September 23
2 Samuel 19; 2 Corinthians 12; Ezekiel 26; Psalm 74
2 Samuel 19
Successful in battle, David the king returns to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 19. But before this, he is severely reprimanded by Joab - the only time that Joab does this.
The heart of Joab’s criticism is the loud and public display of David’s grief (4), such that his victorious soldiers are slinking back into the city as if they had lost (3). The confrontation between these two men demonstrate their base loyalties. Neither are completely wrong, but neither are completely right.
Joab is governed by his base loyalty to pragmatism - what works now. In this he is a consummate soldier. Soldiers must deal in the reality of the now. There is no time for philosophical questions or probing one’s emotions. This is what led him to defy David’s orders to treat Absalom kindly, and instead killing him (18:14).
In this Joab was wrong. The soldier must be pragmatic, but no soldier has the right to elevate his pragmatism above his general’s orders, even if it means his own death. Joab forgot his place.
But Joab is half right in his words to David. David’s own soldiers had risked life and limb to return David to his throne (5). The rebuke stings the most in v. 6:
. . . 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.
Joab is right. David is also right, in his covenant loyalty to his son. But he has other loyalties to attend to. The king does not have the right, especially after battle, to attend only to his own emotions, when many others’ sons will never see another day. In his great emotions, David has also forgotten his place.
So then, for Joab’s actions, David finally does what he should have done before: he replaces Joab, at least temporarily (13). David then comes to his senses, and the rest of the chapter involves his forgiving his enemies (16-23); the restoration of his grace to Mephibosheth, Saul’s son (24-30); and his blessing of his friend Barzillai (31-39).
The chapter ends with “half of Israel” complaining that they were not included in David resuming his throne (41-43). Here lies a festering wound in the nation that would reopen upon the death of Solomon, David’s son.