2 Samuel 16:3

And the king said, And where is thy master’s son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.

The king asked after his master's son, and Ziba answered that he was abiding at Jerusalem because he said the house of Israel would restore his father's kingdom to him that day. The report was that Mephibosheth, grandson of Saul, had remained behind in Jerusalem in expectation that Israel would give him back Saul's kingdom.

The words to day need not be taken in the strict sense of that very calendar day but can mean a short time soon to come. In the same way the to day in Christ's promise to the thief about being with Him in paradise need not mean that same day.

The verse stands in the account of Absalom's rebellion and David's flight from Jerusalem, before David's victory over Absalom and his return to Jerusalem. It belongs to the story of the troubles in David's family and the treachery surrounding Absalom's ambitions.

It is part of the history of retribution that followed David's wrong toward Uriah, in which sorrow and trouble continued through his life especially through his family, including Absalom's rebellion and crimes. It thus belongs to the history showing that wrongdoing brings suffering back upon the wrongdoer. The subsequent history of David in 2 Samuel 11-24 and 1 Kings 1-2 shows how the denunciation spoken by Nathan after David's great wickedness in the case of Uriah was completely accomplished in judgments that came upon David.

David's transgression gave great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, and it is neither covered up nor excused. It is recorded together with Nathan's denunciation and with David's own humble confession of his great transgression for all future time. The misery to which the verse belongs is traced largely to the evil of a multiplicity of wives.

The record in 2 Samuel 16-17 to which the verse belongs describes events leading up to Absalom's defeat and death in battle, about three months before that death when Absalom had occupied Jerusalem. That delay, during which David numbered his adherents and organized his army while Absalom rallied the people to his standard, was caused by the counsel of Hushai, David's friend, in answer to David's prayer that the counsel of Ahithophel be brought to nothing. Absalom's superiority of numbers counted for nothing against David's trained heroes and experienced generals because God was not with Absalom. However loud the profession, large the following, and flattering the prospects, ultimate failure is certain if God is not in the move.

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