July 16, 2026 • 19 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, why did America's founders and most important men keep turning to King David? From the Revolution to Abraham Lincoln's efforts to reunite the nation after the Civil War, the biblical king and his family helped generations of Americans understand courage, rebellion, leadership, and reconciliation.
For our ongoing series, Rabbi Stuart Halpern, co-author of The Jewish Roots of American Liberty, shares the story of the surprising influence of King David on the American experiment.
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American stories.
Ten point nine million Americans tuned in to watch the
coronation of England's King Charles the Third. An interesting statistic
considering our roots. But it turns out we've been fascinated
by and have drawn inspiration from kings from all of
(00:30):
our history, even when we hated them. The most here
with another story is Rabbi Stuart Halbern. Take it away, Stuart.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
We all know that if America stands against one thing,
it is of course the monarchy. As the Declaration of
Independence states, the history of the present King of Great
Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all
having a direct object the establishment of an absolute attorney
over these states. In other words, the entire enterprise was
(01:03):
standing strongly for liberty and freedom against a tyrannical monarch.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
However, there is in.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Fact a particular king, a biblical king, who has inspired
the country from his very inception to to David. Biblical
Israel was surrounded by its years long antagonist, the Philistines,
who wanted to crush its spirit and defeat its people.
All of the soldiers of Israel were afraid to take
(01:30):
on the warrior Goliath, who stood tall, representing the Philistine army,
and dared any Israelite to come forward.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
And to fight him.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
This Philistine giant made a wager and said, if anyone
comes to defeat me, then my people will serve your people.
But if we defeat you, then you are going to
all belong to us. And so to this scene arises
a young boy, and he says, how is it that
this person cursing and teasing our God and our people,
no one has arisen to take him. Monk is a cast,
(02:01):
and so he volunteers himself. And King Saul, who should
in theory have been the want to take on this
giant as the leader of his people, lends the young
teenage David his armor. But David is so small that
the armor is too heavy and too big, and he
cannot put it on it, and so instead, without any
protection whatsoever, David goes empty handed, except for, of course,
his sling, and David fires an immortal shot from his sling,
(02:26):
felling the Giants, striking him directly in his head, slaying him,
granting Israel its victory over the Philistines. This story has
become a metaphor for any time someone small takes on
someone big and defeats. Not surprisingly, the colonists saw themselves
as mirroring the unlikely heroism of David. Just like David
(02:52):
barely measured up to the ankle of the Philistine giant,
America is infinitely smaller than its enemy. There were roughly
eleven million citizens of the British Empire at the time
and about two and a half million citizens in the
American colonies, a four to one advantage of England over US.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
The British military had a three to one advantage.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Their navy boasted two hundred and seventy ships, the largest
in the world, and the colonies had no navy at
all until seventeen seventy five.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Britain's GDP was ten times larger.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Than that of the colonies, and the colonists had no
munitions factories, few foundries, and relied on smuggling and captured
British gear to arm themselves. Americans were constantly short gunpowder,
uniform shoes, and food. They were as bereft of equipment
as David, heading out without the armor of King Saul.
(03:45):
Simply put, Americans were at an extreme disadvantage, and it
is no shock to think that their victory, howard of victory,
in fact, was as unlikely, as miraculous, and as blessed
by God as that the young shepherd. It was the
prayer of America's earliest citizens that this story would be
retold in their own day. In fact, Congress in May
(04:09):
of seventeen seventy nine, as the revolutionary were dragged on,
issued a statement trying to inspire the weary citizens of
the nascent nation.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
They offered a remarkable analogy.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
They sat as followers America without arms, ammunition, discipline, revenue,
government or ally, almost totally stripped of commerce, and in
the weakness of youth, as it were, with a staff
and slaying, only dared in the name of the Lord
of Hosts to engage a gigantic adversary prepared at all points,
boasting of his strength, and of whom even mighty warriors
were greatly afraid.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
In other words, Congress.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Saw itself as attempting to imitate the courage of David,
and cited his story to galvanize all Americans to rise up,
stiffen their backs, shunten their muscles, and take on the
mightier foe. And this was not in fact, the only
time that David had been turned to during these battles.
John Witherspoon, who taught James Madison before he became president,
(05:04):
wondered in a seventeen seventy six sermon, has not the
boasted discipline of regular and veteran soldiers of the British
been turned into confusion and disarray before the new and
made encourage of freemen in defense of their property and
right right now? In other words, citing too the story
of David and the new found strength that all of
Israel had when they saw their champion defeat the Philistine giants,
(05:26):
he too was trying to galvanize the American collective spirit.
Now this was not as simple analogy. David was actually
this malleable, fascinating figure, so rich in metaphors throughout the
early decades of America. Before the colonists agreed to take
on the forces of King George the Third, they wrestled
(05:46):
with the ethics of whether God would be okay with
them taking on a king, and so they of course
turned to the story of David for insight. In a
sequel that is less studied than the famous story of
David versus Goliath, saw that in fact, David does not
immediately assume the throne of Israel after defeating the Philistine giants.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
King Saul was.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Still seated on the throne, even after the giant had
been slaved by the young Shepherd.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
And so, seeing this story, what the colonists remember was
that there were a.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Couple of moments in the Book of Samuel where David
could have actually assassinated Saul. And at this point in
the biblical tale, God had already given his imprimatory to
David as the leader of Israel. And yet David knew
to coin a phrase, you take a shot at the king,
you best not miss. Now, that wasn't exactly how he
phrased it, that would be omar from the wire, but
(06:36):
the spirit remains the same.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
David knew that to take on God's.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Anointed was no small matter, and so he chose actually
not to even though he had the opportunity not once
but twice. And so, seeing this tale and thinking this
through against George the Third's predecessor, King George the Second,
the colonists at that time before the revolution decided not
to revolt yet because they knew how big of a
(07:00):
deal it would be, and how perhaps questionable from a
biblical perspective, such action.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Would be in the eyes of God.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Now, it wasn't only David's story that served as a wellspring.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Of wisdom for the American project. It was also his family.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Now, David led a very complicated and complex life, and
his family struggles were harsher and tougher and longer than
anything you've ever watched on even a twenty four part
TV show of a family drama on Amazon Prime or Nextlis.
He had his son who rebelled against him. That son's
(07:46):
name was Absolom, and Absolom was unique in the Bible.
Unlike most characters that we know about, we actually know
about how he looked. Mind you, we have no clue.
Did Abraham have a beard? Was Isaac bald? Did Jacob
have a goatee? Probably not, But we do know that
Absalom had very, very long hair. The Bible goes out
of its way to tell us about his long locks.
(08:08):
Now why is this important? Because initially Absalam actually defeats
David and usurps the throne from the rightful King of
Israel his own thought. But eventually Abslom's forces are defeated
by David's and David reclaims his throne, and as Absolom
is fleeing the scene that he's caught by his long
hair in a tree, and Absolom is actually assassinated when
(08:32):
he is held in place by the branches around which
his hair has been wrapped. And David, at that point,
old and frail, weary, is devasty. Even though his son
had sinned and taken what was rightfully his, namely the
throne of ancient Israel, David did not want to see
his son harmed, let alone killed, And in a very
(08:52):
striking literal image of this story, there is an incredible
work of art woven during the Revolutionary era. Faith Robinson
Trumbull of Lebanon, Connecticut embroidered a work of art known
as the Hanging of Absalom in the lead up to
the American Revolution, and she depicted this episode with Absalom
being slaughtered. In this metaphor, Abslom actually represented the colonists,
(09:16):
and it was a frail British king, not paying enough
attention to what was going on around him, who wasn't
in control that Elder David was a stand.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
In for King George the Third.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
In other words, in this instance, it was the son
of David, the rebellious son of David, who actually represented
the colonial struggle against the British. Now it wasn't only
David's son that Americans turned to for further insight into
their own story.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
It was his grandson as well.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
When we come back, we're going to learn more about
the story of King David and so much more dealing
