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.[17] And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.[18] Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.[19] I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?[20] And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.[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.[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.[23] Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:[24] And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder:[25] And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:[26] And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.” There are at least two lessons that we can learn from these verses. The first has to do with the wisdom of the wise woman of the city of Abel. What did she understand that made her so wise? She understood that Joab was a violent man, that he had an army surrounding their city, and that Joab would be able to destroy their city and everyone in it. She also understood that Joab only wanted one person. The solution was easy: just give Joab that one person and get rid of Sheba the son of Bichri. The lesson here is to know your opponent. If your opponent has much more power than you do, you might just want to negotiate with him instead of getting into a fight with him. This is especially obvious when as a citizen you are dealing with people of power and authority, such as elected officials, administrators, judges, police officers, etc. They have the power: you do not. They have the power to cast into prison: you do not. My recommendation is to pray for them and be very polite to them. Christians are told to pray for their leaders, and the Christians of the first century lived under the power of the iron boot of the Roman Empire. Christians were told to honor the leaders and to pray for them. They were not told to rebel. It says in Romans 13:1-7, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.[2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.[3] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:[4] For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.[5] Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.[6] For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.[7] Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.”

The second thing that is very noticeable about the above verses from Second Samuel is verse twenty that says, “And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.” Joab was either a great liar or he did not know himself at all. Joab is one of the most violent and murderous people in all of the Bible. Perhaps Joab was not lying, but that statement is what he actually thought about himself. After all, he was a general in the army. He could easily justify himself by saying that he was doing such things for the country and for king David. After all, he was a general in the army and he is allowed to use force. These were violent times, and thus demanded violent actions to win the day. But Joab went too far obviously. He not only killed, he murdered more than once. It is very common for human beings to not recognize their own faults. Part of coming to Christ is to be able to say, “I am a sinner and I need forgiveness from Jesus.” If you can never say that, you will never enter heaven.

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