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From: 2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13

David’s Flight

[13] And a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel
have gone after Absalom.” [14] Then David said to all his servants who were with
him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee; or else there will be no escape for us
from Absalom; go in haste, lest he overtake us quickly, and bring down evil upon
us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.”

Hushai Undertakes to Work for David

[30] But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went,
barefoot and with his head covered; and all the people who were with him co-
vered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went.

Shimel Curses David

[5] When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of
the house of Saul, whose name was Shime-i, the son of Gera; and as he came
he cursed continually. [6] And he threw stones at David, and at all the servants
of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand
and on his left. [7] And Shime-i said as he cursed, “Begone, begone, you man
of blood, you worthless fellow! [8] The LORD has avenged upon you all the blood
of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has given
the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your ruin is on you; for
you are a man of blood.”

[9] Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog
curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” [10] But the king
said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because
the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you
done so?’”And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own
son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Let him alone,
and let him curse; for the LORD has bidden him. [12] It may be that the LORD
will look upon my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for this
cursing of me today.” [13] So David and his men went on the road, while Shi-
me-i went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, and threw
stones at him and flung dust.

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Commentary:

15:13-17. Faced with the imminent arrival of his usurping son, David takes flight.
In a poignant scene he processes out of the city, as if accepting that God’s plan
includes Absalom’s revolt. He does not want to delay, in case that should put the
city itself at risk (v. 14). David’s original conquest of the city was a sign of God’s
protection; now it must seem as though God has abandoned him. The humbled
king leaves on foot (15:30) but he cherishes the hope that the city will remain the
royal capital: he has left his concubines in the palace and they will look after it
for whomever the Lord chooses to be its master.

Although this is humiliating flight, David is consoled by unconditional support
from certain quarters (vv. 18, 23). He stops at the last house to bid farewell to
the city he founded.

15:24-37. The ark must stay in Jerusalem, the religious capital, as a sign that
the Lord will continue to protect its inhabitants and the rightful king, whoever he
may be. David hopes to return to the ark if he still finds favor with the Lord. Even
though David knows that leaving Jerusalem is a punishment from God (v. 26),
he continues to act as king and he sends trusted men to the city to be his
spies and report back on the position there (v. 28). Meanwhile he loses some
adherents, including the treacherous Ahithophel (v. 31), and gains better ones.

16:1-14. For David the flight from Jerusalem is a time of sorrow, although it
serves to purify his soul. Not only does he have to abandon his beloved city;
he is jeered and despised by many of his subjects. The first two persons who
come out to meet him (Ziba and Shimei) are from the north and they serve to
remind him that there are still supporters of Saul who hate him. Ziba, who has
his own reasons for doing so, informs David that Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son
and a man treated with deference at David’s court (cf. 9:6-13), has gone over to
Absalom. David takes a decision which will be moderated when he later disco-
vers Mephibosheth’s part in the plot not to have been so very serious (cf. 19:25-
31). Shimei acts in a cowardly and disrespectful way towards David; but the
king, instead of reacting with violence, accepts these humiliations as coming
from God. Thus, his religious piety is growing and he is learning to accept his
well-deserved punishment.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Mark 5:1-20

The Gerasene Demoniac

[1] They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. [2]
And when He (Jesus) had come out of the boat, there met Him out of the tombs
a man with an unclean spirit, [3] who lived among the tombs; and no one could
bind him any more, even with a chain; [4] for he had often been bound with fetters
and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces;
and no one had the strength to subdue him. [5] Night and day among the tombs
and on the mountains he was always crying out, and bruising himself with stones.
[6] And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped Him; [7] and crying
out with a loud voice, he said, “What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the
Most High God? I adjure You by God, do not torment me.” [8] For He had said to
him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” [9] And Jesus asked him, “What
is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” [10] And he
begged Him eagerly not to send them out of the country. [11] Now a great herd
of swine was feeding there on the hillside; [12] and they begged Him, “Send us
to the swine, let us enter them.” [13] So, He gave them leave. And the unclean
spirits came out, and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two
thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the
sea.

[14] The herdsmen fled, and told it in the city and the country. And people came
to see what it was that had happened. [15] And they came to see Jesus, and
saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had
had the legion; and they were afraid. [16] And those who had seen it told what
had happened to the demoniac and to the swine. [17] And they began to beg Je-
sus to depart from their neighborhood. [18] And as He was getting into the boat,
the man who had been possessed with demons begged Him that he might be
with Him. [19] But He refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and
tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on
you.” [20] And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much
Jesus had done for him; and all men marvelled.

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Commentary:

1-20. The inhabitants of Gerasa were mostly pagans, as one can gather from the
fact that there was such a huge herd of swine there (which must have belonged
to a number of different people). Jews were forbidden to raise pigs or eat pork
(Leviticus 11:7).

This miracle emphasizes, once more, the existence of the devil and his influence
over men’s lives: if God permits it, the devil can harm not only humans but also
animals. When Christ allows the demons to enter the swine, the malice of the
demons becomes obvious: they are tormented at not being able to do men harm
and therefore they ask Christ to let them, at least, inflict themselves on animals.
This He does, in order to show that they would have the same effect on men as
they have on these swine, if God did not prevent them.

Clearly it was not Jesus’ intention to punish the owners of the swine by the loss
of the herd: since they were pagans that were not subject to the precepts of the
Jewish law. Rather, the death of the swine is visible proof that the demon has
gone out of the possessed man.

Jesus permitted the loss of some material goods because these were of infinitely
less value than the spiritual good involved in the cure of the possessed man.

15-20. Notice the different attitudes to Jesus Christ: the Gerasenes beg Him to
go away; the man freed from the devil wants to stay with Him and follow Him. The
inhabitants of Gerasa have had our Lord near them, they have seen His divine po-
wers, but they are very self-centered: all they can think about is the material da-
mage they have suffered through the loss of the herd; they do not realize the mar-
vel Jesus has worked. Christ has invited them and offered them His grace but
they do not respond: they reject Him. The man who has been cured wants to
follow Jesus with the rest of His disciples but our Lord refuses; instead He gives
him a task which shows Christ’s unlimited compassion for all men, even for those
who reject Him: the man is to stay in Gerasa and proclaim to the whole neighbor-
hood what the Lord has done for him. Perhaps they will think again and realize
who He is who has visited them, and escape from the sins their greed has led
them to commit. These two attitudes are to be found whenever Christ passes by
— as are Jesus’ mercy and continuous offer of grace: our Lord does not want the
death of the sinner but rather that he should turn from his way and live (cf. Eze-
kiel 18:23).

20. The “Decapolis” or “country of the ten cities”, among the more famous of
which are Damascus, Philadelphia, Scythopolis, Gadara, Pella and Gerasa. The
region was located to the east of the lake of Gennesaret and was inhabited main-
ly by pagans of Greek and Syrian origin. This territory came under the Roman
governor of Syria.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.