11. King David: Colorful Friends and Bitter Enemies
11
KING DAVID
Colorful Friends and Bitter Enemies
How could he be anything less than a man after God’s own heart? No one has ever praised God with more powerful and picturesque words than David. His Psalm 23 is the most memorable poem of the entire ancient world:
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want. . . .
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul. . . .
Yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
For thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff
they comfort me.[1]
As a beloved Old Testament figure, no one ranks higher than David. He grabs the reader’s attention from the moment he strides out of the text. Healthy, handsome, and charismatic, he will tear at the heartstrings of everyone he meets—down to the present day. He is the “Israelite Idol,” attracting adoring fans wherever he goes.
He is anything but a perfect role model, however. His extravagant devotion to God is offset by his blatant shortcomings. In an era long before paparazzi and investigative journalism, his sins are almost flagrantly exposed. Indeed, no other biblical biography is so complete—a story that spans virtually his entire life, from boyhood to death. Complex relationships with both men and women, including Saul, Jonathan, Joab, Abigail, and Bathsheba are described in graphic detail.
Apart from his personal life, David is remembered for his nation-building accomplishments more than anything else. After his encounter with Goliath, he is heralded as a hero, though a hero on the run from the insanely jealous Saul. After years as a guerrilla warrior, he ascends to the throne at a time when the future of the Israelites looks grim.
Like everyone else, from Samuel, Saul, and Jonathan down to the present, Yahweh is charmed by David.
Harold Bloom, The Book of J
Looking back at this era, the historian knows that both Egypt and Assyria are in decline, allowing for expansion of the tiny Israelite kingdom. David, however, no doubt feels as hemmed in as did his predecessors. His immediate military ambition is to crush Israel’s loathsome long-standing enemy, the Philistines. With that threat essentially out of the way, he goes after Jerusalem, a Canaanite stronghold.
The victory over the Jebusites paves the way for David to establish the capital in Jerusalem, a less-than-ideal site in many respects. No rivers or trade routes connected the city to other major commercial centers. But the region has religious significance to the Israelites—particularly a hill to the north of the city. Indeed, David makes a point of purchasing that hill in order to secure perpetual ownership.
David’s deed of purchase for this sacred piece of real estate, however, would not survive the millennia. This much-fought-over piece of land has changed hands more than thirty times and today is the site of the Islamic Dome of the Rock.
Jerusalem now secure as the capital, David sends for the Ark of the Covenant, eager to give it a permanent home. A natural follow-up would be the building of the Temple. But the Temple is God’s most holy dwelling on earth, and David, the fierce warrior, has blood on his hands. God will leave this enterprise to his son Solomon.
David: Charismatic and Culpable
The youngest of eight brothers, David, son of Jesse and great-grandson of Ruth, grows up in Naomi’s hometown of Bethlehem. He may have heard stories about the famine of earlier times that prompted a hometown couple to journey to Moab. In the train of events that followed, his great-grandmother left Moab and settled in Bethlehem. Soon thereafter she gave birth to Obed, his grandfather. What if she had remained in her homeland? How different history would have been.
David’s father, like many of the neighbors, raises sheep, and David and his brothers spend long days out on the hillsides tending the flocks. If sheepherding conjures up images of peaceful, pastoral, lackadaisical work, such is surely not the case for David. Dangerous wild animals are lurking in the forests and behind boulders and shrubs. In defending the flock he demonstrates incredible brute strength reminiscent of Samson. He later relates two feats of this sort to King Saul: “When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.”[2]
As with so many of God’s chosen people, David (despite his ferocious defense of sheep) is an unlikely candidate for king. He alone is away from the household tending sheep when the prophet Samuel arrives to anoint him. After Samuel explains his mission and David is summoned (much to the incredulity of his family), Samuel pours the anointing oil over David’s head. In an instant, God’s Spirit descends upon him, empowering him for the remainder of his life.
Soon thereafter this Spirit-filled boy, whose harp playing has not gone unnoticed, is selected (upon recommendation from a royal servant) to serve as a music therapist for the bipolar King Saul. Saul is impressed by the boy’s talent and soothed by his sweet melodies.
David continues part-time in Saul’s service (as court musician and armor bearer), commuting from the family sheep ranch. Three of his brothers are off serving in Saul’s army, fighting the Philistines some distance away. Concerned about the well-being of his sons, Jesse sends David to the front lines with provisions—roasted grain, bread, cheese.
