Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.
2 Samuel 20:4 belongs to the history of the reign of David in 2 Samuel, with its difficulties, the sad consequences of his many wives and of the sons he could not control, Absalom's rebellion and the death of the petted idol of the kingdom, David's lament and his return to Jerusalem, his troubles with Joab, and his numbering of the people. It stands in the subsequent history of David in 2 Samuel 11-24 and 1 Kings 1-2, which does not cover up or excuse his great wickedness in the case of Uriah by which he gave great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Its immediate setting comes after the suppression of Absalom's revolt, when a quarrel between the men of Judah and the men of Israel gave occasion for the revolt of Sheba son of Bichri, a revolt that threatened to prove very serious.
The verse belongs to the continuing family troubles, political conflict, and troubles that came upon David as judgment for his sin in the case of Uriah, showing that his troubles were not yet ended. That history shows how completely the terrible denunciation of the prophet Nathan was accomplished in the judgments that came upon David. The surrounding story shows the consequences of departing from God's laws, that transgression carries an inherent curse even when God does not openly reprove it.
The account is told with detailed faithfulness that stamps the whole with inspiration and shows that God does not hide the sins of even the greatest of kings.
2 Samuel 20:4 belongs to the history of the reign of David in 2 Samuel, with its difficulties, the sad consequences of his many wives and of the sons he could not control, Absalom's rebellion and the death of the petted idol of the kingdom, David's lament and his return to Jerusalem, his troubles with Joab, and his numbering of the people. It stands in the subsequent history of David in 2 Samuel 11-24 and 1 Kings 1-2, which does not cover up or excuse his great wickedness in the case of Uriah by which he gave great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Its immediate setting comes after the suppression of Absalom's revolt, when a quarrel between the men of Judah and the men of Israel gave occasion for the revolt of Sheba son of Bichri, a revolt that threatened to prove very serious.
The verse belongs to the continuing family troubles, political conflict, and troubles that came upon David as judgment for his sin in the case of Uriah, showing that his troubles were not yet ended. That history shows how completely the terrible denunciation of the prophet Nathan was accomplished in the judgments that came upon David. The surrounding story shows the consequences of departing from God's laws, that transgression carries an inherent curse even when God does not openly reprove it.
The account is told with detailed faithfulness that stamps the whole with inspiration and shows that God does not hide the sins of even the greatest of kings.