_FROM JERUSALEM TO MAHANAIM._
2 SAMUEL xvi. 1-14; xvii. 15-22 and 24-26.
As David proceeds on his painful journey, there flows from his heart
a gentle current of humble, contrite, gracious feeling. If recent
events have thrown any doubt on the reality of his goodness, this
fragrant narrative will restore the balance. Many a man would have
been beside himself with rage at the treatment he had undergone. Many
another man would have been restless with terror, looking behind him
every other moment to see if the usurper's army was not hastening in
pursuit of him. It is touching to see David, mild, self-possessed,
thoroughly humble, and most considerate of others. Adversity is
the element in which he shines; it is in prosperity he falls; in
adversity he rises beautifully. After the humbling events in his life
to which our attention has been lately called, it is a relief to
witness the noble bearing of the venerable saint amid the pelting of
this most pitiless storm.
It was when David was a little past the summit of Mount Olivet, and
soon after he had sent back Hushai, that Ziba came after him,--that
servant of Saul that had told him of Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan,
and whom he had appointed to take charge of the property that had
belonged to Saul, now made over to Mephibosheth. The young man
himself was to be as one of the king's sons, and was to eat at the
royal table. Ziba's account of him was, that when he heard of the
insurrection he remained at Jerusalem, in the expectation that on that
very day the kingdom of his father would be restored to him. It can
hardly be imagined that Mephibosheth was so silly as to think or say
anything of the kind. Either Ziba must have been slandering him now,
or Mephibosheth must have slandered Ziba when David returned (see 2
Sam. xix. 24-30). With that remarkable impartiality which distinguishes
the history, the facts and the statements of the parties are recorded
as they occurred, but we are left to form our own judgment regarding
them. All things considered, it is likely that Ziba was the slanderer
and Mephibosheth the injured man. Mephibosheth was too feeble a man,
both in mind and in body, to be forming bold schemes by which he might
benefit from the insurrection. We prefer to believe that the son of
Jonathan had so much of his father's nobility as to cling to David in
the hour of his trial, and be desirous of throwing in his lot with him.
If, however, Ziba was a slanderer and a liar, the strange thing about
him is that he should have taken this opportunity to give effect to
his villainy. It is strange that, with a soul full of treachery, he
should have taken the trouble to come after David at all, and still
more that he should have made a contribution to his scanty stores. We
should have expected such a man to remain with Absalom, and look to
him for the reward of unrighteousness. He brought with him for David's
use a couple of asses saddled, and two hundred loaves of bread, and
an hundred clusters of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and
a bottle of wine. We get a vivid idea of the extreme haste with which
David and his company must have left Jerusalem, and their destitution
of the very necessaries of life as they fled, from this catalogue of
Ziba's contributions. Not even were there beasts of burden "for the
king's household"--even Bathsheba and Solomon may have been going on
foot. David was evidently impressed by the gift, and his opinion of
Mephibosheth was not so high as to prevent him from believing that he
was capable of the course ascribed to him. Yet we cannot but think
there was undue haste in his at once transferring to Ziba the whole
of Mephibosheth's property. We can only say, in vindication of David,
that his confidence even in those who had been most indebted to him had
received so rude a shock in the conduct of Absalom, that he was ready
to say in his haste, "All men are liars;" he was ready to suspect every
man of deserting him, except those that gave palpable evidence that
they were on his side. In this number it seemed at the moment that Ziba
was, while Mephibosheth was not; and trusting to his first impression,
and acting with the promptitude necessary in war, he made the transfer.
It is true that afterwards he discovered his mistake; and some may
think that when he did he did not make a sufficient rectification. He
directed Ziba and Mephibosheth to divide the property between them;
but in explanation it has been suggested that this was equivalent to
the old arrangement, by which Ziba was to cultivate the land, and
Mephibosheth to receive the fruits; and if half the produce went to the
proprietor, and the other half to the cultivator, the arrangement may
have been a just and satisfactory one after all.
