II Samuel 16 – 18 and One for the Money

II Samuel 16 - 18

When we last left David, he and his followers were fleeing from Absalom. If you recall, David had quietly sent the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem together with Zadok the priest, his son Ahimaaz, Abiathar, and his son Jonathan. He told Zadok that he would stop at the shallows of the Jordan River and wait for a report from them. He also sent Hushai the Arkite back to Jerusalem to act as an adviser to Absalom and to inform Zadok and Abiathar of Absalom’s plans. In other words, Hushai, and Zadok and his crew were to be David’s spies. He encouraged Hushai to give Absalom bad advice, since David’s former adviser Ahithophel had stayed behind and was now working for Absalom.

After he left the Mount of Olives, David ran into Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth. Ziba had brought two donkeys loaded down with bread, raisins, summer fruit and wine for David. After he was told that Mephibosheth had stayed behind in Jerusalem --in other words, had pledged his loyalty to Absalom – David gave all of what Mephibosheth owned to Ziba.

What did you think about David’s response to Shimei son of Gera? Instead of having him killed for cursing him and throwing stones at him, David rebuked his people for threatening to “take care of” him. His reasoning was that the Lord would see he was being wrong and would bless him because of the curses.

Well, things worked out pretty much as David hoped. Absalom eventually followed Hushai’s advice and disregarded Ahithophel’s. Ahimaaz and Jonathon warned David of Absalom’s approach. 20,000 of Absalom’s men were killed in the battle against David’s troops and poor Absalom got his hair caught in a tree and was then killed by Joab. Can you believe he disregarded David’s order to be gentle with Absalom?

We also learn that because Absalom had no sons, he had built a monument to himself, Absalom’s Monument. David was overcome with grief, wishing he had died instead of his son. The Scriptures don’t say, but he must have been doubly sad knowing that his actions with Bathsheba dn Uriah had helped bring him to this point.

Tomorrow, it’s Psalm 26, 40, 58/, 61, 62, and 64.

One for the Money

I know you have heard me talk about the movie One for the Money, based on the book by Janet Evanovich. It came out on DVD Tuesday and, today, I went over to Walmart and bought one. Can’t wait to watch it.

Until next time…