And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan.
2 Samuel 19:31 belongs to the history of David's reign centered on Absalom's rebellion, defeat, and victory, including David's lament and his return to Jerusalem. Before this crossing, Barzillai had supported David and his followers in the wilderness with food and supplies when they were hungry, weary, and thirsty. The verse shows Barzillai meeting David and going with David's supporters to escort the restored king across the Jordan toward Jerusalem, expressing loyal friendship and support. This meeting belongs to David's affecting journey home, which touched the hearts of his old friends.
The verse is part of the account of the troubles that followed David's wicked conduct toward Uriah, a history of retribution coming chiefly within his own family that shows wrongdoing brings consequences of its own kind. Within David's later history, the verse falls in the section showing the fulfillment of Nathan's denunciation through judgments that came upon David. The miseries connected with this history show the evil of a multiplicity of wives, to which David's troubles are largely traced.
The verse shows Barzillai the Gileadite in old age, and with the following verses it shows that through the infirmities of age he was unfit for the entertainments of the courts of earthly princes. This unfitness does not mean aged servants of God are dismissed from waiting on Him; their attendance is still required and accepted and they will not be cast off in old age, so they must not desert His service. When they can no longer be working servants they may still be waiting servants who honor God, receive comfort from Him, and relish the pleasures of God's courts as much as ever.
2 Samuel 19:31 belongs to the history of David's reign centered on Absalom's rebellion, defeat, and victory, including David's lament and his return to Jerusalem. Before this crossing, Barzillai had supported David and his followers in the wilderness with food and supplies when they were hungry, weary, and thirsty. The verse shows Barzillai meeting David and going with David's supporters to escort the restored king across the Jordan toward Jerusalem, expressing loyal friendship and support. This meeting belongs to David's affecting journey home, which touched the hearts of his old friends.
The verse is part of the account of the troubles that followed David's wicked conduct toward Uriah, a history of retribution coming chiefly within his own family that shows wrongdoing brings consequences of its own kind. Within David's later history, the verse falls in the section showing the fulfillment of Nathan's denunciation through judgments that came upon David. The miseries connected with this history show the evil of a multiplicity of wives, to which David's troubles are largely traced.
The verse shows Barzillai the Gileadite in old age, and with the following verses it shows that through the infirmities of age he was unfit for the entertainments of the courts of earthly princes. This unfitness does not mean aged servants of God are dismissed from waiting on Him; their attendance is still required and accepted and they will not be cast off in old age, so they must not desert His service. When they can no longer be working servants they may still be waiting servants who honor God, receive comfort from Him, and relish the pleasures of God's courts as much as ever.