Verses 9 and 10 indicate that the entire nation is in a state of anxiety and that many tense discussions are going on regarding what to do about the kingship now. "Throughout all the tribes of Israel, all the people were arguing among themselves, saying, 'The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies; he is the one who rescued us from the hand of the Philistines. But now he has fled the country to escape from Absalom; and Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?'" (2 Samuel 19:9-10) Looking back on their anointing of Absalom, they feel as if they must have been under the influence of some type of temporary madness. They wish they hadn't chosen him in favor of the man who helped them gain so much peace from their enemies. Their rejection of David doesn't make sense to them now.
Our episodes of sin and rebellion can certainly seem like madness when we look back on them, can't they? In looking back on some of the mistakes I've made in my life, I cannot imagine what I was thinking at the time. I think at this point in the narrative the people of Israel are asking themselves, "What were we thinking? Why did we get caught up in these bad decisions? How can we fix this mess?"
David is going to help them fix the mess and he begins by speaking to the people of his own tribe of Judah who were the first to anoint him king after the death of Saul. "King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: 'Ask the elders of Judah: Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his palace, since what is being said throughout Israel has reached the king at his quarters? You are my relatives, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to bring back the king?'" (2 Samuel 19:11-12) David knows the people of the other tribes are talking about reinstating him as king over the entire nation. But he's not hearing any talk out of Judah about reinstating him as king. Those who were first to anoint him king after the death of Saul should not be the last to reinstate him as king now, especially when it's taken in to consideration that they are his own kinsmen. They should have been the first, when David's men won the battle, to step up and declare David the one and only rightful king and to insist that he be allowed to resume his reign. David says it's to their shame that they were not the first to do so.
But the people of Judah are the kinsmen of the late Absalom too, and that's where the problem lies. There may have been as many people of Judah supporting Absalom as there were supporting David---more perhaps. He knows people's opinions are divided within his own tribe and to show them he's willing to work with those who previously rejected him, he offers to demote Joab as his top general and put Absalom's top general, Amasa, in his place. "And say to Amasa, 'Are you not my own flesh and blood? May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you are not the commander of my army for life in place of Joab.'" (2 Samuel 19:13)
Joab is David's nephew, the son of David's sister Zeruiah. Amasa is also David's nephew, the son of David's sister Abigail. But Joab remained staunchly loyal to David when Absalom attempted his coup while Amasa gave all his support to Absalom. Why, then, is David willing to replace Joab? I do not think it is only due to political expediency that he offers to make Amasa his general in order to appease those who had given their support to Absalom. I think David either knows or suspects that Joab had a hand in the death of his son. Even if Joab hadn't had a hand in it directly, David knows he could have prevented it from happening. We must also remember how harshly Joab spoke to David in yesterday's passage while he wept and mourned for his son, threatening him that if he did not go out and address the troops he would have no soldier left standing with him by morning. Some scholars think that Joab wasn't just saying that all the men would lose heart and desert him but that Joab himself intended to incite this desertion and lead the troops away himself. What would Joab have done then, with no king to follow? Well, I think he would have put forward a candidate for the throne and would have stirred all the people up behind this candidate.
David's sons Amnon and Absalom weren't the only two sons he had who are rebellious and self-seeking; his son Adonijah will attempt to take over the throne in the book of 1 Kings while David is still alive, even though he is aware that David has named Solomon as his heir. Joab will back Adonijah's bid for the throne. This is why I think that if Joab and all the soldiers had left David at Mahanaim, it might have been easy to entice David's son Adonijah into announcing his candidacy. Adonijah may have already been rebellious toward his father, for all we know, but Joab was the type of man who made it his business to know everything that was going on within the royal family and among David's officials. If Joab had indeed intended to do a walkout with all the troops, we can be sure he wasn't going to do it without a plan in place.
But right now there is no need for such a plan because David stepped up and did what he needed to do yesterday in addressing his troops. And now the momentum is gathering for him to be able to return to Jerusalem unopposed and in peace. In tomorrow's passage a great number of supporters will come to escort him back across the Jordan River.
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