And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.
The king in the verse is David fleeing Jerusalem from Absalom in the war against him, with all the people that were with him, arriving fearful and weary from the pathetic journey and resting where they came. The weariness comes just after Shimei's cursing attack in verses 5-14, which David endured without allowing retaliation, and the stop to refresh marks the close of that trial. In sequence the verse belongs to the record in chapters 16 and 17 leading up to the battle in which Absalom was defeated and killed by Joab, about three months after Absalom occupied Jerusalem. After that battle David gained victory over Absalom and returned to Jerusalem.
The verse falls within the later history of David that records the judgments following his great transgression against Uriah and fulfilling Nathan's denunciation. It is part of the retribution and sorrows that followed him through the rest of his life, especially within his family. Those family troubles, recorded in chapters 13 to 20, grew largely out of the awful evil of multiplying wives, producing a large family by different wives in which idleness, luxury, and jealousy developed unenviable characters. They brought heavy disgrace and sorrow revolving around the beautiful Absalom whose ambition was roused by fulsome flattery. They included Absalom's base conduct, Ahithophel's treachery, Shimei's cursing, the touching of the hearts of David's old friends, Absalom's defeat, and David's sorrow over his wicked son's fate.
The verse teaches the great lesson that no one can walk contrary to God's laws without suffering, for in every transgression of divine law lies the inherent curse. Even here David's kindness to the house of Saul remains in evidence. The weary arrival illustrates Satan's warfare against those who serve God, whom he weakens by false reports or by reports calculated to weaken their influence, which his dupes delight in circulating while feeling they are doing God's service. He also weakens them by cold neglect that forces useful and zealous workers into some out-of-the-way corner of the vineyard where their hands are tied and the good work they might have done or had begun is left to fall.
The king in the verse is David fleeing Jerusalem from Absalom in the war against him, with all the people that were with him, arriving fearful and weary from the pathetic journey and resting where they came. The weariness comes just after Shimei's cursing attack in verses 5-14, which David endured without allowing retaliation, and the stop to refresh marks the close of that trial. In sequence the verse belongs to the record in chapters 16 and 17 leading up to the battle in which Absalom was defeated and killed by Joab, about three months after Absalom occupied Jerusalem. After that battle David gained victory over Absalom and returned to Jerusalem.
The verse falls within the later history of David that records the judgments following his great transgression against Uriah and fulfilling Nathan's denunciation. It is part of the retribution and sorrows that followed him through the rest of his life, especially within his family. Those family troubles, recorded in chapters 13 to 20, grew largely out of the awful evil of multiplying wives, producing a large family by different wives in which idleness, luxury, and jealousy developed unenviable characters. They brought heavy disgrace and sorrow revolving around the beautiful Absalom whose ambition was roused by fulsome flattery. They included Absalom's base conduct, Ahithophel's treachery, Shimei's cursing, the touching of the hearts of David's old friends, Absalom's defeat, and David's sorrow over his wicked son's fate.
The verse teaches the great lesson that no one can walk contrary to God's laws without suffering, for in every transgression of divine law lies the inherent curse. Even here David's kindness to the house of Saul remains in evidence. The weary arrival illustrates Satan's warfare against those who serve God, whom he weakens by false reports or by reports calculated to weaken their influence, which his dupes delight in circulating while feeling they are doing God's service. He also weakens them by cold neglect that forces useful and zealous workers into some out-of-the-way corner of the vineyard where their hands are tied and the good work they might have done or had begun is left to fall.