Burning the Book

160 – Burning the Book

Jeremiah 26:1-24 36:1-32 II Chronicles 36:1-23 2 Kings 23:31 – 25:30

Stories 159 – 164 happened during the life and ministry of Jeremiah, the prophet.

Jeremiah had been prophesying for 23 years when Jehoiakim became king. Judah was under the control of Egypt and the king paid them high taxes year after year.

God told Jeremiah to go to the Temple and tell the people to repent or the Temple would become ruins. After he was done preaching, the priest and prophets grabbed him saying, “We’re going to kill you. How dare you come and speak these things in the name of the Lord!”

The officials of Judah defended Jeremiah saying, “He has a right to speak in the name of the Lord. Set him free.” They let him go, but told him he couldn’t come back to the Temple.

The Lord told Jeremiah, “Write a book of all the things I’ve told you about the coming judgment on Judah and Jerusalem.”

Jeremiah sent for Baruch, his scribe, and dictated to him everything the Lord had said. When they were done, the prophet said, “I’m not allowed to go to the Temple, so go there and read this book to the people.”

Baruch went and read the book in the Temple. Officials of the king heard about the book and asked him to read it to them. When he was done, the officials were afraid. They said, “The king needs to hear this.”

They told the scribe, “We’re taking this book to the king. You and Jeremiah hide, and don’t tell anyone where you’ve gone.”

They took the book to King Jehoiakim, and he allowed it to be read to him. Because it was winter, he was sitting in front of a fire. Every time a portion of the book was read, he cut that part out and threw it into the fire. His officials asked him not to do this, but he kept doing it anyway until the entire book was gone.

Everyone in the room heard the book, but no one ripped his clothes or was afraid. Jehoiakim then gave the order to imprison Jeremiah and his scribe, but God protected them.

The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Write another book, just like the one that was burned. Also, give this message to King Jehoiakim. ‘You burned the book because you didn’t want anyone talking about how Babylon will destroy Jerusalem. Here’s what will happen to you. Your dead body won’t be buried, but will rot in the open sun. Also, the throne of David will be taken away from your descendants.’ ”

Jeremiah dictated the book once more and Baruch wrote it down. As time went by, he added more to it.

Jeremiah told the people of Judah, “Babylon will come and destroy this city and take you into captivity. You’ll be there for seventy years. After that, God will bring your children back to this land.”

God sent a special message to Baruch. “You’re concerned about what will happen to you. You bear the burden of being a scribe for God’s prophet. Don’t worry. I’ll spare your life when I destroy this city. I’ll be with you wherever you go.”

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Story Telling and Questions by Mickie O’Donnell

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Josiah’s Reforms

158 – Josiah’s Reforms

II Kings 23:1-37 II Chronicles 34:32 – 35:27

King Josiah and the nation of Judah renewed their commitment to the Laws of God. The king then took all the false altars out of the Temple and had them burned. The people also went throughout Jerusalem and destroyed all the idols that were in the city.

Once that was done, the king personally went throughout the land of Judah and oversaw the destruction of idol worship in all the cities. Next he went throughout the land of Israel and destroyed all the idols and altars that were there. When he found a major pagan spot, he desecrated the altar so the people would never use it again.

He went to the altar Jeroboam had built at Bethel. Josiah totally destroyed everything that was around it. He saw some tombs nearby, so he sent men to get some human bones. He burnt them on top of the altar to desecrate it.

Then Josiah saw a monument nearby. He said, “What’s that?”

The men of the area said, “That’s the tomb of the prophet who came from Judah. The Lord sent him here to speak against Jeroboam when he dedicated this altar to his golden calves. He prophesied and told the people what you would do to this altar. Today you have fulfilled his prophecy. It is also the grave of an old prophet from Samaria.”

Josiah said, “Don’t disturb these bones.” He then returned to Jerusalem.

The king organized a Passover feast like no other. He and prominent men of Judah gave generously so everyone could have a sacrifice to give.

In the entire history of Judah, there had never been a king like Josiah, who loved and served the Lord with all his mind, heart, and strength. He totally followed the ways of God.

Still, the Lord planned to have Jerusalem destroyed. He was going to send the people of Judah into exile, just as he had done to Israel. But he didn’t allow it to happen until after Josiah died.