Perhaps thinking he might see some action, David arrives amid a stalemate—and a great commotion. The Philistine giant Goliath is goading the Israelites to send out a man to fight him. And the Israelites are frightened beyond measure. David delivers the care packages to his brothers and begins inquiring about the reward for killing the giant. Overhearing the conversation, his older brother angrily rebukes him. Indeed, his bitterness and sarcasm bring to mind Joseph’s brothers: “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”[3] But David responds with his own bit of sarcasm and continues to mingle with the troops in an effort to get as much information as he can about the proposed matchup. Saul is informed of this upstart roaming the Israelite camp, so he summons the boy. David approaches Saul, who does not even recognize him, and tells him he wants to take on the giant. Saul is incredulous. Not a chance. But David persists. He tells the king that he once had fought a lion and a bear successfully and that he certainly can take out Goliath.
Saul, desperate for any ray of hope, brings out his armor and agrees to let David give it a try. But David rejects the armor, gathers five stones, and saunters out to meet the giant, his only weapon a slingshot. Goliath taunts and ridicules him until he’s suddenly hit in the forehead with one of David’s stones. He drops to the ground like a bag of cement. David grabs the giant’s sword and slices off his head, and later presents it to Saul. In the meantime, Saul’s army regains its courage, pursues the fleeing Philistines, and trounces them.
But serious problems lie ahead even as David goes on to enjoy one military success after another. David has become a hero, and Saul is not amused. Following the defeat of the Philistines, the women sing and dance in the streets:
Saul kills by the thousand,
David by the ten thousand![4]
David, having been befriended by Saul’s son Jonathan, comes to live at court, where again he plays his harp to calm Saul’s demons. During this time David bonds with Jonathan to the point that they make a covenant of eternal friendship. Saul, in a jealous rage, twice tries to kill him, but David is invincible. God is with him. Saul then sends him to the front lines, hoping he might get rid of him once and for all. But his heroic stature only rises. Saul then arranges for David to marry his daughter Michal in exchange for the killing of one hundred Philistines, fully expecting David to die in the attempt.
Without so much as a wound, David and his men more than accomplish the task, depositing at Saul’s feet a grand total of two hundred Philistine foreskins. That seals the deal, and David marries Michal, who is head over heels in love with him. But Saul is now even more angry and afraid, and his attempts to be rid of David are intensified. Every time, however, David outsmarts him. Through the intervention of Jonathan, David returns to the palace as court musician. But after Saul tries to spear him to the wall, David narrowly escapes. His new wife Michal connives against her father and engineers a clever deception that allows David to elude Saul’s search party.
On one occasion, in an effort to escape the wrath of the king, David flees to Gath—of all places, Goliath’s hometown. Not surprisingly, he is recognized and is trapped with no escape. So he feigns madness, beating his fists against his head, dribbling from the mouth, and scribbling in the dirt. When he is brought before King Achish, the king snorts his memorable one-liner: Don’t I already have enough lunatics around that you should bring me another!
The David of the Bible is a complex character. He is pious and faithful at times but is also capable of heinous crimes. He is a powerful and decisive man, except around his children whom he cannot control.
Steven L. McKenzie, King David: A Biography
Soon thereafter David gathers around him a ragtag band of some four hundred loyal followers and hides out. His brothers are with him, and he has secured a safe haven for his parents in Moab, interestingly, the homeland of his father’s grandmother Ruth. His first military skirmish with his militia is against the Philistines. He defeats them soundly. But Abiathar the priest warns David to get out of the walled city of Keilah, which they have just taken, because Saul’s army is on the way. So David and his men are on the run, hiding out in the desert, ever on the lookout for King Saul. Jonathan reports to David of his father’s evil designs, and he and David renew their covenant.
In one instance when David is fleeing Saul’s hot pursuit, he hides deep inside a cave. He and his men hear noise outside, and before they can make their escape, Saul comes in to use the cave as a toilet. While he’s doing his business, David slips up near him and cuts a piece off his garment. David’s men had whispered they wanted to kill Saul, but David will have no part in assassinating the king. When Saul takes his leave, David marshals forth his courage and, calling out to him, falls on the ground before him.
He informs the king that his own men had wanted to kill him, but he forbade them, for King Saul is God’s chosen ruler. Then he shows Saul the piece of garment he had cut from his robe, proof enough that he would never lay a hand on God’s anointed.
Saul repents and David promises he will never kill his family or forget the good Saul has done. But they go their separate ways. David never again returns to Saul’s household.
David and his men live off the land and request food and necessities from local herdsmen in exchange for protection. This is the wild west of Canaan, and landowners are usually willing to barter for security. That is, all except Nabal. Nabal’s name is well known in the region of Carmel. He farms on a massive spread with some four thousand sheep and goats.
It is shearing season, a big time of festivities and feasting. David sends word on ahead to Nabal, requesting in a courteous way that he share some of his provisions with his hungry foot soldiers. David reminds him that he and his militia had offered protection and did not harass his herders nor plunder any goods when they were camped nearby. All he is asking is food for his men.
