David, the shepherd who became king, volume 5

Transcription

1 David, shepherd to king (5) 1 David, the shepherd who became king, volume 5 Preface Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission The material we cover in this fifth volume in our series on the life of David is perhaps the saddest period of his time on earth and the lowest. It is really the sequel to his sin with Bathsheba and the tragic consequences that flowed from that. David had been graciously forgiven by the Lord, but the Lord s hand of discipline or chastening was still upon him. Throughout this period David was learning the deep and painful lesson that no true child of God can sin against the Lord and expect him to completely ignore it. In both the Old Testament and the New the people of God are called to live holy lives because God himself is holy (see Lev 11:44-45 & 1 Pet 1:15). David also learned that sometimes our sins have devastating effects on others because David s family was torn apart as a result of his careless behaviour. So the period covered stands as a warning to us all to take heed lest we fall. The great temptation when reading through this section is to be filled with despair and gloom, for there are some fairly dark experiences that David had to endure, but there David, shepherd to king (5) 2 are always positive purposes in view when the Lord disciplines his children. It is for our growth in holiness: our sanctification. And one of the most encouraging themes that runs through these experiences David has to go through is that the Lord never once deserted him. He deserved that, and David himself would be the first to say so, for he had sinned knowing full well that he should not have done so. But the Lord in his grace wonderfully preserved and sustained him and never once cast him off. The eternal God of heaven is both a God who is holy and who is merciful. The final chapter covered in these pages finds David heartbroken. That brokenness was perhaps his lowest point of all, yet even then the Lord sent someone to help him and it became a turning point. David s experiences teach us of our need for the Lord, in the words of Matthew 6:12-13, to forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. May our gracious God and loving heavenly Father help us to walk in the paths of righteousness for his name s sake. Derek French November 2008 Chapter 1 2 Samuel 13: A Storm of Family Trouble Introduction One of the most solemn announcements which the prophet Nathan brought to King David from the Lord when he exposed his sin with Bathsheba is found in 2 Samuel 12:10

2 David, shepherd to king (5) 3 Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own. One wonders how soon David anticipated that would begin to take place, because sadly he did not have to wait very long. As soon as we come to 2 Samuel 13 the trouble begins amongst his own flesh and blood. This is very solemn, and reminds us that the warnings the Bible contains about the judgements of the Lord are real and we must take them very seriously. The trouble which is about to begin within David s family was going to continue for a very long time and it was a tragedy that David never once anticipated when his heart led him astray. 1) A grievous sin between a brother and sister, verses 1-21 We remember that contrary to Biblical instruction, David, like so many in ancient times, had more than one wife resulting in complicated family relationships. His eldest son was called Amnon, and his mother was Ahinoam of Jezreel (see 2 Sam 3:2 & 1 Sam 25:43). He had six sons in all including Absalom whose mother was Maacah the daughter of Talmai the king of Geshur (2 Sam 3:3). Absalom had a sister named Tamar so she was in effect the half sister of Amnon. As time passed we are not told how long Amnon fell in love with his sister Tamar to such an extent that he almost became ill because his desires for her were frustrated. She David, shepherd to king (5) 4 was a virgin and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her (v2). It is worth pointing out at this early stage in this incident that this was not real love. Instead it was a deep lust, and there is a world of difference between the two. True love seeks the best for its object, whereas Amnon selfishly sought the best for himself. It was obviously eating away inside of him because one of his friends, Jonadab, noticed that every morning Amnon looked haggard instead of being refreshed from his sleep. So he asked him what was troubling him. Amnon foolishly told him of his deep desires, and Jonadab, who is described as a shrewd man, came up with an ungodly plan to satisfy Amnon s lusts. We must say that Jonadab was a man who had worldly wisdom but without any moral scruples or ethical principles or integrity, and thereby was a very dangerous individual. He considered success was more important than principle. For him satisfying Amnon s selfish desires was more important than obedience to God s commands. How we need to pray for prudent hearts and minds filled with integrity and sincerity so that we live and think and speak in a God-honouring way and not like Jonadab suggested. He told Amnon to pretend to be unwell, and when his father David saw him on his bed he suggested he ask his father to send his sister Tamar to make him some bread in his sight and for her to feed him. This is exactly what happened and speedily Tamar went and made the bread she thought her brother desired without any idea at all of his real intentions (v7-9), but he refused to eat it. It seemed he was pretending to be too ill to eat and too weak to feed himself. He commanded everyone to leave and told Tamar to bring the bread to his bedroom to

