Continuing to follow the scene described in the last post (in 2 Sam.19), we are
now at the point where the “two houses” meet at the fords of the Jordan . Will love and mutual cooperation unite the
two brothers? Will they bring the king
back together to Jerusalem ? Will having David as their king
suffice? Or, will the old - old sibling
rivalry of resentment and jealousies interfere in the occasion?
A remnant from the northern tribes, as we mentioned
previously, had gone down to Gilgal in humiliation to invite the king
back. From this we may infer that they
did not humble themselves but rather, that they had “egg on their faces” and
were embarrassed by the defeat of Absalom, their chosen leader. Their only
alternative was to possibly select another king, or invite David back. The
defeat was extremely degrading, not because David's army was more powerful and
clever, but because the forests of Ephraim claimed more lives than did the
fighting. This may have caused them to deduce that God's hand was in the
matter, and therefore they had no alternative but to reinstate David. What's
more, Absalom, their leader, was also “overcome” by a large oak tree, as he hung
by his head and long hair in its branches (2 Sam.18:9). In scripture trees are
sometimes connected to God's righteousness: "That they may be called
trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified"
(Isa. 61:3). In our day and age these proverbial oaks also pose a threat to
would-be spiritual leaders, especially to those, who like Absalom, flaunt an
elaborate self-glorifying “coiffure”.
After their defeat, the tribes of Israel all fled to their own tents
[local congregations], and spent the time disputing, arguing and quarreling
amongst themselves (2nd Sam.19:9-10).
What were they fighting over? They had remembered how David delivered them from
their enemies and saved them, time and time again from the hand of the
Philistines; but they could not understand why he would flee, leaving them to
be ruled by his rebellious son. Did they have a choice in the matter? Could
they have stood up and opposed this would-be leader? Instead, they had chosen
to serve Absalom whole-heartedly, and were even willing to fight against some
of David's faithful servants. [Does this sound familiar, invoking memories of
latter episodes in the history of the Ephraimite people, such as when they
became entangled in their various denominations?] However, after the defeat, a remnant of them
decided to go and ask the king to return. But lo and behold, the king ignored
their request (2nd Sam. 19:10 -11)!
These perplexed Israelites were further embarrassed when David sent for Judah
to come down to Gilgal. When the Judeens
arrived and saw that their Israelite brethren were already there, they were
quite upset, to say the least.
Please take note of the following small, but yet moving,
episode right in the midst of this sibling rivalry (v.16-20). When the time came
for David to cross over, a repentant man by the name of Shimei (root of
"to listen") of “Benjamin, from the house of Joseph,” (even though
most of the tribe of Benjamin were in Judah ),
along with other of Saul's servants, joined Judah . This group of Benjamites was
made up of those who had mocked, cursed and thrown stones at David when he left
Jerusalem , (2nd
Sam. 16:5-8). However, now they
were truly repentant, and "rushed down to the Jordan Israel ,
but were also the ones to experience his heart of compassion, mercy and
forgiveness. I wonder if there just might be a few around today, who have the
heart to repent and to do what is right in the eyes of the king…
Meanwhile, more and more of the Israelites (or
Ephraimites) were coming down to watch the procession crossing the Jordan .
Their internal quarreling had stopped, but now they were incensed with Judah .
When the latter escorted the king across the river, the jealousy of Ephraim (Israel )
finally broiled to the surface. "Then all Israel
came to the king and said, 'why has our brothers from Judah stolen you away, and brought the king and
his household and all David's men with him over the Jordan
What was Judah ’s
reply to this emotional assault? "… The king is a close relative of
ours. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we ever eaten at the king's
expense? Or has he given us any gift?" (2nd Sam 19:42).
Does this response have anything to do with Ephraim's complaint? Poor Ephraim,
always outwitted by his Jewish brother! Indeed, there did not seem to be any
favoritism on the king’s part toward Judah , yet Ephraim's hurt feelings
of pride, jealousy and anger surfaced, and not altogether without reason. To
add insult to injury, Judah
was not willing to walk with that remnant of Israel
to escort David across the Jordan . In fact, Ephraim's very presence, as already
pointed out, gave rise to Judah 's
contempt. Still confused over Judah ’s
remarks, Ephraim made his next mistake by a business-like approach: “And
the men of Israel answered
the men of Judah Judah ?
He can take his two shares and make them into one hundred well before Ephraim
even begins to think about investments. “Yet the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel 19:43 ). The argument
must have been quite intense, but the lion's roar won the conflict and left Israel
even more frustrated and devastated. Thus, their only recourse was to
disassociate themselves from Judah . With these words they were going to teach Judah a lesson: "We have no share in
David, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; Every man to his tents,
O Israel
Following this, the
Ephraimites found themselves another leader, a worthless man, a Benjamite. This
was just like Ephraim, who, when rejecting Judah 's
legitimate position of leadership in the family, always ends up with leaders
who will be happy to take him up every mountain, as long as it is not Mount Zion
Today, as back then, a
remnant of the lost sheep of the House of Israel has been longing for the
return of the Messiah, waiting at the fords of the Jordan for Him, but lo, here
comes the Judeans, the natural branch; kinsmen of the Messiah. They have gotten their act together and they
are coming down as "one man" to Gilgal.
What
will happen this time? Will the New Covenant love, the Torah written on the
heart, win out? Will Ephraim call out:
“Let us return to Zion ,”
or will he call out "we have no share in David, nor do we have an
inheritance in the son of Jesse, every man to his tents, O Israel"? Will Judah continue to persist in their
rejection, despising Ephraim's presence and newly-found identity? Will they again say in this generation: “We
don't need your help in bringing the King back, nor do we need you to return to
the land! THIS LAND HAS BEEN GIVE US AS A POSSESSION!" (see
Ezk. 11:15).
Will
the two brothers love one another and accept each other’s role in this chosen
generation in the family of Jacob, in the family that has been called to become
a royal priesthood and a holy nation; the one new man, the first fruit of the
new creation, a light to the nations? Or will their testimony to the nations
continue to be enmity, strife, jealousy, resentment, hatred and
divisiveness?
Redeemed of the Lord, from Ephraim
and Judah, if we do not accept God's prophetic plan, which has been summed up
in the New Covenant, and repent of these ancient attitudes our eventual
togetherness and unity will come forth only as a result of the following:
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and
repent”(Rev.3:19).
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