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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
2 Samuel 19:1–8, “And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now. Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent.”
All the troops who had supported David that day were expecting a great reception when they came back to the city for they had won a great victory. However, David was weeping for his son, instead of thanking them for fighting well on his behalf. They all felt ashamed because the king was acting as though they had lost the battle instead of winning it. When Joab heard about this, he went to the king and told him that he was behaving badly. These men had risked their lives that day to save the kingdom for David. The only way that David would have been able to secure the kingdom for himself was to make sure that Absalom didn’t return from the battle. Joab told David that he would loose the support of his best soldiers if he didn’t treat them with respect and gratitude for saving his kingdom from Absalom. David cleaned himself up and went to show respect and gratitude to his soldiers for the victory they had won for him.
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