with our nation's founding. Here on our American stories, and
(10:09):
we continue with our American stories and with Rabbi Stuart
Halpern sharing the story of America's obsession with King David
and his family. Let's return to the story. Stuart now
turns to King David's grandson, ro Heebel.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Like many politicians who tend to appoint well seasoned State
department officials, but also they're friends to positions of power. Well, Rahobam,
who is the grandson of David, the son of the
wise King Solomon. He himself was not so white. He
actually levied a tax, a very harsh tax on his
(10:54):
subjects the Kingdom of Israel, and the people not surprisingly
didn't like well, let's call it taxation without representation, and
so they turned to the king and complained and said,
why are you taxing us so harshly? And like many politicians,
Rohobam turned to two different groups of advisers, those seasoned
political folks who have served many years in the civil service,
(11:15):
and his punkish, former teenage friends. And then why isn't
political adviser said, well, you should lighten the load, o king,
because if you don't, your kingdom might rebel against you
and might fracture. But his young friends, his inexperienced friends,
his unwise friends, said actually, I think you should flex,
really squeeze them, get every drop you can from those people,
because you're the big man on campus and they aren't.
(11:38):
And sure enough, Robam listened to those young friends, and
he squeezed the people, and he oppressed them, and he
turnized them.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
The Kingdom of Israel split because of it.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
What's fascinating is that the Americans saw this split of
the Kingdom of Israel into two kingdoms, the Kingdom of
Judah containing two of the twelve biblical tribes, and the
Kingdom of Israel, containing the remaining ten tribes, as mirroring
their own story, their own breaking away from the British Kingdom.
Just like Rohoba railed a sermon by Peter Whitney in Massachusetts.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
On September twelfth, seventeen.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Seventy six, King Georgia third rejected the Council of the
old Men and followed the impolitic advice of his young mates.
We need not wonder that the ten tribes of Israel
fall off from the House of David. Of course, he
was referring to the thirteen colonies falling.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Off from the House of England.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Now this was not a one sided biblical well spring.
The British actually strikingly sensed that maybe they had a
little bit of Goliath in them, and so there's an
incredible record of a British Methodist minister named John Fletcher, who,
in seventeen seventy six kind of an important year, warned
that while the Americans might not necessarily be behaving themselves,
they were Davids, and his fellow Brits were in danger
(12:58):
of falling like the Philistine Giant. If the colonists throng
to the houses of God while we throng playhouses or
houses of ill fame. If they crowd their communion tables
while we crowd the gaming table, if they pray while
we curse if they fast while we get drunk. If
they shelter under the protection of heaven while our chief
attention is turned to our hired troops, we are in danger,
(13:19):
in great danger. A youth that believes and prays as
David is a match for a giant that swaggers and
curses as Goliath.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
British knew all.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Along that they will be struck squarely in the farhad
and would fall, and over them would stand the young, exuberant, victorious,
new Biblical Israel. The United States of America. Now, David's
story did not end there. In fact, it would continue
for decades more. In his second inaugural address, President Abraham
(13:55):
Lincoln famously said that both sides of the Civil War,
that is, read the same Bible and pray to the
same God. And so it's not a surprise that both
the North and South wanted to pick up the mantle
of the spiritual and military biblical giant that was Kingdy.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
And we're worried, in.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Fact, if the other side was actually David in disguise.
The North Carolinian Presbyterian minister Joseph Atkinson was a bit worried,
a bit concerned that Stonewall Jackson, the incredible Confederate General,
might be a modern day sling shotting shepherd boy when
we come to our own day, he preached, and we
not hope that Jackson, the Christian hero, the man of
piety and prayer, with a fervency of spirit like David's
(14:36):
in the sanctuary and a martial order like David's in
the field, has been graciously given us as the interpreter,
impersonation of the Christian element and the Christian consciousness of
this grand conflict. Reading the Hebrew Biblical story through his
eyes as a Christian, he of course saw David as
a hero to his own faith, and he was worried
that this Southern hero, Stonewall Jackson, was in fact imitating
(14:59):
the Shepherd. The North, in turn, saw Jefferson Davis, the
President of the Confederacy, as being like that rebellious son Absalom.
