To The Word – Day 83

₁Joab was told that King David was weeping and mourning for Absalom. ₂And so the joy of victory was turned into sadness for all David's troops that day, because they heard that the king was mourning for his son. ₃They went back into the city quietly, like soldiers who are ashamed because they are running away from battle. ₄The king covered his face and cried loudly, “O my son! My son Absalom! Absalom, my son!”

₅Joab went to the king's house and said to him, “Today you have humiliated your men — the men who saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters and of your wives and concubines. ₆You oppose those who love you and support those who hate you! You have made it clear that your officers and men mean nothing to you. I can see that you would be quite happy if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead. ₇Now go and reassure your men. I swear by the LORD's name that if you don't, not one of them will be with you by tomorrow morning. That would be the worst disaster you have suffered in all your life.” ₈Then the king got up, and went and sat near the city gate. His men heard that he was there, and they all gathered round him.

Meanwhile all the Israelites had fled to their own homes. ₉All over the country they started quarrelling among themselves. “King David saved us from our enemies,” they said to one another. “He rescued us from the Philistines, but now he has fled from Absalom and left the country. ₁₀We anointed Absalom as our king, but he has been killed in battle. So why doesn't somebody try to bring King David back?”

₁₁The news of what the Israelites were saying reached King David. So he sent the priests Zadok and Abiathar to ask the leaders of Judah, “Why should you be the last to help bring the king back to his palace? ₁₂You are my relatives, my own flesh and blood; why should you be the last to bring me back?” ₁₃David also told them to say to Amasa, “You are my relative. From now on I am putting you in charge of the army in place of Joab. May God strike me dead if I don't!” ₁₄David's words won the complete loyalty of all the men of Judah, and they sent him word to return with all his officials.

₁₅On his way back the king was met at the River Jordan by the men of Judah, who had come to Gilgal to escort him across the river. ₁₆At the same time the Benjaminite Shimei son of Gera from Bahurim hurried to the Jordan to meet King David. ₁₇He had with him a thousand men from the tribe of Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of Saul's family, also came with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, and they arrived at the Jordan before the king. ₁₈They crossed the river to escort the royal party across and to do whatever the king wanted.

As the king was getting ready to cross, Shimei threw himself down in front of him ₁₉and said, “Your Majesty, please forget the wrong I did that day you left Jerusalem. Don't hold it against me or think about it any more. ₂₀I know, sir, that I have sinned, and this is why I am the first one from the northern tribes to come and meet Your Majesty today.”

₂₁Abishai son of Zeruiah spoke up: “Shimei should be put to death because he cursed the one whom the LORD chose as king.”

₂₂But David said to Abishai and his brother Joab, “Who asked your opinion? Are you going to give me trouble? I am the one who is king of Israel now, and no Israelite will be put to death today.” ₂₃And he said to Shimei, “I give you my word that you will not be put to death.”

₂₄Then Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, came down to meet the king. He had not washed his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes from the time the king left Jerusalem until he returned victorious. ₂₅When Mephibosheth arrived from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Mephibosheth, you didn't go with me. Why not?”

₂₆He answered, “As you know, Your Majesty, I am crippled. I told my servant to saddle my donkey so that I could ride along with you, but he betrayed me. ₂₇He lied about me to Your Majesty, but you are like God's angel, so do what seems right to you. ₂₈All my father's family deserved to be put to death by Your Majesty, but you gave me the right to eat at your table. I have no right to ask for any more favours from Your Majesty.”

₂₉The king answered, “You don't have to say anything more. I have decided that you and Ziba will share Saul's property.”

₃₀“Let Ziba have it all,” Mephibosheth answered. “It's enough for me that Your Majesty has come home safely.”

₃₁Barzillai, from Gilead, had also come down from Rogelim to escort the king across the Jordan. ₃₂Barzillai was a very old man, eighty years old. He was very rich and had supplied the king with food while he was staying at Mahanaim. ₃₃The king said to him, “Come with me to Jerusalem, and I will take care of you.”

₃₄But Barzillai answered, “I haven't long to live; why should I go with Your Majesty to Jerusalem? ₃₅I am already eighty years old, and nothing gives me pleasure any more. I can't taste what I eat and drink, and I can't hear the voices of singers. I would only be a burden to Your Majesty. ₃₆I don't deserve such a great reward. So I will go just a little way with you beyond the Jordan. ₃₇Then let me go back home and die near my parents' grave. Here is my son Chimham, who will serve you; take him with you, Your Majesty, and do for him as you think best.”