Nabal’s wealth and financial security, however, do not lead to generosity. He fumes. Who is David, and why should he share his food with him? Who is David! Really? Doesn’t Nabal know he killed a giant and that the song of his ten thousands has been on everyone’s lips? But Nabal has forgotten—either that or he couldn’t care less. The answer is no. No food, not now or ever.
David’s refusal to kill King Saul catches and holds my attention . . . as completely uncharacteristic of David. David got his start by killing the Philistine giant Goliath. From that moment on, killing Philistines was a leitmotif in David’s life. He made a specialty of killing Philistines: He killed a hundred as a bride-price to Saul for Michal’s hand in marriage. . . . But not just Philistines—Geshurites, Girzites, Amalekites, Jerahmeelites, Kenites, Moabites, Aramaeans, Edomites, and Ammonites all contributed substantially to David’s body count.
In the welter of all that killing, the thing that interests me most is the man he didn’t kill. He didn’t kill King Saul. And King Saul was the one man he had the most reason and motivation to kill. King Saul was obsessed with killing David.
David is livid. He and his six hundred men did not have to ask for it in a nice way. They could have taken everything Nabal owned and more. So he’s off with his troops, leaving two hundred behind to secure the camp. They head down into a ravine, approaching Nabal’s settlement, when what should they meet? A train of pack animals loaded down with provisions, and behind them a beautiful woman astride her own donkey.
As the woman approaches, she dismounts and bows before David. What in heaven’s name is going on? The woman rises, apologizes, blames herself for the trouble, and then blesses him. David responds in kind, blessing her and thanking her for her compassion and for preventing him from murderous revenge. He and his men enjoy a hearty picnic, compliments of Abigail, Nabal’s wife.
Everyday Life
Diet in a Land of Milk and Honey
The Bible has many references to festivals and feasts but virtually no descriptions of the various dishes and delectables that were served. One of the most detailed descriptions of foods that would have been consumed by rich and poor alike is that of the food Abigail furnished for the guerrilla warrior David and his army. When he threatened to take action against her husband, she spun into action, sending donkeys loaded down with “two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep dressed out and ready for cooking, a bushel of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes” (1 Sam. 25:18).
Most people, even those rich in land and cattle, ate a varied diet, though surely not a complex one. The Bible is anything but a recipe book, so we must guess how most dishes were prepared.
Beans, lentils, and cucumbers were available in season. Such vegetables were often added to a beef or mutton stew, flavored by garlic, onions, or leeks. Poultry and eggs were also part of the diet, as were olives and olive oil. Also part of the meal was a wide variety of fruit, including pomegranates, dates, and figs. No meal was complete without bread and for poor people barley bread was a staple and might serve as an entire meal, washed down with water or milk.
Wine, of course, was a key part of a complete meal and important for entertaining guests. Fertile soil and a temperate climate served very well for grape growing. Indeed, vineyards were an important part of a homestead, and most of the grapes were used for wine making.
Saul again is hot on the trail. But David is wily. Somehow he manages to escape every time—sometimes right under Saul’s nose. Indeed, he and one of his men sneak into Saul’s camp late one night and find him and his soldiers all in a God-induced deep sleep. It’s their opportunity to finish him off for good, but David refuses to even contemplate the idea. Instead he takes Saul’s spear and canteen and sneaks away. At a distance, David calls out to Abner, Saul’s general. He taunts him and shows him what he’s holding in his hands. Saul awakens and comes out, and once again he’s in a confessing, forgiving mood.
But David knows Saul all too well, so he moves across the border into Gath right in the midst of the Philistines, where he gets permission to settle down with his wives and soldiers and their households. They establish themselves in the small outlying town of Ziklag, where they spend the next sixteen months. From there he goes out raiding enemy villages, with the blessing of the Philistine king Achish.
Things get messy, however, when the Philistines make plans to attack Israel. David wants to join the offensive, but the Philistine captains won’t have anything to do with him, fearing he will turn on them in the heat of battle. So David returns home, only to find his village raided by the Amalekites, the women and children taken prisoner—including his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail—and his men on the verge of mutiny. Assured of success by Abiathar, David’s loyal priest, David pursues and subdues the raiders, rescues the women and children, and reclaims all his and his soldiers’ possessions, plus substantial plunder from the defeated Amalekites.
Soon after David and his men return to their village, a soldier in Saul’s army shows up dirty and in disarray. He falls down before David, telling him he has just come from the Israelite camp, where he has witnessed great devastation by the Philistines. More than that, Saul and Jonathan are both dead. The soldier, an Amalekite, who thinks he’s bringing David good news, claims that he was the one who put the wounded king out of his misery.
David is overwhelmed with sorrow. He and his troops all tear their clothes in mourning and weep the entire day. Later David questions the soldier further, and by that time his grief has turned to rage. This man—a foreigner—has killed the God-anointed king, a most treacherous deed and a capital offense. David orders one of his men to kill him on the spot.
