Contemplative Bible Reading

2 Samuel 19:41-43 (New Living Translation)

⁴¹ But all the men of Israel complained to the king, “The men of Judah stole the king and didn’t give us the honor of helping take you, your household, and all your men across the Jordan.”

⁴² The men of Judah replied, “The king is one of our own kinsmen. Why should this make you angry? We haven’t eaten any of the king’s food or received any special favors!”

⁴³ “But there are ten tribes in Israel,” the others replied. “So we have ten times as much right to the king as you do. What right do you have to treat us with such contempt? Weren’t we the first to speak of bringing him back to be our king again?” The argument continued back and forth, and the men of Judah spoke even more harshly than the men of Israel.

These verses were recorded as David was returning to Jerusalem. He is the “king” mentioned here.

David was from the tribe of Judah. The people of Judah felt a close tie to David, and rightly so. The peoples of the other tribes were a bit jealous, and rightly so.

How did the people of Judah show their pride in one of their own? How did the people of the other tribes show their pride in their own families?

Neither group acted well.

Some fifty years later, the nation separated into two weaker, less Godly nations. Generations of people, millions of people over the centuries – all hurt because of the separation. And maybe this incident was part of the start.

There are times in our lives when we are happy about the accomplishments of someone close to us. We are a little less happy about the accomplishments of someone we know, but who is not so close to us. It is important how we act in these situations. We can hurt people with how we show our joy. We can hurt people with how we react when they are joyous.