₃₈The king answered, “I will take him with me and do for him whatever you want. And I will do for you anything you ask.” ₃₉Then David and all his men crossed the Jordan. He kissed Barzillai and gave him his blessing, and Barzillai went back home.

₄₀When the king had crossed, escorted by all the people of Judah and half the people of Israel, he went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went with him. ₄₁Then all the Israelites went to the king and said to him, “Your Majesty, why did our brothers, the men of Judah, think they had the right to take you away and escort you, your family, and your men across the Jordan?”

₄₂The men of Judah answered, “We did it because the king is one of us. So why should this make you angry? He hasn't paid for our food nor has he given us anything.”

₄₃The Israelites replied, “We have ten times as many claims on King David as you have, even if he is one of you. Why do you look down on us? Don't forget that we were the first to talk about bringing the king back!”

But the men of Judah were more violent in making their claims than the men of Israel.

₁There happened to be in Gilgal a worthless character named Sheba son of Bikri, of the tribe of Benjamin. He blew the trumpet and called out, “Down with David! We won't follow him! Men of Israel, let's go home!” ₂So the Israelites deserted David and went with Sheba, but the men of Judah remained loyal and followed David from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

₃When David arrived at his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace, and put them under guard. He provided for their needs, but did not have intercourse with them. They were kept confined for the rest of their lives, living like widows.

₄The king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together and be back here with them by the day after tomorrow.” ₅Amasa went to call them, but he did not get back by the time the king had set. ₆So the king said to Abishai, “Sheba will give us more trouble than Absalom. Take my men and go after him, or else he may occupy some fortified towns and escape from us.” ₇So Joab's men, the royal bodyguard, and all the other soldiers left Jerusalem with Abishai to go after Sheba. ₈When they reached the large rock at Gibeon, Amasa met them. Joab was dressed for battle, with a sword in its sheath fastened to his belt. As he came forward, the sword fell out. ₉Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my friend?” and took hold of his beard with his right hand in order to kiss him. ₁₀Amasa was not on guard against the sword that Joab was holding in his other hand, and Joab stabbed him in the belly, and his entrails spilt out on the ground. He died immediately, and Joab did not have to strike again.

Then Joab and his brother Abishai went on after Sheba. ₁₁One of Joab's men stood by Amasa's body and called out, “Everyone who is for Joab and David follow Joab!” ₁₂Amasa's body, covered with blood, was lying in the middle of the road. Joab's man saw that everybody was stopping, so he dragged the body from the road into the field and threw a blanket over it. ₁₃After the body had been removed from the road, everyone followed Joab in pursuit of Sheba.

₁₄Sheba passed through the territory of all the tribes of Israel and came to the city of Abel Beth Maacah, and all the members of the clan of Bikri assembled and followed him into the city. ₁₅Joab's men heard that Sheba was there, and so they went and besieged the city. They built ramps of earth against the outer wall and also began to dig under the wall to make it fall down. ₁₆There was a wise woman in the city who shouted from the wall, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come here; I want to speak with him.” ₁₇Joab went, and she asked, “Are you Joab?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

“Listen to me, sir,” she said.

“I'm listening,” he answered.

₁₈She said, “Long ago they used to say, ‘Go and get your answer in the city of Abel’ — and that's just what they did. ₁₉Ours is a great city, one of the most peaceful and loyal in Israel. Why are you trying to destroy it? Do you want to ruin what belongs to the LORD?”

₂₀“Never!” Joab answered. “I will never ruin or destroy your city! ₂₁That is not our plan. A man named Sheba son of Bikri, who is from the hill country of Ephraim, started a rebellion against King David. Hand over this one man, and I will withdraw from the city.”

“We will throw his head over the wall to you,” she said. ₂₂Then she went to the people of the city with her plan, and they cut off Sheba's head and threw it over the wall to Joab. He blew the trumpet as a signal for his men to leave the city, and they went back home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

₂₃Joab was in command of the army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of David's bodyguard; ₂₄Adoniram was in charge of the forced labour; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records; ₂₅Sheva was the court secretary; Zadok and Abiathar were the priests, ₂₆and Ira from the town of Jair was also one of David's priests.