They thought he was stepping out of line and out
of bounds and would eventually be hanged.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
On his own Patard, there can be no glory.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
In this war, Boston based Baptist minister Daniel Eddie preached, However,
it may result in whatever brilliant deeds may be done
by those in the North. Our great nation at its
clothes will weep, as David did over Absolom. It is
our own blood that is flowing. The last we see
of Absolom, the trader on the usurper. He is hanging
on an oak. So perish all traders, and for the
(15:35):
good of the country and the honor of humanity and
the glory of God. The sooner they perish, the better.
But he knew that it would be a bittersweet victory.
He knew, just like David was broken hearted over the
rebellion of his son and his subsequent death, he wanted
to embrace even those who have broken away. He wanted
to bring them back in. He wanted to welcome Absolom
back into the family fold. So to the North wished
(15:58):
he could embrace the South and become family once again.
But it knew in the meantime, until that moment, what
needed to be done needed to be done.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
This Absolom needed to be a sleep.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
In a remarkable ending to this period in American history,
we have an incredible reflection of President Lincoln Himself's knowledge
of the story of David. Now I mentioned a few
moments ago that David at first was losing his battle
against Absolom and actually had to leave Jerusalem, the Holy City.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
While on his way out, there was a heckler.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
I know it might be hard to believe, in this
age of social media that as major world events are
going on, someone felt compelled just be a jerk and
to adther two cents and to dunk on whoever was
losing at that moment. This, of course cannot possibly resonate all.
I mean, no one does this, But of course I
say this in jest, because being cynical and teasing someone
(16:55):
in their most vulnerable moments is a tell as old
as time. And so there was a fellow, Shimi, the
son of Gabor, and Shimmy teased and cursed David as
he fled head bowed from Jerusalem. David at the time
did not look up, did not fight him because he
was in retreat trying to survive against the forces of Absalom.
But how did Shimmy's story end up? Well, it ended
(17:18):
up being an incredible lesson taught by no less than
Abraham Lincoln himself. Lincoln, it seems, as recorded by his
friend Joseph Gillespie, was asked what to do with.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
The defeated sound well.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Jellespie recounts his friend Lincoln, musing, some think their heads
ought to come off, But there are too many of
them for that, said Lincoln.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
And for one, I would not know where to draw.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
The line between those whose heads, and might be said,
ought to come off or stay on. My policy would
be different, the president continued. I would prefer to follow
the example of King David. I had been recently reading
the history of the rebellion of Absalom, Lincoln said, and
would be inclined to adopt the views of David. When
David was fleeing from Jerusalem, Shimmy cursed him. After the
rebellion was put down, Jimmy craved, a pardon.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
I'll be shy.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
David's nephew, the son of Seruyah, David's sister, said, this
man ought not to be pardoned because he cursed the
Lord's anointed. David said, what I have to do with you,
you sons Oftruia, that you should do this, that you
should this day be adversaries unto me? Know ye that
not a man shall be put to death in Israel.
In other words, David, when he could have stepped on
the necks of his enemies. Shimmy's side had lost, and
(18:21):
yet in a open hearted, magnanimous, embracing way, sought not
to take revenge in that moment against the side that laws.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
So too, President.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Lincoln embraced in a spirit of reconciliation the defeated South,
and sought until his tragic dying day to reunite America
in the spirit of family and unification that was powered
by no less than the ancient prophet Kingdom.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling
by our own Monty Montgomery and his special thanks to
Stuart Helpern. He's the co author of The Jewish Roots
of American Liberty. Go to Amazon, go to your local library,
wherever you can get this book. Pick it up because
it's replete with references and stories from our founding right
(19:07):
up to the Civil War and beyond of how the
Old Testament informed while so many generations of Americans as
much so as the New Testament. The story of the
Jewish Roots of American Liberty and America's obsession with King David.