After this David sings a lamentation for the ones he regarded as father and brother. Saul is the fearless warrior, but Jonathan, the loss of dear Jonathan is such deep sorrow as can be comprehended only by the anguish of his song:
I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women.[5]
After the time of mourning is passed, David, his family, and his militia move to Hebron in Judah. It is only then that the people of Judah make David their king. It is here that six sons are born to David (from six different women), and here that he begins to consolidate his power. The significance is that, unlike Saul, David is king of Judah only. Abner, Saul’s military commander, sees to it that Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth is made king of the other Israelite tribes. With that turn of events the armies on both sides begin to fight each other, both sides sustaining losses. Judah, under the command of Joab, however, loses fewer men than the Israelite forces fighting under Abner. But it is a bitter, protracted civil war.
Finally Abner, who has supported Ish-Bosheth, loses confidence in him and sends word to David that he is ready to make peace and bring all of Israel under David’s rule. David jumps at the idea, with one condition: when they meet, Abner must bring with him David’s wife Michal, Saul’s daughter, whom Saul in one of his rages had married off to another man. Separately, David sends word to Ish-Bosheth demanding that he give him back his wife. The reader may be puzzled as to what would motivate Ish-Bosheth, who is being betrayed by Abner, to give orders to fulfill what David had demanded not of him but of his betrayer, Abner.
David wants her because she is a prize he won for bringing Saul two hundred Philistine foreskins. More than that, she is a political trophy. If he is going to rule the kingdom Saul once ruled, it doesn’t hurt to be married to Saul’s daughter. But does he love her? There is no evidence of that. There is evidence, however, that she is dearly loved by the man who is now her husband. But romantic love counts for little, and Ish-Bosheth orders that she be removed from the home of Paltiel, her husband. What follows is a tragic account of a man’s love for a woman. Paltiel cannot let go. As she is taken away, he trails after her, wailing every step of the way until Abner orders him to return home.
The meeting between David and Abner sets the stage for peace between the two kingdoms, with David as king. But when Joab, David’s commander, learns of this, he’s outraged. Abner, Saul’s commander, had killed his (Joab’s) own brother in battle, and he’s not about to let bygones be bygones. But Joab may have also worried that Abner would now outrank him in David’s army.
Unbeknownst to David, Joab dispatches messengers to find Abner and bring him back. As soon as Abner returns with the messenger, Joab pulls out his sword and murders him. When David learns, he cries out in despair, calling for a season of mourning among his military and pronouncing a curse on Joab and his family.
The murder of Abner might have doomed the whole peace process, but David makes a very public display of his sincere sorrow. Indeed, instead of having a negative effect, this terrible incident brings the two sides together for a time of national mourning. But hardly is the period of mourning over when two men show up at David’s door with Ish-Bosheth’s head—proof that they had eliminated the rival king. David is irate and orders the men killed. His respect for God’s anointed extends also to Saul’s children, even to a rival claimant to the throne.
David’s reign over Judah has lasted more than seven years. Had anyone else been at the helm, the rift among the descendants of Abraham might never have been healed. But through his political acumen and personal charisma—and God’s guidance—he brings the warring sides together as one nation.
Now at thirty-seven, an age when many of his ancestors had remained unmarried and their careers far in the future, he already has lived what seems like more than a lifetime. He has come a long way from his days of herding sheep, with bears and lions his only enemies. With wives and children and all Israel’s fighting men at his disposal, he is ready to begin a roller-coaster reign that will last more than three decades.
His top priority is to rid Jerusalem of the Jebusites. When this is handily accomplished, the fortress is named for him: City of David. King Hiram of Tyre provides builders and timber to construct a cedar palace. Here he will settle down with his family, his wives, concubines, and eventually eleven children, Solomon among them.
When the Philistines threaten to do serious damage to his kingdom, David and his men prevail. David dutifully acknowledges the one who brings victory. God is the one who carries off his enemies as in a flood of water. In the next battle, God gives David a specific winning military strategy. With that triumph behind him, he leads his best soldiers to Baalah to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant (containing the Ten Commandments on stone tablets) and relocate it in Jerusalem. On the return trip David and his men are parading in high spirits, singing loudly to the accompaniment of an entire orchestra of instruments.
Amid the festivity, the Ark of the Covenant is about to slide off the oxcart. One of the guards grabs it to prevent it from falling—a seemingly innocent, instinctive act. But God cuts him down on the spot. The Ark is sacred and must be handled with ritual care. David is furious, though also fearful of God’s wrath. Indeed, so afraid is he of mishandling the Ark that he delays some months in bringing it to Jerusalem.
