And as soon as David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
David has fled Jerusalem ahead of his own son's rebellion and has crossed the Jordan to Mahanaim. Three men meet him there with supplies, and the timing of their arrival is what the commentators fasten on.
Crowds cheer a secure king. The value of what Shobi, Machir and Barzillai do lies in when they do it.
When the king sits secure on his throne, with no rebel disputing his right to it, it is easy enough to appear loyal and to cry with the crowd, "Long live the king!" But rebellion may make great progress among the masses, so that the popular idol is no longer the king but a rival for royal power and honour. Then the sovereign discovers who his real friends are. He was perhaps cheered wherever he went only a short time before, and now he tells the flattering courtier apart from the loyal subject. The day of the king's rejection is the day for the subject to declare himself.
One writer traces who each of the three men was, and what held them together.
It is touching to see the same zeal introducing three people to us, so different in position, nationality, and character. A common object of interest makes every barrier fall. Shobi the Ammonite was the son of Nahash and the brother of that same Hanun who had insulted David's messengers. He was a man of royal line. He is joined with Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, a simple servant of Saul and once the guardian of poor Mephibosheth. Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim joins them. He had the authority of age and the standing of great riches. But age does not hold back his service, and he uses all his riches to maintain the king and his people.
Shobi's presence is the strangest of the three. He came from Ammon, a nation Israel had long fought.
Shobi is of the Ammonites, the lasting enemies of the people of God. Their forefathers were forbidden to the tenth generation to enter the assembly of the Lord, because they despised and neglected Israel as they came out of Egypt. But here is a descendant who seems to win back their good name. He seizes the chance to show his love and loyalty to God's king — and to his own conqueror, for David had captured "the city of waters." It is a faint early gleam of "while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son."
No royal order went out. One writer makes that detail the key to the scene.
David had not summoned them to entertain him. No superior force compelled them to give up to the king what they owned. They brought of their own accord the things that suited the occasion. David was at Mahanaim, but Machir belonged to Lo-debar, and Barzillai to Rogelim… These three men made the first move toward David.
The rebel side looked like the winning side. One writer asks why these three chose the other.
Machir comes from a place of "no pasture," but he too found something to bring to the king in his trouble. … But why join a king in flight, and not the usurper? His forces were growing by the hour, and to all appearances he had it all his own way. The answer is faith. Faith sees through the present and looks to the future. It knew that the rejected man lying in distress at Mahanaim was God's king, however much appearances denied it. So these men seize the chance to share the company of God's chosen one, and to bring what is most welcome. Affection always understands what the one it loves needs.
What began as a meal in a crisis ended as a place at a royal table two reigns later.
In time Barzillai died… But there was one heart that never lost the memory of Barzillai's service. The king never forgot it, and Solomon his son was always to remember it. After his return David was busy with many important matters. Even so, he spoke with his last breath of this service at Mahanaim. He asked Solomon to take special care of Barzillai's sons. Before David and Solomon… the sons of Barzillai had a place of marked nearness, not of distance. They ate bread at the king's table.
- Timing. Loyalty costs nothing when a king is secure. These three declared themselves when David was a fugitive and the crowd had turned away.
- Barriers. An Ammonite prince, a servant of Saul's house and a rich old Gileadite shared nothing but one person. That was enough to make every barrier fall.
- Enemies. Shobi came from the nation David had defeated — a faint early picture of enemies reconciled to God.
- Faith. No summons and no force produced these gifts. Faith looked past appearances and saw that the rejected man at Mahanaim was God's king.
- Remembered. David spoke of Mahanaim with his last breath, and Barzillai's sons ate at the king's table. Service in the day of rejection is not forgotten.
brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched [corn], and beans, and lentils, and parched [pulse],
David has crossed the Jordan to Mahanaim. His own son Absalom has driven him out of Jerusalem, and an army is gathering behind him. At that moment three men arrive with bedding, vessels and food. Why did they take that side, at that hour, at such cost?
The men who show up are not natural allies. They come from different nations, ranks and histories. Yet the same zeal moves all three.
It is touching to see the same zeal bring us three people, so different in position, nationality, and character. A common object of interest makes every barrier fall. Here is Shobi the Ammonite, son of Nahash and brother of that same Hanun who had insulted David's messengers (2 Sam. 10). He is a man of royal blood. Beside him stands Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, a plain servant of Saul and once the guardian of poor Mephibosheth. Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim joins them. He had the authority of age and the standing of great wealth. But age does not hold back his service, and he spends all his riches to support the king and his people.
What held them together was not sympathy for a man in trouble. It was who they judged that man to be.
These three men had probably walked different paths in the past. Now they were united in helping David and his men. The Ammonite, and the friend of Saul's house, agreed with Barzillai in this. But what made them unite like this? Everyone had to admit that David deserved his punishment. Did they see only the son of Jesse? Did they not see the Lord's anointed? Because he was the Lord's anointed, they joined together to show him kindness.
Every visible advantage lay with Absalom. Backing David meant staking everything on the losing side. Waiting would have been the safe course.
They did not weigh the chances of success. They did not wait to see which side looked like winning... Worldly caution might have advised them to wait before committing themselves so completely, with no way back. But if they had waited, every chance to show their loyalty and devotion would have passed away. It was with them now or never.
Notice where the gifts land. Ittai had left everything to follow the rejected king. These three men served in another way.
What Shobi, Machir and Barzillai do in 2 Samuel 17:27-29 is a beautiful picture of a second kind of servant. Their service is as welcome in its way and season as that of Ittai, though differing in its nature and character. They do not go out, leaving everything to follow a rejected king; but they place their wealth, their beds, their basins and their food at the disposal of David and those who shared his rejection. They say, "The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness."
