And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him.
And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness. 2Sa 15:22-23
THE REBELLION UNDER ABSALOM
And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness. 2Sa 15:22-23
THE REBELLION UNDER ABSALOM
We have here--
An aggravated crime. The rebellion of Absalom against his father would have been an act of great wickedness in whatever manner he had carried it out, but the cloak which he used to conceal it added to his guilt. He must have been a bad man indeed to conspire against his father’s throne; but to dress up his base designs in the garb of patriotism, and even of piety, added hypocrisy to his other sins. But there appears to be no limit to the extent to which men will veil a vicious act in the semblance of a virtuous deed, and thus give proof of the great depravity of which human nature is capable.
An aggravated calamity. If Absalom’s guilt was increased by the attendant circumstances so was David’s sorrow. There was, first, the quarter from which it came. It was no small addition to the severity of the trial that the evil sprang from David’s own house—that the rebel was one of his own children and apparently a son for whom he had a deep affection. And added to this was the fact that Absalom was aided and encouraged by one in whom David had placed implicit confidence, his “familiar friend,” Ahithophel, whose faithfulness, it seems, he had never doubted (Psa_41:9). David had been warned to look for trouble, and for trouble from his own family; but he could hardly have expected so heavy a calamity as the one which now befel him nor is it likely he had ever thought it possible that Absalom and Ahithophel would be the chief instruments of his chastisement. Then, again, it must have been a bitter surprise and mortification to David to find that so many of his people were ready to renounce their allegiance to him and to follow one who was in all respects his inferior, and who had no claims upon their gratitude. Faulty as David had been in his later years, and just as might have been the charge brought against him by Absalom (2Sa_15:3), his rule upon the whole had been productive of great good to the nation, whereas Absalom had done nothing for it. Yet, when the standard of rebellion was raised, many men gathered to it who doubtless owed much to the efforts which David had made to benefit the people and thus showed themselves capable of great ingratidude. And we all know that unkindness from such a quarter is much harder to bear than when it comes from the hand of strangers. But by far the greatest aggravation of David’s trial must have been the consciousness that he had brought it on himself. It was no arbitrary sentence which God passed upon him when He warned him that evil would come from his own house. If David’s household had been ordered more in accordance with the will of God, and his own personal life been under more strict discipline, it is more than probable he would have had no such sons as Amnon and Absalom, and no subjects so faithless as Ahithophel and those who followed with him. But even if then such circumstances had arisen, the father and the king would have found strong consolation in the reflection that he was in no sense blameworthy. But he could not have this strongest support in trial but had this burden in addition to all the others, that he was only reaping as he had sown. And, alas! although he alone was responsible for the sowing, many besides himself had to taste the bitter fruit. To a man like David, this must have been an inexpressible grief. To any true-hearted man or woman it is far easier to suffer than to be the means of bringing suffering upon others, even when it is a matter of pure misfortune. But surely nothing can cause such agony of mind as to look upon the miseries of others and to feel that we are the cause of it, and that by our own transgression. David now saw his kingdom rent by civil war with all its attendant desolations, and knew that he, and he only, was to blame; and as we look upon this man after God’s own heart, ascending the Mount of Olives, where can we find a more vivid illustration of the terrible consequences of sin or of the inflexible impartiality of God. If David must thus suffer even after his repentance, what must be the tribulation necessary for those who live a life of rebellion against their God and their conscience and who have never, like him, acknowledged their transgressions and sought to be cleansed from their sin. (Preacher's Homiletical)
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The brook Kidron, which is but a few paces broad, runs along the valley of Jehoshaphat, east of Jerusalem, to the south-west corner of the city, and then, turning to the south-east, empties itself into the Dead Sea. Like the Ilissus, it is dry at least nine months in the year, being only furnished with water in the winter, and after heavy rains. Its bed is narrow and deep, which indicates that it must formerly have been the channel for waters which have found some other, and probably subterraneous course. (TSK cross reference)
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"David passed that gloomy brook when flying with his mourning company from his traitor son. The man after God's own heart was not exempt from trouble, nay, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord's Anointed, and the Lord's Afflicted. Why then should we expect to escape? At sorrow's gates the noblest of our race have waited with ashes on their heads, wherefore then should we complain as though some strange thing had happened unto us?
