We were told yesterday that all the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel had come down to the Jordan River to ceremonially cross over with the king. We know at least a thousand men of Benjamin also helped the king to cross over; there may have been more since the Bible often refers to the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin simply by the combined term of "Judah". The ten northern tribes feel as if they weren't given as much time and opportunity to participate in the king's return as the tribe of Judah was given. "Soon all the men of Israel were coming to the king and saying to him, 'Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, steal the king away and bring him and his household across the Jordan, together with all his men?'" (2 Samuel 19:41)
It seems as if the men of the ten northern tribes should have had time to form a party twice the size of the one that went to the Jordan. You'll recall that the ten northern tribes were the first to begin insisting that David be returned to the throne in Jerusalem. Judah was the last to get on board and invite the king home. I am not sure why they were last except that Absalom's rebellion began in Jerusalem and in Judah and, after the death of Absalom, public opinion may have been equally divided in Judah as to whether to reinstate David or whether to anoint someone else as king. But once the people of Judah decided unity was more important to them than continuing the division caused by Absalom, all their troops got together and went to escort the king home. By contrast, only half the troops of the other tribes went to the Jordan to escort the king, even though they were in agreement to reinstate him as king before the men of Judah were. If, however, they were not informed of the date and time that the king would be crossing over, there is some validity to their argument that they didn't have enough notice to form a party as large as they would have liked to have formed. On the other hand, if the northern tribes and the southern tribes were better at working together, this lack of communication could not have happened.
The men of Judah remind the men of Israel that David is a Judahite. So even though they were the last to make up their minds about reinstating him as king, once they made up their minds they did it in a big way. Once those who had forsaken David for Absalom realized they'd made a mistake, they came together with those who'd remained faithful to David and they all went down to the Jordan in a spirit of brotherhood. These men counter the accusations of the men of the northern tribes like this: "All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, 'We did this because the king is closely related to us. Why are you angry about it? Have we eaten any of the king's provisions? Have we taken anything for ourselves?'" (2 Samuel 19:42) They say, "You behave as if we came out to support the king for our own gain, expecting a reward. We are not expecting a reward! We haven't even eaten a morsel of the fine foods supplied to the king by his supporters. We supplied our own selves for the journey. We do not want or expect a reward because we are doing what it is our duty to do. David is one of us. We owe it to him to see him home with the biggest welcoming committee we can put together. We owe it to him to try to make up for what he's been through due to Absalom's rebellion and those who followed Absalom in his rebellion. Why are you accusing us of selfish motives? We've done nothing to benefit ourselves. Our only intention is to honor our kinsman the king."
"Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, 'We have ten shares in the king; so we have a greater claim to David than you have. Why then do you treat us with contempt? Weren't we the first to speak of bringing back our king?'" (2 Samuel 19:43a) They say, "So what if you're from David's own tribe? The men of Judah and Benjamin combined are only two shares in the king; there are ten northern tribes and we have ten shares in the king! We should have had more say in how this welcoming party was put together. We should have had more opportunity to do good things for the king. You purposely did not include us in your planning committee because you wanted to make yourselves look better than us. You wanted to gain favor for yourselves from the king."
I believe the second half of verse 43 indicates that this argument goes on for some time. Eventually the men of Judah "win", if anyone can be said to win when the Lord's people are arguing among themselves. I don't know if they win because their attitude is so fierce that the men of Israel stop answering back or if it's because David calls a halt to the argument and states that he feels the men of Judah are correct. "But the men of Judah pressed their claims even more forcefully than the men of Israel." (2 Samuel 19:43b)
A man named Sheba who is on the scene will speak words that incite a rebellion in tomorrow's passage. The unhappy men of the northern tribes will be enticed into this rebellion by their anger and bitterness toward the men of Judah. As a result, they will refuse to go all the way to Jerusalem with the king and will drop out of the procession.
What's happening in Chapter 19 can be compared to divisions in the church congregations of today. Instead of coming together in unity and brotherhood/sisterhood as the family of God, there is infighting and jealousy. A house divided against itself cannot stand, as the Lord Jesus said, and many a church has fallen apart because the congregants begin fighting against each other. It's not the outside forces that tear a church apart but problems that crop up on the inside. The same can be said for many nations that have fallen. They fell apart not because of enemy attacks but because of divisions on the inside. During the days of David's grandson, King Rehoboam, the nation of Israel will split in two. The cracks that begin appearing here in Chapter 19 will continue to widen and eventually the ten northern tribes will become the kingdom of Israel and the two southern tribes will become the kingdom of Judah. This division will contribute to the eventual downfall of both kingdoms, for the separation of the ten northern tribes from the house of God at Jerusalem will make it easier for them to fall into idolatry, culminating in the Lord allowing them to be conquered by Assyria. A little over a hundred years later, Judah meets the same fate at the hands of the Babylonians. If all twelve tribes had remained united in their love for the Lord and in their love for each other and in their love for their nation, the outcome would almost certainly have been very different.
Divisions among the Lord's people are a dangerous thing! As long as there is unity in the house of God, I don't believe anyone or anything from the outside can tear the house apart. But when the people are self-seeking and when they are resentful and jealous of each other, the house falls apart from the inside. David knew from personal experience how important it is for the people of God to love and support each other and to work together like one big family and he said, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!" (Psalm 133:1)
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