₁During David's reign there was a severe famine which lasted for three full years. So David consulted the LORD about it, and the LORD said, “Saul and his family are guilty of murder; he put the people of Gibeon to death.” ₂(The people of Gibeon were not Israelites; they were a small group of Amorites whom the Israelites had promised to protect, but Saul had tried to destroy them because of his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.) ₃So David summoned the people of Gibeon and said to them, “What can I do for you? I want to make up for the wrong that was done to you, so that you will bless the LORD's people.”

₄They answered, “Our quarrel with Saul and his family can't be settled with silver or gold, nor do we want to kill any Israelite.”

“What, then, do you think I should do for you?” David asked.

₅They answered, “Saul wanted to destroy us and leave none of us alive anywhere in Israel. ₆So hand over seven of his male descendants, and we will hang them before the LORD at Gibeah, the town of Saul, the LORD's chosen king.”

“I will hand them over,” the king answered.

₇But because of the sacred promise that he and Jonathan had made to each other, David spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul. ₈However, he took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons that Rizpah the daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul; he also took the five sons of Saul's daughter Merab, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai, who was from Meholah. ₉David handed them over to the people of Gibeon, who hanged them on the mountain before the LORD — and all seven of them died together. It was late in the spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest, when they were put to death.

₁₀Then Saul's concubine Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, used sackcloth to make a shelter for herself on the rock where the corpses were, and she stayed there from the beginning of harvest until the autumn rains came. During the day she would keep the birds away from the corpses, and at night she would protect them from wild animals.

₁₁When David heard what Rizpah had done, ₁₂he went and got the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan from the people of Jabesh in Gilead. (They had stolen them from the public square in Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hanged the bodies on the day they killed Saul on Mount Gilboa.) ₁₃David took the bones of Saul and Jonathan and also gathered up the bones of the seven men who had been hanged. ₁₄Then they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan in the grave of Saul's father Kish, in Zela in the territory of Benjamin, doing all that the king had commanded. And after that, God answered their prayers for the country.

₁₅There was another war between the Philistines and Israel, and David and his men went and fought the Philistines. During one of the battles David grew tired. ₁₆A giant named Ishbibenob, who was carrying a bronze spear that weighed about 3.5 kilogrammes and who was wearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. ₁₇But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's help, attacked the giant, and killed him. Then David's men made David promise that he would never again go out with them to battle. “You are the hope of Israel, and we don't want to lose you,” they said.

₁₈After this there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, during which Sibbecai from Hushah killed a giant named Saph.

₁₉There was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jair from Bethlehem killed Goliath from Gath, whose spear had a shaft as thick as the bar on a weaver's loom.

₂₀Then there was another battle at Gath, where there was a giant who loved to fight. He had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. ₂₁He defied the Israelites, and Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shammah, killed him.

₂₂These four were descendants of the giants of Gath, and they were killed by David and his men.

₁When the LORD saved David from Saul and his other enemies, David sang this song to the LORD:

₁David son of Jesse was the man whom God made great, whom the God of Jacob chose to be king, and who was the composer of beautiful songs for Israel. These are David's last words:

₈These are the names of David's famous soldiers: the first was Josheb Basshebeth from Tachemon, who was the leader of “The Three”; he fought with his spear against 800 men and killed them all in one battle.

₉The second of the famous three was Eleazar son of Dodo, of the clan of Ahoh. One day he and David challenged the Philistines who had gathered for battle. The Israelites fell back, ₁₀but he stood his ground and fought the Philistines until his hand was so stiff that he could not let go of his sword. The LORD won a great victory that day. After it was over, the Israelites returned to where Eleazar was and stripped the armour from the dead.

₁₁The third of the famous three was Shammah son of Agee, from Harar. The Philistines had gathered at Lehi, where there was a field of peas. The Israelites fled from the Philistines, ₁₂but Shammah stood his ground in the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. The LORD won a great victory that day.

₁₃Near the beginning of harvest time three of “The Thirty” went down to the cave of Adullam, where David was, while a band of Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim. ₁₄At that time David was on a fortified hill, and a group of Philistines had occupied Bethlehem. ₁₅David felt homesick and said, “How I wish someone would bring me a drink of water from the well by the gate at Bethlehem!” ₁₆The three famous soldiers forced their way through the Philistine camp, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he would not drink it; instead he poured it out as an offering to the LORD ₁₇and said, “LORD, I could never drink this! It would be like drinking the blood of these men who risked their lives!” So he refused to drink it.