Here on our American stories
This is Lee Habib and this is our American stories.
Ten point nine million Americans tuned in to watch the
coronation of England's King Charles the Third. An interesting statistic
considering our roots. But it turns out we've been fascinated
by and have drawn inspiration from kings from all of
(00:30):
our history, even when we hated them. The most here
with another story is Rabbi Stuart Halbern. Take it away, Stuart.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
We all know that if America stands against one thing,
it is of course the monarchy. As the Declaration of
Independence states, the history of the present King of Great
Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all
having a direct object the establishment of an absolute attorney
over these states. In other words, the entire enterprise was
(01:03):
standing strongly for liberty and freedom against a tyrannical monarch.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
However, there is in.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Fact a particular king, a biblical king, who has inspired
the country from his very inception to to David. Biblical
Israel was surrounded by its years long antagonist, the Philistines,
who wanted to crush its spirit and defeat its people.
All of the soldiers of Israel were afraid to take
(01:30):
on the warrior Goliath, who stood tall, representing the Philistine army,
and dared any Israelite to come forward.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
And to fight him.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
This Philistine giant made a wager and said, if anyone
comes to defeat me, then my people will serve your people.
But if we defeat you, then you are going to
all belong to us. And so to this scene arises
a young boy, and he says, how is it that
this person cursing and teasing our God and our people,
no one has arisen to take him. Monk is a cast,
(02:01):
and so he volunteers himself. And King Saul, who should
in theory have been the want to take on this
giant as the leader of his people, lends the young
teenage David his armor. But David is so small that
the armor is too heavy and too big, and he
cannot put it on it, and so instead, without any
protection whatsoever, David goes empty handed, except for, of course,
his sling, and David fires an immortal shot from his sling,
(02:26):
felling the Giants, striking him directly in his head, slaying him,
granting Israel its victory over the Philistines. This story has
become a metaphor for any time someone small takes on
someone big and defeats. Not surprisingly, the colonists saw themselves
as mirroring the unlikely heroism of David. Just like David
(02:52):
barely measured up to the ankle of the Philistine giant,
America is infinitely smaller than its enemy. There were roughly
eleven million citizens of the British Empire at the time
and about two and a half million citizens in the
American colonies, a four to one advantage of England over US.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
The British military had a three to one advantage.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Their navy boasted two hundred and seventy ships, the largest
in the world, and the colonies had no navy at
all until seventeen seventy five.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Britain's GDP was ten times larger.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Than that of the colonies, and the colonists had no
munitions factories, few foundries, and relied on smuggling and captured
British gear to arm themselves. Americans were constantly short gunpowder,
uniform shoes, and food. They were as bereft of equipment
as David, heading out without the armor of King Saul.
(03:45):
Simply put, Americans were at an extreme disadvantage, and it
is no shock to think that their victory, howard of victory,
in fact, was as unlikely, as miraculous, and as blessed
by God as that the young shepherd. It was the
prayer of America's earliest citizens that this story would be
retold in their own day. In fact, Congress in May
(04:09):
of seventeen seventy nine, as the revolutionary were dragged on,
issued a statement trying to inspire the weary citizens of
the nascent nation.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
They offered a remarkable analogy.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
They sat as followers America without arms, ammunition, discipline, revenue,
government or ally, almost totally stripped of commerce, and in
the weakness of youth, as it were, with a staff
and slaying, only dared in the name of the Lord
of Hosts to engage a gigantic adversary prepared at all points,
boasting of his strength, and of whom even mighty warriors
were greatly afraid.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
In other words, Congress.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Saw itself as attempting to imitate the courage of David,
and cited his story to galvanize all Americans to rise up,
stiffen their backs, shunten their muscles, and take on the
mightier foe. And this was not in fact, the only
time that David had been turned to during these battles.
