Return to Jerusalem: 19:8b–15 After any civil war feelings and tensions take time to settle. Bitter enemies do not become friends in a moment. Even if they had been stirred up more than was necessary, Absalom’s followers had felt genuine grievances against David. Nevertheless, after Absalom’s death people recognized that there had been many good times under David and felt a growing desire to restore the old regime (vv. 9–10). David, with a glimmer of his old diplomatic skills, used the rivalry between north and south to stimulate action in his own tribe of Judah (vv. 11–12). This may have had negative effects on a long-term basis by encouraging the rivalry to simmer. But David’s master stroke for reuniting the kingdom was to appoint Amasa, Absalom’s commander, as commander of the whole Isr…