Aug 1, 2021. II Samuel 15:13-23

Posted byJohn Sanzone

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DAVID FLEES HIS SON.  II Samuel 15:13-23.  08/01/2021.  #33.

II Samuel 15:13-23 [New King James Version]

13 Now a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” 14 So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” 15 And the king’s servants said to the king, “We are your servants, ready to do whatever my lord the king commands.” 16 Then the king went out with all his household after him. But the king left ten women, concubines, to keep the house. 17 And the king went out with all the people after him, and stopped at the outskirts. 18 Then all his servants passed before him; and all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed before the king. 19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you also going with us? Return and remain with the king. For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your own place. 20 In fact, you came only yesterday. Should I make you wander up and down with us today, since I go I know not where? Return, and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you.” 21 But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.” 22 So David said to Ittai, “Go, and cross over.” Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over. 23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the wilderness.

  1. Late arriving message
    1. After Absalom unveils his conspiracy, then a messenger arrives in Jerusalem to inform him of the plot
      1.  None of David’s servants seemed to have been aware of the growing threat to his kingdom
      1.  Only after Absalom declared himself to be king before thousands of supporters, was the treason revealed
    1. Only three possibilities why David did not know about threat:
      1.  God had blinded the eyes of David’s men to the uprising so God’s judgment would be unimpeded
      1.  David’s men were very inept in their duties to guard David and the kingdom
      1.  David’s men dismissed the warning signs as merely a prince displaying his royal heritage
    1. Often we do not want to believe warning signs: infidelity, cheating, stealing, misbehavior, threats
      1.  We ignore what in hindsight was obvious
      1.  Failure to consider and confront evidence of wrong doing allows the sin to fester and enlarge
    1. Not wanting to believe the truth is foolishness
      1.  There are always people who suspect the truth, but who remain silent for fear of being blamed
      1.  Leviticus 5:1 revealing after the fact is useless
    1. Only after the plot is in the open, is David informed
  2. Crisis of the crown
    1. David must quickly move his forces out of Jerusalem so he won’t be caught unprepared by Absalom’s army
      1.  David is informed that “all of Israel” are with Absalom
      1.  David is not prepared to face a superior force
    1. David must wonder why Israel has turned from him
      1.  David is aware of God’s pronounced judgment
      1.  Even though David has not oppressed the people, he is dishonored by the sin that runs rampant in the palace and David had lost connection with Israel
      1.  Absalom’s ability to woo the people contrasts with David’s disconnection from the people
    1. David organizes the people to flee to the wilderness
      1.  He leaves ten of his harem behind to maintain the palace and watch over David’s possessions
        1.  These will be violated by Absalom as the Lord predicted
        1.  David has little choice but to plan quickly
      1.  David will have a logistic nightmare to provide for his group in the wilderness
    1. Ironically, David fled to the wilderness due to Saul’s sin and now he flees due to his own sin (spiritual wilderness = of our own making)
  3. Loyalty amid conspiracy
    1. David had three sets of body guards he brought from his days when he ran from Saul: Pelethites from a Philistine tribe in southern Judah, Cherethites, and Gittites from Gath
      1.  These remained loyal to David throughout
      1.  Ironically, foreign subjects were true to David than many Israelites (as Uriah the Hittite was!)
    1. David tries to send the Gittites back to Gath, since this was not their fight (they were not Jews)
      1.  Ittai and his men swear not to leave David (i.e., Ruth)
      1.  David finds out who his true friends are