Through the Bible – Day 113

₁David divided his soldiers into groups of a hundred and groups of a thousand. Then he chose officers to be in command of each group. ₂He sent out one third of his army under the command of Joab, another third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, and the rest under the command of Ittai from Gath. He told the soldiers, “I'm going into battle with you.”

₃But the soldiers said, “No, don't go into battle with us! It won't matter to our enemies if they make us all run away, or even if they kill half of us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It would be better for you to stay in town and send help if we need it.”

_4-6David said, “All right, if you think I should.”

Then in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he said, “Joab! Abishai! Ittai! For my sake, be sure that Absalom comes back unharmed.”

David stood beside the town gate as his army marched past in groups of a hundred and in groups of a thousand.

The war with Israel took place in Ephraim Forest. _7-8Battles were being fought all over the forest, and David's soldiers were winning. Twenty thousand soldiers were killed that day, and more of them died from the dangers of the forest than from the fighting itself.

₉Absalom was riding his mule under a huge tree when his head caught in the branches. The mule ran off and left Absalom hanging in mid-air. Some of David's soldiers happened to pass by, ₁₀and one of them went and told Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging in a tree!”

₁₁Joab said, “You saw Absalom? Why didn't you kill him? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a special belt.”

₁₂The man answered, “Even if you paid me a thousand pieces of silver here and now, I still wouldn't touch the king's son. We all heard King David tell you and Abishai and Ittai not to harm Absalom. ₁₃He always finds out what's going on. I would have been risking my life to kill Absalom, because you would have let me take the blame.”

₁₄Joab said, “I'm not going to waste any more time on you!”

Absalom was still alive, so Joab took three spears and stuck them through Absalom's chest. ₁₅Ten of Joab's bodyguards came over and finished him off. ₁₆Then Joab blew a trumpet to signal his troops to stop chasing Israel's soldiers. ₁₇They threw Absalom's body into a deep pit in the forest and put a big pile of rocks over it.

Meanwhile, the people of Israel had all run back to their own homes.

₁₈When Absalom was alive, he had set up a stone monument for himself in King's Valley. He explained, “I don't have any sons to keep my name alive.” He called it Absalom's Monument, and that is the name it still has today.

₁₉Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Joab, let me run and tell King David that the LORD has rescued him from his enemies.”

₂₀Joab answered, “You're not the one to tell the king that his son is dead. You can take him a message some other time, but not today.”

₂₁Someone from Ethiopia was standing there, and Joab told him, “Go and tell the king what you have seen.” The man knelt down in front of Joab and then got up and started running.

₂₂Ahimaaz spoke to Joab again, “No matter what happens, I still want to run. And besides, the Ethiopian has already left.”

Joab said, “Why should you run? You won't get a reward for the news you have!”

₂₃“I'll run no matter what!” Ahimaaz insisted.

“All right then, run!” Joab said.

Ahimaaz took the road through the Jordan Valley and outran the Ethiopian.

₂₄Meanwhile, David was sitting between the inner and outer gates in the city wall. One of his soldiers was watching from the roof of the gate-tower. He saw a man running towards the town ₂₅and shouted down to tell David.

David answered, “If he's alone, he must have some news.”

The runner was getting closer, ₂₆when the soldier saw someone else running. He shouted down to the gate, “Look! There's another runner!”

David said, “He must have some news too.”

₂₇The soldier on the roof shouted, “The first one runs just like Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.”

This time David said, “He's a good man. He must have some good news.”

₂₈Ahimaaz called out, “We won! We won!” Then he bowed low to David and said, “Your Majesty, praise the LORD your God! He has given you victory over your enemies.”

₂₉“Is my son Absalom all right?” David asked.

Ahimaaz said, “When Joab sent your personal servant and me, I saw a noisy crowd. But I don't know what it was all about.”

₃₀David told him, “Stand over there and wait.”

Ahimaaz went over and stood there. ₃₁The Ethiopian came and said, “Your Majesty, today I have good news! The LORD has rescued you from all your enemies!”

₃₂“Is my son Absalom all right?” David asked.

The Ethiopian replied, “I wish that all Your Majesty's enemies and everyone who tries to harm you would end up like him!”

₃₃David started trembling. Then he went up to the room above the city gate to cry. As he went, he kept saying, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I could have died instead of you! Absalom, my son, my son!”

