2 Samuel 19 Nephews

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
2 Samuel 19:9 Throughout the tribes of Israel, all the people were arguing among themselves, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies; he is the one who rescued us from the hand of the Philistines. But now he has fled the country to escape from Absalom; 10 and Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?”

11 King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: “Ask the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his palace, since what is being said throughout Israel has reached the king at his quarters? 12 You are my relatives, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to bring back the king?’ 13 And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my own flesh and blood? May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you are not the commander of my army for life in place of Joab.’”

14 He won over the hearts of the men of Judah so that they were all of one mind. They sent word to the king, “Return, you and all your men.” 15 Then the king returned and went as far as the Jordan.​

This is from Bibletrack.org.

We have a sticky situation here with the home folks. David's own tribe, Judah, had fallen in behind the rest of Israel to anoint Absalom as the King of Israel, but now he's dead. David's a little agitated that the people of Judah are dragging their feet in taking him back as their king; the rest of Israel has already acknowledged that reality. David, still residing east of the Jordan, sends a message to the priests and says they should notify the elders of Judah to facilitate David's return to his throne. David goes one step too far here in the name of compromise; he forgives Amasa and promises to leave him over the armies of Israel instead of reinstating Joab. Incidentally, Amasa was David's nephew by his sister, Abigail. Joab was also David's nephew, but by David's sister, Zeruiah.

In II Samuel 17 we see that Amasa had been a traitor when he forsook David and supported Absalom! What was David thinking? While both were David's nephews it was Joab that remained loyal! Of course, that may have been because Absalom gave the big commander job to Amasa instead of Joab. Remember, the Tribe of Judah was huge compared to the rest. A couple of factors are at play here. First of all, Amasa controlled the army of Israel under Absalom's short rule. As of this time, he hasn't been removed as Israel's top general. An alliance with Amasa, who controls the army, can't hurt in helping Judah to once again rally around David as king. Secondly, Joab doesn't seem to treat David with the same level of respect as others. So, Judah's folks come to Gilgal to escort David over the Jordan and back to power over Israel. Amasa should enjoy his tenure as General of Israel's army; he soon won't have the guts to continue in that position (pun intended...read on). Joab doesn't give up that easily.​

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OK.... I think in some societies, telling the king to get a grip might cost a man his life. That's what Joab did . He yelled at the anointed king of Israel and told him to get a grip. David didn't even flinch.... at the time.... but now.... Joab's out of a job.

I have to say, though, I don't think leaving Amasa in charge was a great idea either. Both of these men are really full of themselves. You can never trust a character in the Bible who are really full of themselves.

This is from Bible.org.

It is difficult for those of us who live in a democracy to understand the predicament in which the Israelites find themselves. When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, in only a few hours Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as our new President, and he began to function in this capacity. Our constitution sets down a very clear process for succession. But when a monarch ceases to function as king, what does a nation do? A whole lot of arguing and finger pointing is going on in Israel. Everyone is blaming everyone else and demanding that someone (else) do something. David had been the king. Then he fled the country. The people anointed Absalom in David's place, but now he is dead. There seems to be a foregone conclusion that David will return and resume his role as Israel's king, but how is this going to happen? What should they do? What could they do? And who will do it? The arguing is all about these things.

One more fact contributes to making this such a sticky problem -- these are the same people who backed Absalom's rebellion. The people who are arguing are the people of Israel, those who remained in the land. They are not the supporters of David who accompanied him into the wilderness. These folks rejected David as their king, and now they know it is inevitable he will reign as king once more. Who would want to step forward to bring back the man they rejected, the one against whom they committed high treason? No wonder there is a leadership problem here.
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