The KING of kings himself was not favored with a more cheerful or royal road. He passed over the filthy ditch of Kidron, through which the filth of Jerusalem flowed. God had one Son without sin, but not a single child without the rod. It is a great joy to believe that Jesus has been tempted in all points like as we are. What is our Kidron this morning? Is it a faithless friend, a sad bereavement, a slanderous reproach, a dark foreboding? The King has passed over all these. Is it bodily pain, poverty, persecution, or contempt? Over each of these Kidrons the King has gone before us. "In all our afflictions he was afflicted." The idea of strangeness in our trials must be banished at once and for ever, for he who is the Head of all saints, knows by experience the grief which we think so peculiar. All the citizens of Zion must be free of the Honorable Company of Mourners, of which the Prince Immanuel is Head and Captain.
Notwithstanding the abasement of David, he yet returned in triumph to his city, and David's Lord arose victorious from the grave; let us then be of good courage, for we also shall win the day. We shall yet with joy draw water out of the wells of salvation, though now for a season we have to pass by the noxious streams of sin and sorrow. Courage, soldiers of the Cross, the King himself triumphed after going over Kidron, and so shall you." (Charles Spurgeon-Morning & Evening Devotions)
An aggravated crime. The rebellion of Absalom against his father would have been an act of great wickedness in whatever manner he had carried it out, but the cloak which he used to conceal it added to his guilt. He must have been a bad man indeed to conspire against his father’s throne; but to dress up his base designs in the garb of patriotism, and even of piety, added hypocrisy to his other sins. But there appears to be no limit to the extent to which men will veil a vicious act in the semblance of a virtuous deed, and thus give proof of the great depravity of which human nature is capable.
An aggravated calamity. If Absalom’s guilt was increased by the attendant circumstances so was David’s sorrow. There was, first, the quarter from which it came. It was no small addition to the severity of the trial that the evil sprang from David’s own house—that the rebel was one of his own children and apparently a son for whom he had a deep affection. And added to this was the fact that Absalom was aided and encouraged by one in whom David had placed implicit confidence, his “familiar friend,” Ahithophel, whose faithfulness, it seems, he had never doubted (Psa_41:9). David had been warned to look for trouble, and for trouble from his own family; but he could hardly have expected so heavy a calamity as the one which now befel him nor is it likely he had ever thought it possible that Absalom and Ahithophel would be the chief instruments of his chastisement. Then, again, it must have been a bitter surprise and mortification to David to find that so many of his people were ready to renounce their allegiance to him and to follow one who was in all respects his inferior, and who had no claims upon their gratitude. Faulty as David had been in his later years, and just as might have been the charge brought against him by Absalom (2Sa_15:3), his rule upon the whole had been productive of great good to the nation, whereas Absalom had done nothing for it. Yet, when the standard of rebellion was raised, many men gathered to it who doubtless owed much to the efforts which David had made to benefit the people and thus showed themselves capable of great ingratidude. And we all know that unkindness from such a quarter is much harder to bear than when it comes from the hand of strangers. But by far the greatest aggravation of David’s trial must have been the consciousness that he had brought it on himself. It was no arbitrary sentence which God passed upon him when He warned him that evil would come from his own house. If David’s household had been ordered more in accordance with the will of God, and his own personal life been under more strict discipline, it is more than probable he would have had no such sons as Amnon and Absalom, and no subjects so faithless as Ahithophel and those who followed with him. But even if then such circumstances had arisen, the father and the king would have found strong consolation in the reflection that he was in no sense blameworthy. But he could not have this strongest support in trial but had this burden in addition to all the others, that he was only reaping as he had sown. And, alas! although he alone was responsible for the sowing, many besides himself had to taste the bitter fruit. To a man like David, this must have been an inexpressible grief. To any true-hearted man or woman it is far easier to suffer than to be the means of bringing suffering upon others, even when it is a matter of pure misfortune. But surely nothing can