John Witherspoon, who taught James Madison before he became president,
(05:04):
wondered in a seventeen seventy six sermon, has not the
boasted discipline of regular and veteran soldiers of the British
been turned into confusion and disarray before the new and
made encourage of freemen in defense of their property and
right right now? In other words, citing too the story
of David and the new found strength that all of
Israel had when they saw their champion defeat the Philistine giants,
(05:26):
he too was trying to galvanize the American collective spirit.
Now this was not as simple analogy. David was actually
this malleable, fascinating figure, so rich in metaphors throughout the
early decades of America. Before the colonists agreed to take
on the forces of King George the Third, they wrestled
(05:46):
with the ethics of whether God would be okay with
them taking on a king, and so they of course
turned to the story of David for insight. In a
sequel that is less studied than the famous story of
David versus Goliath, saw that in fact, David does not
immediately assume the throne of Israel after defeating the Philistine giants.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
King Saul was.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Still seated on the throne, even after the giant had
been slaved by the young Shepherd.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
And so, seeing this story, what the colonists remember was
that there were a.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Couple of moments in the Book of Samuel where David
could have actually assassinated Saul. And at this point in
the biblical tale, God had already given his imprimatory to
David as the leader of Israel. And yet David knew
to coin a phrase, you take a shot at the king,
you best not miss. Now, that wasn't exactly how he
phrased it, that would be omar from the wire, but
(06:36):
the spirit remains the same.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
David knew that to take on God's.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Anointed was no small matter, and so he chose actually
not to even though he had the opportunity not once
but twice. And so, seeing this tale and thinking this
through against George the Third's predecessor, King George the Second,
the colonists at that time before the revolution decided not
to revolt yet because they knew how big of a
(07:00):
deal it would be, and how perhaps questionable from a
biblical perspective, such action.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Would be in the eyes of God.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Now, it wasn't only David's story that served as a wellspring.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Of wisdom for the American project. It was also his family.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Now, David led a very complicated and complex life, and
his family struggles were harsher and tougher and longer than
anything you've ever watched on even a twenty four part
TV show of a family drama on Amazon Prime or Nextlis.
He had his son who rebelled against him. That son's
(07:46):
name was Absolom, and Absolom was unique in the Bible.
Unlike most characters that we know about, we actually know
about how he looked. Mind you, we have no clue.
Did Abraham have a beard? Was Isaac bald? Did Jacob
have a goatee? Probably not, But we do know that
Absalom had very, very long hair. The Bible goes out
of its way to tell us about his long locks.
(08:08):
Now why is this important? Because initially Absalam actually defeats
David and usurps the throne from the rightful King of
Israel his own thought. But eventually Abslom's forces are defeated
by David's and David reclaims his throne, and as Absolom
is fleeing the scene that he's caught by his long
hair in a tree, and Absolom is actually assassinated when
(08:32):
he is held in place by the branches around which
his hair has been wrapped. And David, at that point,
old and frail, weary, is devasty. Even though his son
had sinned and taken what was rightfully his, namely the
throne of ancient Israel, David did not want to see
his son harmed, let alone killed, And in a very
(08:52):
striking literal image of this story, there is an incredible
work of art woven during the Revolutionary era. Faith Robinson
Trumbull of Lebanon, Connecticut embroidered a work of art known
as the Hanging of Absalom in the lead up to
the American Revolution, and she depicted this episode with Absalom
being slaughtered. In this metaphor, Abslom actually represented the colonists,
(09:16):
and it was a frail British king, not paying enough
attention to what was going on around him, who wasn't
in control that Elder David was a stand.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
In for King George the Third.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
In other words, in this instance, it was the son
of David, the rebellious son of David, who actually represented
the colonial struggle against the British. Now it wasn't only
David's son that Americans turned to for further insight into
their own story.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
It was his grandson as well.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
When we come back, we're going to learn more about
the story of King David and so much more dealing
with our nation's founding. Here on our American stories, and
(10:09):
we continue with our American stories and with Rabbi Stuart
Halpern sharing the story of America's obsession with King David
and his family. Let's return to the story. Stuart now
turns to King David's grandson, ro Heebel.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Like many politicians who tend to appoint well seasoned State
department officials, but also they're friends to positions of power. Well, Rahobam,
who is the grandson of David, the son of the
wise King Solomon. He himself was not so white. He
actually levied a tax, a very harsh tax on his
(10:54):
subjects the Kingdom of Israel, and the people not surprisingly
didn't like well, let's call it taxation without representation, and
so they turned to the king and complained and said,
why are you taxing us so harshly? And like many politicians,
Rohobam turned to two different groups of advisers, those seasoned
political folks who have served many years in the civil service,
(11:15):
and his punkish, former teenage friends. And then why isn't
political adviser said, well, you should lighten the load, o king,
because if you don't, your kingdom might rebel against you
and might fracture. But his young friends, his inexperienced friends,
his unwise friends, said actually, I think you should flex,
really squeeze them, get every drop you can from those people,
because you're the big man on campus and they aren't.
