And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem.
The verse belongs to the history of David's reign covering his lament over the death of Absalom and his return to Jerusalem amid the difficulties he encountered, his troubles with Joab, and the sad consequences of his many wives and sons whom he was unable to control, told with a detailed faithfulness that marks the account as inspired and shows that God does not hide the sins of even the greatest kings. It records David inviting Barzillai to cross over with him to Jerusalem and promising to feed and provide for him there at the king's table, expressing gratitude and generosity toward the loyal friend who had supplied food and other necessities for David and his people when they were hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.
The surrounding account presents Barzillai as eighty years old, whose age had weakened his ability to discern and to taste and to hear. Through infirmity he was unfit for the entertainments of an earthly prince's court, so he declined the king's invitation to cross over and live with him. He stands as a loyal figure whose example belongs among the biblical examples of courage and fidelity.
The verse teaches that aged servants of God are not dismissed from waiting on Him and are not cast off in time of old age, so they must not desert His service. When age keeps them from being working servants in God's family, they remain waiting servants who give honor to God and receive comfort from Him. They can relish the pleasures of God's courts as much as ever while they patiently wait for the nearness of eternal happiness and the inheritance of the promise.
The verse belongs to the history of David's reign covering his lament over the death of Absalom and his return to Jerusalem amid the difficulties he encountered, his troubles with Joab, and the sad consequences of his many wives and sons whom he was unable to control, told with a detailed faithfulness that marks the account as inspired and shows that God does not hide the sins of even the greatest kings. It records David inviting Barzillai to cross over with him to Jerusalem and promising to feed and provide for him there at the king's table, expressing gratitude and generosity toward the loyal friend who had supplied food and other necessities for David and his people when they were hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.
The surrounding account presents Barzillai as eighty years old, whose age had weakened his ability to discern and to taste and to hear. Through infirmity he was unfit for the entertainments of an earthly prince's court, so he declined the king's invitation to cross over and live with him. He stands as a loyal figure whose example belongs among the biblical examples of courage and fidelity.
The verse teaches that aged servants of God are not dismissed from waiting on Him and are not cast off in time of old age, so they must not desert His service. When age keeps them from being working servants in God's family, they remain waiting servants who give honor to God and receive comfort from Him. They can relish the pleasures of God's courts as much as ever while they patiently wait for the nearness of eternal happiness and the inheritance of the promise.