Thursday
Evening Bible Study
July
26, 2012
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the
broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a
decision Is the church loved?
David has sinned.
He committed adultery with Bathsheba and then killed her husband Uriah in order
to cover it up. But God knew. God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David, and David quit
trying to cover his sin and instead turned to God to confess his sin.
God forgave David, but there would still be consequences to David’s sin.
We’re about to start into the section where the consequences begin to come.
As we’ve mentioned
before, David already has several wives, now at least eight. (Michal, Ahinoam, Abigail, Maacah, Haggith,
Abital, Eglah, and Bathsheba).
Some of the problems we’re going to run into revolve around the fact that
many of David’s children are only partially related to each other. They all
have David as their father, but they will have different mothers. Sounds like the
super-sized blended family.
13:1-14 Tamar’s
Rape
:1 After this Absalom the son of David had a lovely sister, whose name was
Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.
:1 Absalom the son
of David
Absalom is the
third son of David.
His mother was Maacah, who was a princess, a daughter of the king of Geshur, Talmai.
His name means “my father is peace”.
:1 lovely – yapheh –
fair, beautiful, handsome
:1 Tamar – Tamar –
“palm tree”
Her grandfather is the king of Geshur.
:1 Amnon the son of David
He is the oldest
son of David. We would call him the
“crown prince”. He is the logical first
son to succeed David on the throne of Israel.
His name means “faithful”.
His mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel, in northern
Israel.
:1 loved
– ‘ahab –
to love; human love, family, sexual; for things; love for God; God’s love
toward man
It’s very much like our English word for “love”. It can mean lots of kinds of “love”.
:2 Amnon
was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was
a virgin. And it was improper for Amnon to do
anything to her.
:2 he became sick
Lesson
Confronting lust
We’re going to see that Amnon’s “love” for Tamar
is probably better described by us as “lust”.
It’s a strong desire that is going to cause lots of trouble and heartache.
It was not right for Amnon to “do anything” to
her for a couple of reasons:
He really just
wants sex, and he is not married to this girl.
The Bible says that sex outside of the blessing of
marriage is just wrong.
(1 Co 6:18 NKJV) Flee
sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who
commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
He is the girl’s
half-brother.
(Le 18:9 NKJV) The
nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your
mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not
uncover.
So what do you
do with thoughts that are about something that’s just “wrong”?
Amnon is going to let these thoughts harbor in
his mind until they have made him sick.
He is eventually going to act out on them.
James writes,
(Jas 1:14–15 NKJV) —14 But each
one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when
desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
brings forth death.
Do you
recognize that some of your “desires” are wrong?
Nip
it in the bud. It’s easier on you
if you learn to deal with those desires early on, than let them cook and stew
inside of your mind.
Learn to change your thinking.
:3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab the son of Shimeah,
David’s brother. Now Jonadab was a very crafty
man.
:3 Jonadab – “Yahweh is willing”
He is a nephew to David and a cousin to Amnon.
(and you thought your family was messed up!)
:3 crafty – chakam –
wise, wise (man); skilful (in technical work); shrewd, crafty, cunning, wily,
subtle
Lesson
Good friends
In the end, we have to face the consequences of our own decisions and
actions, but having good friends can help us make the right decisions and take
the right actions.
Jonadab is trouble.
He is a smart cookie, but “smart” isn’t always “right”.
His personal philosophy is:
Expediency,
not morality
What kind of influence do your friends have on you?
Do they encourage us to follow the
Lord, or do they encourage us to follow the flesh?
(1 Co 15:33 NASB) Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
Ideally, our friendships with ungodly people ought to be
about us influencing them – be we need to be realistic when the influence is
going the wrong way.
:4 And he said to him,
“Why are you, the king’s son, becoming thinner day after day? Will you
not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my
brother Absalom’s sister.”
:5 So Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed
and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him,
‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and prepare the food in my
sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’ ”
:5 let my sister
Tamar come
This is not good advice.
Illustration
Good Advice:
The Japanese
eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or
Americans.
On the other
hand, the French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the
British or Americans.
