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[0:00] 2 Samuel chapter 19, and beginning in verse 1, it was told Joab, behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.

[0:26] ! So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard that day the king is grieving for his son. And the people stole into the city that day as people steal and who are ashamed when they flee in battle.

[0:41] The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son. Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants who have this day saved your life, and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives and your concubines, because you love those who hate you and hate those who love you.

[1:07] For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you. For today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased.

[1:19] Now therefore, arise, go out, and speak kindly to your servants. For I swear by the Lord, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night.

[1:30] And this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now. Then the king arose and took his seat in the gate, and the people were all told, Behold, the king is sitting in the gate, and all the people came before the king.

[1:46] Now Israel had fled every man to his own home, and all the people were arguing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.

[2:00] But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing the king back? And King David sent his message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, Say to the elders of Judah, Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house, when the word of all Israel has come to the king?

[2:20] You are my brothers, you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king? And say to Amasa, Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me and more also, if you are not commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.

[2:37] And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, so that they sent word to the king, Return, both you and all your servants. So the king came back to the Jordan in Judah, came to Gilgal to meet the king and bring the king over the Jordan.

[2:54] And Shimei, the son of Gerah, the Benjamite from Bahiram, hurried to come down with the men of Judah to meet King David. And with him were a thousand men from Benjamin.

[3:06] And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul with his fifteen sons, and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan before the king. And they crossed the ford to bring over the king's household and to do his pleasure.

[3:18] And Shimei, the son of Gerah, fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan and said to the king, Let not my word hold me guilty, or remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem.

[3:31] Do not let the king take it to heart, for your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come this day, the first of all the house of Joseph, to come down to meet my lord the king.

[3:44] Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, answered, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this? Because he cursed the Lord's anointed. But David said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be as an adversary to me?

[4:02] Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel? And the king said to Shimei, You shall not die. And the king gave him his oath.

[4:13] And Mephibosheth, the son of Saul, came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes from the day the king departed, until the day the king came back in safety.

[4:26] And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth? He answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me.

[4:37] For your servant said to him, I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it, and go with the king, for your servant is lame. He has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is like the angel of God.

[4:50] Do therefore what seems good to you. For all my father's house were but men doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table.

[5:01] What further right have I then to cry to the king? And the king said to him, Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided you and Ziba shall divide the land.

[5:12] And Mephibosheth said to the king, Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has come safely home. Now Barzillai, the Gileadite, had come down from Rogolim, and he went on with the king to the Jordan to escort him over the Jordan.

[5:29] Barzillai was a very aged man, 80 years old. He had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man. And the king said to Barzillai, Come over with me, and I will provide for you with me in Jerusalem.

[5:46] But Barzillai said to the king, How many years have I still to live, and I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? I am this day 80 years old. Can I discern what is pleasant and what is not?

[5:58] Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

[6:09] Your servant will go a little over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward? Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother.

[6:22] But here is your servant, Cheemham. Let him go over with my lord the king, and do for him whatever seems good to you. And the king answered, Cheemham shall go with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you, and all that you desire of me I will do for you.

[6:39] Then all the people went over the Jordan, and the king went over, and the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him and returned to his own home. The king went on to Gilgal, and Cheemham went on with him.

[6:51] All the people of Judah and half the people of Israel brought the king on his way. Then all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, Why have our brothers, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king and his household over the Jordan and all David's men with him?

[7:08] All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is our close relative, why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king's expense, or has he given us any gift?

[7:20] And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, We have ten shares in the king. And then David also, we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?

[7:33] But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. So I've entitled our study tonight, The Return of the King.

[7:47] And if any of you are fans of the Lord of the Rings series, either the books or the movies, I've got some hands. The Return of the King, right? And it's amazing to me how much in society, in our storytelling, it mirrors what Scripture says.

[8:05] Things are wrong. They need to be set right. And we're looking to a savior, someone to come and make things the way that they should be. Isn't it exactly what the Bible says about Jesus Christ?

[8:18] And ultimately, he is the king who will return. If you remember, on the night before his execution, Jesus promised his disciples that he would, in fact, come again.