When the king was 39 years old, the pharaoh of Egypt led his army past Judah on the way to help Assyria. Josiah took his army out to stop them. The pharaoh said, “My battle isn’t with you. I’m going to fight someone else. Don’t interfere, or God will use me to destroy you.”

Josiah didn’t listen to this advice. He went into battle, but disguised himself so the enemy wouldn’t know he was the king. Suddenly an arrow hit him, and he slumped down in his chariot. His servants rushed him back to Jerusalem, and there he died.

All of Judah mourned Josiah’s death. The prophet Jeremiah wrote a song that was sung at his funeral.

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Ahaz

150 – Ahaz

2 Chronicles 28:1-27 II Kings 16:1-20 Isaiah 7:1-25

Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king of Judah. Unlike his father and grandfather, he didn’t follow the Lord. He started the worship of Baal in Jerusalem, and even practiced the ritual of child sacrifice.

The Lord became angry and allowed the kings of Israel and Syria to march against Judah. During this invasion, the prophet Isaiah went to king Ahaz with a message from the Lord. “Look to the Lord and ask a sign of him.” Ahaz refused! The Lord gave him a sign anyway to show that God would protect the house of David. He said a day would come when a virgin would become pregnant and give birth to a son. He would be called “God with us.”

The invasion against Judah was intense, but the Lord didn’t allow Israel and Syria to capture Jerusalem. Still, their armies killed 120,000 men, and the army of Israel took 200,000 women and children as slaves. They marched them back to Israel.

When they came to Samaria, a prophet of the Lord came out to meet them. He said, “The Lord gave Israel victory over Judah because he was angry with them. But God is not pleased with you because you went too far. You slaughtered their people and took their women and children as slaves. Take them back to Judah now! If you don’t, the Lord will strike you in anger, just as he did Judah.”

This made the people of Israel afraid. Their leaders said to the army, “Don’t bring those people here! We don’t want to make God more angry with us than he already is.”

So, the people of Israel used the spoils of Judah to provide for their captives. They gave them clothes and attended to their medical needs. They gave everyone food and drink. Once the captives were cared for, they took them to Jericho, and even provided donkeys for those who were weak. After the captives were safely in the care of their own people, the Israelites went back to Samaria.

Ahaz sent gold and silver to the king of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. He said, “I’ll be your loyal servant if you rescue us from Syria and Israel.”

Assyria responded by attacking Syria and totally destroyed their nation and sent most of their people into exile. Ahaz went to Syria to meet with the king of Nineveh. While he was there, he saw a special altar he liked, and sent plans back to Jerusalem so his craftsmen could build one like it.

It was finished by the time the king got back to Jerusalem. He took many of the things from inside the Temple and started to use them with his new altar. He then closed the doors of the Temple so that no one could go inside to worship.

Ahaz’s troubles continued. All the nations around him attacked Jerusalem and took whatever they wanted. He once again asked Assyria for help, but they refused.

Ahaz still didn’t turn to the Lord. Instead, he kept trying to find another god who would help him. Finally, he died and his son Hezekiah became king.

In time, Hezekiah became one of the greatest kings of Judah.

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Athaliah

143 – Athaliah

2 Kings 8:16-29 9:14-29 11:1-21 2 Chronicles 21:1 – 23:21

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, wanted to establish a good relationship with the kingdom of Israel. To do that, he had his oldest son marry Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, king of Israel. Unfortunately, Athaliah influenced her husband to follow the sinful ways of Israel.

As soon as Jehoshaphat died, his son became king and put idols all around Judah, and built a temple to Baal in Jerusalem. He killed his six brothers to make sure they wouldn’t take the kingdom away from him.

Elisha sent him a message. “You’ve caused the people to worship idols, and now you’ve killed your brothers. They were all better men than you. Therefore, all of your sons will be killed, and you’ll die a slow agonizing death.”

Immediately, Judah started losing battles. The king developed a severe stomach illness. All of his sons were killed except the youngest. The king’s illness caused him extreme pain for two years. When he finally died, no one mourned his death.

His youngest son became king, and he followed the direction of his mother Athaliah. He went to visit his uncle, the king of Israel. While he was there, Jehu killed both of them.

When she heard that her son was dead, Athaliah decided to become king, even though she was a woman. Still, she knew the people of Judah always selected their kings from the descendants of David. That meant the people could kill her and make one of her grandchildren king. Therefore, she decided to kill them. She called for the guard and told him to go to the palace and kill them all.

