November 4, 2019: Day 51 – II Samuel 20

It seems like once David is back in power that he has to consolidate his forces because he has a bunch of outliers who want to seize power.  A sign of indiscipline is a group of people who think they can fill the vacuum that the king left or is leaving.  So,  David has all these nations line up asking for forgiveness and kissing his ring, except he also has the likes of Sheba who thinks he can take advantage of the times and jump into power.  David in the end pursues him and his head is thrown over a wall.

Look at vs.3 where we find David getting home and putting his concubines in a room and locking them up, as if they were widows, until they all died.  I guess this is because Absalom had followed the counselors advice and slept with them as a sign of conquest and a sign that he was the one who was in power.  David couldn’t get past that and so locked them up and they died like widows.  David, once again, was a serial sinner, but Scripture kind of presents this is as somewhat common place.  

Joab killing Amasa who delayed in getting the troops that David needed, is a pretty classic tale since we read that his entrails poured out on the ground.  Vs.12 gives us Amasa wallowing in his blood in the highway and it was creating a real pile up as people were more interested in his death than pursuing the enemies of David.  I wonder if this is where the term rubbernecking came from…