The King’s Return and Continued Conflict

2 Samuel 19–21

Main Idea: David returns to the throne, but continued conflict marks the final days of his reign. The unsettled reality of his last days looks beyond his reign to that of the true and coming King.

1. A Broken Father and Politician
2. A Conflicted Kingdom
3. Abiding Consequences of Sin
4. Waiting for the King

A Broken Father and Politician

The sin of David with Bathsheba, coupled with the lack of parental care and action with Judah’s abuse of Tamar, led to Absalom’s revolt. The threads of sin, sex, and selfishness weave together into a bloody and awful tapestry from 2 Samuel 11 through 18. David’s sin echoes through these chapters, as does Yahweh’s rebuke through Nathan, the prophet:

“Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house because you despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife.”

This is what the Lord says, “I am going to bring disaster on you from your own family: I will take your wives and give them to another before your very eyes, and he will sleep with them publicly. You acted in secret, but I will do this before all Israel and in broad daylight.” (2 Sam 12:10-12)

David would never again have “rest” from all sides. Sin does that. It causes us to be unsettled, unsatisfied, and in conflict. David’s kingdom survived Absalom’s insurrection not because of David’s righteousness or power but certainly because “the Lord has delivered him from his enemies” (18:19).

Still the victory would be, at best, bittersweet. The opening verses of chapter 19 reveal the interior life of David, and he is completely distraught. We might think David should be happier that his kingdom has been restored. We might think he is a weak king that mourns over a no-good and rebellious son. But that would be a harsh and compassionless judgment. As Robert Gordon says, “Even in times of crisis and high drama a king may be a father” (I & II Samuel, 287).

David’s mourning signals that all is not well. While the Lord did give David victory and deliverance, the consequences of sin still sting. A son is dead. A father is bereaved. A family is torn apart, and a nation is ripped to shreds. This is not a clean return to the throne for David by any stretch of the imagination. God’s speech of 2 Samuel 12 rings true: disaster has come, and the sword is present in David’s reign the remainder of his days.

Still, David is the consummate politician. Recognizing that Absalom has swayed many to his side, David is conciliatory in his approach to return to Jerusalem’s royal palace. He wooed the elders of Judah with words of kindness (19:9-12). He places Amasa, a general from Judah, as commander of his army to replace Joab (vv. 13-14). He knows that many followed Absalom and so now are not with him. He needs to bring them back to his side. Instead of triumphantly marching into Jerusalem, he moves from his base at Mahanaim (17:24) only as far as Gilgal (19:15). From there he begins to meet with people who were loyal to Absalom.

From David’s slow and steady march geographically (from Gilgal into Jerusalem), we see his deliberate and political march into the hearts of those who formerly swore allegiance to Absalom. Shimei, Ziba, and Mephibosheth are reconciled to David. David also consolidates his power with those who were loyal to him in exile, particularly Barzillai the Gileadite and Chimham. The text records, “All the troops of Judah and half of Israel’s escorted the king” (19:40). David had consolidated power with those in Judah through cajoling and through kinship. He brought those allied with Absalom to his side. He was a powerful politician.

A Conflicted Kingdom

Still, the text reveals that David’s restored kingdom was not a peaceable kingdom. As quickly as David returns (finally) to Jerusalem, another Benjaminite (like Saul!) starts wreaking havoc. Sheba denounces David, effectively mounting a rebellion against the king and his house:

We have no portion in David,

no inheritance in Jesse’s son.

Each man to his tent, Israel! (2 Sam 20:1)

This statement provides an ominous foreshadowing of what will play out in 1–2 Kings, a nation divided between Israel and Judah. At Sheba’s words, “all the men of Israel” withdrew from David, while the men of Judah staunchly supported their king.

David charged Joab with quashing Sheba’s insurrection. Instead of helping things, Joab made them worse. We are not exactly sure why Joab did it, but he disemboweled and murdered Amasa (2 Sam 20:11), David’s new military commander (19:13). Amasa, you will remember, was loyal to Absalom. As a result, those who are loyal to Amasa now turn on David! The point is that David’s political savvy proved to be a temporary bandage on an incurable wound.