But when he learns the Ark has brought prosperity to the house of Obed-Edom, where it had been left, he travels with his aides to get it, making the round-trip a showy religious celebration. When they arrive back in Jerusalem, David is completely caught up in the moment, leaping and dancing half-naked in the streets. His wife Michal (forcibly separated from her husband Paltiel) sees the festivities from her window and with sharp sarcasm criticizes him for his unbecoming behavior when he returns home.
Knowing that she thinks her father King Saul would never have acted so undignified (though Saul himself had once danced naked with the prophets), David fires back that he’ll dance for God as much as he pleases, and besides, God has chosen him over her father. If he looks the fool, so be it. He’s God’s fool. For her defiance of him, Michal is punished. He no longer has sexual intimacies with her, and she remains childless for the remainder of her life.
In the years that follow, David subdues his enemies (Moabites, Philistines, Ammonites, Arameans), killing tens of thousands, taking plunder, accumulating wealth and property, and establishing his reputation throughout the region. Amid the killing fields, David recalls his dearest friend Jonathan, wondering if any of his family are still alive. He discovers that Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth is alive, though disabled—lame in both feet. David bestows on him all the properties that had belonged to Saul’s household and requests that the young man from now on eat at the king’s table.
During this time, while General Joab is off fighting the Ammonites, David himself remains at home in Jerusalem, administering affairs of state. The weight of the world sometimes lies heavily on his shoulders. He is ultimately responsible for an entire nation. In this mind-set he arises from a late afternoon nap and walks out on the palace rooftop balcony. He looks down and there she is—a perfectly gorgeous woman on her own rooftop next door taking her bath before dinner.
He should have turned around and gone back into the palace to flatter one of his own wives. Instead he inquires about the bathing beauty and learns she is Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, one of his own soldiers—a Hittite whose family had become assimilated into the Israelites. David sends for her. She spends the night. Soon she discovers she is pregnant. How can this be? Uriah has been out on the battlefront for months.
When Bathsheba sends word of her situation to David, he immediately recalls Uriah for a little vacation at home with his wife. But loyal soldier that he is, Uriah will not enjoy intimacies with his wife when his fellow soldiers are out on the battlefield, and he tells David as much. Frustrated, David might have sent one of his guards to put an end to this Hittite then and there. But word would get out, and the people would turn on him. Rather, he arranges to have Uriah murdered but to make the deed look like a war casualty.
So he sends a letter with Uriah to give to his field commander Joab. The orders are very specific. When the battle heats up, Joab is to send Uriah to the front and then immediately pull the other soldiers back, leaving him exposed. The plot plays out like clockwork, and the news comes back from the battlefield that Bathsheba is a widow. When her time of grieving is over, David sends for her, and soon thereafter she bears him a son.
David has gotten away with murder. Or has he? Prompted by God, Nathan the prophet pays him a visit. There is no small talk from Nathan. He tells David a story of a rich man and poor man living in the same town. A visitor stops by the rich man’s house, but he is too miserly to roast a lamb from his own vast flock. Instead he takes the poor man’s lamb, the only one he has—a family pet. As the poor man’s family grieves, the rich man serves up lamb chops for his guests.
David hears the story and is outraged. The rich man should be tracked down and hung from a limb. He shouldn’t get by with such awful behavior. Nathan looks him straight in the eye and, in chilling words of rebuke, says: You are the man!
Then Nathan speaks God’s message to David, giving him a litany of his blessings, including the rule over both Judah and Israel. How then could David have committed such a crime? Because of his sin he will face terrible family problems. David confesses, and Nathan assures him that God forgives, but nevertheless he will suffer. The son born to Bathsheba and him will die.
The baby boy soon becomes deathly ill, and for six days David fasts and prays and weeps, hoping that God will change his mind and spare the child. But on day seven he dies. The servants expect David to completely fall apart, but he pulls himself together and begins to eat again. It’s over; there is no need to continue fasting and praying. It’s over. One day David will go to be with his son, but the son can never come back to him. David consoles Bathsheba, and sometime later she bears another son, whom they name Solomon.
Not long after this, Joab sends a message to David that he has just captured the water supply in the imperial city of the Ammonites. Loyal commander that he is, he requests David to come with reinforcements so that he will be credited with the victory. David and his men arrive in time to finish the job. They plunder the city, turn the citizens into an army of slaves, and return home to Jerusalem, David wearing the priceless crown of the Ammonite king.
The birth of a second son by Bathsheba and this grand military victory might have prompted David to think that his punishment is over and God is satisfied. But David’s family problems continue, as Nathan had prophesied. There is incest among his own children. Amnon, David’s oldest son, rapes his beautiful half sister Tamar. That is bad enough, but then he bitterly turns her out, instead of marrying her, as would have been expected in such an instance.
Her brother Absalom learns from the sobbing Tamar what has happened and is incensed. When David hears about the awful incident, he too is furious, but he metes out no discipline because Amnon is his beloved, firstborn, spoiled son; he gets off scot-free.