3 David, shepherd to king (5) 5 feed him. Then he grabbed her and said v11 Come to bed with me, my sister. Immediately Tamar protested and told him such a thing should never be done in Israel. She tried to reason with him to consider the consequences both for her and for him as he was the first in line to the throne in 2 Samuel 13:12-13: Don t, my brother! she said to him. Don t force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don t do this wicked thing. What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you. The description wicked fools really means godless wretches, wicked perverts. For the fool speaks folly, his mind is busy with evil: He practises ungodliness and spreads error concerning the Lord; the hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water. (Isaiah 32:6) Such a wicked act would make Amnon like the fools in Israel. Tamar even suggested he ask their father David whom she said would give her to him in marriage. She was really desperately trying to save herself from Amnon s wicked intentions like a drowning man may clutch at straws to make him float. However, such a marriage was forbidden in the OT law. David, shepherd to king (5) 6 Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father s daughter or your mother s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere. (Leviticus 18:9) Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father s wife, born to your father; she is your sister (Leviticus 18:11) If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off before the eyes of their people. He has dishonoured his sister and will be held responsible. (Leviticus 20:17) Cursed is the man who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother. (Deuteronomy 27:22) It is very clear that Amnon s intentions were not in the least honourable but extremely wicked. He wanted to commit incest. He refused to listen to Tamar s pleading and raped her in a wicked act of violation. Then when he had finished fulfilling the lust in his own heart and ruining his sister s life and his own, we are told he changed his attitude towards her completely, proving it was lust not love. His lust turned into loathing. Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, Get up and get out! (2 Sam 13:15)

4 David, shepherd to king (5) 7 This was not a passing disgust but a complete rejection. What an evil selfish man he was, and he treated Tamar as if she were some cheap object he could discard as and when he liked. It was despicable behaviour, but sadly there are many in our world even today who engage in such wicked and immoral acts and they will all render account to God for their actions. How many popular songs and videos and literature are debased and feed the lust of thousands in our world who are just like Amnon. God s precious gift of sex to married couples has been wrenched from its biblical setting and brought down to the gutter and this perverted version is paraded for all to see without any shame. Tragically millions are dying from sexually transmitted diseases because of the immorality and wickedness of men and women. Millions of abortions are conducted because of the same degraded selfishness. The spirit of Amnon is tragically very much alive in our world today. Tamar again pleaded with him not to send her away as it would be worse than what he had already done to her for no one in Israel would want to marry her now, but he refused (v16). In fact he went further and called for his servants to throw her out of his house and spoke so despicably of her as this woman and bolt the door after her. The word woman is actually not in the Hebrew, and Amnon was saying Get this out as if she had become a worthless item of rubbish an object not a person! Tamar was heartbroken, tore her richly ornamented clothes which marked her out as a virgin in Israel, and she also put David, shepherd to king (5) 8 ashes on her head as a sign of intense sorrow and went out weeping loudly. No one in Israel hearing of this would have been left in any doubt that a serious sin had been committed by Amnon that day. Now Tamar s brother Absalom realised what Amnon had done and he sought to comfort his sister and she lived in his house a desolate woman, as one who been laid waste and ruined. We are intended to understand the depth of Amnon s sin and to hate it. But the big question for us is what did David think of this behaviour? What was his response? We are told in v21: When King David heard all this, he was furious. And understandably so, we would all agree. Amnon had used David to get Tamar to feed him, lying to his father all the time, and had abused his daughter Tamar most despicably so he had every right to be angry and that was good. But that s all he did, and that was wrong. He failed to exercise justice. There is no record that he tried in any way whatsoever to discipline his son as he should have done. He just got angry and did nothing more! Amnon went unpunished and Tamar was not exonerated. The question cannot help but be asked, was David s memory of his own sin with Bathsheba adversely affecting his handling of Amnon s sin? Was David made to feel the shame of his own wickedness and therefore feel unfit to discipline his son? Surely David should have put the honour of God above any personal feelings of weakness or inadequacy or personal failure, and he should have defended the honour of the Lord and dealt with Amnon.

