2 Samuel 19:1-6 - Word soon reached Joab that the king was
weeping and mourning for Absalom. As the
troops heard of the king's deep grief for his son, the joy of that day's
victory was turned into deep sadness. They crept back into the city as though they
were ashamed and had been beaten in battle. The king covered his face with his hands and
kept on weeping, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!" Then Joab went to the king's room and said to
him, "We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, your daughters,
and your wives and concubines. Yet you act like this, making us feel ashamed,
as though we had done something wrong. You seem to love those who hate you and hate
those who love you. You have made it clear today that we mean nothing to you.
If Absalom had lived and all of us had died, you would be pleased.
David was locked in deep sorrow…mourning the loss of a son who hated him. He cried out Absalom’s name in grief and pain
…completely letting it overtake the joy he should have felt. He had won the right to take the throne of
Israel once again…but the reality of who he took that right from had him locked
in agony. It was a bittersweet victory…no
real winner…no closure for him as a father…how could he be happy that he had
lost another son.
His sadness affected the whole group of people around him…they
crept around on pins and needles worried that they might upset the king even
worse. David’s sadness caused a sort of confusion in the camp….a dark cloud
that took the joy away from the very ones who had worked so very hard to gain
the throne back for their king. They put their own feelings on hold….in order to
respect the sadness of king David. The
present was frozen by the past…and no one knew how to melt the sadness that
held them all there.
Perhaps we all need a Joab sometimes…to speak harsh words of
reality to us in our deep pain. David needed the honest words of his military
leader … so he could unlock his grief ….and see that the death of his son had a
greater purpose for the kingdom. David
had to understand that the past could not be erased...he would never fix the
problem that caused his son to hate him and try to take his throne. David had to
live in the present…and go to the gate of the city where his camp was staying…so
he could love the ones that had come with him….and let them love on him …so
they could see him reinstated as king of Israel.
It is a reminder to me to never let myself get so upset by
my past that I lock myself there like David did. I have made many mistakes.....but they are
all in my past. And as God reveals each
one to me…all I can do is offer up a confession to him…and accept his great
mercy and forgiveness. God expects me
to live in the present…to leave my past in the past and go sit at the city gate
of his presence…so he can reveal to me his future….and how he will use my
mistake for the greater good of his kingdom.
Father…I thank you for this story…that reminds me to never
allow satan to lock me in my past mistakes.
Reveal to me the mistakes of my
past…so I can confess them before you…and accept your great mercy and
forgiveness. Then show me how to live in
the present…so I can begin to see the future you have planned for me. Help me
to remember that the pain and grief I now have in my life has a greater purpose
for your kingdom….so I can bear the consequences of my sin ...and use your power
and strength to move past them. Amen.
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