But anger and vengeance fester inside Absalom. The months pass. Two years after the rape he invites all his brothers for a festive sheepshearing party. Absalom has instructed his servants to wait until Amnon is drunk and then to pounce on him and kill him. They do just that, and the other brothers flee for their lives. David is beside himself when he learns of the murder. Absalom escapes across the border to Aram (Syria), where he finds safety in the court of the king of Geshur, his maternal grandfather.
Absalom returns some three years later through the clever intervention of Joab, and he lives in Jerusalem. But David will not see him until Joab once again intervenes. Nevertheless, Absalom behaves as though he is the crown prince, tooling around town in a chariot with fifty men in front hailing his arrival. He soon endears himself to the people, establishing his claim as a fair and honest judge—if only he were king. It does not hurt that he is strikingly handsome.
After some years of ingratiating himself with the people, Absalom, with his father’s blessing, goes to Hebron, ostensibly to worship God and offer sacrifices. This is all part of a conspiracy to wrest the kingship away from his father. He is a popular leader, and he sends messengers throughout Israel to drum up support, particularly from one-time backers of King Saul. And so it is that in Hebron, where David first became king, Absalom declares himself king.
Finally the word comes to David: “The whole country has taken up with Absalom!” David’s first words are: “Up and out of here! We’ve got to run for our lives or none of us will escape Absalom!”[6] Has David been living in a cave? Why has it taken him so long to figure out what is going on?
So King David is on the run from his own son, heading for a hideout in the wilderness, while Absalom and his men are setting up shop in Jerusalem. But David is not going to take this lying down. He sends back loyal followers, who tell Absalom that they have now joined his side, when in fact they are undercover agents for his father. With an inside track to Absalom, word gets back to David, and he now knows to move quickly to get a jump ahead of Absalom and his army.
David reorganizes his army with Joab as commander, and they march toward Jerusalem to meet the enemy, though David cautions his troops to treat Absalom with care. In fact, there is an incredible bloodbath, with some twenty thousand of Absalom’s soldiers killed. Absalom, riding his mule, is fleeing from the carnage when he meets some of David’s troops. He passes under a tree and is caught by the branches, while his mule runs away from under him. One of David’s men reports back to Joab, who is furious that the soldier didn’t kill him on the spot. So Joab, completely ignoring David’s request, pulls out three knives and stabs Absalom in the heart. His armor bearers finish the job.
Such is fair punishment for the king’s chief enemy. Nor does he deserve a decent burial. Joab and his bodyguards throw the corpse in a pit and cover it over with stones. When David receives the news, he is inconsolable. He cries out in anguish: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!”[7] Nathan’s curse continues to reverberate.
The victory won by David’s forces turns into a time of national mourning. As the soldiers return to Jerusalem, they are disheartened, particularly as they pass by David, who just cannot stop wailing. Joab is anything but sympathetic. In fact, David’s relationship with him and his two brothers—sons of Zeruiah—is contentious. They are courageous soldiers, but bloodthirsty. Joab himself is a very clever commander and is not afraid of standing up to the king. At this point he rails at David:
Today you have humiliated all your men, who have just saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines. You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that the commanders and their men mean nothing to you. I see that you would be pleased if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead. Now go out and encourage your men. I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out, not a man will be left with you by nightfall. This will be worse for you than all the calamities that have come on you from your youth till now.”[8]
David agrees to wipe his tears and to come out and review the troops. But David is not reigning in Jerusalem. He is still out across the Jordan in the wilderness. When he finally returns home, he encounters major rifts between the army of Judah, who claim him as their own, and the army of Israel, still with fond memories of Saul. Soon he has a revolt on his hands, when the army of Israel refuses to acknowledge David as king and they desert. David sends Joab’s army after them, and their leader Sheba is killed.
Hard times follow, however, and there is no settled peace. David and his people endure a three-year famine as God’s punishment for Saul’s murderous betrayal of the Gibeonites. David makes things right with them, though his battles with the Philistines continue unabated. One of his final acts is a foolishly conducted census, which greatly displeases God and for which his people suffer a deadly plague as punishment.
By now his age is catching up with him, and he has little fight left. He has the chills, and no amount of bed coverings will warm him. His attendants bring in a beautiful young Shunammite woman to sleep with him in an effort to arouse him and heat up his body. But he remains cold and unresponsive.
With David at death’s door, his son Adonijah clamors for attention. He is next in line for the crown, and he, like Absalom before him, parades around in a chariot and throws a feast in anticipation of his own coronation. But Nathan the prophet goes to Bathsheba, warning her to consult with David to remind him that he has vowed that Solomon, her son, will be the next king. As his final act, David issues an edict to have Solomon anointed king over Israel and Judah and to sit upon his very throne.