The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than
the British or Americans.
The Italians
drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than
the British or Americans.
Conclusion:
Eat and drink what you like. It’s speaking English that kills you
:6 Then Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill; and when the
king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please
let Tamar my sister come and make a couple of cakes for me in my sight, that I
may eat from her hand.”
Cakes – think pancakes or tortillas
:7 And David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Now go to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.”
:8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house;
and he was lying down. Then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes in
his sight, and baked the cakes.
:9 And she took the pan and placed them out before him, but he
refused to eat. Then Amnon said, “Have everyone go
out from me.” And they all went out from him.
:10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food
into the bedroom, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes
which she had made, and brought them to Amnon
her brother in the bedroom.
:11 Now when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her
and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.”
:12 But she answered him, “No, my brother, do not force me, for no such
thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!
:12 no such thing
should be done in Israel
She might be
talking about the law against a brother and sister having sex.
It’s more
likely that she’s talking about the subject of rape or pre-marital sex.
(Dt 22:28–29 NKJV) —28 “If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is
not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the young
woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife
because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his
days.
He is disgraceful by forcing this instead being a gentleman.
:13 And I, where
could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in
Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me
from you.”
:13 he will not
withhold me from you
Perhaps Tamar is saying that she thinks David might be willing to go
against the Law of Moses and give Tamar to Amnon as a
wife.
It could be that she is saying this only to try and talk Amnon out of raping her.
:14 However, he
would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he forced her and lay
with her.
:14 he forced her
They say “be careful what you wish for”. You might get it. And it might not be what
you think.
Antiochus, the son of Seleucus lusted for his mother in law Stratonice.
To cure him of this lust, his father gave him what he wanted. (John Gill)
Lesson
Real Love
This is not the right kind of “love”.
(1 Co 13:4–7 NLT) —4 Love is
patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not
demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being
wronged. 6 It does not rejoice
about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up,
never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Amnon does not “love” Tamar, he “lusts” for her.
If a person claims to be in “love” with you, yet they are pushing you to do
something you know is wrong, then we have a problem.
The right kind of love is focused on what is right.
The right kind of love is willing to wait.
13:15-22 Response
to rape
:15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the
hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he
had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Arise, be
gone!”
:16 So she said to him, “No, indeed! This evil of sending me away is
worse than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her.
She’s thinking that he shouldn’t just have sex with her and not marry
her. He was only interested in sex.
:17 Then he called his servant who attended him, and said, “Here! Put this woman
out, away from me, and bolt the door behind her.”
:15 Amnon hated her
Lesson
True Lust
This is very typical of a relationship built on lust. His attraction to her
was purely physical, and after he was satisfied, his real feelings about her
surface.
A guy who is pressuring a girl into a physical relationship doesn’t love
her. He is only thinking of himself.
Even when a girl gives in, and afterwards the guy says he still loves her,
that doesn’t make it a healthy love.
Love waits until its right.
That’s the
basis of “fidelity” or “trust”
I know that I can trust you after we get married to say
“no” to other temptations (like sex with other people) because you were able to
make right choices before we got married.
:18 Now she had
on a robe of many colors, for the king’s virgin daughters wore such apparel.
And his servant put her out and bolted the door behind her.
:19 Then Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her robe of many colors that
was on her, and laid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly.
:19 tore her robe
I find it interesting that instead of trying to hide what has happened, she
openly displays that bad things have happened to her.
She is no longer a virgin daughter of the king.
Lesson
Purity’s treasure
Our society doesn’t even get it.
God is the creator of sex, and He created it to be enjoyed within the
boundaries of marriage. He designed it to function at it’s
best when it is between two people who truly love each other. And God’s idea of
love in marriage is a lifelong commitment and trust.
Because of this, maintaining virginity until marriage is a great, great
blessing to that marriage.
Illustration
I’ve heard Dr.
Dobson explain it as if a person’s sexual nature was worth a million bucks.