5 David, shepherd to king (5) 9 He was both a father and also the king so he had a double responsibility to ensure justice was done, but he failed miserably at this point. He just seethed with anger. This section of the chapter ends with a dark description of how Absalom considered all of this (v2): Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar. And the problem with hatred that is not dealt with is that it is like a putrid sore which festers and increases in intensity as time passes. Hatred needs to be dealt with by thorough repentance and seeking much grace from God because it can all too easily overwhelm us. Absalom was biding his time while he made his own plans to seek his revenge on Amnon as we shall see next because Tamar had been treated so despicably. 2) A grievous sin between two brothers, verses The scene set for us in this part of Scripture begins with an innocent and normal part of the culture of the day, the festivity that normally accompanied the sheep shearing season. The setting was in Baal Hazor which was about 15 miles north of Jerusalem. Two years had now passed since Tamar was raped by Amnon and all that time Absalom had harboured his longing for revenge for his sister. So Absalom invited all his brothers and also gave a special invitation to his father king David and all his officials. But David, shepherd to king (5) 10 David graciously refused the invitation so as not to be a burden for his son as the cost would have been considerable even though Absalom insisted. David then gave Absalom his blessing (v24-25). Absalom may well have known his father would react like this because of what followed. He made a special request to David that his brother Amnon be allowed to come. It may well have occurred to David that something else was in Absalom s mind because of what he said (v26): The king asked him, Why should he go with you? Did he suspect something unusual? We are simply not told. He probably was aware of Absalom s attitude to his brother. Absalom however persisted and so Amnon was allowed to come along with David s other sons. Absalom s intentions soon became clear (v27): Absalom ordered his men, Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, Strike Amnon down, then kill him. Don t be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong and brave. As the king s son there was an authority behind Absalom s words, which he used to the full by reminding his men that he had given this order. And at his command they killed Amnon and all David s other sons fled on their mules (v29). We might think that Absalom s evil designs were exceptional, but we would be wrong. Apart from the grace

6 David, shepherd to king (5) 11 of God in Christ we would all be just like him. We say this because of the way Paul describes people before they became Christian believers. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. Titus 3:3 We all have a sinful nature just as Absalom had. Therefore how we need the grace of God to transform our lives and to keep us in the path of righteousness. At first news came to David that all of his sons had been killed by Absalom and his men, and David tore his clothes and lay on the ground, with his servants standing by having their clothes torn as well. The tearing of clothes was a sign of great grief something Tamar had done (v19) after Amnon had raped her. But soon the man named Jonadab who had schemed so Amnon could rape Tamar earlier and who was also David s nephew, the son of his eldest brother, told him only Amnon was dead and that Absalom had been planning this since Tamar had been raped (v32). Then he urged David not to be so concerned because only Amnon had been killed. Does this indicate Jonadab believed that Amnon only got what he deserved? If so he was playing the hypocrite! Absalom fled (v34), a sign he knew he had acted inappropriately. An unnamed watchmen saw David s sons returning to their father, and Jonadab assured him they were alive just as he had said. When they arrived they David, shepherd to king (5) 12 came in wailing, and the king and his men joined them, weeping bitterly such was their grief. We are told in v37: Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned for his son every day. As a deliberate killer he could not escape to a city of refuge for this was not an accidental death, so he went to his grandfather on his mother s side (see 2 Sam 3:3). However, David mourned over Amnon s death every day. He was after all the eldest son and therefore the heir to the throne. That his death was the fruit of David s own sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam 12:10) undoubtedly played on his mind with deep regret. Then we read (v38): After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there for three years. After this lapse of time David s grief was consoled (v39) and in his spirit he longed to go to Absalom whom he obviously missed. Instead of detesting him as a murderer he does not want to exercise justice on him but to do him some good! A. W. Pink comments: Absalom was guilty of murder, and the unchanging law of God commands, Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed. (Gen 9:6) How, then, was it possible for David to restore his erring son without defying the divine requirements of his maintaining righteous government in Israel? It is to be duly noted that there is no word recorded of David seeking unto the Lord at this time. Ominous