Why does Scripture name each item?
The Spirit of God surely delighted to dwell on the signs of their faithfulness. He has listed the different items of refreshment they provided for the king and for those with him in the wilderness... Nothing the people could want seems to have been forgotten. Nothing they brought, it appears, has been overlooked in the account.
David's disgrace worked like a test.
Now Shobi and Barzillai come forward to serve him and his men with royal generosity. David's sorrow revealed the thoughts of many hearts. It was clear who loved David for his own sake. No doubt he returned to his house and his throne with a fuller, deeper confidence in the real love of those around him.
This giving is open to anyone, whatever their gift.
It may be that I cannot evangelize, teach or exhort. But this I can and ought to do: hold everything I have in this world at the full command, control and disposal of my Master. I count neither wealth, home, nor comfort as my own. Instead I use all for Christ as a "good steward of the manifold grace of God."
When David came back to power, he chose Barzillai's reward himself.
"With me" — nothing less than this — was what he wanted for Barzillai: Barzillai with himself, and in Jerusalem. And do the words "with me" not recall the language David's Son used before His disciples, when He spoke to His Father? "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am."
- Rejection tests. David's fall from favour revealed who loved the man himself and who had only loved his throne.
- Recognition decides. Shobi, Machir and Barzillai differed in nation, rank and age. They united because they saw the Lord's anointed in the fleeing king.
- Loyalty risks. They did not wait to see which side would win. If they had hesitated, the chance to show loyalty would have gone.
- Love supplies. Beds, basins and food went to a hungry, weary, thirsty people, and Scripture records every item. Anyone can serve this way by holding all they own at their Master's disposal.
- Reward follows. David's answer to Barzillai was nearness: "with me," in Jerusalem. Christ uses the same words when He asks that His own be with Him where He is.
and honey, and cream, and sheep, and cheese of kine to David, and to the people that were with him, to eat; for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.
Absalom's rebellion has driven David across the Jordan. At Mahanaim three men meet him with beds, bowls and food, because they knew what a hunted army would need.
Strangers have not driven David out. His own son has, and God is punishing David's own sin.
The idol of today may become the object of popular hatred tomorrow. The benefactor of a people may find himself a wanderer in the very country he once ruled... God was now punishing David for the sins by which he had given the enemies of the Lord reason to blaspheme. At the same time He was testing the loyalty and faithfulness of all Israel toward His anointed... David and his followers had at last crossed the Jordan, and so passed outside the true limits of the land of promise.
Shobi, Machir and Barzillai shared no nation, rank or history — only the man they came to serve.
It is moving to see the same zeal bringing three men before us who are so different in position, nationality and character. A shared object of interest makes every barrier fall. Shobi the Ammonite... a man of royal descent, stands beside Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar. Machir was a plain servant of Saul who had once cared for poor Mephibosheth. Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim joins them. He had the authority of age and the standing of great wealth. But age does not slow his service, and he uses all his riches to keep the king and his people alive.
Shobi's background makes his arrival the strangest of all. Machir's home had the least to offer.
Shobi is of the Ammonites, the sworn enemies of the people of God. Their ancestors were barred to the tenth generation from entering the assembly of the Lord, because they despised and neglected Israel as they came out of Egypt. Yet here is a descendant who seems to redeem their reputation. He seizes the chance to show his love and loyalty to God's king — and to the man who had conquered him. Here is a faint gleam of "while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son." Machir comes from a place of "no pasture," but he too found something to bring to the king in his trouble... for affection always understands its object's needs.
Some left everything to follow David into exile. These three served in another way.
The action of Shobi, Machir and Barzillai in 2 Samuel 17:27-29 is a beautiful picture of the second class of servants... They do not go out and leave everything to follow a rejected king; they put their wealth, their beds, their bowls and their food at the disposal of David and of those who shared his rejection. "The people," they say, "are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness."
Backing David at that hour looked like backing a loser.
They did not stop to think what others might do. They did not calculate the chances of success, nor wait to learn which side appearances favoured... The question for them was a very simple one: should they side with the Lord's anointed or not? At that moment such a choice allowed only one answer. Can it allow any other now? Worldly caution might have advised delay before they tied themselves to David beyond recall. But had they delayed, every chance of showing their loyalty and devotion would have passed. For them it was now or never.
When David returned in power, he offered Barzillai something better than goods.
Life for Shimei, land for Mephibosheth, but nearness to the king and a place at his table for Barzillai. That is what David measured out to each. "Come over with me, and I will provide for you with me in Jerusalem." Barzillai had served David beyond the Jordan. David wanted him at his side ever after... And do the words "with me" not echo what David's Son said before His disciples, when He spoke to His Father? "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am."
Not everyone can preach. This, anyone can do.
It may be that I cannot evangelise, teach or exhort. But this I can and should do — hold everything I have in this world wholly at the command, control and disposal of my Master. I count neither wealth, home, nor comfort as my own, but use it all for Christ as "a good steward of God's varied grace."
- Rejection sets the stage. David's exile was both God's discipline on him and a test of everyone else's loyalty to God's anointed.
- Loyalty crosses every line. One man drew an Ammonite, a servant of Saul's house, and a wealthy old Gileadite together — every barrier fell.
- Loyalty reads the need. They named the hunger, weariness and thirst, then brought what matched it — affection always understands its object's needs.
- Loyalty refuses to wait. They did not weigh the odds or wait for a safer moment; for them it was now or never.
- Loyalty's reward is the King. Barzillai's pay was not property but "with me" — the same phrase David's Son used of His own.