2 SAMUEL 16
In chapter 15 we see David and his people leaving Jerusalem in flight from his treasonous son, Absalom. That evacuation continues here in chapter 16. The emotions of hurt and betrayal that David is experiencing at this time in his life must be off the proverbial charts.
In his book A Tale of Three Kings, Gene Edwards put these words into the mouth of David: "The throne is not mine. Not to have, not to take, not to protect, and not to keep. The throne is the LORD'S." It was that rock solid belief in the providence and faithfulness of God that kept David’s heart on-track through such a difficult time.
16.1 And when David was a little past the top of the hill (Mt. of Olives
), behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.
· We learned earlier that Mephibosheth is Saul’s grandson by Jonathan. As we will see, Ziba is a man who is taking advantage of a political crisis for his own profit.
· Dr S. Lewis Johnson Jr. calls this fiendish opportunism.
16.2 And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.
16.3 And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem:for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.
· Thy masters son- Ziba was given stewardship of Mephibosheth by Jonathan, Mephibosheth's father.
· Ziba told David that Mephibosheth was in Jerusalem, longing to restore the family of Saul to power. He is essentially accusing him of being part of the “coup” to overthrow David.
· We will see when we get to chapter 19 that this was a false accusation made by Ziba concerning Mephibosheth. In 19:24-30, the real story of Mephibosheth is told, including how he had mourned for David this whole time.
· By bringing these gifts, Ziba is actually seeking to get himself on David’s good side as the events relative of Absalom and David play out.
16.4 Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.
· David - acting on the only information at hand - assumed that Ziba told the truth. This was exactly the response Ziba wanted.
· Jon Coursons remarks on this passage are very practical and insightful. David was fooled. His rash decision to give Ziba Saul and Jonathan’s vast inheritance reminds me of Joshua’s decision to sign a peace treaty with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9). Whether regarding a business deal or a marriage proposal, be careful you don’t make decisions in the time of trial and heat. During those times, your thinking isn’t as clear as it would be otherwise. Instead, slow down and seek the Lord.
16.5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.
· Though twenty-five years had passed since David had become king over all of Israel, Shimei was still bitter. When bitterness and resentment are not repented of, it will eventually manifest itself.
16.6 And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 16.7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial (Heb. Man of worthlessness):
16.8 The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.
· It could be that Shimei was accusing David of the murders of Abner (3:27–39), Ish- bosheth (4:1–12), and Uriah (11:15–27). MacArthur Study Bible
· But in reality, has David shed one drop of the blood of the household of Saul?
1. He had a chance in the cave when he cut Saul’s garment and he was conscience-stricken.
2. The next time we see him, Saul and Abner are asleep in a big circle of men and Abishai sneaks down and Abishai wants to kill him right on the spot, and David says, “No. We do not touch the Lord’s anointed.”
3. The Amalekite comes down with the crown and the gold armband from Saul saying that he slew him on the mountain. And David sees that he is executed on the spot. He has never shed a drop of blood.
16.9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog (this is a term of great contempt) curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.
· One commentator called Abishai the Clint Eastwood of the Old Testament.
16.10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?
· David has resigned himself to the hand of God. He realizes that all that is coming upon him is a result of his own sin with Bathsheba. This is one of the hardest, but one of the most important lessons that we can learn as Christians. The fact that there are consequences of making fleshly or bad decisions.
· This also teaches us to interpret the trials and adversities that we face with people through the lens of our loving Father’s hands. Beloved, do not allow that individual that God is allowing to give you a difficult time tonight stop you from responding in a godly way.
· It has been wisely stated that when God allows a person to criticize you, it is never meant to destroy you, but to draw you closer to Him and develop your faith.
· God has a divine curriculum to hasten the work of the Spirit of God in making you like the Person of Christ. And sometimes that curriculum includes difficult people who do not think much of you.
· Your progress toward maturity is dependent upon you accepting and responding to the curriculum He has designed.Even though you do not understand it, and when it comes and it looks like it is raining and raining and raining, you are trusting the Lord.There are two things that the Lord never answers, He never gives you dates and He never gives you reasons.All we can do now is trust Him. As long as you are asking why you have not submitted to what He has permitted, you are still fighting it. Don Andersons life study notes
16.11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life:
· David's point is that is his own son, his child whom he himself had fathered, now wanted to kill him.
how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden him.
16.12 It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day (Heb. and the Lord will restore to me good in place of his curse this day).
16.13 And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.
· Shimei went alongside David and his men dishonoring them by throwing rocks at them and casting dust upon them.