7 David, shepherd to king (5) 13 silence! The energies of nature now dominated him, and therefore there was no seeking of wisdom from above. This it is which casts light upon the dark scenes that follow. Conclusion It might seem at a first look in 2 Samuel 13 that all is going disastrously wrong and the Lord was absent from the events concerning each of the perpetrators of such a tragic episode in the life of David. Some may even be tempted to think that God was absent from the scene altogether. But that would be a huge mistake. As solemn and unpleasant as this is, the Lord was fulfilling his Word to bring disaster on David s family because of his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. Remember his pronouncement against David in 2 Samuel 12:10-12: Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own. This is what the Lord says: Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel. " This chapter is teaching us that God s promises of judgement are as certain are as his promises of blessing. Therefore this should have a powerfully restraining effect on our lives each time we are tempted to sin. It also shows David, shepherd to king (5) 14 us how we need the Lord to help us and lead us in the paths of righteousness for his own name s sake. There is the need for us to keep ourselves near to the Lord every day, for we are all open to falling just as Amnon, David and Absalom did. May the Lord have mercy on us all. Chapter 2 2 Samuel 14: Absalom Comes Back To Jerusalem Introduction One of the inevitable lessons we learn as we read through the Bible is that God s people were often under attack in different ways. Sometimes they were quite literally assaulted by enemy armies, but on other occasions it was much more subtle. Indeed, even Jesus himself suffered in this way. Several of the Gospel writers tell us about the way he was attacked by the devil while he was in the wilderness, and Satan offered him all sorts of things to try and get him to give in. Thankfully we know he failed miserably as Jesus resisted all of the devil s temptations firmly. But there was another occasion when he was attacked by one of his own disciples. Jesus had been teaching them about his death on the cross when one of the disciples took Jesus aside and had the audacity to rebuke him. We read in Matthew 16 verse 22 this disciple said Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you. Now these were the words of Peter, and although he meant well because he loved Jesus and the thought of him dying

8 David, shepherd to king (5) 15 was too much for him to contemplate, Jesus said to him (v23): Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. Who would have thought that Peter had become the agent of Satan! It may well have been unwittingly perhaps, as far as Peter was concerned, but Jesus saw this attack for what it was and resisted the devil s subtle ploy. Having said all of this we must also add that sometimes, when the believer is under attack, the Bible records that they do not always resist with the same determination as Jesus did. And really that is what we find in the next situation David found himself in. Remember in the last chapter we saw how his son Absalom killed his brother Amnon. Absalom fled the scene and went to Geshur where he stayed for three years. We saw how David had failed to exercise justice in this instance. He does seem to have viewed Absalom with inordinate favour, which meant he was putting Absalom before doing the Lord s will. Well, David now becomes the subject of a subtle attack intended to get Absalom re-instated in the land of Israel once more. As with 2 Samuel 13 this next episode involves three men and one woman, and is again one of intrigue and scheming and deceit. The men are all named: David, Joab and Absalom, but the woman is anonymous and simply described as a wise woman from Tekoa. David, shepherd to king (5) 16 1) Joab s plan, verses 1-24 Joab could see that David missed Absalom a great deal (v1): Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king s heart longed for Absalom. He had been away for three years and deep down, even though Absalom had killed Amnon, David longed for him. It seemed to be like a living bereavement, for although Absalom had not died his absence was to all intents and purposes as if he was not alive in its effect on David. We must say that David was quite wrong because he was not prepared to act with justice towards Absalom who should have been punished for murdering Amnon. David failed as a father to punish his child, as a king who was to lead his people in righteousness and as the servant of the Lord whose glory should have been uppermost in his thinking. However, Joab, David s army commander, devised a cunning plan to bring Absalom back to Jerusalem. He brought an unnamed wise woman from the city of Tekoa and gave her the task of going into the king s presence and to ask him to let Absalom return, but his approach was quite deceitful (v2ff). Pretending to be in mourning, and dressed accordingly without any cosmetic lotions she was to present herself to David and tell him the story which Joab had devised (v2-3). Her approach to the king was as would normally be expected and she fell to the ground