(11:38):
And sure enough, Robam listened to those young friends, and
he squeezed the people, and he oppressed them, and he
turnized them.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
The Kingdom of Israel split because of it.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
What's fascinating is that the Americans saw this split of
the Kingdom of Israel into two kingdoms, the Kingdom of
Judah containing two of the twelve biblical tribes, and the
Kingdom of Israel, containing the remaining ten tribes, as mirroring
their own story, their own breaking away from the British Kingdom.
Just like Rohoba railed a sermon by Peter Whitney in Massachusetts.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
On September twelfth, seventeen.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Seventy six, King Georgia third rejected the Council of the
old Men and followed the impolitic advice of his young mates.
We need not wonder that the ten tribes of Israel
fall off from the House of David. Of course, he
was referring to the thirteen colonies falling.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Off from the House of England.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Now this was not a one sided biblical well spring.
The British actually strikingly sensed that maybe they had a
little bit of Goliath in them, and so there's an
incredible record of a British Methodist minister named John Fletcher, who,
in seventeen seventy six kind of an important year, warned
that while the Americans might not necessarily be behaving themselves,
they were Davids, and his fellow Brits were in danger
(12:58):
of falling like the Philistine Giant. If the colonists throng
to the houses of God while we throng playhouses or
houses of ill fame. If they crowd their communion tables
while we crowd the gaming table, if they pray while
we curse if they fast while we get drunk. If
they shelter under the protection of heaven while our chief
attention is turned to our hired troops, we are in danger,
(13:19):
in great danger. A youth that believes and prays as
David is a match for a giant that swaggers and
curses as Goliath.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
British knew all.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Along that they will be struck squarely in the farhad
and would fall, and over them would stand the young, exuberant, victorious,
new Biblical Israel. The United States of America. Now, David's
story did not end there. In fact, it would continue
for decades more. In his second inaugural address, President Abraham
(13:55):
Lincoln famously said that both sides of the Civil War,
that is, read the same Bible and pray to the
same God. And so it's not a surprise that both
the North and South wanted to pick up the mantle
of the spiritual and military biblical giant that was Kingdy.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
And we're worried, in.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Fact, if the other side was actually David in disguise.
The North Carolinian Presbyterian minister Joseph Atkinson was a bit worried,
a bit concerned that Stonewall Jackson, the incredible Confederate General,
might be a modern day sling shotting shepherd boy when
we come to our own day, he preached, and we
not hope that Jackson, the Christian hero, the man of
piety and prayer, with a fervency of spirit like David's
(14:36):
in the sanctuary and a martial order like David's in
the field, has been graciously given us as the interpreter,
impersonation of the Christian element and the Christian consciousness of
this grand conflict. Reading the Hebrew Biblical story through his
eyes as a Christian, he of course saw David as
a hero to his own faith, and he was worried
that this Southern hero, Stonewall Jackson, was in fact imitating
(14:59):
the Shepherd. The North, in turn, saw Jefferson Davis, the
President of the Confederacy, as being like that rebellious son Absalom.
