In 2 Samuel 19 and 20 Joab shames David for mourning over Absalom and bringing shame to his troops when they fought to protect him. David takes his place at the city gates to review the troops.

The people of Israel remember all that David has done for them and now that Absalom is dead they want to bring David back as king.Zadok and Abiathar convince the elders of Judah to bring David back over the Jordan since he is of their tribe. David makes Amasa form Judah his commander in place of Joab. The king, his household, and Judah cross the Jordan. Mephibosheth’s servant Ziba and his household lead the way

Shimei greet David and apologizes for the curses he made against David when he left Jerusalem. Some want to kill Shimei for his actions but David spares him. Mephibosheth greets David. He tells David that he was deceived by those who were against the king, and that is why he stayed in Jerusalem. David grants both Ziba and Mephibosheth an inheritance but Mepibosheth gives it all to Ziba.

The people of Israel are jealous of the tribe of Judah and wonder why David is favoring Judah. Judah explains that they are kin. Sheba a Benjaminite incites the people of Israel to leave David but the people of Judah follow him to Jerusalem. Joab takes some men to pursue Sheba. Amasa joins Joab but Joab kills him. He then builds a siege ramp against the city where Sheba is hiding. The people of the city kill Sheba and Joab and the troops return to Jerusalem.

David shows mercy toward those who have wronged him. This angers Joab who thinks that they should be punished. Joab goes behind David’s back to accomplish his desires. So far he has been successful in his deceit.

In 1 Corinthians 8 Paul discusses another of the Corinthians arguments regarding food sacrificed to idols. For some, because idols aren’t real, the food is able to be eaten. But for others their conscience does not allow them to eat the food because it has been defiled. Paul recommends that in order not to wound the conscience of the weak believers who still place power in the idol sacrifice, the strong should not eat the meat. It is a sin to cause someone to fall.