[8:30] And if you remember, that was a very difficult night for our Lord. He was rejected by his people. He was about to undergo the atonement for our sins. And he who knew no sin was about to become sin on our behalf.

[8:45] And so I'm sure as you've been going through 2 Samuel, you've seen that those days were some of the darkest days of King David's life. He's been through a lot to this point.

[8:57] And the man has gone through and has experienced some very dark days, which is similar, in a way, to the night before our Lord's death and what he was going through.

[9:09] He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. So there are parallels. Just as Jesus was rejected by the people of Israel, so also David had been rejected by much of his kingdom.

[9:22] And so there are similarities in their experiences, but there are also many differences in David's return as king and ultimately our Lord's return as king.

[9:34] In particular, David's victory over his enemies was problematic. Specifically, David's love for his son, who was his enemy at this point in time, or had made himself an enemy.

[9:49] Absalom could not save him from Job's quest for justice, or David could not save his son Absalom from Joab's quest for justice.

[10:00] But in contrast, the victory won by our Lord in his death and through his resurrection was something only that God could do. And by his death, his victory was able to make us, we his enemies, his friends, his people, his children.

[10:18] So that's a major difference. As we follow David's return as king to Jerusalem after the victory over his son and his rebellion, we will consider the promise of our king, the Lord, that he said that he would come again.

[10:33] When Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples were told in Acts 1-11, this Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

[10:44] And the New Testament describes this future return of Jesus as the revelation or unveiling of Jesus Christ. And I'm sure that many of you guys have already seen some of the things on Facebook or on TV and a lot of people are expecting that this eclipse that's going to happen is, you know, I would just say, you know, prepare to go to work on Monday and then Tuesday and through the rest of the week.

[11:08] That'd be awesome. I'd love it if the Lord came back right now, wouldn't you? But, you know, it's just an eclipse and, you know, be careful when you go out and look at it. Don't burn your eyeballs or anything like that.

[11:20] So there's some contrast. There's some differences. But we know that when our Lord returns, the Bible says that it will be an undeniable manifestation of something that is already true.

[11:37] When he does come, everybody will know it. Everybody will see it. And at that point in time, there will be no doubting or denying that this, in fact, is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

[11:49] And as the Bible says, on that day, every knee will bow, every mouth will confess the truth that Jesus Christ is, in fact, the Lord of all. Amen.

[12:00] The return of King David is recounted in 2 Samuel 19. It's important in important ways. It was a disappointment. The return of Jesus, however, will not be.

[12:11] And we will see how it was disappointing in a few ways. First, we'll see in verses 1 through 8, that love and justice collide. Love and justice collide.

[12:21] And then secondly, we'll see in the rest of verses 8 through 14, that repentance is complicated. Love and justice collide. Repentance, excuse me, is complicated.

[12:34] And then third, in verses 15 through 43, that the King will return. The King will return. So first, let's see how love and justice collide.

[12:46] So again, we'll go through a little bit more slowly. It was told to Joab, behold, the King is weeping and mourning for Absalom. So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people.

[12:58] For the people heard that day, the King is grieving for his son. And so we see here that David was victorious, but his victory came at a very steep price, price.

[13:09] Because it meant that the son that he loved was dead. And so what should have been a victorious and joyful time, you'd think, normally as a king, whenever you defeat your enemy, was a time of much grieving and mourning for David.

[13:25] And we understand that. This was his son. And how difficult that must have been for him. But what was happening is that David's grief was having an effect on those who helped him to be victorious.

[13:41] And so what was happening is that they saw how David was reacting, and it was making them feel ashamed of themselves and ashamed of him. Because they had risked their lives for the king, and now they were made to feel like what they had did for him was the wrong thing to do.

[14:01] So they were feeling ashamed for what they had did, because he seemed to be so upset to be victorious. And so it says that the people stole into the city.

[14:12] And so what Samuel's trying to talk about, or what we're seeing here is that the people were, you know, whenever there was a battle was won, or a victory was made, and whenever the people would come back, there would be a parade, and there would be much celebration.