₁Someone told Joab, “The king is crying because Absalom is dead.”

₂David's army found out he was crying because his son had died, and their day of victory suddenly turned into a day of sadness. ₃The troops were sneaking into Mahanaim, just as if they had run away from a battle and were ashamed.

₄David held his hands over his face and kept on crying loudly, “My son, Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!”

₅Joab went to the house where David was staying and told him:

₈David got up and went to the town gate and sat down. When the people heard that he was sitting there, they came to see him.

After Israel's soldiers had all returned home, _9-10everyone in Israel started arguing. They were saying to each other, “King David rescued us from the Philistines and from our other enemies. But then we chose Absalom to be our new leader, and David had to leave the country to get away. Absalom died in battle, so why hasn't something been done to bring David back?”

₁₁When David found out what they were saying, he sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. It said:

₁₄Soon the tribe of Judah again became followers of David, and they sent him this message: “Come back, and bring your soldiers with you.”

₁₅David started back and had gone as far as the River Jordan when he met the people of Judah. They had gathered at Gilgal and had come to help him cross the river.

₁₆Shimei the son of Gera was there with them. He had hurried from Bahurim to meet David. Shimei was from the tribe of Benjamin, and ₁₇a thousand others from Benjamin had come with him.

Ziba, the chief servant of Saul's family, also came to the River Jordan. He and his fifteen sons and twenty servants waded across to meet David. ₁₈Then they brought David's family and servants back across the river, and they did everything he wanted them to do.

Shimei crossed the River Jordan and bowed down in front of David. ₁₉He said, “Your Majesty, I beg you not to punish me! Please, forget what I did when you were leaving Jerusalem. Don't even think about it. ₂₀I know I was wrong. That's why I wanted to be the first one from the northern tribes to meet you.”

₂₁But Abishai shouted, “You should be killed for cursing the LORD's chosen king!”

₂₂David said, “Abishai, whatever will I do with you and your brother Joab? Is it your job to tell me who has done wrong? I've been made king of all Israel today, and no one will be put to death!” ₂₃Then David promised Shimei that he would not be killed.

₂₄Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul, also came to meet David. He had missed David so much that he had not taken a bath or trimmed his beard or washed his clothes the whole time David was gone.

₂₅After they had gone back to Jerusalem, Mephibosheth came to see David, who asked him, “Why didn't you go with me?”

₂₆He answered, “Your Majesty, you know I can't walk. I told my servant to saddle a donkey for me so I could go with you. But my servant left without me, and ₂₇then he lied about me. You're as wise as an angel of God, so do what you think is right. ₂₈After all, you could have killed my whole family and me. But instead, you let me eat at your own table. Your Majesty, what more could I ask?”

₂₉David answered, “You've said enough! I've decided to divide the property between you and Ziba.”

₃₀Mephibosheth replied, “He can have it all! I'm just glad you've come home safely.”

₃₁Barzillai came from Rogelim in Gilead to meet David at the River Jordan and go across with him. ₃₂Barzillai was eighty years old. He was very rich and had sent food to David in Mahanaim.

₃₃David said to him, “Cross the river and go to Jerusalem with me. I will take care of you.”

₃₄Barzillai answered:

₃₈David said, “I'll take Chimham with me, and whatever you ask me to do for him, I'll do. And if there's anything else you want, I'll also do that.”

₃₉David's soldiers went on across the river, while he stayed behind to say goodbye to Barzillai and to wish him well. Barzillai returned home, but ₄₀Chimham crossed the river with David.

All of Judah's army and half of Israel's army were there to help David cross the river. ₄₁The soldiers from Israel came to him and said, “Why did our relatives from Judah sneak you and your family and your soldiers across the Jordan?”

₄₂The people of Judah answered, “Why are you so angry? We are the king's relatives. He didn't give us any food, and we didn't take anything for ourselves!”

₄₃Those from Israel said, “King David belongs to us ten times more than he belongs to you. Why didn't you think we were good enough to help you? After all, we were the first ones to think of bringing him back!”

The people of Judah spoke more harshly than the people of Israel.

₁Jesus said to his disciples:

₁₄The Pharisees really loved money. So when they heard what Jesus said, they made fun of him. ₁₅But Jesus told them: