As David was returning to Jerusalem from exile on the eastern side of the Jordan River (Map HERE) the people of the land of Israel were in a state of confusion concerning the kingship. They as a nation had anointed Absalom to be king, but Absalom was now dead. So, who was king? (2 Samuel 19:9-10) David acts proactively by sending a message to the two priests, Zadok and Abiathar, asking the to have the elders of Judah organize a coming home party for King David. If they do this David assumes that the rest of tribes of Israel will follow.

Many of these men that David asks to come out and escort him home are the same men who had followed Absalom in his conspiracy and rebellion. These men now have to decide if they want to move forward and find a king to replace Absalom, or if they want to return David to the throne. 2 Samuel says, that David “won over the hearts of the men of Judah so that they were all of one mind.” They replied with a request for David and all of his troops to return to Jerusalem and then “the men of Judah” went “to Gilgal to go out and meet the king and bring him across the Jordan.” It is possible that David was re-anointed at Gilgal, although the text does not say this. The problem with David returning without an anointing is seen in the fact that Absalom was publicly anointed and accepted as king in Hebron before he marched on Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 15:7-13 and 19:10, “…and Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, has died in battle.”)

Interestingly, David does not seek revenge on Amasa, Absalom’s general who had led the troops against David and his men. Instead, David offers Amasa a position in his military as the general who would replace Joab. The reason for this may be, one, Joab was responsible for Absalom’s death; two, Amasa was supported by the men of Judah who anointed Absalom, so giving Amasa a position would secure the support of the men of Judah while also giving them some assurance of new reforms when David returned to office. It is also worth mentioning that two of David’s sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail (2 Sam. 17:25). Zeruiah was the mother of General Joab and Abigail was the mother of General Amasa. So, Joab and Amasa where cousins and David was their uncle.

There was a revolt brewing as David return to Jerusalem. A man named Sheba from Saul’s tribe of Benjamin was still holding onto the hope of a revival of the royal house of Saul. David ordered his new general, Amasa, to rally the troops and squelch this revolt, but Amasa did not move quickly enough for Joab. So, just as Joab had killed Ish-bosheth’s general, Abner (2 Samuel 3:22-27), Joab also killed Amasa (2 Samuel 20:8-10), retook control of the troops and put an end to Sheba’s revolt (2 Samuel 20:11-26). It may be Joab did not think Amasa was fully on board with David’s kingship and was dragging his feet in mobilizing David’s troops against Sheba’s revolt because of a plan to anoint someone else to replace Absalom. Some even think Amasa was a contender for the throne himself since he seems to have had some public support.  

“Archaeology has consistently supported the assertion that the Bible is a trustworthy historical document.”
- David A. Noebel, Understanding the Times

Compare the
Old and New Covenant:

Old- Mediated by Moses, Jn.1:17
New- Mediated by Jesus, Hb.9:15

Old- Conditional, Dt.28
New- Unconditional, Hb.8:9

Old- Cannot Bring Righteousness, Hb.8:8
New- Can bring righteousness, Hb.8:11

Old- Written on Stone, Ex.32:15
New- Written on Hearts, Hb.8:10