Every time you have sex with another person, you are taking half of your
treasure and giving it to them. When you are married to that person, the
treasure stays within the family. But when you are not married to that person, you’ve just lost a half
of your fortune, and the value of your sexual nature is now worth a half a
million. When you have sex with another person, it’s now worth a quarter of a million
dollars. And when it goes on and on, sex becomes something cheap and filthy, instead of priceless and
beautiful.
Virginity is a
treasure. Faithfulness to your marriage is priceless.
I can see a new Master Card commercial:
Cost of the
wedding chapel: $500. Cost of the Bridal Gown:
$1500. Cost of the reception: $10,000.
Cost of
purity and faithfulness: Priceless.
:20 And Absalom
her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been
with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not
take this thing to heart.” So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s
house.
Absalom had apparently heard of Amnon’s request.
He now sees Tamar’s ashes, torn robe, and her tears. He puts two and two
together.
:20 Tamar remained desolate
Tamar never married.
:21 But when King David heard of all these things, he was very angry.
:22 And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon
neither good nor bad. For Absalom hated Amnon,
because he had forced his sister Tamar.
:21 David heard of
all these things
David knew what had happened. This
had not been hidden from him. Yet all he
apparently does is just get mad.
Lesson
Trouble and Response
There’s an area in my life I’m trying to pay more attention to, learn more
about, and try to do better with:
Conflict Resolution.
How do you deal with conflict? How
do you deal with problems around you?
Both David and Absalom
respond by not responding.
David gets
angry, but does nothing about it.
Absalom hates Amnon, but doesn’t talk about it.
I can certainly understand David’s place.
Sometimes you just don’t know how to respond to a situation, and sometimes
it’s better not to respond than to respond in the wrong way.
It could be that David can’t stand to think of what he should be doing. As king, he’s the one that should be
enforcing the Law:
(Le 20:17 NKJV) —17
‘If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s
daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a
wicked thing. And they shall be cut off in the sight
of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his
guilt.
Being “cut off” could be taken to mean banishment or it
could mean death. I imagine that neither of those seem acceptable to David.
It could be
that David is thinking of his own life.
We don’t know that he actually “forced” himself on Bathsheba, but he did
commit adultery and tried to cover it up with murder. And God spared his life.
How could he turn around and have his own son put to death?
The problem is that David’s inaction will bring about a simmering
bitterness in Absalom, one that will result in murder.
13:23-39 Absalom’s
Revenge
:23 And it came to pass, after two full years, that Absalom had
sheepshearers in Baal Hazor, which is near
Ephraim; so Absalom invited all the king’s sons.
:23 two full years
Lesson
Long Grudges
Sometimes when you are having a conflict with another person, it’s okay to
let things cool down.
Sometimes things can be more easily resolved if you let the emotions cool
off.
But if you wait too long, bitterness grows.
Paul says,
(Eph 4:26–27 NKJV) —26
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on
your wrath, 27
nor give place to the devil.
I don’t think this means you need to resolve every problem
before midnight.
I’ve known people who took this so literally that they
would stay up late into the night arguing in order to do this.
Yet the longer you wait to resolve things, the creepier
things get.
People’s
recollections change.
We tend to only remember certain things, and we mistakenly
remember other things.
We remember things that make us feel justified in our
position.
The other person does the same thing.
The longer you wait, the stranger things will become and
the harder it will be to resolve things.
:23 sheepshearers in
Baal Hazor
The time for
shearing sheep was normally a time of celebration and partying.
Play Baal Hazor map video.
Baal Hazor is about fifteen miles north of
Jerusalem. It’s a good day’s journey
from home.
When David had heard the Nabal was shearing his sheep, he had sent
messengers hoping to get some doggy bags of extra food for David’s men (1Sam.
25:7).
Where there is sheep shearing, there is a party.
:24 Then Absalom
came to the king and said, “Kindly note, your servant has sheepshearers;
please, let the king and his servants go with your servant.”
:25 But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go now, lest
we be a burden to you.” Then he urged him, but he would not go; and he blessed
him.
It sounds like an innocent and generous invitation. David declines. I wonder if Absalom expects David to decline,
and this is part of the plan.
