Study Desk

When the people told David, he sent messengers to meet his officers. He did this because these men were very ashamed. King David said, "Wait at Jericho until your beards grow again. Then come back home."

He must pay four times the price of the lamb because he did this terrible thing and because he had no mercy."

David said, "While the baby was still living, I cried and refused to eat because I thought, ‘Who knows? Maybe the Lord will feel sorry for me and let the baby live.'

King David heard the news and became very angry, but he did not want to say anything to upset Amnon, because he loved him since he was his firstborn son.

Absalom began to hate Amnon. Absalom did not say one word, good or bad, to Amnon, but he hated him because Amnon had raped his sister Tamar.

Now the whole family is against me. They said to me, ‘Bring us the son who killed his brother and we will kill him, because he killed his brother.' My son is like the last spark of a fire. If they kill my son, that fire will burn out and be finished. He is the only son left alive to get his father's property. So my dead husband's property will go to someone else and his name will be removed from the land."

Then the woman said, "Why have you planned these things against the people of God? When you say these things, you show you are guilty because you have not brought back the son who you forced to leave home.

My lord and king, I came to say these words to you, because the people made me afraid. I said to myself, ‘I will talk to the king. Maybe the king will help me.

I know that the words of my lord the king will give me rest, because you are like an angel from God. You know what is good and what is bad. And the Lord your God is with you."

Joab bowed with his face on the ground. He blessed King David, and said, "Today I know that you are pleased with me. I know because you have done what I asked."

The Lord is punishing you because you killed people in Saul's family. You stole Saul's place as king. But now the same bad things are happening to you. The Lord has given the kingdom to your son Absalom, because you are a murderer."

Then even your bravest men will be frightened, because all the Israelites know that your father is a powerful soldier and that his men are very brave.

Absalom and all the Israelites said, "Hushai's advice is better than Ahithophel's." Actually, Ahithophel's advice was good, but they said this because the Lord had decided to make Ahithophel's advice useless. He did this to punish Absalom.

David's army defeated the Israelites. It was a great defeat because 20,000 men were killed that day.

Joab answered Ahimaaz, "No, you will not carry the message today. You can do it some other time, but not today because it is the king's son who is dead."

So the joy of victory turned to sadness for everyone. It was a very sad day because the people heard, "The king is mourning for his son."

The tribes of Israel began discussing what to do next. They said, "King David saved us from the Philistines and our other enemies. David left the country because he was running away from Absalom.

Barzillai was a very old man, 80 years old. He had given the king food and other things when David was staying at Mahanaim. Barzillai could do this because he was a very rich man.

All the people of Judah answered the Israelites, "We did it because the king is our close relative. Why are you angry with us about this? We have not eaten food at the king's expense. The king did not give us any gifts."

While David was king, there was a famine that continued for three years. So David prayed to the Lord . And the Lord answered, "Saul and his family of murderers are the reason for the famine, because he killed the Gibeonites."