Loyalty in the Wilderness Text: 2 Samuel 17:27-29
Introduction: When the Kingdom is Shaken
We come now to one of the darkest moments in the life of David. The kingdom, which had been established by the hand of God, is now convulsed by a civil war of the most wicked sort. It is a war of son against father, of subject against king. Absalom, the charismatic and corrupt son, has stolen the hearts of the men of Israel, and David, the Lord's anointed, is a fugitive. He has fled Jerusalem, crossed the Kidron, and is now in the wilderness, weary, betrayed, and hunted. This is the king, the sweet psalmist of Israel, reduced to the status of an outlaw, dependent on the loyalty of a few good men while the nation he built turns against him.
It is in moments like these, when everything is shaken, that the true nature of men's hearts is revealed. When the legitimate authority is in exile and the usurper sits on the throne, loyalty becomes a costly and dangerous virtue. It is easy to be loyal when the king is in his palace and the kingdom is at peace. But what about when the king is in the wilderness? What about when supporting him means marking yourself as a traitor to the new regime? It is here, in the wilderness of Mahanaim, that we see the difference between fair-weather followers and true covenant men.
The counsel of Ahithophel has been thwarted by the providence of God working through Hushai, but David is not yet safe. He and the people with him are exhausted. They are hungry, they are thirsty, and they are bone-weary. And it is precisely at this moment of maximum vulnerability that God demonstrates His faithfulness. God's providence is not a vague, abstract doctrine. It is as practical as a bed for a weary man and a piece of cheese for a hungry one. God provides for His anointed, and He does so through the hands of His faithful people. This brief passage is a profound lesson in the nature of true loyalty, the practicality of God's providence, and the tangible outworking of genuine faith.
The Text
Now it happened that when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, brought beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, roasted seeds, honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and for the people who were with him, to eat; for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”
(2 Samuel 17:27-29 LSB)
An Unlikely Coalition of the Faithful (v. 27)
The first thing we must notice is the remarkable trio of men who come to David's aid. They are a picture of how God draws loyalty to His anointed from the most unexpected quarters.
"Now it happened that when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim," (2 Samuel 17:27 LSB)
First, we have Shobi, the son of Nahash, from the capital city of the Ammonites. This should stop us in our tracks. The Ammonites were inveterate enemies of Israel. It was Nahash the Ammonite who had offered to make a treaty with the men of Jabesh-gilead only if he could gouge out all their right eyes (1 Sam. 11:2). David had later shown kindness to Hanun, another son of Nahash, who had responded by humiliating David's ambassadors, sparking a brutal war (2 Sam. 10). And yet, here is Shobi, a prince of Ammon, risking everything to bring aid to David. God's grace is not bound by our ethnic or political lines. He can raise up sons of Abraham from stones, and He can raise up loyal friends from the sons of Ammon. This is a quiet rebuke to all tribalism and a foreshadowing of that day when the Gentiles would stream into the kingdom to serve David's greater Son.
Second, we have Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. We have met this man before. When David sought to show kindness to the house of Saul for Jonathan's sake, he found Mephibosheth, Jonathan's crippled son, living in the house of this very Machir (2 Sam. 9:4-5). Machir was a man of substance who had taken in the last heir of a fallen dynasty. He was loyal to the house of Saul when it would have been politically expedient to forget them. And now, that same man demonstrates his loyalty to David. Machir is not a political opportunist; he is a man of covenant principle. He honored the fallen house of Saul, and now he honors the exiled king, David. This is a man whose loyalty is to God's anointed, whoever that may be. He is a pillar of stability and righteousness in a time of chaos.
Third, there is Barzillai the Gileadite. He is described later as a very wealthy and very old man (2 Sam. 19:32). He is an elder statesman, a patriarch from across the Jordan. At eighty years old, he had nothing to gain from this political turmoil. He could have easily kept his head down, protected his wealth, and waited to see who would win the war. But he did not. He threw in his lot with David. His age, his wealth, and his geography all could have been excuses for neutrality, but his conscience would not allow it. He stands as a magnificent example of a godly elder using his resources and influence to support the cause of righteousness, regardless of the personal cost.