· Let’s pause for a moment and make a very important practical point that we are apt to miss regarding spiritual maturity. David in his younger years, had a hair-trigger temper. Remember back when Nabal denied him hospitality rights and the men came back and said, “He is not giving us anything”? Do you remember what our spiritual giant said? “He turned to four-hundred of his men and said, ‘Get your swords. We are wiping out the house of Nabal by sunset tomorrow! We are going to burn the place up! Kill every one of them!’” Oh, he was mad!
· Practically speaking at this time in his life, David’s interpretation of the Bible went something like this…vengeance is David’s. But by the grace of God, the godly Abigail was allowed to step in and avert the disaster.
· In spite of the fact that David is on the run and at an all time low in his life. In spite of the fact that his kingdom under siege and he is being betrayed by his own son and key advisors, he responds according to the precepts of Scripture instead of reacting according to his flesh. Beloved, David is responding this way because he had spent quality time in the past worshipping God, praying and meditating on His Scriptures.
· Beloved, the way to prepare for the adversities and trials of tomorrow is by spending quality time of prayer, worship and meditation on the Scriptures today.
· It has been said that a sure mark or godliness and spiritual maturity is when your unexpected response to personal attacks and accusations is a godly one.
16.14 And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.
· It was when king David and his men were emotionally, physically and spiritually weary that they refreshed themselves there.
· Precious saints, there is refreshment to be found in Jesus tonight for those who are weary and heavy laden.I am convinced that the refreshment that is mentioned here was more than a hot bath and a change of clothes. I believe that is was the kind of refreshment that we saw in 1 Samuel 30.6, whenin the midst of a very difficult time, we read that David encouraged himself in The Lord.
· Beloved, do we know what it means to encourage or refresh ourselves in The Lord? May The Holy Spirit reveal to us what that means and how to do it, because we all face difficult times in our lives.
16.15 And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.
· Absalom is making his moves to take over his father’s kingdom.
16.16 And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, was come unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king, God save the king.
16.17 And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend (refers to David)? why wentest thou not with thy friend?
· Can you sense in these words the deep rooted bitterness that had set in between Absalom and David? He doesn’t refer to him as my father, but your friend.
16.18 And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom the Lord, and this people, and all the men of Israel, choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide.
16.19 And again, whom should I serve? should I not serve in the presence of his son? as I have served in thy father's presence, so will I be in thy presence.
· Basically what Hushai is saying her is I get behind the man who is chosen by the Lord and by Israel. Keep in mind that Hushai is on a secret assignment to obtain information regarding Absalom’s movements for David.
· As I said a couple of weeks ago, David may indeed be older and not have the physical strength as he did when he was younger, but one thing that Absalom underestimated was David’s experience in dealing with these kinds of situations in life.
16.20 Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.
16.21 And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong.
· Ahithophel knew that once Absalom went into his fathers concubines, that would be the final break between David and Absalom. They could never come together again as father and son. There might have been some opportunity before. Absalom might have repented and returned the kingdom to his father in repentance. But now, it was impossible for David to, even if there had been a repentance, to forget this particular thing. And so Ahithophel knew that and he gave that ruthless advice to do this.
16.22 So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.
16.23 And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God:so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.
· David had left behind in Jerusalem 10 concubines to take care of the palace (15:16). In the Near East, possession of the harem came with the throne. Ahithophel advised Absalom to have sexual relations with David’s concubines and thereby assert his right to his father’s throne.
· Although it was a common practice among kings in that region to demonstrate one's ascension to the throne by hijacking the royal harem, but for Israelites, it was an atrocious act against God's Law.
· On the roof of the palace in the most public place (cf. 11:2); a tent was set up for this scandalous event, thereby fulfilling the judgment announced by Nathan.
o Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household. I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed, you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel and under the sun. 2 Samuel 12.11,12
§ Incidentally, this was a perfectly free action on the part of Absalom. But it was something that had already been divinely decreed by the prophetic word. And so the harmonization of the free actions of individuals, with the divine sovereignty, is once again set forth before us here on the pages of Holy Scripture.
· Ahithophel had a well-deserved reputation for giving counsel almost as good as God, but in this case his counsel was foolish and destructive for at least 2 reasons (1) because it as motivated by bitterness and revenge. (2) because it was in direct violation of Mosaic Law.
· This reminds us of the importance of being a Berean when it comes to hearing the Word of God. Not everyone who proclaims to speak in the name of God is necessarily speaking the truth or counsel of God.
· I would only add to that remark that another often overlooked aspect of being a Berean is the need for me to be corrected of any error in my understanding by the teaching of God’s truth.