The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 146

her any puni•hmont further thRn this vor- priost (I Sam. :r.:r.i. 1). But when in a. fit be.l reproof. Nor does the intercet lie in of eensolees jealousy be destroyed his own Miohel'e oo_nduct: but in the glimpse whioh work, the nation was left for e. time without the nerrative givee ue of David'e tender piety towards God, ao exactly in agreement e.n eet~blis~ed religion. Gradunlly, how- with the feeling& which animate very ma.ny ever, this primary necessity for good govern- of the psalmB. To unite with this a ba.reh ment. e.nd national morality we.a supplied- bitterness to the woman who wes hie first how we know not; but we find a te.bernnole love, who ba.d BO proteoted him in old time, at Gibeon, with the altar of burnt offerings, and whom ho had summoned beck a.t the first opportunity because of bis affection for her, and the morning and evening so.orifice, e.nd is a thing abhorrent in itself, and contrary apparently the same service as that erewbile to Da.vid's che.ra.oter. His fault in domestio set up at Nob; only Ze.dok of the line of mattere rather "·as th&t he was over-fond, Elea.ze.r is high priest (1 Chron. xvi. 39, 40). not that be was unfeeling. A little more He thus belonged t.o the senior line, while sternness towards Amnon and Abse.lom would havti saved him much sorrow. As the last survivor of the race of Itho.me.r, for Michal, the story sets her before us as Abiatha.r, Eli's great-grandson, was with 01ning a great dea.l for De.vid,and not much David. Gibeon was in the centre of the for Jehornh. She could not hove approved tribe of Benjamin, some few miles from of such a number of rivals in David's house- Jerusalem, with Nob lying half-way be- hold, but she had not lost her love for him. And the ne.rra tive represents her as not tween; and probably Saul had permitted having Jehovah's blessing in a matter eo this restomtion of Jebove.h's worship at greatly thought of by Hebrew women, and Gibeon, both because he half repented of u valuing too highly royal state, and for- his deed, e.nd because the worship there was getting thut above the king was God. But ministered by priests not allied to Ahimeleoh ahe did David no great wrong, and received from him nothing WCJl'Se than a scolding. and Abiathar. But now the ark, which In the parallel place (1 Chron. :r.v. 29) the was Jebovah's throne, had been brought out matter is very lightly ~ over; and the of its obscurity, and solemnly placed in a reason why it holds an 'important place in ta.bemacle ill Zion, with Abiathar, David's this book is that we havo here a history of friend. the representa.ti ve of the junior line, David's piety, of his sin and his punish- o.s high priest; and probably the only differ- ment. In itself a slight matter, it yet makes us clearly understand the nature of David's ence in the service was that David's psalms feeling& towards Jehovah. It is also most were snng to mueio at Zion, while the Mose.io interesting in itself. For David is the type ritual, with no additions,· was olosely followed of a noble chR.rBcter under the influence of at Gibeon. There we.a thus the speote.cle of graoe. Michel, too, is -a noble character, but two high priests ( eh. viii. 17), e.nd two rival ahe laoked one thing, and that was " the one thing needfnl" services, and yet no thought of sobism, Zadok had been one of those foremost in The removal of the ark is a matter ao ma.king David king of all Israel (1 Chron, important es to call for carefnl considem- xii 28); he e.nd Abie.thar were the two who tion. For the time it est.e.blished two centres moved Judah to bring David baok after of worship--0ne with the ark at Zion, the Absalom's revolt (eh. xi:r.. 11). The whole other at Gibeon. The ark in Saul's days matter had grown out of historical facts, had been forgotten (1 Chron. :r.iii. 3). It and probably David always intended that had long lain in the honse of a simple Zion should absorb Gibeon, and be the one Levitt, in the city of woods, and Saul's centre required by the Levitical Law. Bui religions ideas were too feeble for him to he was content to wait. He.d he acted other- be capable of understanding the importance wise a conflict would necessarily have arisen of establiahing a national religiou. Still, between the rive.I lines of the priesthood, such as they were, they made him summon and between Ahiathe.r and Ze.dok, the two Ahiah, the grandson of Eli, to be his men who represented them, and who were domestic priest (1 Sam. xiv. 3); a.nd sub- both his true friends. We find even Solomon sequently he even eet up a.t Nob the doing great honour to the tabernacle e.t to.beroe.cle with its table of ahewbree.d, and Gibeon (2 Chron. i. S, eto.), but after the other holy furniture, saved somehow from temple was built it passed away; and the 1be ruin of Shiloh, with Abunelech 11,s high race of Ith11,mar, we11,ke1:1ecl by the cale.mi&y ott. vr. 1-23.J THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL,