One Year Bible Thursday, June 2nd "David Restores His Kingdom" "Jesus Restores Peter!"
Click Here to Listen to the Readings
Click Here to Listen to 2 Samuel 19:11-20:13
The Kingdom is Restored to David
After the death of Abaslom, both the people of Israel, who had been loyal to Absalom, and half of the tribe of Judah, who had been loyal to David, came together to support David as king. David made several wise moves, as he went forward as the one and only king. He also showed great mercy to some of the people who had not supported him.
1. David sent Zadok and Abiathar to the elders in Jerusalem who convinced the people to support David. They were of one heart and mind, which David told them would be necessary for him to return to Jerusalem.
2. David appointed Amasa as the commander of the Army. Amasa was the commander of Absalom's army so it was a gesture of reconciliation.
3. David forgave Shimei, a man who had cursed him and threw stones at him. Shimei was contrite and humbly asked David to forgive his offenses. David could have exacted retribution on Shimei, but instead told him he would not harm him.
4. Mephibosheth was the last remaining son of Saul, who David had protected and assured him of his inheritance of his father's land. But his servant, Ziba. had told David that at one point Mephibosheth had transferred his loyalty to Absalom. After hearing the case from both sides. David split the property equally between the two of them. This is the same wisdom David's son, Solomon will use when he becomes king. Perhaps he learned it from his dad.
5. Barazallai played a big role in helping out King David, as he was fleeing Jerusalem from Absalom. David offered him to live in the king's household, but Barzallai was now 80. so he graciously declined. However, he did ask that his son, Kimham, be able to go with David. David agreed to take care of his son.
We end this chapter with the people of Israel (10 northern tribes) arguing with the people of Judah (2 southern tribes) about who was more loyal to David. Though David had in some sense restored unity to Israel, we will see that this was short lived.
The Revolt of Sheba
Not everyone sided with David, as there was a troublemaker from the tribe of Benjamin (Northern Kingdom) named Sheba. He incited the Israelites by saying that since David was from the tribe of Judah, they now had no inhertiance in the united kingdom. He sowed seeds of discord. Surprisingly the men listened to Sheba and followed him.
David aware of the dissension Sheba caused and the growing threat against him told Amassa to call the army of Judah to be ready to deal with this quickly. But it took longer than David anticipated. When Joab and Abishai (David's former commander) met with Amassa, Joab's jealousy struck with a vengeance. He killed Amasa with a dagger and rallied the troops to go with him.
Joab showed how ruthless he was. He murdered Amasa – the man who replaced him as commander of David’s armies – out of both rivalry and concern that Amasa did not genuinely support David. - Guzik
Although in theory David came back as the king of both Israel and Judah, you can see that there plenty of selfishness, ego, and deception to go around. Amidst all of this, David's character continues to stand out.
Epilogue: Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
In the final chapter of the 4 gospels, we see Jesus appears to several disciples before he ascends to the Father. Peter, one of his closest disciples, decides to go out fishing with the others. It seems somewhat normal for Peter to go back to his everyday occupation. Ironically when Jesus first called the disciples, they were out fishing and catching nothing. Jesus taught them a valuable lesson then, as he will now.
Jesus calls out to them from the beach and seemingly they don't recognize him at firstg. When they threw out their nets, they had such a great catch, they could not haul in all the fish, Peter was the first to recognize Jesus. Perhaps he remembered the earlier scene. He jumped out of the boat, clothes and all, and went to see Jesus on the beach. Jesus served them breakfast, the first annual "Welcome Jesus Back Fish Fry Party"
Jesus takes Peter aside and restores him as one of the chief shepherd of the flock. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. And each time when Peter says, "Yes I love you Lord!" Each time Jesus responds by telling him to, "Feed my sheep". Just as Peter had denied Jesus three times, Jesus restores him to ministry three times. You can only imagine how healing this was for Peter. After the embarrassment of denying Jesus, Jesus was now reinstating him publicly.
As you read through the book of Acts you will see a transformed Peter. He will be one of the greatest leaders the church has ever seen and will lead thousands to Christ. But it all started with the grace and love of Jesus for him even when he had failed badly.
Do you ever think Jesus can't use you because of your failures, even if you have denied him? We all deny Jesus is different ways. Sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly. But like Peter, Jesus restores us to be his shepherds to love others as he loves us. That's why as followers of Jesus we should be the most gracious people around. When we are tempted to judge someone or count them out of ministry, we might want to remember how Jesus treated Peter today!
I am always reminded of Jesus' words, "Be careful of the measure with which you judge, for the same measure will be used to judge you."
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