King David slowly made his way back to Jerusalem from his exile in Mahanaim. He stopped frequently as people came to talk with him, make amends and ask forgiveness, or show their support.

One of the people who accompanied David across the Jordan River was a wealthy old man named Barzillai of Gilead. Barzillai helped provide for King David while he was in Mahanaim and David now invited him to come to Jerusalem and live out the rest of his days in comfort and luxury. The king promised to provide for Barzillai, to thank him for his support.

Barzillai wanted to go back to his own home to live out the rest of his life. He was too old to enjoy the good life in Jerusalem, but he asked David to take along Kimham, who was probably his son. David agreed, and then he bid a fond farewell to Barzillai and continued on his way.

The Tribes Dispute Over King David

When Absalom was crowned king in Hebron, most of the ten tribes of Israel pledged their allegiance to him. But it happened so fast they hardly had time to discuss it. Absalom’s star rose and fell rapidly and the tribes of Israel suddenly found they were back under David’s authority.

They decided to assert themselves to make sure David knew they were loyal to him. It didn’t pay to be on the wrong side of the king. They tried to make it appear that it was Judah’s fault that they weren’t with David when he fled from Absalom.

“Soon all the men of Israel were coming to the king and saying to him, Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, steal the king away and bring him and his household across the Jordan together with all his men?’” 2 Samuel 19:41

The men of Judah protested that they had done nothing wrong and hadn’t gained anything by accompanying David to safety. They did it because he was their king and kinsman; it had nothing to do with stealing him away from the other ten tribes.

“Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, ‘We have ten shares in the king; so we have a greater claim on David than you have’ . . . But the men of Judah pressed their claims even more forcefully than the men of Israel.” 2 Samuel 19:43

David was a much-loved king, but his subjects were dividing through territorial conflicts with each other and David didn’t seem to have the power to stop them.

Sheba Leads a Revolt

A Benjamite named Sheba took advantage of the instability in the situation around David. He sounded a trumpet and called the men of Israel to himself, hoping to lead a revolt.

“We have no share in David, no part in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, Israel!” 2 Samuel 20:1

The men of Israel took off with Sheba while the men of Judah stayed with King David and escorted him safely on to Jerusalem. When David got back to his palace one of his first items of business was to end Sheba’s revolt.

David had replaced Joab with Amasa as the head of his armies after Joab killed Absalom. David sent Amasa out to muster the men of Judah and go after Sheba, but Amasa didn’t come back as soon as he was expected. So David turned to Abishai and Joab to deal with Sheba before he got away. They went out in full force to pursue Sheba.

On the way Joab came upon Amasa and greeted him like a brother. Then he grabbed Amasa’s beard, pulled him close and stabbed him to death. He left Amasa dead on the road and took off with Abishai to find Sheba. Joab had killed before when he felt someone betrayed his king, but this time Joab simply eliminated a rival.

Meanwhile, Sheba fled far north and into the fortified city of Abel Beth Maakah. Joab found him and set up siege ramps to knock down the city walls to get Sheba. But a wise woman in Abel Beth Maacah found out who Joab was looking for and arranged for Sheba’s head to be cut off and thrown over the wall instead.

Joab accepted this appeasement, dispersed his army, and traveled back to Jerusalem. He returned as the head of Israel’s entire army. Then most of David’s cabinet was made up of the mighty men who had been with him since before his reign began.

Psalm 7

David wrote this Psalm in response to the treachery of Cush the Benjamite. “Cush” was another name for Sheba and may have referred to his ethnicity. David saw this rebel as someone who dug a pit only to fall into it himself. He thanked God for being his shield and deliverer against such an evil foe.

David and the Gibeonites

A famine came upon Israel for three years and David recognized the hand of God in it. He asked the Lord what was wrong and God told him that he was punishing Israel for the sins of Saul. He had unjustly put Gibeonites to death early in his reign.

In Saul’s zeal to consolidate his kingdom he tried to eliminate the Gibeonites who were Amorite descendants. The Gibeonites were guaranteed protection by Joshua when Israel first entered the Promised Land. They tricked Joshua into making that treaty, but they had done nothing to disturb Israel’s well-being since then. Saul’s action against Gibeon broke the long-standing peace treaty Joshua had sworn before God.

David went to the Gibeonites and asked what he should do to atone for the sin against their people. They wanted the blood shed by Saul to be avenged by shedding the blood of seven of his descendants. David agreed and he selected two of Saul’s sons by his concubine Rizpah, and five of his grandsons by his daughter Merab. He handed them over to the Gibeonites who killed them and then left their bodies exposed to the elements.

Saul’s concubine Rizpah couldn’t bear to see her sons’ bodies left like that so she spent weeks trying to protect them from birds and wild animals. David heard what Rizpah was doing so he came to collect their remains and arrange a proper burial for them. He also gathered Saul and Jonathan’s bones from Jabesh Gilead and buried all of them together in the tomb of Saul’s father.

Fighting the Philistines

There was a clan of giants living among the Philistines and they regularly went out with the Philistine armies to challenge Israel. Goliath was one of the giants, and David had killed him, but there were still others living around the region. During a series of four battles brave Israelites managed to kill these giants in hand-to-hand combat.

David joined in the fighting, but he was growing older and the battle exhausted him. He became a liability to Israel and his men told him he could no longer go out with them to fight.

“Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished.” 2 Samuel 21:17

David was the undisputed king of Israel by now, but he depended heavily upon others, like Joab and Abishai to keep his kingdom safe and protected. His personal work was now in the area of worship and preparing for the temple that was going to be built.