2 Samuel 19

Although Joab has made mistakes, his sometimes misguided desire to do good for David shines through. It is good to have people in our lives who can show us our short sightedness and let us know how others are internalizing our actions. And is good that because of that, David thinks of others more than himself. And it is interesting to see, as David returns to Jerusalem, many of those involved in his leaving resurface here. Shimei sees the errors of his ways and apologizes for his actions and humbles himself before David. It is certainly better when people come to those conclusions themselves rather than have it come from us, but what patience this must have required.

It is also good to get clarification about what was going on with Mephibosheth. It is always challenging to be in a he said, he said situation, but what he relates to David makes more sense than what Ziba had said after all David had done for Mephibosheth. But it reminds us that often we need to be wise like serpents and meek as doves. We take people at face value but reserve final judgement until all perspectives can be shared. David has done a little back and forth in this particular situation but I think he was constrained by the circumstances in his own life to then make proper judgements in other’s situations.

And how interesting it is to see how deep the distrust and competition that existed between the Northern tribes of Israel and Judah. It is no wonder when it comes to the kingdom dividing that those are the lines that are drawn. The seeds of the conflict are seen in this chapter and even before….