[14:31] And all of you guys know, familiar with my background, and being from Kansas and Kansas City, and I think about the Royals when they won the World Series back in 2015, and we went to the parade, and that was a big mistake, because there was about, I don't know, close to a million people there, I think.

[14:49] It was nuts. But it was a day of victory. And, you know, the team came in with the trophy, and there was confetti, and there was much cheering, there was much celebration. But that wasn't happening here.

[15:00] And so what we had is people who were coming in with their kind of their heads, not up in victory, but down in disgrace, and they didn't really want to be known as those who were associated with David, and bringing him the victory.

[15:14] So you can imagine, you know, the victory has been won, we think everything's going to be good, then you find out the king is actually upset about it all, and so you just have a mixed emotions, and you don't feel like coming in and celebrating, and you don't feel like having anybody acknowledge the fact that you were associated with this.

[15:31] And so the people were stealing into the city in that way. These same people who had wept with their king earlier in chapter 15, were now, were at that time weeping with him in sorrow, at the loss of his kingdom, at the betrayal of his son, but now they were weeping in humiliation, because their victory caused their king to be grieving.

[15:58] And it says that the king at this point was unconsolable, right? He's mourning the loss of his son, and he's saying over and over, Absalom, my son, my son. And so in verses 5 through 7, we see Joab's justice, and so Joab saw the problem, and he saw it in this way, and he saw it as something that wasn't good, and so he took it upon himself to deal with it, and so he went, and he confronted King David.

[16:22] And his words were harsh, very harsh. He was saying that, you know what? You have made your servants ashamed to be associated with you.

[16:34] And then he turned up the heat on David by saying that his love had been perverted. He said that you have loved those who have hated you, and you've hated those who've loved you.

[16:45] And then he takes it another step. He wasn't finished. He says, For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you. Again, this is an exaggeration, but the statement had some truth in it, because David was so overcome with grief that he had ignored his servants and had given them no attention for all that they had done.

[17:05] He had shown no gratitude or no love towards them. And then Joab added another allegation to all that he had been saying, for he said, Today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead, then you would be pleased.

[17:21] So according to Joab, David's behavior was telling everyone that he would have preferred a different outcome, that he would have preferred to have been defeated instead of victorious.

[17:34] Joab then told David what he must do. He said, Basically, you know, put your big boy pants on. It's time to be the king of these people. And they need you to come out.

[17:44] And they need you to be present. And they need you to dry your eyes and to be their king. And they need to see you today acting like a king. Because he says to him, If you're not going to do that, let me tell you, that as bad as things have been for you, they're going to be a whole, whole lot worse.

[18:05] And so he confronts the king in that way. So what should we think of Joab's forceful speech? Was he right in what he had to say?

[18:17] Was he wise in his instruction? Should he have maybe been more sympathetic? Because let's be real here. This was David's son. And if you have children, you know how difficult it must have been for him to experience them rebelling against him against him and trying to steal his kingdom away and rejecting his father.

[18:40] And now he's dead. And this is a lot for David to go through. So maybe, you know, some people think Joab could have been a little bit more sympathetic. Or the case might have been that the situation was so serious that it required somebody to be tough.

[18:54] And it required somebody willing to step up and say what needed to be said. And opinions will differ on that. But there is no denying that this was a really impossible situation.

[19:06] This was a really difficult situation that there was no perfect resolution for. But I will say this. As Christians, we do have a responsibility when we see our brothers and sisters in Christ stumbling to go and to talk to them, but to speak the truth in love.

[19:25] And so obviously, you know, I wasn't there when they had this conversation, but I think that that was Joab's intention. I don't think that he was trying to be unsympathetic to David because he had his, he had the best intentions in mind for David and for the people.

[19:40] And he knew that right now, as bad as things were, they were going to get worse if David didn't get up and go act like the king. That there was time for mourning and grieving, but right now what his people needed was him to be out there and to be present.

