The Way
Mahanaim
A table spread in a strange land for a king in flight
Story
After crossing the Jordan, David came to Mahanaim, a town in Gilead. Absalom followed, crossing the Jordan with all the men of Israel. Absalom made Amasa, Joab's cousin, commander of the army in Joab's place, and camped in the land of Gilead. The armies of father and son glared at each other in the same land. The king's people, who had come through the wilderness, were exhausted and hungry.
Just then donkeys loaded with goods came in through the town gate. They belonged to Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah, the Ammonite city; Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar; and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim. They unloaded beds, basins and clay pots. After them came wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd.
The three men said to the king, “The people must be hungry, tired and thirsty from the wilderness.” Machir was the man who had taken Saul's grandson Mephibosheth into his home, and Shobi came from the very Ammonite capital David had brought down. Driven out by his own son, the king sat before a table spread for him in a strange land. Only then did the weary people eat and drink.
Walk this scene on the map →Words of God and David
The people must be hungry, tired and thirsty from the wilderness.
They brought beds, basins and clay pots, wheat, barley and flour, roasted grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds, sheep and cheese, for David and the people with him to eat.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: 2 Sam 17:24–29
Background
Mahanaim means “two camps,” the name Jacob gave the place when he met the angels of God. It was also where Saul's son Ish-bosheth was made king after Saul's death.
Pause and Reflect
What can I give for someone who is weary and struggling?