THE RETURN OF THE KING. 303 punish him might expose the king. It is very evident that David was at this time in no condition to provoke the hostility of any considerable number of his subjects. From the account it appears that Ziba, the servant of Saul, with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, met the king in company with Shimei: this is another fact which indicates how extensively the tribe of Benjamin sympathized with the offender. These all passsd over the river before the king: he, accompanied by his family and friends, followed in a boat, or on a bridge of boats. Soon afterward Mephibosheth met the royal cortége; he "had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day that he came again in peace." It appears that the body of men sent by the tribe of Judah to conduct the king back to his capital, met the royal procession near the Jordan: these were also accompanied by many from the other tribes of Israel; and they, escorting the king, proceeded toward Jerusalem, until, at Gilgal, they met a large body of men from the ten tribes. For while Zadok, Abiathar, and Amasa were persuading the people of Judah to promote the return of the sovereign, a spontaneous and extensive movement was taking place among the other tribes for effecting the same purpose. For 6. all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom. And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?" (2 Sam. xix. 9, 10.) The result of this movement was the collection of a large body of men, who went to Gilgal to meet the king, and 66 to conduct him to his capital. But on their arrival there, they found that the king was on his return to Jerusalem, attended by his own troops, and by those which had come to him from the tribe of Judah. The men of Israel complained to those of Judah, with much bitterness, that they had not been consulted respecting the return of the king, as this was an important measure, in which the whole nation should have acted in concert. The men of Judah replied that they were perfectly justified in the action they had taken, the king being near of kin" to them; and that they had acted with perfect disinterestedness, not having received any reward or provisions from the king. This reply, however, did not satisfy the men of Israel; who contended that, as David was sovereign of the whole nation, they had ten parts in him, and ought to have been consulted, and allowed to act in concert with their brethren in the king's restoration, and not to have been slighted or despised. Neither party, however, would give way; so they separated in anger: "And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel." Unhappily for the peace of the kingdom, there happened to be at that time among the men of Israel a restless, ambitious spirit, in the person of Sheba, the son of Bichri, of the tribe of Benjamin. He, taking advantage of this hostile feeling, blew a trumpet, and proclaimed, "We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel." And such was the excited feeling prevalent at the time that, we are told, “every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba." This extensive defection threatened the most serious consequences, unless it could be promptly checked before it had time to develope itself into a military THE REVOLT OF SHEBA. 305 rebellion. David was well aware of this, and consequently hastened his return to Jerusalem, made some necessary arrangements, and, investing Amasa with the dignity of captain of the host, or general-in-chief of the army, ordered him to assemble the men of Judah within three days, and to appear with them before the king. We have no means of knowing why this command was not obeyed. Whether Amasa besitated to undertake the office, or the men distrusted and disliked him, or from some other cause, the three days expired, and the required muster was not made. David, feeling anxious at the delay, and apparently determined to supersede Joab, on account of his conduct in the death of Absalom, called on Abishai to collect what troops were available, and to pursue Sheba. He immediately complied and placing himself at the head of the Cherethites, Pelethites, and a body of troops, spoken of as "Joab's men," with all the mighty men called " David's worthies," and accompanied by his brother Joab, he marched in pursuit of the rebel. He had not gone farther than Gibeon, when he fell in with Amasa, leading the troops which he had collected for this service. The two bodies of troops here became united, and Amasa placed himself at their head, as he was fully entitled to do, by the appointment which he had received from the king. It seems that this was more than the fiery spirit of Joab could bear. And it certainly was a strange sight to see the man who had been the chief commander of the royal troops in the battle which crushed the rebellion, and restored David to his crown and kingdom, marching as a subordinate, while the person who fought in that desperate struggle as general-in-chief of the rebel army was now intrusted with the chief command of the royal forces. Such an arrangement as this would have excited a person of less violent temperament than Joab. He was moved by it to instant action. Going up to Amasa, he hailed him with the cordial greeting, "Art thou in health, my brother?" and, taking him by the beard with his right hand as if to kiss him, he at the same moment smote him with a sword, which he held unperceived in his other hand, with such violence that he instantly fell dead. Leaving the murdered Amasa weltering in his blood, Joab placed himself at the head of the army, and led it on in pursuit of Sheba. And he did this with such spirit and energy, that the rebellious chief had no time to organize any effective resistance, but fled through the country until he threw himself into the fortified city of Abel-Beth-maachah, in the extreme north-west of Palestine. Joab immediately invaded the city, and proceeded to attempt the destruction of the fortifications. Happily, however, there happened to be in the city a woman of more than ordinary wisdom and sagacity; and no sooner had Joab begun to invade the place, than she appeared on the wall, and expostulated with him on his disposition to swallow up and destroy the inheritance of the Lord. The general earnestly disclaimed any such purpose, but told her that Sheba had raised his hand against king David; and that if he were given up, he would immediately withdraw from the siege. The woman promised that his request should be complied with; and, going to the people of the city, gave them such a representation of the case, that they at once decapitated the rebel, and threw his head over the wall to Joab; upon which he raised the siege, and returned to the king at Jerusalem. Immediately after the recital of these events, the sacred record adds, "Now Joab was over all the host THE MURDER OF AMASA. 307 of Israel, and Benaiah was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites." (2 Sam. xx. 23) So that David, reigning over all Israel, and fully restored to sovereign power, could not carry out his avowed purpose of removing Joab from the chief command of the army. The indomitable prowess and consummate ability of this daring soldier kept him in the highest military office, notwithstanding the extreme antipathy of the king himself. The record of the other fact in connexion with this, is significant. Benaiah was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites. No member of Joab's family had any authority over the king's body-guard. This was commanded by the brave and faithful Benaiah. So that, while Joab had the supreme command of the ordinary forces, the royal person was not in his power, but guarded by a faithful body of men under a brave and able chief. Restored to his crown and capital in peace, the king gave expression to his grateful feelings in the following hymns of praise. "Judge me, O Lord; PSALM XXVI. For I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my reins and my heart. For Thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: And I have walked in Thy truth. I have not sat with vain persons, I have hated the congregation of evil doers; |