In today’s reading, verses 24-26 tell us more about the “Family Feud” that has involved just about every one of David’s relatives (by name!) in his struggle against his son, Absalom. Find a good Bible dictionary (there are several available on line or in any library) and trace the relationships to see who is related to whom and who is supporting which faction.

What I concentrated on today was to learn, from that same Bible dictionary, about the people mentioned in verses 27-29, and then try to discover what I could find to apply to my life.

Shobi was the King of Ammon. Like his father, Nahash, he was a supporter of David. Before he became King, his brother Hanun had been King. Hanun, however, had embarrassed David’s ambassadors when they came to his father’s funeral. Shobi got the throne when David fought with Hanun and won. Rather than being offended at his brother’s death, Shobi was a supporter of David because of David’s kindness at the time of his father’s death. (It probably didn’t hurt their relations that he got the throne when David killed his brother, instead of watching David give his nation to a political supporter or seeing it become a vassal state to Israel.) Shobi heard about the mess that David was in, and he showed up to provide both moral and material support for David. Shobi is both a political supporter of David and one of his personal supporters.

Makir was the guy who had adopted Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth. As you might expect from most parents, when he saw his son so well-treated by David, he became a David-guy, too. Makir, as part of David’s extended relations through Mephibosheth, is a family supporter of David as well as a personal supporter.

Barzillai was an 80-year-old merchant. He became wealthy because of David’s thirty years of good leadership and sound economic policies. He is a citizen supporter of David, as well as a personal supporter.

So then, David is on the eve of a war with his son for the Kingdom. He’s been kicked out of his city, heard about his son’s sexual conquests with his concubines, seen some of his friends and former advisers turn against him, been stoned and scorned unjustly, and has been traveling through the desert he thought he’d left years ago. To sum it up, he’s exhausted physically, emotionally depressed, intellectually uncertain that the effort has been worth while, and is spiritually dry. In modern terms, his life sucks raw eggs! And, just when he needs it most, here come three different people to say to him “Hang in there, David! We love you and we care for you – not only as King but because of who you are as a person.” They provide the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual support that he needs to be able to continue the battle to the end.

It makes me wonder why I can sometimes be so dumb as to doubt the motives of people who come to me to provide support and encouragement, particularly when they arrive just when I need them most. I sometimes try to argue with my own supporters: “I’m not really loveable, so you can’t really love me.” Or “I don’t deserve to be taken care of, so you shouldn’t waste your resources on me.” Or “There are people who are worse off than I am, so you should go to them instead.” Fortunately, I’m learning that God puts those people (including you!) into my life intentionally to act as His hands and feet, to bring His grace and love to me, just like those fellows did for David. I’m learning that I need those folks and need to trust them when I don’t trust myself – because without them, I wouldn’t be prepared for the battle that is going to show up tomorrow!

A fellow traveler,
Dave