9 David, shepherd to king (5) 17 before him and sought his help (v4). This was to indicate the honour and respect she had for the king, and also to show the intensity of her need and for which she asked his help, making David more kindly disposed towards her. She presented herself in a quite pitiable way and David responded accordingly without suspecting that this was all a pretence, so he asked her how he could help (v5). Joab had made the woman pretend she was a widow who had two sons, one of whom had killed his brother in a fight and there were no witnesses for no one was present to separate them (v6). Under Old Testament law the surviving son should have been executed unless it was manslaughter (Exod 21:12): Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death. (See also Lev 24:17.) Joab told her to say her whole clan wanted to kill the surviving son (v7). Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well. They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth. Her closing words would have had a powerful effect on David because continuing the family name and securing the inheritance was of great importance to the people of David, shepherd to king (5) 18 Israel (Deut 25:5-10). She was also implying that those who wanted to kill her son were really after the inheritance rather than wanting true justice. This deceitful scheme was designed to gain David s sympathy, and was very successful for David assured her he would issue an order that would protect her and her son (v8). David may have thought that the murder was not premeditated hence he could act more leniently. Then the woman said that any blame for this was to be hers and not the kings, and David added that if anyone came to her she was to send them to him and he would deal with them so she would not be bothered (v9-10). The woman went further and asked for protection from the avenger of blood (v11). In the family of the dead man the nearest relative normally had the right to execute the killer and was called the avenger of blood. However, in Israel, if someone killed someone accidentally or not intentionally they could flee to a city of refuge where they would be safe while the case was examined (Exod 21:13): However, if he does not do it intentionally, but God lets it happen, he is to flee to a place I will designate. (See also Num 35:6-34, Deut 19:1-14) If found innocent of murder and guilty of manslaughter, his life was spared but he had to stay in the city of refuge until the high priest had died and then he could return home. If however he left the city of refuge the avenger of blood could take his life. Now neither Tekoa nor Jerusalem were cities of refuge (see Josh 20:7-8), so the widow s son would be in constant danger of the avenger of blood

10 David, shepherd to king (5) 19 attacking him. Therefore David assured her of his special protection saying not one hair of the man s head would be harmed (v11), and for which David gave his oath in the Lord s name. Having succeeded in getting David s total support she then began to show the real reason why she had come. She asked the king to speak to him further which he allowed. David had no idea what was to come next, for she had in effect trapped him without him knowing it. It is important to note there is a huge difference between this completely false story which the woman had told and the parable which Nathan had used when he exposed David s adultery. Nathan was not deceiving David, but this was the whole intention of this woman and of Joab who organized the whole matter. So now the scene was set for her to spring her trap on David and she drives the point home about Absalom (v13-14). The woman said, Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him. She was claiming David had done to Israel what her family members wanted to do to her, namely, to deprive the people of Israel the safe return of their crown prince, for David, shepherd to king (5) 20 Absalom was next in line to the throne. David had given pardon to this fictitious son of this widow but had refused it to Absalom. But again we have to stress that she was putting this above the honour of the Lord. This woman then used flattery to gain David s agreement by suggesting he was like an angel (v17): And now your servant says, May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the Lord your God be with you. At this David realised that this was all a scheme which he was sure had come from Joab, so he asked the woman directly (v18-20): Then the king said to the woman, Do not keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you. Let my lord the king speak, the woman said. The king asked, Isn t the hand of Joab with you in all this? The woman answered, As surely as you live, my lord the king, no-one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God he knows everything that happens in the land. Even more flattery comes from her lips and it was all part of the cunning ploy to get David to allow Absalom to

11 David, shepherd to king (5) 21 return unpunished for his wickedness. David then told Joab that he agreed to allow Absalom back into the land unharmed. Joab fell to the ground thanking the king for letting his request be fulfilled (v22). Then Joab went to Geshur to bring Absalom back to the land but David placed one vital condition (v24): But the king said, He must go to his own house; he must not see my face. So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king. 2) Absalom back in Israel, verses Absalom returned and flourished. We are told he was a very handsome young man without any blemish on his features and with long flowing locks of hair (v25-26): In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. Whenever he cut the hair of his head he used to cut his hair from time to time when it became too heavy for him he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels by the royal standard. The weight of his hair was over 2 kilograms which was a considerable amount. Clearly his outward appearance was something many admired. Further, his own family increased (v27): David, shepherd to king (5) 22 Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. The daughter s name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman. His daughter he named after his sister Tamar whom Amnon had defiled, and she, like her father, was beautiful to look at. However, we must always remember that a judge of someone s character is not to be found in their outward appearance or family prosperity but in their heart, their inner self (see 1 Sam 16:7). Already Absalom had been exposed as a schemer and murderer, but his good looks seem to have blinded the people to what he was really like. Sadly there is no mention of his godliness and submission to the Lord, for it was entirely absent from his heart. This is a warning to us all to ensure our hearts are truly right with God every day. The importance of this as far as Absalom was concerned will become very apparent as time passes. Absalom lived in the land for two whole years without ever being allowed to see his father and this made him considerably unhappy so he decided to change this state of affairs (v29): Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. This should have made Absalom realise that David s word was something Joab would not go against, but that did not stop him. Instead he commanded some of his own men to go and burn Joab s field of barley to get him to come (v30). Absalom wanted his own way whatever it might