Those were the brave deeds of the three famous soldiers.

₁₈Joab's brother Abishai (their mother was Zeruiah) was the leader of “The Famous Thirty”. He fought with his spear against 300 men and killed them, and became famous among “The Thirty”. ₁₉He was the most famous of “The Thirty” and became their leader, but he was not as famous as “The Three”.

₂₀Benaiah son of Jehoiada, from Kabzeel, was another famous soldier; he did many brave deeds, including killing two great Moabite warriors. He once went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. ₂₁He also killed an Egyptian, a huge man who was armed with a spear. Benaiah attacked him with his club, snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with it. ₂₂Those were the brave deeds of Benaiah, who was one of “The Thirty”. ₂₃He was outstanding among them, but was not as famous as “The Three”. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

_24-39Other members of “The Thirty” included:

There were 37 famous soldiers in all.

₁The LORD was angry with Israel once more, and he made David bring trouble on them. The LORD said to him, “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah.” ₂So David gave orders to Joab, the commander of his army: “Go with your officers through all the tribes of Israel from one end of the country to the other, and count the people. I want to know how many there are.”

₃But Joab answered the king, “Your Majesty, may the LORD your God make the people of Israel a hundred times more numerous than they are now, and may you live to see him do it. But why does Your Majesty want to do this?” ₄But the king made Joab and his officers obey his order; they left his presence and went out to count the people of Israel.

₅They crossed the Jordan and camped south of Aroer, the city in the middle of the valley, in the territory of Gad. From there they went north to Jazer, ₆and on to Gilead and to Kadesh, in Hittite territory. Then they went to Dan, and from Dan they went west to Sidon. ₇Then they went south to the fortified city of Tyre, on to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites, and finally to Beersheba, in the southern part of Judah. ₈So after nine months and twenty days they returned to Jerusalem, having travelled through the whole country. ₉They reported to the king the total number of men capable of military service: 800,000 in Israel and 500,000 in Judah.

₁₀But after David had taken the census, his conscience began to trouble him, and he said to the LORD, “I have committed a terrible sin in doing this! Please forgive me. I have acted foolishly.”

_11-12The LORD said to Gad, David's prophet, “Go and tell David that I am giving him three choices. I will do whichever he chooses.” The next morning, after David got up, ₁₃Gad went to him, told him what the LORD had said, and asked, “Which is it to be? Three years of famine in your land or three months of running away from your enemies or three days of an epidemic in your land? Now think it over, and tell me what answer to take back to the LORD.”

₁₄David answered, “I am in a desperate situation! But I don't want to be punished by human beings. Let the LORD himself be the one to punish us, for he is merciful.” ₁₅So the LORD sent an epidemic on Israel, which lasted from that morning until the time that he had chosen. From one end of the country to the other 70,000 Israelites died. ₁₆When the LORD's angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD changed his mind about punishing the people and said to the angel who was killing them, “Stop! That's enough!” The angel was by the threshing place of Araunah, a Jebusite.

₁₇David saw the angel who was killing the people, and said to the LORD, “I am the guilty one. I am the one who did wrong. What have these poor people done? You should punish me and my family.”

₁₈That same day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up to Araunah's threshing place and build an altar to the LORD.” ₁₉David obeyed the LORD's command and went as Gad had told him. ₂₀Araunah looked down and saw the king and his officials coming up to him. He threw himself on the ground in front of David ₂₁and asked, “Your Majesty, why are you here?”

David answered, “To buy your threshing place and build an altar for the LORD, in order to stop the epidemic.”

₂₂“Take it, Your Majesty,” Araunah said, “and offer to the LORD whatever you wish. Here are these oxen to burn as an offering on the altar; here are their yokes and the threshing boards to use as fuel.” ₂₃Araunah gave it all to the king and said to him, “May the LORD your God accept your offering.”

₂₄But the king answered, “No, I will pay you for it. I will not offer to the LORD my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing.” And he bought the threshing place and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver. ₂₅Then he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. The LORD answered his prayer, and the epidemic in Israel was stopped.