Joab and his men track down Sheba to a little village called Abel. They lay siege to it, which means they surrounded the city, cut off food and water supplies, and waited for everyone in the village either to die of thirst and starvation or to die from disease. Either way, not a good way to go! Instead of suffering in those ways, the people of Abel caught Sheba, cut off his head, and threw it over the wall to Joab. Joab then released the city from siege and went back to David in Jerusalem (with Sheba’s head, of course).

What a mess! David’s return to the throne in Jerusalem cannot be described as “ideal.” And that is, no doubt, the point. The Scriptures give the raw and real. And it is important to remember once again that just because the Bible describes certain actions does not mean God prescribes those actions. Disembowelment, murder, beheading, revolt, and intrigue do not carry divine sanction here. But they do reveal the horrific and sometimes hauntingly real world in which we live.

Second Samuel 21 carries the realism further with a story of David’s settling things with the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites, we remember, have a rather checkered past with Israel. At the time of the conquest and entrance into the promised land under the leadership of Joshua, they deceived Israel in a treaty (Josh 9). The Gibeonites also experienced terror at Saul’s hands in the early monarchy. It is unclear when this event happened, but at some stage Saul slaughtered the Gibeonites because the Lord says to David that Saul had done just that (2 Sam 21:1).

Yahweh tells David this information after the king inquired of Him. And David had inquired of the Lord because “there was a famine for three successive years” (21:1). When famine strikes God’s land, there is usually a reason for it, at least according to the biblical account. Both Leviticus 26:20 and Deuteronomy 28:24 indicate that Yahweh sends famine to His land as a result of the infidelity of His people. It is a way for God to snap His people out of their apathy, lethargy, and rebellion so they would turn back to Him. Although the narrative never clearly tells us that the famine is divine discipline, the sharp Israelite reader would certainly not miss it. It reveals that all is not well in Israel under David’s reign.

At any rate, when David inquired of the Lord as to why they experienced such a terrible famine, Yahweh informed David, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family when he killed the Gibeonites” (21:2). David went to the Gibeonites to determine what restitution could be made. Their response? David should give seven remaining sons from Saul’s family for execution and display: “Let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us so we may hang them in the presence of the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the Lord’s chosen” (21:6). David did as they requested, only sparing Mephibosheth.

Finally, the text reveals that the Philistine problem kicks up again in David’s reign (21:15-22). Not only that, the Philistines who appeared at this time all descended from, get this, Goliath! David defeated the giant at the birth of his reign, and now in his dotage giants enter into the land once again. Although David did defeat these Philistines, as the text records (21:22), the fact that they appear in the narrative at this juncture draws attention to impending and continuous conflict and threat. All told, this casts a long, dark shadow on the reign of the once promising king.

Abiding Consequences of Sin

In so many ways 2 Samuel 21 serves as a fitting conclusion to chapters 9–20: David’s rise, and fall, and return. But the return is complicated, bloody, and ambiguous. What are we to learn from this chapter, and what does the narrative want to communicate? Over and above all, we are to learn the abiding consequences of sin.

Firth is one of the best commentators on the narrative of Samuel and notes the importance of this lesson (1 & 2 Samuel, 506–7). Sin takes us much farther than we want to go, and its reach is far greater than we ever could have imagined. The sins of both Saul and David are like stones thrown in the middle of a pond. The initial plunge into the water makes a big splash, but the ripples move from the middle of the pond, to the shore, and then back to the middle in innumerable waves and mini-collisions. This is the nature of sin. One never can calculate its fallout.

Saul’s sin impacts not only himself but also his family. The death of Saul’s lineage (2 Sam 21) almost appears out of nowhere. However, it appears as an exclamation point on the failed, faithless reign of that feckless king. But before we go too hard on Saul, the narrative reminds us that both kings are equally offensive.

David’s sin impacts not only himself but also his family. His accession to the throne is anything but peaceful. Although the death of Saul’s lineage appeared out of nowhere, David’s troubles are plainly foreshadowed. The text has hinted and shown that David’s sin impacted the king, his family, his kingdom, and the nations around him. David’s sin brought horrific consequences one after another in an unending succession of pain.