But if Ziba sinned in the way of smooth treachery, Shimei, the
next person with whom David came in contact, sinned not less in the
opposite fashion, by his outrageous insolence and invective. It is
said of this man that he was of the family of the house of Saul, and
that fact goes far to account for his atrocious behaviour. We get a
glimpse of that inveterate jealousy of David which during the long
period of his reign slept in the bosom of the family of Saul, and
which seemed now, like a volcano, to burst out all the more fiercely
for its long suppression. When the throne passed from the family of
Saul, Shimei would of course experience a great social fall. To be no
longer connected with the royal family would be a great mortification
to one who was vain of such distinctions. Outwardly, he was obliged
to bear his fall with resignation, but inwardly the spirit of
disappointment and jealousy raged in his breast. When the opportunity
of revenge against David came, the rage and venom of his spirit
poured out in a filthy torrent. There is no mistaking the mean nature
of the man to take such an opportunity of venting his malignity on
David. To trample on the fallen, to press a man when his back is at
the wall, to pierce with fresh wounds the body of a stricken warrior,
is the mean resource of ungenerous cowardice. But it is too much the
way of the world. "If there be any quarrels, any exceptions," says
Bishop Hall, "against a man, let him look to have them laid in his
dish when he fares the hardest. This practice have wicked men learned
of their master, to take the utmost advantage of their afflictions."
If Shimei had contented himself with denouncing the policy of David,
the forbearance of his victim would not have been so remarkable. But
Shimei was guilty of every form of offensive and provoking assault.
He threw stones, he called abusive names, he hurled wicked charges
against David; he declared that God was fighting against him, and
fighting justly against such a man of blood, such a man of Belial.
And, as if this were not enough, he stung him in the most sensitive
part of his nature, reproaching him with the fact that it was his
son that now reigned instead of him, because the Lord had delivered
the kingdom into his hand. But even all this accumulation of coarse
and shameful abuse failed to ruffle David's equanimity. Abishai,
Joab's brother, was enraged at the presumption of a fellow who had
no right to take such an attitude, and whose insolence deserved a
prompt and sharp castigation. But David never thirsted for the blood
of foes. Even while the rocks were echoing Shimei's charges, David
gave very remarkable evidence of the spirit of a chastened child of
God. He showed the same forbearance that he had shown twice on former
occasions in sparing the life of Saul. "Why," asked Abishai, "should
this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go, I pray thee, and
take off his head." "So let him curse," was David's answer, "because
the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David." It was but partially true
that the Lord had told him to do so. The Lord had only permitted him
to do it; He had only placed David in circumstances which allowed
Shimei to pour out his insolence. This use of the expression, "The
Lord hath said unto him," may be a useful guide to its true meaning
in some passages of Scripture where it has seemed at first as if
God gave very strange directions. The pretext that Providence had
afforded to Shimei was this, "Behold, my son, which came out of my
bowels, seeketh my life; how much more then may this Benjamite do it?
Let him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden him. It
may be that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day."
It is touching to remark how keenly David felt this dreadful trial as
coming from his own son.
"So the struck eagle stretched upon the plain,
No more through rolling clouds to soar again,
Viewed his own feather on the fatal dart
That winged the shaft that quivered in his heart;
Keen were his pangs, but keener far to feel
He nursed the pinion which impelled the steel;
While the same plumage that had warmed his nest
Drank the last lifedrop of his bleeding breast."