cause such agony of mind as to look upon the miseries of others and to feel that we are the cause of it, and that by our own transgression. David now saw his kingdom rent by civil war with all its attendant desolations, and knew that he, and he only, was to blame; and as we look upon this man after God’s own heart, ascending the Mount of Olives, where can we find a more vivid illustration of the terrible consequences of sin or of the inflexible impartiality of God. If David must thus suffer even after his repentance, what must be the tribulation necessary for those who live a life of rebellion against their God and their conscience and who have never, like him, acknowledged their transgressions and sought to be cleansed from their sin. (Preacher's Homiletical)
+++++++
The brook Kidron, which is but a few paces broad, runs along the valley of Jehoshaphat, east of Jerusalem, to the south-west corner of the city, and then, turning to the south-east, empties itself into the Dead Sea. Like the Ilissus, it is dry at least nine months in the year, being only furnished with water in the winter, and after heavy rains. Its bed is narrow and deep, which indicates that it must formerly have been the channel for waters which have found some other, and probably subterraneous course. (TSK cross reference)
+++++++
"David passed that gloomy brook when flying with his mourning company from his traitor son. The man after God's own heart was not exempt from trouble, nay, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord's Anointed, and the Lord's Afflicted. Why then should we expect to escape? At sorrow's gates the noblest of our race have waited with ashes on their heads, wherefore then should we complain as though some strange thing had happened unto us?
The KING of kings himself was not favored with a more cheerful or royal road. He passed over the filthy ditch of Kidron, through which the filth of Jerusalem flowed. God had one Son without sin, but not a single child without the rod. It is a great joy to believe that Jesus has been tempted in all points like as we are. What is our Kidron this morning? Is it a faithless friend, a sad bereavement, a slanderous reproach, a dark foreboding? The King has passed over all these. Is it bodily pain, poverty, persecution, or contempt? Over each of these Kidrons the King has gone before us. "In all our afflictions he was afflicted." The idea of strangeness in our trials must be banished at once and for ever, for he who is the Head of all saints, knows by experience the grief which we think so peculiar. All the citizens of Zion must be free of the Honorable Company of Mourners, of which the Prince Immanuel is Head and Captain.
Notwithstanding the abasement of David, he yet returned in triumph to his city, and David's Lord arose victorious from the grave; let us then be of good courage, for we also shall win the day. We shall yet with joy draw water out of the wells of salvation, though now for a season we have to pass by the noxious streams of sin and sorrow. Courage, soldiers of the Cross, the King himself triumphed after going over Kidron, and so shall you." (Charles Spurgeon-Morning & Evening Devotions)
THE LOYAL STRANGER
David was conscious of ill desert; hence his resolve to flee. How different his bearing now from that great hour when Goliath fell before him! Ah, conscience doth make cowards of us all! And yet there was a beautiful spirit of resignation welling up amid the salt waves of his bitter sorrow. When we are called to pass through dark hours, we cannot do better than repeat the words of this royal penitent: “Behold, here am I; let him do to me as seemeth good to him.” What thoughtfulness of Ittai. What pathos in the king’s words to Zadok. What humility as he climbed Olivet! What trust still in God to turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. It is an impressive picture of the resignation of a broken and a contrite heart.
They were noble words that Ittai uttered! His name associates him with David’s residence in Gath, among the Philistines. He was a stranger and an exile in Israel, but the king’s friendship had made a home for him. In these days of our Lord’s humiliation, let us address Him in the chivalrous and noble words of 2Sa_15:21. See Joh_12:26; 1Th_5:10. (F.B. Meyer)
2Sa 15:21 And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
1Th 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
They were noble words that Ittai uttered! His name associates him with David’s residence in Gath, among the Philistines. He was a stranger and an exile in Israel, but the king’s friendship had made a home for him. In these days of our Lord’s humiliation, let us address Him in the chivalrous and noble words of 2Sa_15:21. See Joh_12:26; 1Th_5:10. (F.B. Meyer)
2Sa 15:21 And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
1Th 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