12 David, shepherd to king (5) 23 cost others, such was his selfishness! He was successful but we are beginning to see the evil way he would go about things just to get his own way. Joab came to him quickly to ask why he had burnt his field (v32): Absalom said to Joab, Look, I sent word to you and said, Come here so that I can send you to the king to ask, Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there! Now then, I want to see the king s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death. Without any sign of repentance Absalom was really requesting death or a full pardon. Sadly, David gave in to Joab and to Absalom and welcomed him back with a kiss, a sign of pardon and reconciliation, but sadly it was a hollow reconciliation. The scene is in sharp contrast to that of the returning prodigal son in Jesus parable because this was not the return of a repentant man but of a murderer. The prodigal was welcomed with great joy and gladness and festivity because he had repented (Luke 16), but Absalom received none of these tokens because he had not repented. Conclusion This is not the most attractive chapter in the life of David and it inevitably fills us with a sense of sadness and with good reasons. First, Absalom remained the cold blooded killer of his brother, and showed no grief at all over what he had done David, shepherd to king (5) 24 and no seeking mercy from the Lord for pardon for his sin. He was as unchanged at the end of the chapter as he was at its beginning, and that is something no true child of God can ever be glad about. The failure of others to repent must always be a source of deep sadness in the believer s heart, because this both dishonours God and eternally endangers the sinner. How this should cause us to pray fervently for the lost, and seek all in our power to point them to Christ and urge them to repent before it is too late, for he alone can save them. Second, David also disappoints us for he put his relationship with his son Absalom above his relationship with the Lord. We know it is very difficult when we see our children making shipwreck of their lives, but we must never condone their sin which is really what David s failure to exercise justice was doing. There are times when we must deliberately choose to put our love for the Lord before our love for our loved ones as Jesus instructed us in Luke 14:26-27: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters yes, even his own life he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. This is never an easy position to find ourselves in, and it will inevitably cause the believer much sorrow of heart to see their loved ones living in rebellion against God, but at such times we cannot condone their sinful behaviour. How

13 David, shepherd to king (5) 25 much better it is when our children submit to the Lord and trust in him for salvation. There can be no greater joy for any parent, and no greater sorrow when they refuse to do so. Third, there is one huge absence throughout the whole of this affair, namely God had not been enquired about once in this whole episode! As far as the record concerning David is concerned, there is the complete absence of believing prayer and of seeking God s guidance. Was David s prayerlessness because he knew deep down what he ought to have done with Absalom? And we need to remind ourselves again that this was the man whom God called the man after his own heart. Therefore how we all need to examine our hearts and ensure daily we really do commit everything to the Lord in prayer. None of us is immune to the danger David fell into. Remember the warning of 1 Corinthians 10:12: David, shepherd to king (5) 26 are but was without sin. None could accuse him of any wrong action, or wrong word or wrong thought or wrong motive. He was perfect. How good then to know that there is one who is able to save completely all who come to God through him, namely the Lord Jesus. He never once failed and so he is mighty to save. David and Absalom s sinfulness reminds us of our own sinfulness. Therefore, how blessed to know that God sent the Lord Jesus Christ into the world to be the Saviour of sinners. Then let us trust, not in mere men, not even famous men, for they will all fail us, but let us trust in the Lord alone who will never fail. And let us praise God for sending Jesus, his most precious gift, to be the Saviour of all who trust in him. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don t fall! Sadly Absalom was now poised to commit an act of the greatest treachery which we shall consider next. But after such a sad chapter in David s life it would be all too easy to be cast down, and rightly so. But let s end on a positive note. While we have learned much about the failings of sinful men, by sharp contrast how good to know that the Lord Jesus Christ had no imperfections like Absalom and David. He was tempted in all points like we

