Hungry, Weary, and Thirsty

The Story

It was the lowest point of David’s life. His own son Absalom had led a rebellion and taken the throne. David fled Jerusalem barefoot and weeping, with his family and a few loyal followers.

They crossed the Jordan River in the middle of the night and arrived in the town of Mahanaim, exhausted, with almost nothing.

And then three men showed up.

One was Shobi, an Ammonite, from a nation that had once been David’s enemy. One was Machir, who years before had taken in Jonathan’s crippled son. And one was Barzillai, an old man of eighty, from the hills of Gilead.

They brought beds and bowls and pottery. They brought “wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles”, “and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese.” They had looked at David’s people and understood exactly what was wrong: “The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.”

After the rebellion was over, David wanted to bring Barzillai to Jerusalem and take care of him for the rest of his life. The old man thanked him, but said he was too old for palace life. He just wanted to go home.

Reflection