And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom.
All the people were at strife. The kingdom was completely disorganized. The sentiments of three different parties are represented in 2 Samuel 19:9-10 - the royalists, the adherents of Absalom, who had been very numerous, and those who were indifferent to the Davidic dynasty. In these circumstances the king was right in not hastening back, as a conqueror, to re-ascend his throne. A re-election was in some measure necessary. He remained for some time on the other side of Jordan, in expectation of being invited back. That invitation was given, without, however, the concurrence of Judah; and David, disappointed and vexed by his own tribe's apparent lukewarmness, despatched the two high priests to rouse the Judahites to take a prominent interest in his cause. It was the act of a skillful politician, as, Hebron having been the seat of the rebellion, it was graceful on his part to encourage their return to allegiance and duty; and it was an appeal to their honour not to be the last of the tribes. But this separate message, and the preference given to them, occasioned an outburst of jealousy among the other tribes that was nearly followed by fatal consequences.