But even the fact that it was his own son that was the author of
all his present calamities would not have made David so meek under
the outrage of Shimei if he had not felt that God was using such
men as instruments to chastise him for his sins. For though God
had never said to Shimei, "Curse David," He had let him become an
instrument of chastisement and humiliation against him. It was the
fact of his being such an instrument in God's hands that made the
King so unwilling to interfere with him. David's reverence for God's
appointment was like that which afterwards led our Lord to say, "The
cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink of it?" Unlike
though David and Jesus were in the cause of their sufferings, yet
there is a remarkable resemblance in their bearing under them. The
meek resignation of David as he went out from the holy city had
a strong resemblance to the meek resignation of Jesus as He was
being led from the same city to Calvary. The gentle consideration
of David for the welfare of his people as he toiled up Mount Olivet
was parallel to the same feeling of Jesus expressed to the daughters
of Jerusalem as He toiled up to Calvary. The forbearance of David
to Shimei was like the spirit of the prayer--"Father, forgive
them: for they know not what they do." The overawing sense that God
had ordained their sufferings was similar in both. David owed his
sufferings solely to himself; Jesus owed His solely to the relation
in which He had placed Himself to sinners as the Sin-bearer. It is
beautiful to see David so meek and lowly under the sense of his
sins--breathing the spirit of the prophet's words, "I will stand upon
my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he
will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved."
There was another thought in David's mind that helped him to bear
his sufferings with meek submission. It is this that is expressed
in the words, "It may be that the Lord will requite me good for his
cursing this day." He felt that, as coming from the hand of God, all
that he had suffered was just and righteous. He had done wickedly,
and he deserved to be humbled and chastened by God, and by such
instruments as God might appoint. But the particular words and acts
of these instruments might be highly unjust to him: though Shimei
was God's instrument for humiliating him, yet the curses of Shimei
were alike unrighteous and outrageous; the charge that he had shed
the blood of Saul's house, and seized Saul's kingdom by violence, was
outrageously false; but it was better to bear the wrong, and leave
the rectifying of it in God's hands; for God detests unfair dealing,
and when His servants receive it He will look to it and redress it
in His own time and way. And this is a very important and valuable
consideration for those servants of God who are exposed to abusive
language and treatment from scurrilous opponents, or, what is too
common in our day, scurrilous newspapers. If injustice is done them,
let them, like David, trust to God to redress the wrong; God is a God
of justice, and God will not see them treated unjustly. And hence
that remarkable statement which forms a sort of appendix to the seven
beatitudes--"Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute
you, and speak all manner of evil against you falsely for My name's
sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in
heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you."
Ere we return to Jerusalem to witness the progress of events
in Absalom's camp and cabinet, let us accompany David to his
resting-place beyond the Jordan. Through the counsel of Hushai,
afterwards to be considered, he had reached the plains of Jordan in
safety; had accomplished the passage of the river, and traversed the
path on the other side as far as Mahanaim, somewhere to the south
of the Lake of Gennesareth, the place where Ishbosheth had held his
court. It was a singular mercy that he was able to accomplish this
journey, which in the condition of his followers must have occupied
several days, without opposition in front or molestation in his rear.
Tokens of the Lord's loving care were not wanting to encourage him
on the way. It must have been a great relief to him to learn that
Ahithophel's proposal of an immediate pursuit had been arrested
through the counsel of Hushai. It was a further token for good, that
the lives of the priests' sons, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, which had
been endangered as they bore tidings for him, had been mercifully
preserved. After learning the result of Hushai's counsel, they
proceeded, incautiously perhaps, to reach David, and were observed
and pursued. But a friendly woman concealed them in a well, as Rahab
the harlot had hid the spies in the roof of her house; and though
they ran a great risk, they contrived to reach David's camp in peace.
And when David reached Mahanaim, where he halted to await the course
of events, Shobi, the son of Nahash, king of Ammon, and Machir, the
son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
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."
Some of those who thus befriended him were only requiting former
favours. Shobi may be supposed to have been ashamed of his father's
insulting conduct when David sent messengers to comfort him on his
father's death. Machir, the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, was the
friend who had cared for Mephibosheth, and was doubtless thankful
for David's generosity to him. Of Barzillai we know nothing more
than is told us here. But David could not have reckoned on the
friendship of these men, nor on its taking so useful and practical a
turn. The Lord's hand was manifest in the turning of the hearts of
these people to him. How hard bestead he and his followers were is
but too apparent from the fact that these supplies were most welcome
in their condition. And David must have derived no small measure of
encouragement even from these trifling matters; they showed that God
had not forgotten him, and they raised the expectation that further
tokens of His love and care would not be withheld.
