A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

attlefields against Absalom, the other half would still need their king. David agreed to stay
behind but urged his men to “deal gently” with Absalom.
The battle went well for David’s men that day and 20, 000 of Absalom’s men fell in
battle. Absalom himself was a casualty of the battle. While riding through the forest, Absalom
got tangled in a tree. When his hair was tangled in the branches, his mule rode on, leaving him
suspended and helpless. One of David’s men found him and reported to Joab. Disregarding
David’s instructions, Joab killed Absalom and buried him under a heap of stones in the forest.
When David later learned of the death of his son, he mourned his loss. Out of this whole
situation was born yet another psalm (Ps. 3).
The death of Absalom marked the end of the most serious threat to the kingdom David
had experienced to that point in his life. Joab reminded David it was a time of rejoicing that the
coup had failed, rather than a time of mourning. David returned to Jerusalem and sat in the gate
to judge the nation. Word was sent throughout the land that David was again in control to
encourage the people and settle the strife that had developed when he had fled Absalom. It was a
time of reconciliation and rejoicing. Every effort was made to reunite the kingdom under its
king.
SHEBA: THE REVOLT OF ISRAEL
(2 Sam. 19:41-20:22; Ps. 7)
But there were still dissatisfactions with David as king. Some of the men of Israel
objected that David seemed more interested in the regional concerns of Judah than in the other
tribes. The men of Judah argued that would only be natural because David was one of them.
Israel replied that they represented ten tribes to the one tribe of Judah. There did not appear to be
a resolution to this war of words between the tribes of Israel and Judah. The circumstances of
this period in the life of David may have been the context of several psalms, including Psalm 7.
Seizing the opportunity of the moment and hoping to capitalize on the dissatisfaction and
confusion that existed in the land, a Benjamite named Sheba, the son of Bichri, presented himself
as a leader of another movement against the right of David to reign. With the exception of the
tribe of Judah, all Israel began following Sheba. David saw this threat as even greater than the
coup led by Absalom and ordered an immediate pursuit of the rebel forces before they could get
established in the fortified cities. Because Amasa delayed in gathering his army, David sent
Abishai and Joab in his place. When Amasa joined the army as they pursued Sheba, Joab took
advantage of the opportunity and killed Amasa.
Joab led the army until they trapped Sheba and his men in Abel of Beth Maachah. There
they laid siege to the city and began to destroy it. As the people saw a mound being built and
heard the battering rams of Joab’s men pound against their wall, they realized their fate was
sealed. A woman of the city called for Joab and attempted to negotiate a peaceful solution to the
conflict. Joab agreed to spare the city if they delivered Sheba to him. The woman agreed to send
the head of Sheba over the wall. She was successful in convincing the people of the city to agree
to the terms she had negotiated, and Sheba was beheaded. When Joab received the head, he led
his army back to Jerusalem.
THE CORONATION OF SOLOMON
(1 Kings 1:1-2:11; Ps. 72)
As David approached the end of his life, he weakened physically and spent much of his
time in bed. While in this state, yet another attempt to seize his throne was launched by one of