14 David, shepherd to king (5) 27 Chapter 3 2 Samuel 15: Absalom Schemes Introduction Already we have seen that David s son Absalom was not a good man at all. Instead he was an individual who was sly and cunning and governed, not by the Word of God, but his own selfish desires. We have also seen that David failed to correct him and exercise biblical justice when he should have done. This leads us to the conclusion that David favoured Absalom above his other children, which was a very unwise thing to do. In our last chapter we saw how David allowed Absalom back to Jerusalem and after a further period of time Absalom was allowed to see his father. It is worth reminding ourselves of how 1 Samuel 14 ends: So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom. That kiss of reconciliation did not wipe out the resentment Absalom felt towards his father for his five years of exile from the king s presence (see 13:38 and 14:28). Further, Absalom remained unrepentant for murdering his brother Amnon and considered his father David with utter contempt. His aim was to wrench the kingdom from David, and this becomes clear in 2 Samuel 15 as his crafty scheme is revealed to us. David, shepherd to king (5) 28 1) Absalom s cunning strategy, verses 1-12 The fact that Absalom had plans to further his own interests now becomes apparent. But we need to note he did this in a rather subtle way and not by an outright attack on his father. An outright attack when he had only just been reinstated to Jerusalem would have met with strong opposition, so a bit like a sly snake he began to gain support for himself much more gradually. First of all he allowed some time to pass (v1a): In the course of time Then he began to act in a way to make his importance stand out (v1b): In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. Biblical scholars have pointed out that this is the first record of an Israelite leader acquiring a chariot and horses for his use. Now we know that the leaders of other nations used chariots. Back as early as the time of the exodus from Egypt Pharaoh had many chariots, as did other Israelite kings afterwards as Samuel foretold in 1 Samuel 7:11ff, but Absalom seems to have been the first recorded in Israel. So Absalom was behaving as if he were someone of considerable importance, and this is further emphasised by his rather large bodyguard of men who ran ahead of him,

15 David, shepherd to king (5) 29 fifty in all. This meant that wherever Absalom went he would have stood out and people would have noticed him. Then he did something rather more subtle. It was the custom at this early stage in the history of Israel s monarchy that if someone had a dispute or needed some important decision they could actually take their case to the king. Then having heard the case presented to him, the king would make a decision as to what was to be done, especially if someone had been treated unfairly the king would act justly. Now Absalom got up early each day and went to the road which led to the city gate, the traditional place where important business was carried out. Note he did not come to the gate itself but positioned himself some distance in front of the gate on the road which led to it. So anyone coming to bring such a grievance to the king would confront Absalom first. This is how his behaviour is described (vv2-4): He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, What town are you from? He would answer, Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel. Then Absalom would say to him, Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you. And Absalom would add, If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he receives justice. David, shepherd to king (5) 30 So Absalom was ingratiating himself to whoever came along the road without ever investigating into the legitimacy of their dispute. He was deliberately gaining their favour by a very underhand means and making himself very popular. He was also lying by claiming there was no one from the king to hear them. Now it may have been that because he rose early in the morning the officials of the king had not yet got to the city gate, but that is quite different from claiming there was no one to judge a case. Within a short period of time the officials would have been there and we know from the woman from Tekoa in the previous chapter that David would be personally involved in such disputes and not refuse to hear a case. But very subtly Absalom was pushing himself forward as the best leader the nation could have, and he sought to undermine David s regime by saying (v4): If only I were appointed judge implying David was failing to be the judge he ought to be. We have said this already but it needs to be repeated, it was all very subtle. Not only that, but anyone who came to him would recognise him as the king s son. His handsome features and long hair (14:25-26) marked him out, as would his chariot and the fifty men who always ran ahead of him. Further, it was the custom to bow before anyone of royal descent, but we are told Absalom responded in an unexpected way (v5-6):