Weak as he is, he finds the strength to give a final charge to his son: “I’m about to go the way of all the earth, but you—be strong; show what you’re made of! Do what GOD tells you. Walk in the paths he shows you.”[9]
Jonathan: Forever Best Friend
Is he insane or is he intoxicated with blind faith in God? The Philistine army is camped on the border, prepared to attack the crippled forces of the Israelites commanded by Saul. Jonathan sneaks away with his armor bearer and takes on the enemy in plain daylight. The two of them kill twenty armed men in a matter of minutes. The entire Philistine army falls into disarray and in the end is soundly defeated by Saul’s forces. Thus begins Jonathan’s career as a warrior, serving under his father Saul.
Sing the Man who Judah’s Scepter bore, In that right Hand which held the Crook before; Who from best Poet, best of Kings did grow; The two chief Gifts Heav’n could on Man bestow.
Abraham Cowley, Davideis: A Sacred Poem
Yet on that very day, his father is prepared to have him put to death. Saul has made a stupid vow that none of his soldiers are to eat anything until the Philistines are defeated. Having slipped away from the rest of the troops, Jonathan doesn’t hear the order. He dips his finger into a honeycomb for nourishment and doesn’t give it a thought. Sometime later, Saul tries to consult with God about further battle plans but gets no response. He finds out there has been disobedience in the camp. When he learns Jonathan has eaten the honey against his orders, he is prepared to carry out the death penalty. But his men will have none of it and vow that no harm will come to him, for Jonathan is a brave warrior who has saved them from certain defeat.
When Jonathan sees David kill Goliath, he is in complete awe. The two of them soon commit themselves to each other as brothers, living together in Saul’s household. Indeed, Jonathan makes a covenant with David, each vowing his eternal loyalty to the other. David in the meantime is serving Saul so effectively that he is given leadership over the military.
Jonathan at times seems caught between his father and David. Time after time, right in front of his nose, Saul tries to kill David. Yet Jonathan is unconvinced when David comes to him for help. He does in the end, however, warn David when his father accuses him of defending David and when Saul vows to kill David for sure.
Jonathan not only warns David but also renews his vow of undying love. They kiss and weep and bid each other farewell as David escapes with his life. While David is on the run, Jonathan meets up with him and again renews his friendship, promising fidelity and support when he becomes king. That will never happen. On the day Saul dies in battle, so also does Jonathan, leaving his dearest brother David grieving inconsolably.
Perhaps what stands out the most in the life of Jonathan is his utter lack of self-promotion and jealousy. As the oldest son of Saul, he is the natural successor to the throne. He is a most capable warrior and no doubt would have served Israel well. It would have been natural for him to resent the young upstart David. He does not. He is committed to him as a friend and convinced that God has chosen him to succeed his father. To that end he pledges his loyalty.
Abigail: Confident and Strong
Her name would not have been recorded in the biblical narrative but for her hotheaded husband Nabal, the Calebite. Abigail is a beautiful and articulate woman. More than that, she is a very competent and capable household manager. Unfortunately, she is married to Nabal, not only a fool but also a bully.
Abigail bringing sustenance to David
When she learns from a servant that Nabal had treated David and his militia inhospitably, she immediately goes into action. After preparing large quantities of foodstuffs and having them loaded on donkeys, she goes out to meet David. When they meet, she begs him to take all the provisions and to allow her to take the blame. What is she thinking? How is she to blame for the actions of her brutish husband? She offers David a lengthy blessing, one that acknowledges his God-anointed role as Israel’s king. And she hopes he will one day remember her.
When she returns home, the shearing season celebration is in high gear. Nabal is feasting and drinking himself drunk. She stays clear of him until the next day. By this time he has slept off his hangover and is fully aware of what she is telling him. But now she is not taking the blame. He is responsible for what has happened, and he will face the consequences. It is a shock. He feels a sudden tightness in his chest—a heart attack and everything goes blank. For ten days he lies in a coma. Then he dies.
It is fair to say that Abigail is anything but numb with grief. She is better off without this surly brute, and she knows it. The word of his death soon reaches David, and he wastes no time in sending his servants with a message, asking for Abigail’s hand in marriage.
Here she is, an intelligent, independent head of a household. Without Nabal, she now has the very peace David had requested in blessing her. Why would she agree to marry the leader of a wandering ragtag militia? She doesn’t even know him. But David has charisma and charm, and she is brought under his spell. She leaves home riding her donkey, accompanied by five attendants, and marries a man on the run.
Unlike his relationship with Bathsheba, David’s relationship with Abigail, now a widow, is scandal-free. And unlike Bathsheba, Abigail will suffer severely during her marriage to David. Shortly after they had pledged their vows and had established themselves in the small village of Ziklag, she and his other wife Ahinoam are kidnapped by the Amalekites. The two wives are eventually rescued, but Abigail is never heard from again except as the mother of David’s son Kileab, born after the soon-to-be royal family moves to Hebron in Judah.