The district where David now was, "the other side of Jordan," lay far
apart from Jerusalem and the more frequented places in the country,
and, in all probability, it was but little affected by the arts of
Absalom. The inhabitants lay under strong obligations to David; in
former times they had suffered most from their neighbours, Moab,
Ammon, and especially Syria; and now they enjoyed a very different
lot, owing to the fact that those powerful nations had been brought
under David's rule. It was a fertile district, abounding in all kinds
of farm and garden produce, and therefore well adapted to support an
army that had no regular means of supply. The people of this district
seem to have been friendly to David's cause. The little force that
had followed him from Jerusalem would now be largely recruited; and,
even to the outward sense, he would be in a far better condition to
receive the assault of Absalom than on the day when he left the city.
The third Psalm, according to the superscription--and in this case
there seems no cause to dispute it--was composed "when David fled
from Absalom his son." It is a psalm of wonderful serenity and
perfect trust. It begins with a touching reference to the multitude
of the insurgents, and the rapidity with which they increased.
Everything confirms the statement that "the conspiracy was strong,
and that the people increased continually with Absalom." We seem
to understand better why David fled from Jerusalem; even there the
great bulk of the people were with the usurper. We see, too, how
godless and unbelieving the conspirators were--"Many there be which
say of my soul, There is no help for him in God." God was cast out
of their reckoning as of no consideration in the case; it was all
moonshine, his pretended trust in Him. Material forces were the only
real power; the idea of God's favour was only cant, or at best but
"a devout imagination." But the foundation of his trust was too
firm to be shaken either by the multitude of the insurgents or the
bitterness of their sneers. "Thou, Lord, art a shield unto me"--ever
protecting me, "my glory,"--ever honouring me, "and the lifter up
of mine head,"--ever setting me on high because I have known Thy
name. No doubt he had felt some tumult of soul when the insurrection
began. But prayer brought him tranquillity. "I cried unto God with my
voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill." How real the communion
must have been that brought tranquillity to him amid such a sea of
trouble! Even in the midst of his agitation he can lie down and
sleep, and awake refreshed in mind and body. "I will not be afraid of
ten thousands of the people that have set themselves against me round
about." Faith already sees his enemies defeated and receiving the
doom of ungodly men. "Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God; for Thou hast
smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; Thou hast broken the
teeth of the ungodly." And he closes as confidently and serenely as
if victory had already come--"Salvation belongeth unto the Lord; Thy
blessing is upon Thy people."
If, in this solemn crisis of his history, David is a pattern to us
of meek submission, not less is he a pattern of perfect trust. He is
strong in faith, giving glory to God, and feeling assured that what
He has promised He is able also to perform. Deeply conscious of his
own sin, he at the same time most cordially believes in the word and
promise of God. He knows that, though chastened, he is not forsaken.
He bows his head in meek acknowledgment of the righteousness of the
chastisement; but he lays hold with unwavering trust on the mercy of
God. This union of submission and trust, is one of priceless value,
and much to be sought by every good man. Under the deepest sense of
sin and unworthiness, you may rejoice and you ought to rejoice, in the
provision of grace. And while rejoicing most cordially in the provision
of grace, you ought to be contrite and humble for your sin. You are
grievously defective if you want either of these elements. If the sense
of sin weighs on you with unbroken pressure, if it keeps you from
believing in forgiving mercy, if it hinders you from looking to the
cross, to Him who taketh away the sin of the world, there is a grievous
defect. If your joy in forgiving mercy has no element of contrition, no
chastened sense of unworthiness, there is no less grievous a defect in
the opposite direction. Let us try at once to feel our unworthiness,
and to rejoice in the mercy that freely pardons and accepts. Let us
look to the rock whence we are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence
we are digged; feeling that we are great sinners, but that the Lord
Jesus Christ is a great Saviour; and finding our joy in that faithful
saying, ever worthy of all acceptation, that "Jesus Christ came into
the world to save sinners," even the chief.