Athaliah’s daughter heard this and rushed to the palace. She worshiped the Lord and was married to Jehoiada, the high priest. At the palace, she took the baby Joash and his nurse and left—just before the guards got there. She hid the child in the Temple of the Lord. Meanwhile the guards killed all the other royal descendants of David.

Athaliah was confident she had killed them all. So, she became king of Judah and ruled the nation for six years.

Jehoiada hid Joash in the Temple until he was seven years old. Finally the priest knew it was time to act. He organized a meeting with trusted military leaders and the heads of various family groups. He asked them, “What would you do if you had a descendant of King David.”

“We would make him king!”

Jehoiada then brought Joash before them and said, “Here is your next king.”

Together, they set a date to bring him out before the people. They organized the military, Temple activities, and crowd control. On the big day, the people of Judah went to the Temple.

Joash was brought out and put in the place reserved for the king. Jehoiada anointed him with oil and placed a crown on his head. The trumpets blew, the choir sang, and the people shouted, “Long live the king!!”

Athaliah heard all the shouting, so she went out to see what was going on. People were running through the streets, celebrating, and talking about the king. She walked into the Temple and saw Joash in the place reserved for the king, and he had a crown on his head. She ripped her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason!”

Jehoiada pointed at her and said, “Take that woman out, because it is not right to kill someone in the Temple.”

So they dragged Athaliah out of the Temple, and killed her at the horse corral. The people went through the city and tore down everything that had to do with Baal. The high priest once again set up the worship of the Lord in the Temple. Everyone rejoiced because Athaliah’s reign of terror was over.

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Elisha Crying

140 – Elisha Crying

2 Kings 8:1-15

Elisha went to the Shunammite woman and said, “Take your family and leave Israel as soon as you can. A famine will hit the land and last for seven years.”

She did as the man of God said. Her family left Israel and moved to the land of the Philistines and stayed there seven years. When she came back to Israel, she went to the king to ask that their family house and land be returned to her.

When she arrived, she found that the king was listening to Gehazi, who was talking about some of the great things Elisha had done. It happened that the servant was telling about the time the prophet brought the dead boy back to life.

Just then, the Shunammite woman walked in. Gehazi said, “My lord. This is the woman I was talking about. It was her son that was raised from the dead.”

The king asked her to tell the story from her viewpoint. After she told the story, he said to a court official, “Make sure this woman gets everything back that belongs to her. Also, give her whatever money was made from her fields while she was away.”

Some time later, Elisha went to the capital of Syria. The Syrian king was sick. When he heard that Elisha was in town, he sent his servant Hazael to the prophet. “Take some gifts to the man of God and ask him if I’ll recover from this illness.”

Hazael took 40 camel-loads of all kinds of goods as a gift. He said to the prophet, “The king of Syria wants to know if he’ll recover from his illness.”

Elisha said, “Go tell him that he’ll recover from his illness. But that’s not true. The Lord has told me that he’ll die.”

Then Elisha stared at Hazael. He stared so long that Hazael became embarrassed. Then the prophet broke down and cried. Hazael said, “Man of God, why are you crying?”

“Oh, because of the horrible things you’ll do to the people of Israel. You’ll burn down their cities and kill their young men. You’ll crush the heads of babies and rip open pregnant women.”

Hazael said, “How can I do these terrible things? I’m only a servant.”

“Oh, the Lord has shown me that you are going to be the king of Syria.”

Hazael left the prophet and went back to his master. The king asked, “What did Elisha say?”

“He said you’d recover from your illness.”

The next day, Hazael dipped a heavy cloth into water, and used it to suffocate the king. After he died, Hazael took his place as king of Syria.

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Oil, Stew, Bread, and Ax

134 – Oil, Stew, Bread, and Ax

II Kings 4:1-4 38-44 6:1-7

Elisha was in charge of the school of the prophets. There are several miracles associated with that group of young men:

One of the prophets died. His wife came to Elisha and said, “You know my husband followed the Lord and honored him. When he died, he owed a man some money. Now that man is coming to collect. He is going to take my two sons and sell them as slaves.”

The prophet said, “Let me think. Surely I can help you. Tell me, do you have anything in your house that is valuable?”

She said, “No, I don’t have anything of value in the house. Well, I do have a small jar of oil.”

Elisha said, “Go to all of your neighbors and borrow as many containers as they have. Don’t stop with just a few. Once you have them, go into your house with your sons and close the door. Pour oil into all those containers. Each time one is full, set it aside and fill the next one.”

She and her sons went to every house and borrowed as many jars as they could. They took them into their house and closed the door. She then started pouring the oil into each jar. Her sons kept bringing her the empty ones. When they were all full, she turned and said, “Son, bring me another container.”

He said, “Mother, there are no more.” With that, the oil stopped.

She ran and told the man of God what had happened. He said, “Go and sell the oil. Pay your debt and live on what is left over.”

At another time, there was a famine so severe that there was very little to eat. When Elisha returned from a trip, the prophets gathered around to listen to him teach. He said to a servant, “Fix a large pot of stew for these men.”

One of the young men went into the forest to get some herbs for the stew. He found a vine of wild gourds and didn’t know they were poisonous. He gathered as many as he could carry, cut them up, and put them in the stew.

Once it was ready, some men tasted it and realized what had happened. They yelled, “Man of God. Watch out. There is death in the pot. Don’t eat it.”

Elisha said, “Bring me some flour.” They gave him the flour and he threw it in the pot.

He then said, “Come, eat.” Everyone ate, and there was nothing wrong with the stew.

Once a man came to Elisha with 20 small loaves of barley bread. It was the first bread from the harvest. The man of God said, “Serve this to the prophets so they can enjoy it.”

“Sir, there are 100 men, and we only have 20 loaves of bread. There isn’t enough for everyone.”

Elisha said, “Give it to them. The Lord says there will be enough, and we’ll have some left over.”

So the bread was served to the men, and it was just like the Lord promised. There was enough for everyone, with some left over.

There came a time when the prophets realized their facilities were too small for them. Elisha gave them permission to go to the Jordan River and cut some logs for a new building. He even agreed to go with them.

One of the men borrowed an iron ax and was using it to cut down a tree. Suddenly the ax head fell off and went into the water. The man yelled, “Master! I borrowed that ax and now it’s ruined.

Elisha said, “Where did it fall into the water?”

The man pointed to the spot. Elisha then cut a stick and threw it in the water at the spot the man showed him. The ax head floated to the surface. The man got it and fixed the ax.

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Elijah on Mount Carmel

125 – Elijah on Mount Carmel

1 Kings 18:1-46

The famine in Israel was severe and lasted for three years. Finally, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go tell King Ahab that I am going to send rain to the land.”

The person in charge of Ahab’s courts was a man named Obadiah. He was faithful to God, and even hid 100 prophets of the LORD when Jezebel was trying to hunt them down.

He and the king went out to find grass for the palace livestock. They went different directions so they could search more land.

As Obadiah went along, Elijah suddenly walked up to him. Obadiah immediately fell to the ground and said, “Oh, my lord Elijah.”

The prophet said, “Go tell the king that I’m here.”

Obadiah was shocked. He said, “What have I done that you want me killed? The king has looked for you all across the nation, and even in other countries. As soon as I tell him that you’re here, the Lord will carry you off to some other place. Then Ahab will kill me when he comes and finds that you’re not here. Please don’t do this to me.”

The prophet said, “Don’t worry. As the Lord lives, I’ll meet with Ahab today.”

So Obadiah went and told Ahab. As soon as the king saw Elijah, he said, “So, there is the man who’s destroyed Israel.”

Elijah said, “No, it’s not me, but you who has destroyed Israel. You’ve turned your back on the Lord and are serving Baal. Tell Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. Bring the prophets of Baal and Asherah, the ones who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

So Ahab told the Israelites to gather at Mount Carmel, along with the prophets. Once everyone was there, Elijah said to the people, “How long will you go back and forth? If the Lord is God, follow Him. If Baal is God, follow him.” The people didn’t say anything, but just looked at the prophet.

He said. “I stand here as only one prophet of the Lord, but look, there are 450 prophets of Baal. Give us two bulls. They’ll take one, prepare it for sacrifice, and put it on top of the wood. But they won’t put fire on the wood. I’ll do the same. They will call on the name of their god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who lights the fire, He is God.”

The people said. “Yes. That sounds fair.”

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal. “You go first.”

So they prepared the bull, and called on the name of Baal. They prayed all morning until noon. They danced around the altar, but nothing happened.

Elijah started mocking them. “Maybe you should shout louder! Your god might be sleeping, and you need to wake him up! Maybe he’s gone to the toilet.” They shouted loudly, and cut themselves, until blood gushed out. They kept this up all afternoon, but nothing happened.

Finally, Elijah built an altar with twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel. He dug a trench around the altar, and put the wood on it. He then placed the bull on top of the wood.

He said to the people, “Go get some water and pour it on the sacrifice.” Once they had done this, he told them to do it again. After they had done it a second time, he told them to do it a third time. Once they were done, the altar was totally wet, and the trench was full of water.

Elijah then walked up to the altar and prayed. “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Let everyone know that you are God, and I’m your servant. Answer me so these people will turn back to you!”

Suddenly, fire fell down from heaven and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the twelve stones. It even licked up the water that was in the trench. The people fell down and shouted, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”

Elijah ordered, “Grab the prophets of Baal! Don’t let any of them escape.” The people grabbed the prophets of Baal, and Elijah killed all of them.

He turned to Ahab and said, “Eat something. There’s a rainstorm coming.”

He then went up to the top of the mountain to pray. He said to his servant, “Look toward the sea. What do you see?”

The servant said, “I don’t see anything.”

Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally, the seventh time, his servant told him, “I see a small cloud, about the size of a man’s hand, coming from the sea.”

Elijah said, “Quick, go tell Ahab, ‘Rush home as fast as you can so the rain doesn’t stop you.’” Ahab got in his chariot and rushed toward home.

In a short time, the sky grew dark and the wind started to blow. Suddenly there was a downpour of rain. The power of God came over Elijah, and he ran faster than Ahab’s chariot, and arrived in Jezreel before him.

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Transfer of Power

114 – Transfer of Power

1 Kings 1:1-53

When David became old and frail, he was always cold. Covering him with blankets didn’t help. Finally, they decided to provide him with a nurse that would sleep with him. They found a beautiful virgin and she was his constant nurse. She slept with him, but they didn’t have sex.

Adonijah was the fourth son of David, a younger brother of Absalom. He was just as handsome as his brother. David never disciplined Adonijah, or even corrected him.

Since David was old and bedridden, Adonijah said, “I’ll be the next king.” He hired 50 bodyguards to run before him as he rode through the streets in a chariot. He asked Joab to help him, and also enlisted the help of the high priest. Others refused to help, including Nathan the prophet.

Adonijah hosted a banquet and invited those who supported him. He also invited his brothers, David’s servants, and officials of Judah. But he didn’t invite those who opposed him, and he didn’t invite Solomon.

Bathsheba was Solomon’s mother. Nathan went and told her what was happening. He said, “The king doesn’t know what Adonijah is doing. If we don’t stop this, you and your son will die.” He then told her exactly how they should tell the king.

She went to David’s bedroom, where his nurse was serving him. Bathsheba said, “My lord, you said Solomon would be king after you. But now Adonijah has made himself king without you knowing it. All of Israel is looking to you to tell them exactly who should be king. If you die without telling them, Solomon and I will be killed as criminals.”

At that exact moment, Nathan came in and said, “My lord king, did you make Adonijah king? Today he’s having a banquet with the officials of Israel. They’re eating and drinking and saying ‘Long live the King.’ Many of us weren’t invited. I’m surprised you authorized this without letting me know.”

David said to Bathsheba, “As sure as the Lord lives, your son Solomon will be king after me. It will happen today.”

He then gave an assignment to certain priests, officials, and the prophet Nathan. “Have Solomon ride on my personal mule to the place where you’ll anoint him king. Afterwards, blow the rams horns and shout ‘Long live King Solomon!’ Then have him sit on my throne. Tell everyone he’s the one I’ve selected to be king after me.”

The men followed David’s instructions. As soon as Solomon was pronounced king, the people flowed into the streets shouting, playing flutes, and celebrating.

The people at Adonijah’s banquet heard the noise and wondered what was happening. Men rushed in and told them. “King David has made Solomon king of Israel! Right now he’s sitting on the royal throne.”

Everyone quickly left the banquet and went home. Adonijah was terrified of what Solomon would do to him. He went to the Tabernacle and grabbed the horns of the altar. He sent a message to Solomon saying “I’m your slave. Please promise me you’ll not kill me.”

Solomon sent a message back. “I won’t kill you if you act like a man of character. But if not, I’ll have you killed.” So Adonijah went and bowed down before Solomon and gave him honor as the new king.