Bathsheba: Bathing Beauty and Mother of Solomon
Because of her not-so-private bathing episode, Bathsheba has grabbed the headlines over the centuries—far more so than Abigail. Whether they ever met is doubtful. There is no reference to any interaction between the two of them, certainly not to the backbiting so characteristic of other polygamous situations in the Bible.
Before her encounter with David, Bathsheba is living in Jerusalem, her husband Uriah a soldier. She may have struggled with his deployments, as military wives so often do. Theirs was an intermarriage—an Israelite woman with a Hittite man. Such was not uncommon, and Uriah appears to be one of David’s most faithful warriors, taking very seriously the military code of conduct.
It is often presumed that Bathsheba is the innocent victim, caught taking her monthly purification bath. She is a mere woman living in a rigidly patriarchal society. And he, after all, is the king, who summons her to his apartment. What choice does she have? But she may have been a more ambitious woman than would appear on the surface. (Later she would take an active role in her son’s succession to the throne.)
Is it possible that Bathsheba knows very well she is in full view of the king’s balcony? He surely wasn’t living in the palace undercover. She has a body to die for, and she knows it. Is she purposely seeking to arouse sexual desire? Bathing, after all, can be a most erotic endeavor, and there surely must have been an option for her to shed her clothes behind closed doors.
But even if she were enticing him, David is the one who acts on the temptation that ends in one of the most notorious sex-and-murder scandals ever. When Bathsheba sends word to him that she is pregnant, there is no clue as to what is going on in her mind. What does she imagine David can do to solve the problem? David is clever, and he wants to pawn this pregnancy off on Uriah. So he graciously offers the soldier a little vacation with his wife. Faithful soldier that he is, however, Uriah will not enjoy sexual intimacies while his comrades are at war risking their lives. So David sends Uriah to the front lines to die.
Bathsheba preparing her bath
Bathsheba apparently knows nothing about this evil plot, and she may not have ever learned. All she knows is that military officials are knocking at her door to tell her that her husband will be coming home in a body bag. Despite her adulterous relationship with David, she may have truly loved her husband and grieved deeply for him. After the period of mourning is over, she is again summoned by David—this time to marry him.
She is obviously showing as she walks down the aisle, and soon thereafter gives birth to a bouncing baby boy. However, the baby takes ill and dies. Both parents are heartbroken. David makes a special point of consoling Bathsheba, and shortly afterward she is pregnant again. She gives birth to another boy, whom they name Solomon.
Because of David’s grave sin, God punishes him—and Bathsheba also suffers. They are forced to flee Jerusalem due to internal strife. Her life is hardly that of a pampered queen. She knows all too well that there is always rivalry at court. Solomon’s older brothers might at any time take action against him. Though Solomon is not next in line to the throne, the deaths of his three older brothers bring him closer.
By now David is old and essentially out of the loop. Bathsheba, in collusion with Nathan the prophet, takes action. In the end, she is the one to secure the throne for her son Solomon.
Concluding Observations
The telling of David’s story has captivated Bible scholars, historians, novelists, and filmmakers through the centuries. He is a boy wonder, killing bears and lions while herding sheep. Anointed king by the great prophet Samuel, he goes on to kill a giant with one well-placed stone fired from a simple slingshot. Anyone who has ever tried her luck with a primitive slingshot knows this is a stunning feat.
David seems to take his sudden celebrity in stride. There is no parading around town in a chariot, as is later the case with Prince Adonijah. He welcomes the love of Jonathan, having been denied such love and attention back home with his brothers. But David’s popularity extends far beyond his closest friendship. He is beloved by women and is able to marry two of the most beautiful women in the land, Abigail and Bathsheba. He is perhaps above all else a musician. He both plays and writes. So the David that captures the hearts of the people is not merely a boy with a good aim. He’s a rock star. Without his incredible talent as a lyricist and harpist, David’s story would still be mesmerizing. It has all the elements of good and evil in one fascinating character. But added to all the exploits and scandals are psalms that have never grown old. David above all else is God-intoxicated, and his spiritual sensitivities have never been surpassed.
The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof;
the world, and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the seas,
and established it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD?
or who shall stand in his holy place?
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;
who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity,
nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the LORD,
and righteousness from the God of his salvation. . . .
Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
even lift them up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.[10]
Further Reading
Halpern, Baruch. David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.
MacDonald, Nathan. What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat? Diet in Biblical Times. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.
McKenzie, Steven L. King David: A Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Meyers, Carol, ed. Women in Scripture. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000.
Vamosh, Miriam Feinberg. Food at the Time of the Bible. Herzlia, Israel: Palphot, 2007.