Men of the Bible | Page 8

and speed my way."

BARZILLAI
BY REV. GEORGE MILLIGAN, M.A., D.D.
"There is nothing," says Socrates to Cephalus in the Republic, "I like
better than conversing with aged men. For I regard them as travellers
who have gone a journey which I too may have to go, and of whom it is
right to learn the character of the way, whether it is rugged or difficult,
or smooth and easy" (p. 328 E.).
It is to such an aged traveller that we are introduced in the person of
Barzillai the Gileadite. And though he is one of the lesser-known
characters of Scripture--and we might perhaps never have heard of him
at all had it not been for his connection with King David--on the few
occasions on which he does appear he acts with an independence and
disinterestedness which are very striking.
The first of these occasions is at Mahanaim, in his own country of
Gilead. In the strong fortress there David and his companions had taken
refuge after the disastrous revolt of Absalom. Owing to their hurried
flight, the fugitives were wanting in almost all the necessaries of life,
and they could hardly fail also to have been a little apprehensive of the
kind of welcome the Gileadites would extend to them. But if so, their
fears were soon set at rest. Three of the richest and most influential
men in the district at once came to their aid. Shobi the son of Nahash,
and Machir the son of Ammiel, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
brought beds, and cups, and wheat, and barley, and honey, and butter,
and sheep--all, in fact, that was needed--for David, and for the people

that were with him: for they said, "The people is hungry, and weary,
and thirsty, in the wilderness" (2 Sam. xvii. 29).
In so acting, the first of these, Shobi, may have been trying to atone for
his brother's insulting conduct when David had sent messengers to
comfort him on his father's death (2 Sam. x. 1-5);[1] and Machir as the
friend of Mephibosheth (2 Sam, ix. 4), was naturally grateful for the
king's kindness to the lame prince. But, as regards Barzillai, we know
of no such reasons for his conduct, and his generosity may, therefore,
be traced to the natural impulses of a kind and generous heart. In any
case, this unlooked-for sympathy and friendship had an arousing and
encouraging effect upon the king. He no longer despaired of his
fortunes, black though at the moment they looked, but, marshalling his
forces under three captains, prepared for war with his rebellious son;
with the result that in the forest of Ephraim Absalom's army was
wholly defeated, and the young prince himself treacherously slain.
With the death of its leader, the rebellion against David may be said to
have ended; but to the sorrow-stricken father victory at such a price
seemed an almost greater calamity than defeat would have been. And it
needed the strong, almost harsh, remonstrances of Joab to rouse him
from his grief, and lead him to think of his duty to his people. At length,
however, the homeward journey began, the king following the same
route by which so shortly before he had fled, until he came to the banks
of the Jordan, where a ferry-boat was in readiness to take him and his
household across (2 Sam. xix. 18). Before, however, he crossed, several
interesting interviews took place. Shimei, who had cursed so
shamelessly on the day of misfortune, was forgiven, and received the
promise of protection; Mephibosheth was restored to the king's favour,
and his old place at the king's table; and, what specially concerns us at
present, David had his final parting with Barzillai.
The loyal chieftain, notwithstanding his eighty years, had come all the
way from his upland farm to bid farewell to his king, and see him
safely over Jordan. And as David remarked the old man's devotion, and
remembered his former favours, the wish seized him to attach him still
more closely to his person. "Come thou over with me," he said, "and I

will feed thee with me in Jerusalem" (2 Sam. xix. 33). It was from one
point of view a dazzling offer. Barzillai had seen enough of David to
know that what the king said he meant, and that if he chose to go with
him, honour and position awaited him at the court. But he would not be
moved. His grey hairs, if nothing else, stood in the way. "How long
have I to live," he answered, "that I should go up with the king unto
Jerusalem?" (verse 34). I am too old, that is, for such a life as would
there be expected of me. And, after all, why should conduct such as
mine meet