[19:54] And David listened to his advice. So he must have been convicted by those words. And so I, my encouragement to you as a follower of Christ is, you know, it's difficult whenever we see one of our, again, our brothers or our sisters, a family member, someone close to us whom we love, and they're just not acting the way that we know that they should be.

[20:16] But we can go to them and we're speaking the truth in love. And, you know, honestly, a lot of time the truth hurts, but it's more unloving to not tell somebody the truth when they need to hear it.

[20:33] So that's my encouragement to you as well from this encounter is be the type of Christ follower who's not afraid to speak the truth in love with the purpose that your brother or sister in Christ will act right and give glory to God as a result of that.

[20:50] There's a way to do that well. Some people think they're speaking the truth in love and there's not much love in what they have to say. So you got to be careful with that as well. And then also be willing to receive that instruction as well.

[21:01] If you're the one who's acting like David and you know that you're not acting right, your heart's not right, your mind's not right, kind of like I shared this morning about the experience in St. Paul when I was walking the girl around the track, you know, God needed in that moment to set me straight.

[21:19] Great. And it's good whenever someone is willing to do that for us and God uses somebody for that purpose in our lives. Okay, so we see love and justice collide. Secondly, we see that repentance is complicated.

[21:33] Verses 8 through 14. So Israel had fled every man to his home and all the people were arguing throughout all the tribes of Israel saying the king delivered us from the land of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines.

[21:44] And now he has fled out of the land from Absalom whom we anointed over us. And he is dead in battle. Now therefore, why do you say anything about bringing the king back? And King David sent his messengers, Zadok and Abiathar the priests, say to the elders of Judah, why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house when the word of all Israel has come to the king?

[22:06] You are my brothers, you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king? And say to Amasa, are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me and more also if you are not commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.

[22:21] And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah as one man so that they sent word to the king, return both you and all your servants. So from this sober scene in Mennaheim, we are taken back to the situation more widely that was spread throughout all of the land.

[22:42] And it says there that Israel had fled. Israel here refers to those from the northern tribes whose heart had gone after Absalom. And as a consequence of his death, they were fleeing in fear.

[22:57] Absalom's death now meant that all that he had promised to deliver to them would never come true. And so their hopes and their dreams that they had attached to him were now dashed. And so they were afraid of what David might do.

[23:10] Would he seek retribution? Would he make them pay for their betrayal? And so the people began to hear long again for the king that they had rejected.

[23:21] And they're starting to remember all that David had done for him. How he had been like a savior to them in so many ways. And that they're making his son, their king was a foolish mistake.

[23:32] And they realized that their rightful king was returning. And so here we have David's encouragement to them. And he says to them, you are my bone and my flesh.

[23:44] And so what's he saying there to them? He's saying, you're my family. You're a part of me. You're my bone. You're my flesh. And so David was basically shocking the people.

[23:59] They were not expecting, I think, that this was how he was going to respond. They thought that he would have another agenda in mind. But instead of seeking retribution, he was seeking restoration.

[24:11] And so we see some wisdom right there by David. And one of the things that he decided to do to bring healing to his land was that he appointed Amasa to be commander of his armies.

[24:22] And if you remember, Amasa was Absalom's commander. Is that a wise decision? You know, what you would think if you were a part on the winning side?

[24:34] Wait a second. You know, I don't know. You try to think of maybe, what does this compare to? The Civil War in our past, if Robert E. Lee became appointed as the number one general by Abraham Lincoln after the war was over, you know, people would kind of be, I don't know, about a choice like that.

[24:55] But what was David trying to do? Well, I think this was his way of trying to make a gesture to the people to let them know that we are one. We're together and we're going to move together as one.

[25:08] And possibly, David was getting back at Joab for being so direct and forceful with him. It's possible that maybe that was on his mind as well.

[25:20] And then in verse 14, we see Judah's decision that what David had done obviously had an effect on them because as one man, the Bible says, they all turned their hearts back to the king.

[25:30] So this gesture was successful in winning their confidence and helping them to see that David was not going to crush them for their rebellion but that he was seeking restoration and not revenge.

[25:46] And, you know, what I like about this as well is David's message to them is much like the gospel message. It's a call to return to the king.

[25:57] It's a call to return from our rebellion and from our sin and to welcome him into our lives and to welcome him ultimately as Christians when he does return.

[26:09] Forgiveness, though, always comes at a cost to the forgiver. Doesn't it? Have you ever had anybody who just wronged you badly and you knew it and they knew it and time went on and they eventually came back and they sought your forgiveness?

[26:29] They owed you that debt and it's hard, isn't it, to forgive them because it does cost something to the forgiver to be able to extend that forgiveness and that grace but there again we see that our Lord has done just that and as his followers we are called to live our lives in the same way, to swallow our pride, forgetting the way that we've been mistreated and so we see here David held no grudge against these people.

[26:57] He could have sought revenge, he could have sought retribution but he understood that that would have only made matters worse and matters were bad and so the nation needed to be healed and the nation needed to come together and so that's what David was seeking to do in his decision and we see ultimately here at this point it was working.

[27:17] Then in verses 15 through 43 we see the return of the king and David retraced his steps back depending on the route that he had took this could have been a journey of 50 miles.

[27:31] This would have given time for the news of his movements to reach the people of Judah and true to their word they came and they welcomed him back and Gilgal their place of meeting here this first place of meeting is significant for a few reasons.

[27:48] First, Gilgal was the resting place of the people of Israel when they entered the promised land in the day of Joshua. It was the place where the Israelites' life in the land of God had began.

[28:04] So it's significant for that reason. Also, Gilgal was the place where Samuel had called the people to renew the kingdom. So it was a great place, a great setting for another kind of renewal to take place.

[28:16] Also, Gilgal was the place of Saul's failure if you remember as king in the place where Samuel confronted him. It was the place where Saul was rejected and the first promise was made of a better king would be given.

[28:31] And David was partial fulfillment of that and ultimately Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the better king who would one day be given. And so now we see again David and how he interacts with the people who he's got some, we would say he's got some beef with these people, right?

[28:50] And so Shimei is one of those and Shimei sought mercy. This was the man if you remember who was boldly shouting violent curses at David as he passed out of the land.

[29:04] Do you remember that? As he's on his way out, this was the guy who was cursing him and making a big show of it. If you want to turn in your Bibles just back a couple chapters to chapter 16 verses 5 through 8, I want to give you a reminder of what he was doing.

[29:22] Chapter 16 verses 5 through 8. When King David came to Bahirim, there came out of the family of the house of Saul a man whose name was Shimei, the son of Gerah, and as he came he cursed continually and get this, he threw stones at David and all of his servants and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right and on his left.

[29:48] And Shimei said as he cursed, get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man. The Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul.

[30:01] So how's David going to deal with this guy? You know, some of you, you have commutes long or not, you're on the highway, it seems like people in Bartlesville are well behaved on the roads, at least from my experience, maybe haven't been here long enough.

[30:19] But you know, we have that road rage, right, and people who normally act right start not acting right, and could you imagine if you were going through something as difficult as David was, and here's a guy who's not just cursing you and calling you names, but throwing stones at you while they're doing it.

[30:41] This is something that, you know, you would expect to see on the playground at recess, right, and the bad kids who are picking on somebody else and they're throwing rocks or whatnot. Nobody likes to be cursed at, nobody likes to be called names, and especially nobody likes to have things thrown at them.

[30:58] And so this is what this guy was doing. How's David going to respond to this man? You know, there are those who will kick you when you are down, and that's exactly what Shammai was doing to David.

[31:10] And so it would have been tempting to regard Shammai's repentance here with cynicism if you were David, right? Well, this happens to be a convenient time for you to change your heart.

[31:22] You've seen that you were on the wrong side of this thing, and so now you're coming to me and you're seeking forgiveness, you're seeking repentance. It seems like a pretty convenient time for you to do that.

[31:35] You must know what's coming your way. But we weren't there, and so we don't know how he approached David, but David must have seen something in his mannerisms and his demeanor, and he saw that his request was sincere.