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Citadel of David courtyard from above, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Citadel of David moat from south, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Citadel of David minaret with full moon, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Jerusalem-Layout

Ethnic Cleansing

112 – Ethnic Cleansing

II Samuel 21:1-22

A famine hit the land of Israel. At first, David thought it was a natural event until it lasted for three years. He then realized the famine was from God. So he asked the Lord about it. God said, “It is because of what Saul did to the Gibeonites.”

The Tabernacle of God was at Gibeon. The Ark of God was in Jerusalem, but the Tabernacle was set up in Gibeon. So there were two places of worship.

The Gibeonites made an agreement with Israel in the days of Joshua. Saul decided to ignore those agreements and eliminate the Gibeonite population. He tried to totally annihilate their existence.

David went to them and said, “Our people have wronged you. How can we once again be reconciled with you?”

They said, “Money can’t pay for killing our brothers and sisters. And we don’t have the power to strike back at Israel. Still, our complaint isn’t toward Israel. It’s only toward the man who tried to exterminate us from the earth.”

David said, “So, what can we do for you?”

They said, “Give us seven of Saul’s descendants. We will hang them in his hometown, near where the people worship the Lord.”

David agreed. He selected two of Saul’s sons and five of his grandsons. He spared Mephibosheth because of his promise to Jonathan.

The Gibeonites killed the seven men and hung their bodies on a hill near where people went to worship. They were to hang there from April, which was the beginning of harvest, until October, which was the beginning of the rainy season.

Saul’s wife went to the site where her sons and grandsons were hanging. She stayed there day and night to protect the bodies from the birds during the day and the wild animals during the night.

When the allotted time was over, David went to the city where Saul and Jonathan were buried and got their bones. He then buried them in their family tomb, along with the seven men. After all of this was done, God once again heard David’s prayers concerning the land.

Years later, the Philistines once again declared war on Israel. David went with his men to fight a battle. He suddenly became exhausted during the fight. A relative of Goliath saw this as his opportunity to kill David. The Philistine was a huge man of great strength. He moved in to make the kill. One of David’s men stopped the giant and killed him.

David was taken off the battlefield, and his men took an oath. They said, “You are never to fight with us again. You’re the Lamp of Israel, and you’re not to put it out on the battlefield.” So David never went out to war again.

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David’s Kingdom Restored

110 – David’s Kingdom Restored

II Samuel 19:9 – 20:13

The king was cut to the heart when he heard of Absalom’s death. He went up to the gate chamber and cried out in anguish. “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!”

News of this got back to the army. Suddenly their joy of victory turned to sadness. It was as if they had lost the battle.

Joab went to David. “Your men risked their lives for you. They not only saved your life, but they saved the lives of your family. Now they’re ashamed of what they have done. They think you wanted them to die instead of your son.

“Get up right now. Go out and encourage your men. If you don’t, they’ll all leave you and your troubles will be worse than ever.”

So David got up and went to sit at the gate. Soon all of his men came and sat with him.

After Absalom was killed and his army defeated, his men ran from the battlefield and went back to their homes. At that point the people of Israel started remembering all the good things David had done for them through the years. Together they issued a call to David, asking him to once again be their king.

The tribe of Judah wasn’t represented in this call, so David sent them a message. “Why aren’t you asking me to come back? After all, I’m one of you.”

They immediately sent him a message, “Come back and be our king.” They then rushed to the Jordan River and escorted him and his family across.

As soon as David crossed the river, Shimei ran up and fell down before him. He said, “I know I sinned against you when you left Jerusalem. Please don’t hold that against me. As you can see, I’m the first one to welcome you back.”

Joab’s brother stepped forward and said, “Let me kill him. You’re the Lord’s anointed, and he disgraced you.”

David said, “Put away your sword. Today is a special day. I’m once again king. No one will be killed in Israel today.” He then turned to the man before him. “Shimei, you’ll not die for what you did.”

Immediately, there was an argument between the tribes of Israel. The other tribes said to Judah, “Why didn’t you include us when you brought the king across the river?”

Judah said, “We’re his relatives.”

The others said, “He’s king over all of Israel, not just Judah. So he’s ten times more our king than yours.” This once again divided the nation and the fighting between the tribes became intense.

A man named Sheba stepped forward and blew a ram’s horn. He said, “David isn’t king over Israel. Let Judah have him. Let’s go home.”

With that, the people of Israel left. Only the tribe of Judah took David to Jerusalem.