They thought he was stepping out of line and out
of bounds and would eventually be hanged.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
On his own Patard, there can be no glory.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
In this war, Boston based Baptist minister Daniel Eddie preached, However,
it may result in whatever brilliant deeds may be done
by those in the North. Our great nation at its
clothes will weep, as David did over Absolom. It is
our own blood that is flowing. The last we see
of Absolom, the trader on the usurper. He is hanging
on an oak. So perish all traders, and for the
(15:35):
good of the country and the honor of humanity and
the glory of God. The sooner they perish, the better.
But he knew that it would be a bittersweet victory.
He knew, just like David was broken hearted over the
rebellion of his son and his subsequent death, he wanted
to embrace even those who have broken away. He wanted
to bring them back in. He wanted to welcome Absolom
back into the family fold. So to the North wished
(15:58):
he could embrace the South and become family once again.
But it knew in the meantime, until that moment, what
needed to be done needed to be done.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
This Absolom needed to be a sleep.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
In a remarkable ending to this period in American history,
we have an incredible reflection of President Lincoln Himself's knowledge
of the story of David. Now I mentioned a few
moments ago that David at first was losing his battle
against Absolom and actually had to leave Jerusalem, the Holy City.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
While on his way out, there was a heckler.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
I know it might be hard to believe, in this
age of social media that as major world events are
going on, someone felt compelled just be a jerk and
to adther two cents and to dunk on whoever was
losing at that moment. This, of course cannot possibly resonate all.
I mean, no one does this, But of course I
say this in jest, because being cynical and teasing someone
(16:55):
in their most vulnerable moments is a tell as old
as time. And so there was a fellow, Shimi, the
son of Gabor, and Shimmy teased and cursed David as
he fled head bowed from Jerusalem. David at the time
did not look up, did not fight him because he
was in retreat trying to survive against the forces of Absalom.
But how did Shimmy's story end up? Well, it ended
(17:18):
up being an incredible lesson taught by no less than
Abraham Lincoln himself. Lincoln, it seems, as recorded by his
friend Joseph Gillespie, was asked what to do with.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
The defeated sound well.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Jellespie recounts his friend Lincoln, musing, some think their heads
ought to come off, But there are too many of
them for that, said Lincoln.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
And for one, I would not know where to draw.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
The line between those whose heads, and might be said,
ought to come off or stay on. My policy would
be different, the president continued. I would prefer to follow
the example of King David. I had been recently reading
the history of the rebellion of Absalom, Lincoln said, and
would be inclined to adopt the views of David. When
David was fleeing from Jerusalem, Shimmy cursed him. After the
rebellion was put down, Jimmy craved, a pardon.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
I'll be shy.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
David's nephew, the son of Seruyah, David's sister, said, this
man ought not to be pardoned because he cursed the
Lord's anointed. David said, what I have to do with you,
you sons Oftruia, that you should do this, that you
should this day be adversaries unto me? Know ye that
not a man shall be put to death in Israel.
In other words, David, when he could have stepped on
the necks of his enemies. Shimmy's side had lost, and
(18:21):
yet in a open hearted, magnanimous, embracing way, sought not
to take revenge in that moment against the side that laws.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
So too, President.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Lincoln embraced in a spirit of reconciliation the defeated South,
and sought until his tragic dying day to reunite America
in the spirit of family and unification that was powered
by no less than the ancient prophet Kingdom.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling
by our own Monty Montgomery and his special thanks to
Stuart Helpern. He's the co author of The Jewish Roots
of American Liberty. Go to Amazon, go to your local library,
wherever you can get this book. Pick it up because
it's replete with references and stories from our founding right
(19:07):
up to the Civil War and beyond of how the
Old Testament informed while so many generations of Americans as
much so as the New Testament. The story of the
Jewish Roots of American Liberty and America's obsession with King David.
Here on our American stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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