[31:52] And so David, who had been forgiven many times by God had he not, David had sinned many times. There are many times that God could have squashed him, but he didn't.

[32:05] He had to suffer the consequences often of what those sins meant, but God forgave him, and so he who has been forgiven much forgives much, and so David chooses to forgive this man, and he treated him with the same grace that he himself had experienced.

[32:25] Those who beg for mercy from Jesus will find kindness greater, though, than Shimei could ever have known. And so we've got to understand, too, what do we glean from this?

[32:36] What do we pull out? That as followers of Christ, we've been forgiven a tremendous debt. And so when somebody asks for our forgiveness, whether we feel like extending it to them in the moment, forgiveness is ours to give to them, because God has forgiven us of so much, and it's difficult, and I'm sure that this was difficult for David to forgive this man, but he knew that it was the right thing to do because he had been forgiven so much by God in his life.

[33:07] So then we move on to the next individual who David comes across, and that's Mephibosheth, who mourned and then was comforted.

[33:18] David asked him directly why he had not gone with him in the first place to Jerusalem, and Mephibosheth's answer indicated that Ziba had refused to help him.

[33:29] He was lame, and he refused to help him saddle and mount his donkey that would have carried him to David, and that instead, Ziba went out to David himself with loads of provisions and told his slanderous lie about Mephibosheth, and David responded by passing all of, at that time, all of Mephibosheth's possessions over to Ziba in chapter 16, verses 1 through 4.

[33:52] So Mephibosheth seemed content to just have David back, and he wasn't looking for anything else. He was just glad to see this man who had treated him so well and whom he loved, he was glad to see him returning as king.

[34:06] But David's response seemed to split the land and the property among these two men seems to be a little abrupt.

[34:17] Why is that? Well, either because he couldn't tell who was telling the truth, Mephibosheth. That's a tough name to pronounce, right? There are great Hebrew names to name your son or your daughter, but that one is a lot more difficult to say than others.

[34:35] Right? Sarah, that's a beautiful name, or there are other, you know, great Hebrew names, but Mephibosheth is a mouthful. Anyhow, he was just content to have David back, and David's response was to split their possessions, and so either it was because he didn't know who was telling the truth to him or, you know, the fact that Ziba had been generous, and so he chose to overlook his deception.

[35:03] Either way, this man was glad to have his king return. And then there was Barzillai, Barzillai who wanted no more in verses 31 through 40.

[35:14] Barzillai had brought help to David when he had reached Manaheim when he was hungry and weary and thirsty. He was a faithful servant who came to support David in his return, and like the lame Mephibosheth, it was no small thing for Barzillai to make his way to King David at the Jordan because, as the word says there, he was an elderly man, and so that was a difficult journey for him to take, but yet David hoped to return his kindness, but Barzillai did not want to be repaid, and his speech is a model of contentment with his lot in life and his happiness to know that the king had returned and was in his rightful place.

[35:51] And so Chimham was more than likely the son of Barzillai, and so Barzillai asked that he would take his place. And then we see the king's people in verses 40 through 43.

[36:04] The renewed kingdom of David at this point in time was fragile, and so they began to bicker among each other. All the people of Judah and also half the people of Israel brought the king on his way, and so there's a contrast here, and that contrast is key because we see that all the people of Judah came, and only half the people of Israel did.

[36:30] And the northern tribes felt it was kind of this way, you know, hey, there's ten of us and only one of you, so we hold greater claim to David, but then Judah was saying David is our man. He's one of us, and so there's a little bit of though things were restoring and being brought back together, there was some bickering that was going on as well that David would have to do more to work on.

[36:52] One of the greatest accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ is his extraordinary victory and reign as king and his uniting his people to himself.

[37:05] He prayed for this on the night before his death in John chapter 17, verses 11 and 22. We who belong to him are all one in Christ.

[37:16] The return of our king has accomplished this and will accomplish what David's return was not able to bring about as we will dramatically see in 2 Samuel chapter 20, where we will be next week.

[37:31]  Thank you.