Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 16-17.
Once again I start my comments by talking about something I never noticed before. As David left Jerusalem fleeing from Absalom’s forces he was approached by two men of the tribe of Benjamin, Ziba and Shimei. Ziba had been a servant of the House of Saul and David made him steward of Mephibosheth’s household (Saul’s grandson). Shimei we are told was part of clan from which King Saul came. So, today I noticed for the first time that these two represent two factions from the tribe of Benjamin. One faction, represented by Ziba, strongly supported King David. The other faction, represented by Shimei, resented David for taking the kingship away from the tribe of Benjamin. I wonder if perhaps Ziba’s comment to David about Mephibosheth here resulted from Mephibosheth “courting” the faction which opposed David’s kingship. I think that perhaps Mephibosheth thought that ,since he was crippled and could therefore never aspire to the throne, catering to the whims of his fellow Benjaminites who looked back to the days of King Saul with nostalgia was harmless and spent time entertaining, and being entertained by members of that faction. Ziba concluded that Mephibosheth would welcome Absalom’s coup, perhaps even believed that Mephibosheth thought he might be made king in the turmoil which followed. In a way, the differences between Ziba and Shimei illustrate why Absalom’s coup failed. Ziba brought provisions for King David and his men as they fled Jerusalem. Shimei merely offered insults. Later in the passage several more prominent citizens who provided provisions to David’s forces are mentioned. Absalom had sought to garner support from the common people but failed to undermine support for David among those who had the ability to get things done.
And once again I have to say that I really thought this was going somewhere very meaningful, but it never seemed to come together.
I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.