2 Samuel 20

2 Samuel 20

Meyer - Our Daily Homily - 2 Samuel 20:2 The men of Judah clave unto their King. We are reminded of the exhortation of the good Barnabas, that with purpose of heart the converts of Antioch should cleave unto the Lord. This is the test of a true faith. We often come to the dividing of the paths. We stand on the watershed of the hills: that way leads back to Moab with its fascinations; this on to Canaan with its spiritual attractions. Orpah and Ruth must choose. Each is equally profuse in speeches and tears; but the ultimate test of love is whether they will stay or go. Which will cleave to the widowed Naomi? She is the truest lover; her fidelity will attest the fervor and strength of her affection. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, and returned to her people and her gods, while Ruth “clove unto her.” We must cleave to Jesus, in spite of the derision of the multitude. We must be prepared to stand with Him when He stands alone, or goes forth alone to die. We must be willing to stem the mighty tide of the world which has left Him and pours past us. Though all forsake Him, yet we must cleave. We must cleave to Jesus, in spite of the rebellion of the flesh. Our whole nature may sometimes rise in insurrection, demanding some for bidden fruit. It is no child’s play then for the lonely will to stand by itself in unshaken fidelity and loyalty; but it must. We must cleave to Jesus when He seems to rebuff us. Only those who can stand so sharp an ordeal, are exposed to it. But sometimes we are called to pass through it as job, that angels may learn how Christ’s lovers cling to Him, not for His gifts, but for Himself. 2 Samuel 20:3 Then David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and placed them under guard and provided them with sustenance, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as widows. ten women: 2Sa 15:16 16:21,22 ward: Heb. an house of ward, Ge 40:3 shut: Heb. bound living in widowhood: Heb. in widowhood of life 2 Samuel 20 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries COLLATERAL DAMAGES OF DAVID'S SIN PUNISHMENT OF TEN CONCUBINES Then - This marks an important progression in the narrative, after the defeat of Absalom and those who followed him. David seems to have given this item high priority when he returned to his palace. David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and placed them under guard and provided them with sustenance, but did not go in to them - David seems to respond a bit in the flesh in this passage (in my opinion) especially since the act committed against these women was the consequence of David's sin! Oh, the ever widening circle of our secret sins! Beware! After all who had left the concubines in Jerusalem? David had. And who had heard and should have pondered the prophecy by Nathan about his wives (2Sa 12:11-12+). David had heard this prophecy, and theoretically should have taken the concubines (who were considered lesser wives) out of harm's way. Of course it was a prophecy from God and every prophecy is fulfilled perfectly. So one must propose that David had to leave them to fulfill the prophecy. I don't think he knowingly did that, but somehow was caused to forget Nathan's prophecy. In either event, David seems to react strongly against the 10 women who would have had no choice but to surrender to Absalom raping them! They are collateral damage of David's sin with Bathsheba and against Uriah!!! Our sins like David's can affect so many others in so many different ways! So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as widows - David's punishment is firm and left no room for pardon or forgiveness. Would God have forgiven these 10 women? That's a rhetorical question for you to ponder. Not every decision David made in his life was in the good and acceptable and perfect will of the LORD. And yet in the final analysis David was still called by God a man after God's own heart. God's mercy, grace and forgiveness are indeed greater than our sins beloved and for that we give Him thanks and praise! As an aside in China, when an emperor dies, all his women are removed to an edifice called the palace of chastity, situated within the palace, in which they are shut up for the remainder of their lives. This is a secular solution! Dale Ralph Davis - And one might be tempted to think this information about the concubines is merely that, simply filler to provide us with the whole story. That would be a mistake, for this is the very first item the writer reports to us about David's activities upon his re-entry of Jerusalem. The prominence the writer gives this matter implies that he sees a definite importance about it. Had he only wanted to provide data he could easily have inserted the contents of 2Sa 20:3 after 2Sa 20:22 with the lead-in, 'Now when David had returned to Jerusalem, he.....' Instead, he places it front and center where we run smack into it. Understandably so. We cannot read this little note without 2Sa 12:11-12, 15:16; 16:20-22 coming to mind. The same must have been true for David. He was informed of Absalom's afternoon with these concubines (2Sa 16:20-22). And as he began to make arrangements for them, the unceasing echo of Yahweh's threat must have reverberated through his head: 'I shall take your wives before your eyes and I shall give them to your companion, and he shall lie with your wives' (2Sa 12:11). The misery of these women was occasioned by David's sin in the Bathsheba-Uriah affair. No, they were not homeless; David situated them in secluded quarters. Nor were they starving or destitute, for David provided for them. But he would have nothing more to do with them. They were confined, isolated, and alone. They passed the days of their bland existence as de facto widows....There is simply something intensely, irretrievably sad about 2Sa 20:3. Yet this is no surprise. We have seen it before - in the tragedy of Tamar (2Sa 13). Amnon had craved her (2Sa 13:1-11) and violated her (2Sa 13:14), then despised her (2Sa 13:15) and threw her out like human refuse (2Sa 13:17-19). He had 'laid her' (2Sa 13:14) and she was 'laid waste' (2Sa 13:20), desolate the rest of her days. Amnon sinned and Tamar suffered. His glands ensured her gloom. We continue to meet this radical sadness in the kingdom of God. Scores of Christ's people know what it is to have their lives turned to gray because of the sins of others. And when all is said and done, there is no help for it, except in the One sent to 'bind up the broken-hearted' (Isa. 61:1) and in the hand that promises to wipe away the tears from all faces (Isa. 25:8). (2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity) Winter raises the question, “Why did David isolate the concubines? David had left them behind to pursue their normal activities of keeping the house. He felt that they had been shamed, and it would not be proper for him to reinstate them to their former positions. He did not turn them out to fend for themselves but put them in separate quarters and ordained that they should be provided for but left to live as widows.”