16 David, shepherd to king (5) 31 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. Absalom behaved in this way towards all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel. In his sly and cunning way and over an extended period of time (four years according to v7) he gained the support and favour of the men of Israel. We would say today that he was a cunning and unscrupulous politician pushing his own self image, and undermining his opponent, namely, his own father David. Now Absalom was ready to strike. He spoke first to David and asked permission to go to Hebron because he claimed he had made a vow to the Lord that if he was allowed back to Jerusalem he would offer a sacrifice at Hebron (v7-8). It is rather convenient that it took him four years before he fulfilled his promise, making us suspect that he probably only made this up to achieve his aim! Hebron was where David was first proclaimed king and also where Absalom had been born. However, David seems to be taken in by Absalom s request and allows him to go, and adds his blessing by saying Go in peace (v9). David seems to be totally unsuspecting of his scheming oldest son. Then Absalom brought his long desire for the throne into fruition, but he even started this final phase of his strategy in secret (v10-12): David, shepherd to king (5) 32 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, Absalom is king in Hebron. Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David s counsellor, to come from Giloh, his home town. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom s following kept on increasing. The presence of the 200 unsuspecting men from Jerusalem would only give the impression of strong support for Absalom to the people of Hebron. Further these men had been trapped by him, because if they refused to support him they risked his anger, and if they did support him they would be guilty of treason and David s position severely weakened. Ahithophel was Bathsheba s grandfather, his son Eliam was her father (11:3 & 23:34). Ahithophel was once David s very wise counsellor, but he changed sides and attached himself to Absalom. David s once close friend betrayed him, just like Judas did with Jesus and as Absalom was also doing with David. (See Psa 41:9 & 55:12-14 where David refers to such treachery by a close friend.) It was an entirely wicked way to act and Absalom is seen in his true colours as a conspirator of the worst kind. We need to note the different way David behaved when he had been anointed by Samuel as the next king of Israel. He

17 David, shepherd to king (5) 33 never once tried to remove King Saul from the throne, for he was still the Lord s anointed. He acted honourably throughout, but Absalom behaved in the opposite way. He was seeking to usurp, not only his father David, but also the will of the Lord in these matters. He put his own selfish desires first and did not care who might be hurt in the process. He had manipulated the people over four years in order to achieve his rebellion Lessons: The most obvious is that selfishness and dishonesty go together like twins, and they are both wrong. They will lead a man to act in a way that is totally despicable, as Absalom displayed. We are not to be like Absalom. Jesus was very clear that we are to deny ourselves and not promote ourselves as Absalom had done (Matt 16:24): Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. There is also the solemn lesson that God was bringing to fruition his judgement on David for his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. In 2 Samuel 12:10-12 the Lord pronounced that disaster would come to David s family from within: Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own. This is what the Lord says: Out of your own household I am going to David, shepherd to king (5) 34 bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel. This was now beginning to happen. This in no way excused Absalom for his deceitful and cunning behaviour because he was going against the Lord s anointed and would be held accountable for his wickedness. Here we see both the sovereignty of God and human responsibility side by side. This is a mystery to us and we find it difficult to fully understand it all, but the Bible is quite clear, both are true. God decreed it and a wicked man performed it. And we see here a clear parallel with what happened to the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Peter brings this out to us in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:23): This man was handed over to you by God s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. God sovereignly determined that Jesus would be crucified, and those responsible were held accountable for their wicked actions. Both God s sovereignty and human responsibility are seen side by side. This is beyond our comprehension, but not so to the Lord. He reveals both truths in his Word and therefore we must accept both as true. Here God decreed David would face trouble from within his own household, and Absalom s wicked rebellion

18 David, shepherd to king (5) 35 was the working out of God s will. This is sombre, and it also causes us to stand in awe and wonder at the mysterious and gloriously solemn ways of the Lord. 2) David s escape to safety, verses While up to now David had been unaware of Absalom s plans, that was soon rectified (v13): A messenger came and told David, The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom. The news must have both saddened and alarmed David at the same time. Saddened him because this was his own son who was turning against him, and alarmed him because this could result in considerable loss of life for David himself and the people of Jerusalem. So David initiates a speedy exodus from Jerusalem (v14): Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword. David acted so as not to be trapped in Jerusalem and to save the city from the sword of Absalom and his supporters. He wasted no time and his officials (v15) agreed to do whatever he asked of them. They were truly loyal to David, even if all others had forsaken him, and that must have comforted his heart. There is an old proverb David, shepherd to king (5) 36 which states, a friend in need is a friend indeed, and these officials were true friends to David at this time of great danger for him and his family. The scene is graphically painted for us in two verses (v16-17): The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place some distance away. We need to note that in leaving ten of his concubines behind, David unwittingly was providing for the fulfilment of part of the Lord s judgement in Nathan s prophecy (1 Sam 12:11) that some of David s wives would be given to one close to him, but we must leave that till we come to 2 Samuel 16. As David stopped all his men marched past him including his special guard made up from the Kerethites and Pelethites, and also a group of Philistine men who had joined David called Gittites. We have no record of why these 600 Philistine men from Gath had joined David (v18), simply that they had and what follows shows their remarkable faithfulness to him (v19-23): The king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your