As biblical narrative is designed to instruct its readers, we should not miss the lesson here. The fallout of sin is like that of a nuclear disaster: its impact is immeasurable. As Christians, we like to think that Jesus forgives our sin and takes the blame of guilt away. And this is, without doubt, true. Jesus delivers us from the guilt and blame of sin. The stain of sin is washed away. We stand holy and righteous before a holy God because Christ’s blood covers us.

However, on this side of eternity, consequences of sin still remain. Imagine that a student became intoxicated and drove his vehicle drunk. As he is driving, he loses control and strikes a family in an SUV in an oncoming lane. The family is killed. The student lives. Now imagine that the student confesses his crime, accepts responsibility, and takes his punishment from the state. We would say that the punishment fit the crime and that the student should understand that actions have consequences.

Now imagine that this student is a Christian. Let’s say he confesses his sin and repents of it. Is he forgiven? Yes. But do the consequences remain? Yes. He is freed from the stain of sin and the blame that comes with it. He is not condemned for his sin before God because the blood of Jesus covers him, and he is hid in the cross of Christ. And yet the fallout of sin still remains. A family is dead. A student is in jail. And parents are deprived of their son. Sin has consequences that abide long after the sin is committed.

Second Samuel 19–21 depicts in awful detail the fallout of sin. There is some hope despite the fallout. The good news in the midst of the fallout is that sin does not have to be the final word on our lives eternally. We can be freed from the blame of sin before God even if we face consequences of sin and wrestle with them day in and day out. The consequences of sin do not determine our eternal destiny, but they do affect our days now.

This is why it is important to keep the good news of Jesus before our eyes. Jesus gives us hope to endure today and confidence that we will endure for eternity. The blood of Christ tells us that our today, whatever our circumstances, does not determine our tomorrows. Jesus has given a word on our future if we are in Him: we will be with Him. This confidence that Christ gives us for tomorrow actually gives us strength for enduring today.

Waiting for the King

Finally, the close of the king’s return to the throne of Israel reminds us that David will not be the Savior the world needs. By the close of his story, the giants have returned, sin’s stench wafts through the halls of the palace, and his dynasty has been tattered by a royal coup and political intrigue.

If the kingdom of God is God’s rule over God’s people in God’s land, the kingdom of David was decidedly not a faithful presentation of that ideal. The world would wait for another Davidic king to bring in that kingdom.

Only in the advent of Jesus do we have the announcement of the kingdom. Jesus’ words are crystal clear: “Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of God: ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!’” (Mark 1:14-15). Jesus would bring God’s kingdom at the fullness of time.

In the meantime God’s people would wait. They would wait for the King to come. They would wait for God’s reign to be brought to reality in the real world.

Reflect and Discuss

1. How does this passage help you understand God?
2. How does this passage of Scripture exalt Jesus?
3. Summarize the steps David took to get to the place of mourning in 2 Samuel 19. How does David’s journey to mourning impact you? Do you experience compassion for him, or is your response to David’s journey more in tune with the phrase “he made his bed; let him lie in it”? Why do you think you respond the way you do?
4. Why do you think the text presents David as the consummate politician, even after Absalom’s death?
5. In what ways does the failure of David’s political strategies in 2 Samuel 19–21 reveal that David is not the king for whom Israel ultimately longs?
6. Why does Joab murder Amasa? Write down your thoughts and share them with someone you trust. In what ways do Joab’s motives reflect the dark side of the human heart?
7. What is the significance of the return of the Philistine giants in 2 Samuel 21?
8. List how many ways God’s word in 2 Samuel 12:20 comes to pass in David’s life in chapters 13–21. What does this say about the certainty and reliability of the Word of God?
9. Can you identify with how sin carries with it a lot of unintended consequences? Reflect on the consequences you have experienced in the past or are experiencing now.
10. Allow God to challenge you to trust Him and spurn sin. But also allow God to encourage you in the gospel: The consequences we experience today are not eternal for tomorrow! The blood of Christ provides a future where the consequences of sin will have no bearing on life in the new creation. Allow God to encourage you in that hope.