2 Samuel 19:9-13 - The people were arguing among themselves

19:9,10

While Absalom and his rebellion had been defeated, indeed Absalom had been killed, peace and harmony did not reign in the land. These two verses give a summary of what the people were thinking. They knew that David had delivered them from the Philistines, and other enemies for that matter. However, this same David had fled Jerusalem in order to escape from Absalom. They had anointed Absalom to rule over them, but he had then been killed. Why then hadn’t David returned as king? There was a lack of clear leadership from David, who was still in Mahanaim.

19:11-13

While the people of Israel were wondering why David had not returned to Jerusalem, the thought does not seem to have occurred to the people of Judah. So David gets the priests, Zadok and Abiathar, to chivy the Judean elders along. David was from the tribe of Judah, so they should have been the first to be calling David back to Jerusalem. David also appoints his nephew, Amasa, as commander of the army. He was to replace Joab. Joab had been the most proactive in working to save the state of Israel, but he had disobeyed David’s instructions regarding Absalom. There was a rift between Joab and David.

Mark 6:16-18 - John has been raised!

6:16

Herod did believe that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead. Herod had had John beheaded, and this irrational thinking was the product of the guilt that he felt. We will now get the account of how Herod had had John the Baptist beheaded.

6:17,18

Herod had married his brother Philip’s wife, and this was against the Law, and John the Baptist had said so. John truly spoke truth to power, proclaiming the truth of God, and putting himself at risk because of it. Herod does not seem to have been overly concerned about this, but Herodias, his wife, did not take kindly to it. So Herod had John out in prison. Herod turns out to be a rather weak man, somewhat like Pilate.

2 Samuel 19:6-8 - You love those who hate you

19:6

Joab tells David he loves those who hated him, i.e. Absalom, but hated those who loved him, i.e. all those who had remained faithful to him. David could have personal feelings, but he also had responsibilities as king of the nation, as God’s leader of the nation. This was no way to run a nation. There was a danger that the men would lose heart and turn away from David. It seems to them as if David would rather they had all died, rather than Absalom.

19:7,8

Joab tells David to pull himself together and go out and encourage the people. Sometimes we need someone to tell us to “pull ourselves together”. David was being utterly self-centred. To say this may seem hard-hearted, but while we should not deny the feelings we have, we should not let our lives be ruled by them. Joab tells David he is in danger of losing the allegiance of all the men. So David takes his seat in the gateway, and all the men come before him. “Meanwhile the Israelites had fled to their homes”. It seems that the nation is divided, and this division would be formalised after Solomon.

Mark 6:14,15 - He is Elijah

6:14

We now come to the beheading of John the Baptist. The account starts with a telling of who Herod and others thought Jesus was. The Herod here is Herod Antipas. There were quite a number of Herods in the period,and a spider’s web of relationships. Jesus had become well known, and people, including Herod, were wondering who He was. One offering was that He was “John the Baptist raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in Him”. Schnabel says that this may well mean that He was a second John the Baptist, rather than actually being resurrected, i.e. He was like John the Baptist. But the reference to miraculous powers seems to render this unlikely, as John did not do any miracles. Whatever the case, it wasn’t true!

6:15

Two other alternatives were that He was Elijah, pr “like one of the prophets of long ago”. Mal 4:5 says God will send one like Elijah before the “great and dreadful” day of the Lord. And Elijah did do miracles, so there was some sense to that suggestion. The “prophets of long ago” could also have referred to the likes of Elijah and Elisha, for the writing prophets (Isaiah etc) didn’t do much if anything in the way or miracles, whereas Elijah and Elisha did. Again, they were wrong.

2 Samuel 19:1-5 - The king is weeping and mouring for Absalom

19:1-4

David went into deep mourning because of the death of his son Absalom. What should have been a day of victory and rejoicing, because of the defeat of the rebellious forces, was turned into a day of mourning. Instead of returning to the city in triumph, the men slunk in as though they had been defeated, and all the king could do was mourn loudly for his son.

19:5

Joab was not pleased with the king. Joab was concerned for the well being of the nation. He was angry with the king, for he had humiliated his men. The men had risked their lives, they had remained loyal to David during the rebellion. They had saved David and his wives and concubines, his family, and all David could do was mourn. 

Mark 6:10-13 - They drove out many demons

6:10

So how will that provision manifest itself? One of the main ways is through the hospitality and kindness of others. So if they were welcomed by a family, then they were to continue to stay with them until the work was completed, rather than flitting about. Not forever thinking “is there somewhere better?”.

6:11

Conversely, if a place will not welcome them, then they were to accept that and leave, shaking off the dust from their feet. That would be a testimony against the people. At the day of judgement the people would be reminded that they rejected God’s messengers.

6:12,13

So they went out and “preached that the people should repent”. Note the emphasis, yet again, on preaching and on repentance. John the Baptist preached repentance, Jesus preached repentance, the disciples preached repentance. So what should we preach? The answer should be obvious. It isn’t all that we preach, but it is an important part of it. They also drove out demons, and healed people. Straightforward preaching, and straightforward healing and driving out of demons should be vital parts of the church’s ministry.

2 Samuel 18:28-33 - The king was shaken

18:28-30

Ahimaaz is full of enthusiasm and declares that all was well, announcing the victory, and that God has delivered David’s enemies over to him. David, however, is concerned only about his son. Ahimaaz either did not know that Absalom had died, though that seems unlikely. Perhaps more likely is that he does realise that Absalom’s death will be a problem, so pretends not to know, so keeping himself safe. David tells him to stand aside, David wanting the news about Absalom.

18:31-33

The Cushite finally arrives. He begins by giving the news in much the same way that Ahimaaz had done. David then asks what for him is the crucial question, is Absalom safe. The Cushite does not answer the question directly, but states indirectly that Abalom is dead, reminding David that Absalom had risen up against David. David was distraught at the death of his son, even though Absalom had risen up against David.

Mark 6:7-9 - He began to send them out

6:7

“Calling the Twelve to Him, He began to send them out ...” Man was the pinnacle of God’s creation, but sin had corrupted all of creation, and mankind in particular. But God was not going to be defeated, He was not going to have His plans thwarted. Through Christ He redeems men and women. This is not just a matter that through faith we avoid being sent to hell (though, of course, we do avoid going to hell!), but of being put back on the road to being what and who God always intended us to be. So Christ’s purposes include His working through and with us. This is what He is doing here. Jesus sent the disciples out two by two. He also gave them authority over impure spirits. We need to recognise that demons are real, and that in Christ we have authority over them.

6:8,9

Jesus then gave them further instructions. They were not to go out with extra supplies, no bread, no bag, no money, no extra clothing. So is this to be a general rule? No, for in Luke 22:36 Jesus, contrasting a future time with the one described here, tells them to take a bag and a purse, and even a sword. So what is the point here? Here it was training, and to demonstrate to them that even without any obvious means of support God would provide. So what are we to do? If we have the means then we should equip ourselves, but if there are times when that is not possible, then we are still to do God’s work, confident that He will provide.