Useful Bible Studies > 2 Samuel Commentary > chapter 19
Joab was now ready to tell David what he wanted David to do. David must go out to meet the soldiers who had so bravely fought for him, his family and their nation. That was all; it was not a difficult task. The soldiers would see him and he would encourage them.
So, Joab did not ask David to join a great procession, as was usual after success in war. He only asked David to meet his men and to speak kindly to them.
David did not want even to do that, so Joab warned him severely. Joab even made a serious promise in front of God that he was speaking the truth. If David did not take his responsibilities as king seriously now, his soldiers could not remain loyal to him. They already felt ashamed that they had fought for him (19:3). They were afraid of what would happen in their country. There was now no clear leader to replace David, so several people would fight to become that leader. David would lose his power at once, and he and his family would be in great danger.
David had lived a hard life with many troubles. On several occasions, Saul tried to kill him. After Saul’s death, David became the leader of a country with fierce enemies on every side. After David established peace in the region, his own son Absalom turned against him. Through all these troubles, a group of men had remained loyal to him. However, they could not now remain loyal to him if he would not support them. So, Joab warned David of even worse troubles than any troubles that he had known in the past. He could avoid these troubles if he simply went out to encourage his soldiers.
Next part: David remains in Mahanaim (2 Samuel 19:8-10)
Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 1000+ page course book.
© 2023, Keith Simons.