2 Samuel 15 Flight

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
2 Samuel 15:13 A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”

14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”

15 The king’s officials answered him, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.”

16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17 So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.

19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”[c]

21 But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”

22 David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.

23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.

24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.

25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”

27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar’s son Jonathan. You and Abiathar return with your two sons. 28 I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.

30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”

32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel’s advice. 35 Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king’s palace. 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.”

37 So Hushai, David’s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.​

2 Samuel 15:20 Septuagint; Hebrew May kindness and faithfulness be with you

Well it's a long reading this morning but the story is vivid, so it's not so bad... right?

There are a few characters involved in the flight. David is fleeing the city with his followers because his son Absolom has been successfully campaigning against David. Absolom's sister Tamar was raped by their step brother, Amnon. David's [God's] Justice system didn't work faster enough or strong enough for Absolom.

David tells us why he is leaving his city. In verse 14 he says he doesn't want the city put "to the sword". To save the city from a bloody battle. David knows God anointed him, not Absolom, to be king, but that's not the point in these verses. The point is that David has decided to leave. He has his original men 600 men were with him and all their families.

Ittai the Gittite, was there. He wasn't part of the fight between Absolom and David. He was a guest. David told Ittai he could stay in Jerusalem but he insisted that he follow David. I guess he stands for all the followers of David who knew they were going to stay loyal to the king.

Zadok the priest was there too. Zadok was in charge of carrying the Ark. The Ark of the Covenant had to be hand carried by Levite Priests [priests who can trace their heritage back to Levi back in the days of Abraham]. The Ark was heavy because it was a box made layered in precious metals with two gold statuettes on top. It was also precious itself. The Ark had been captured by the Philistines and returned to David. David told Zadok the priest to stay in Jerusalem with the Ark. That way the Ark is safe.

Abiathar, another priest, was also there. As a matter of fact Abiathar and Zadok both had sons there. David told Abiathar and Zadok to take their sons back to Jerusalem along with the Ark.

That's when David revealed the beginnings of a plan. The sons of Abiathar and Zadock could be "flies on the wall" everywhere. David put informants in Jerusalem. Smart!

The last two characters in the story are Ahithophel and Hushai, David’s confidant. Ahithophel had been a counselor to David. He was known for his sage advice [according to google]. The problem is... this sage adviser defected to Abosolom's side. So... to counter, David sent Hushai screw up Ahithophel's sage advice and to spy for him. He could use those two boys as runners too.

I am reminded of when King Balak sent for Balaam back in Numbers 22. Balak wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites. God intervened and Balaam wound up encouraging the Israelites and cursing Balak. Now Ahithophel is going to give Abosolom counsel and Hushai is going to taint it. Smart!

The commentaries are really preachy this morning. David went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus went the the Mount of Olives. The important message I got out of this story is David trusted God. He knew he would be back in Jerusalem.

This is from Bible.org.

The first thing we should understand is that in fleeing from Jerusalem, David has not indicated his intention to abdicate the throne. This is why he leaves ten concubines behind, to “keep the house” (15:16). He is leaving town, but he is not leaving his throne. Absalom may seize it, but this will not be because David has handed in his resignation. The concubines are a symbol of David's continuing reign over Israel.​

I also had to remind myself.... Nathan told David that his house was going to suffer "calamity" over the whole mess with Bathsheba. So David has that on his mind as well. No wonder he was crying.

:coffee:
 
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