Ethan: Welcome to Immerse: the daily bible reading experience.
Day 200 and 5
as King David came to Bahurim, A man came out of the village cursing them.
It was Shimei, son of Ghira, from the same clan as Saul's family.
He threw stones at the king and the king's officers, and all the
mighty warriors who surrounded him.
Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel, he shouted at David.
The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul's clan.
You stole his throne.
And now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom.
At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer.
Why should this dead dog curse my Lord the King?
Abishai, son of Zeruiah, demanded.
Let me go over and cut off his head.
No, the king said.
Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah?
If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?
Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, My own son is trying to kill me.
Doesn't this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so?
Leave him alone and let him curse.
For the Lord has told him to do it.
And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless
me because of these curses today.
So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with
them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.
The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested
when they reached the Jordan River.
Meanwhile, Absalom and all the army of Israel arrived at Jerusalem.
Accompanied by Ahithophel.
When David's friend, Hushai the Archite, arrived, he went
immediately to see Absalom.
Long live the king!
he exclaimed.
Long live the king!
Is this the way you treat your friend David?
Absalom asked him.
Why aren't you with him?
I'm here because I belong to the man who is chosen by the Lord
and by all the men of Israel.
Hushai replied.
And anyway, why shouldn't I serve you?
Just as I was your father's advisor.
Now I will be your advisor.
Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, What should I do next?
Ahithophel told him, Go and sleep with your father's concubines, for he has
left them here to look after the palace.
Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond
hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.
So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see
it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father's concubines.
Absalom followed Ahithophel's advice, just as David had done,
for every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had
come directly from the mouth of God.
Now Ahithophel urged Absalom, Let me choose twelve thousand men to
start out after David tonight.
I will catch up with him while he is weary and discouraged.
He and his troops will panic.
And everyone will run away.
Then I will kill only the king, and I will bring all the people back to
you as a bride returns to her husband.
After all, it is only one man's life that you seek.
Then you will be at peace with all the people.
This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel.
But then Absalom said, Bring in Hushai the archite.
Let's see what he thinks about this.
When Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had said.
Then he asked, What is your opinion?
Should we follow Ahithophel's advice?
If not, what do you suggest?
Well, Hushai replied to Absalom, this time Ahithophel has made a mistake.
You know your father and his men.
They are mighty warriors.
Right now they are as enraged as a mother bear who has been robbed of her cubs.
And remember that your father is an experienced man of war.
He won't be spending the night among the troops.
He has probably already hidden in some pit or cave.
And when he comes out and attacks, and a few of your men fall, there
will be panic among your troops, and the word will spread that
Absalom's men are being slaughtered.
Then even the bravest soldiers, though they have the heart of a
lion, will be paralyzed with fear.
For all Israel knows what a mighty warrior your father is,
and how courageous his men are.
I recommend that you mobilize the entire army of Israel, bringing
them from as far away as Dan in the north, and Beersheba in the south.
That way you will have an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore.
And I advise that you personally lead the troops.
When we find David, we'll fall on him like dew that falls on the ground.
Then neither he nor any of his men will be left alive.
And if David were to escape into some town, you will have all
Israel there at your command.
Then we can take ropes and drag the walls of the town into the nearest valley.
Until every stone is torn down, then Absalom and all the men of Israel said,
Hussey's advice is better than a oph Fells for the Lord had determined to defeat
the council of a Oph, which really was the better plan so that he could bring
disaster on Absalom Hui told Zadak and Abiathar the priests what Ahi had said
to Absalom and the elders of Israel and what he himself had advised instead.
Quick.
He told them, find David and urge him not to stay at the shallows
of the Jordan River tonight.
He must go across at once into the wilderness beyond.
Otherwise he will die and his entire army with him.
Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been staying at En Rogel so as not to be
seen entering and leaving the city.
Arrangements had been made for a servant girl to bring them the message
they were to take to King David.
But a boy spotted them at En Rogel, and he told Absalom about it.
So they quickly escaped to Behurim, where a man hid them down
inside a well in his courtyard.
The man's wife put a cloth over the top of the well and scattered
grain on it to dry in the sun.
So no one suspected they were there.
When Absalom's men arrived, they asked her, Have you seen Ahimaaz and Jonathan?
The woman replied, They were here, but they crossed over the brook.
Absalom's men looked for them without success and returned to Jerusalem.
Then the two men crawled out of the well and hurried on to King David.
Quick, they told him, cross the Jordan tonight.
And they told him how Ahithophel had advised that he be captured and killed.
So David and all the people with him went across the Jordan River during the night.
And they were all on the other bank before dawn.
When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his
donkey, went to his home town, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself.
He died there and was buried in the family tomb.
David soon arrived at Mahanaim.
By now, Absalom had mobilized the entire army of Israel and was leading
his troops across the Jordan River.
Absalom had appointed Amasa as commander of his army, replacing Joab,
who had been commander under David.
Amasa was Joab's cousin.
His father was Jether, an Ishmaelite.
His mother, Abigail, daughter of Nahash, was the sister of Joab's mother, Zeruiah.
Absalom and the Israelite army set up camp in the land of Gilead.
When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was warmly greeted by Shobai, son of Nahash.
Who came from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and by Machir son of Amiel from Lodeber,
and by Barzillai of Gilead from Rogallum.
They brought sleeping mats, cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley,
flour and roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, butter, sheep, goats and cheese
for David and those who were with him.
For they said.
You must all be very hungry and tired and thirsty after your long
march through the wilderness.
David now mustered the men who were with him and appointed
generals and captains to lead them.
He sent the troops out in three groups, placing one group under Joab, One under
Joab's brother, Abishai, son of Zeruiah, and one under Ittai, the man from Gath.
The king told his troops, I am going out with you.
But his men objected strongly.
You must not go, they urged.
If we have to turn and run, and even if half of us die, it will make
no difference to Absalom's troops.
They will be looking only for you.
You are worth ten thousand of us, and it is better that you stay here in
the town and send help if we need it.
If you think that's the best plan, I'll do it, the king answered.
So he stood alongside the gate of the town as all the troops marched out in
groups of hundreds and of thousands.
And the king gave this command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, for my sake.
Deal gently with young Absalom.
And all the troops heard the king give this order to his commanders.
So the battle began in the forest of Ephraim, and the Israelite troops
were beaten back by David's men.
There was a great slaughter that day, and twenty thousand men laid down their lives.
The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of
the forest than were killed by the sword.
During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David's men.
He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great
tree, his hair got caught in the tree.
His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air.
One of David's men saw what had happened and told Joab, I saw
Absalom dangling from a great tree.
What?
Joab demanded.
You saw him there and didn't kill him?
I would have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver and a hero's belt.
I would not kill the king's son for even a thousand pieces of
silver, the man replied to Joab.
We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai.
For my sake, please spare young Absalom.
And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son, and the king would
certainly find out who did it.
You, yourself, would be the first to abandon me.
Enough of this nonsense, Joab said.
Then he took three daggers and plunged them into Absalom's heart as he
dangled, still alive, in the great tree.
Ten of Joab's young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and killed him.
Then Joab blew the ram's horn, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel.
They threw Absalom's body into a deep pit in the forest and piled
a great heap of stones over it.
And all Israel fled to their homes.
During his lifetime, Absalom had built a monument to himself in the king's valley.
For he said, I have no son to carry on my name.
He named the monument after himself, and it is known as
Absalom's Monument to this day.
This concludes today's Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.