Full-Orbed, Practical Godliness (v. 28-29a)
The loyalty of these men was not a matter of sentiment or well-wishes. It was robust, practical, and lavish. It had hands and feet and donkeys laden with supplies.
"brought beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, roasted seeds, honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and for the people who were with him, to eat;" (2 Samuel 17:28-29a LSB)
Look at the glorious mundanity of this list. Beds. Basins. Pottery. This is not just about food; it is about civilization. David and his men were not just hungry; they were refugees. They needed a place to sleep. They needed vessels to eat from and to wash with. Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai did not just bring a casserole; they brought the infrastructure for an army in exile. This is what true diaconal ministry looks like. It is attentive to the details of human need. Godliness is not a head-trip. It is not an abstract feeling. It is providing a bed for a weary king.
And then there is the food. The list is extensive and specific: staples like wheat and barley, processed goods like flour, ready-to-eat snacks like roasted grain, proteins like beans and lentils, delicacies like honey and curds, and fresh meat and dairy from the flock and herd. This is not meager rationing; this is a feast. It is an act of lavish generosity. They brought everything David and his men could possibly need, demonstrating that their commitment was total. They were all in. This is a beautiful illustration of how God provides for His people. He is not a stingy God. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and when He provides, He provides abundantly. He did not just give David a crust of bread; He gave him a banquet in the wilderness, served by the hands of faithful men.
The Motivation of Mercy (v. 29b)
The text concludes by giving us the simple, compassionate reasoning behind this extraordinary act of loyalty. It was not a calculated political investment. It was an act of mercy.
"for they said, 'The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.'" (2 Samuel 17:29b LSB)
Here is the heart of the matter. They saw the need, and they were moved to meet it. Their theology was simple: God's people are in trouble, and we have the means to help them. Their statement is one of profound empathy. They put themselves in the shoes of David and his men. They understood the harsh reality of the wilderness, and they acted. This is the opposite of the priest and the Levite who saw the man beaten on the road to Jericho and passed by on the other side. These men are the Good Samaritans of the Old Testament. Their orthodoxy was expressed in their orthopraxy. Their love for God and His anointed king was demonstrated in their love for the king's weary and hungry followers.
This is a powerful lesson for the church. Our compassion must be practical. It is not enough to say, "be warm and filled" if we do not provide the food and clothing. These men did not form a committee to study the problem of hunger in the wilderness. They did not send a scroll to David expressing their "thoughts and prayers." They loaded their pack animals and showed up. This is the kind of faith that God honors, a faith that works through love, a faith that sees a need and meets it without fanfare, motivated by simple compassion for the people of God.
The Gospel in the Wilderness
As is so often the case in the life of David, we see here a profound type of our Lord Jesus Christ. David, the rightful king, is rejected by his own people, betrayed by one close to him, and cast out of his own city. He is a king in the wilderness, weary and afflicted. This is a clear foreshadowing of the Son of David, who came to His own, and His own received Him not. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And just as God provided for David in his moment of need through this unlikely coalition, so God the Father provides for all who come to His Son. We are the ones who are truly hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness of sin. We are spiritually destitute, without hope and without God in the world. Our souls are famished, our spirits are exhausted by the rebellion of our sin, and we thirst for a righteousness we cannot produce.
Into our desperate wilderness comes Jesus, the true King. He does not come with basins and barley, but with His own body and blood. He is the Bread of Life, given for the hunger of the world. He is the Living Water, and whoever drinks of Him will never thirst again. He is the one who says, "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." The lavish provision brought to David is but a shadow of the infinite, spiritual provision that is ours in the gospel.
And who brings this provision? God's grace comes to us through the most unlikely means. We are the Ammonites, the enemies of God, who are brought near by the blood of Christ. We are the ones from Lo-debar, a place of "no pasture," who are brought to the King's table. And by His grace, we are then called to be like Machir and Barzillai. Having been lavishly provided for by our King, we are now called to be providers for His people. We are to use our resources, our energy, and our lives in loyal, practical, and costly service to Him and to His church. We see the needs of our brothers and sisters, and we say, "The people are hungry and weary and thirsty," and then, by God's grace, we do something about it.