Bible Commentaries

Pine Traits In the Character of David

2 Samuel 19:4). He cried in a great wilderness. His lamentation sounded hollow in the dreary void. So long as a man can feel distress in this way, there is hope of him; he is not an utterly dead and lost man. Wherever human feeling exhibits itself we may take hope. A tear shows that the door of the heart is still open. If we catch from the worst of men one word of penitence, one sigh of contrition, one utterance of deep genuine grief, let us not blot the man's name out of the record: he yet may entertain the Son of God. Woe be unto him who is past feeling, who takes all tidings with equal indifference, who cares not whether the king be dead or the king be alive, how the battle has gone! He is past feeling; he has become a fool in Israel, and over his burial none will weep. Now that the judgment is passed, or that the clouds have ceased to pour down their wrath for one little moment, it is beautiful to see that the man who has been thus condemned, and justly 2 Samuel 19:5-7).

Joab was an arrogant and imperious 2 Samuel 19:8). He shook off his sorrow, and became the king again. He said: A king must not give way to private grief too long; the king has imperial duties, royal obligations, and his place is not the chamber of solitude for ever; he must go out now and again, and sit in the gate, and show himself to the people. So there the king sat.

"And they told unto all the people saying, Behold the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent" ( 2 Samuel 19:8).

This is the right exercise of influence. We must not allow personal griefs to last so long as to injure public or general responsibility. Sorrow may degenerate into a species of selfishness. We may urge that we are still mourning,—and the mourning in itself is not condemned: it may be right and proper; but life is larger than one hour of its duration; life has its duties; life is a battle-field; life is a continual controversy, and we miss the captain's presence, the eldest soldier's strong hand: we pine and perish because our leader is away. Thus the Bible has lessons for all circumstances and conditions of life: let those who need those lessons lay them wisely to heart.

Now the king was king again. The rebellion of Absalom was over, and the way was quite clear to the throne of Israel. Now it is the king's turn to avenge himself. We have just heard Shimei curse and rave and foam with madness; we have seen that base man throwing stones at the king and dust upon the king's servants;—now the king will be avenged. What does Shimei do now?

"And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David;.... And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king" ( 2 Samuel 19:16, 2 Samuel 19:19-20).

"But Abishai the son of Zeruiah, answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord's anointed?" ( 2 Samuel 19:21).

Abishai would have gone forth, sword in hand, and decapitated the contrite coward, suspecting his contrition, and suspecting it justly. And David would say—Yes; this is our opportunity: the wheel goes round, the whirligig of time keeps moving: now let the hands of my friends be upon this son of Gera and blot him out from the earth? But David did not speak so: said 2 Samuel 19:22-23).

Was he not worth killing? Was he a sincere man? In a little time we shall see. Judgment overtook him, and crushed him, and he lives in history as a rebel and a liar. Let us not presume too much upon God's clemency. We have done evil to our King: we have defiled his house; we have abandoned his altar; we have spent our spite and contempt upon his servants; we have said, Who is the Lord that we should serve him, or the Almighty that we should come unto him? The whole white heaven is empty, and we will do as we please upon the earth. Whilst we are talking 2 Samuel 19:24).

Ziba had told lies to the king about Mephibosheth. Ziba had said: The lame dog tarries in Jerusalem, saying his chance has come now: the house of Saul will return to power; and Mephibosheth lies there in ambush, ready to seize the golden chance; I told thee before, at least suggestively, that 2 Samuel 19:25). A beautiful inquiry! The king is calm. His equanimity assists the expression of his justice. He is nobly generous. See him: fair, wrinkled, grave: grief written all over his face; a man who has seen life in its most troubled aspects, yet chastened, subdued, mellowed: a shepherd-boy turned into a comparatively and prematurely old man. Observe how he looks down upon the lame son of Jonathan, and says, "Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth? "I expected to have found thee in my train: wherefore didst thou not come?

"And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame. And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes" ( 2 Samuel 19:26-27).

And the king was generous to Mephibosheth. He seemed to understand the case. He knew the plots of liars, the plans of astute and selfish empirics and adventurers, and he saw in the face of the son of Jonathan some flash of sincerity that reminded him of his fastest friend and of his own oath. These qualities are not to be overlooked in estimating the character of king David. It was right that he should be thundered upon, and that the darts of God's lightning should strike him; at the same time, it is right that we should depict all the finer features, all the more exquisite lineaments of this manifold character. "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." So said the Son of David! Surely the historical father, the lineal ancestor, was not short of the quality which expresses itself in these noble exhortations. Let us quicken our eyes to see fine features, noble excellences; as well as quicken our judgment to criticise with exasperating severity.

David was tender-hearted. In his following there was an old 2 Samuel 17:27). He was one of those who

"Brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse, and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness" ( 2 Samuel 17:28-29).

"And when the king was come over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned unto his own place" ( 2 Samuel 19:39).

"But behold thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good unto thee. And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee" ( 2 Samuel 19:37-38).

A sudden temptation seized king David. A great wind smote his little boat on the lake and overturned it as it were without notice. The adversary the devil, who goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, sprang upon king David, and the king gave way. He who killed the lion and the bear and the uncircumcised Philistine; he who was valiant beyond all soldiers and wise beyond all kings had his "vulnerable heel," and was brought to the dust of humiliation. But his good qualities were many and strong. Some of his critics are not so good as their victim. They should at least restrain judgment, and be made sorrowfully quiet in the presence of much of his iniquity. Let us hand the case over to the living God.

But character is not a question of points, and particular excellences, or special defects: character is a matter of spirit, purpose, aim, and tone of life. Separate actions are not to be viewed as if they included the whole case: the question 2 Samuel 17:2.

Such was the policy of Ahitophel.—Bad men always reveal themselves at some point of their tortuous and ignoble policy.—It may be only a stray sentence, but the revelation is not the less vivid and complete.—See how nobly this bad man reasoned!—He said he would come upon David when David was weary and weak handed.—Knavery can never be noble-minded.—Bad men can never rise beyond their own level; find them where we may, they are always conceiving cowardly and ungenerous and self-defeating plots.—The incident is useful to us as showing the policy which is pursued by our spiritual enemy; "Your adversary the devil goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."—The tempter came upon Eve when she was alone.—He has always come upon men in their hours of depression,—when health has been feeble, when business has been unprosperous, when family affairs have gathered overhead like a frowning cloud, when there has been unusual care and anxiety in the heart.—The devil is not a brave tempter; he is "that old serpent the devil;" he lurks in secret places, he watches for moments of weakness, he never invites to fair, open encounter; he plots, and conspires, and works in the dark, and strikes from behind, and in very deed and in every way shows himself to be a devil.—What is true of the master is true of the servant.—All who follow the devil are selfish, wily, knavish, wanting in every attribute of chivalry and generosity.—They cannot be otherwise, and this is the fact that must be borne in mind by all Christian teachers and reformers.—The devil can only assume the garb of an angel of light: an angel of light he can never be in reality.—Even when the devil quotes Scripture we must disbelieve him, for he quotes the Scripture only partially, and perversely applies it, and seeks to make it a medium of spiritual ruin.—Men should have their attention more and more called to the meanness of wickedness,—not only is it hateful as wickedness, but it is hateful because of its meanness, cunning, calculation, and willingness to strike a man when he is weary and weak handed.—On the other side we must remember the promises of God.—Whilst we are fainting we may yet be pursuing.—At the throne of grace the fainthearted may renew their courage.—Christ's sweetest invitations and promises are addressed to those who are weary and heavy laden.—What time we are afraid we should trust in God.—When our father and our mother forsake us, our look should be upward, not downward.—We should remember, too, that enemies are always on the alert.—They may not be noisy, ostentatious, self-proclaiming; they may be silent, concealed, watchful: let us be sure, however, that they are always on our track, always waiting for our halting, and always gratified when we are in fear and weakness.—Through all this let us listen to the voice which says, "My grace is sufficient for thee."