:26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon
go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?”
I wonder if David suspects something.
Why would Absalom make a point of inviting Amnon,
with whom everyone knows he’s angry with.
:27 But Absalom urged him; so he let Amnon and
all the king’s sons go with him.
:28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, “Watch now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you,
‘Strike Amnon!’ then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have
I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant.”
Amnon will be less of a problem when he’s drunk.
Absalom is saying that he will take all the blame for this.
:29 So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as
Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and each one got on his
mule and fled.
Illustration
A panda walks
into a diner, sits down, and orders a sandwich. He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun, and
shoots out the restaurant’s windows. As the panda stands up to go, the owner
shouts, “Hey! Where are you going? You just shot out my windows and you didn’t
pay for your sandwich!” The panda yells back at the owner, “Hey man, I’m a
PANDA! Look it up!” The owner opens his dictionary and sees the following definition for “panda”: “A
tree dwelling marsupial of Asian origin, characterized by distinct black and
white coloring… …Eats
shoots and leaves.”
I guess Absalom is acting a bit like a Panda…
:30 And it came
to pass, while they were on the way, that news came to David, saying, “Absalom
has killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them is left!”
:30 Absalom has
killed all the king’s sons
Lesson
Wrong information
Sometimes the news isn’t always correct, fair, or balanced.
Whenever there is a big news event, you can bet that the first hour worth
of reports is not going to be very accurate.
We all get that.
Yet sometimes when “news” comes from some other source, we just assume it’s
accurate. Not true.
Sometimes people don’t know the whole truth. Some people even lie about what has happened.
(Pr 18:13 NKJV) He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is
folly and shame to him.
When you hear “bad” news, it’s a good idea to make sure that you are
actually hearing real accurate news.
What would you
do if you heard that “Pastor Rich was arrested last week for drunk driving”?
There’s something inside of us that likes to hear bad news like that. There’s something inside of us that even
wants to be the first one to tell others about the bad news we just heard. Sometimes we hear things and just get
angry. Be careful about those kinds of
reactions.
Slow down. Catch your breath. Try to find out if it’s really true. (oh, and the news about me was not true J)
:31 So the king
arose and tore his garments and lay on the ground, and all his servants stood
by with their clothes torn.
:32 Then Jonadab the son of Shimeah,
David’s brother, answered and said, “Let not my lord suppose they have killed
all the young men, the king’s sons, for only Amnon is
dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day that
he forced his sister Tamar.
:33 Now therefore, let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to
think that all the king’s sons are dead. For only Amnon
is dead.”
:32 only Amnon is dead
Jonadab somehow knows that his friend Amnon was the only one killed. I wonder how he knew?
Somehow, I get the feeling that Jonadab isn’t a
nice person to be around.
The real news was bad enough, but the story got stretched.
:34 Then Absalom fled. And the young man who was keeping watch lifted his
eyes and looked, and there, many people were coming from the road on the
hillside behind him.
Absalom knows he’s in trouble and leaves the country.
:35 And Jonadab said to the king, “Look, the
king’s sons are coming; as your servant said, so it is.”
:36 So it was, as soon as he had finished speaking, that the king’s sons
indeed came, and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also the king and all his
servants wept very bitterly.
:37 But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son
of Ammihud, king of Geshur.
And David mourned for his son every day.
:38 So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was
there three years.
:38 went to Geshur
Play Geshur map video.
Geshur overlooks the Sea of Galilee, about 80
miles from Jerusalem.
It was a pagan city in David’s day.
In Jesus’ day, it was known as the city of Bethsaida, the home of Peter.
Talmai
is Absalom’s grandfather, the father of his mother Maacah (2Sam. 3:3).
When Absalom is in trouble, he flees to a place he considers safe –
grandpa’s house.
:39 And King
David longed to go to Absalom. For he had been comforted concerning Amnon, because he was dead.
Eventually David got over Amnon’s death, but
David begins to regret not having lost one son, but two.
David is going to be acting in a disciplinary way towards Absalom, but
don’t miss the point that David loves his son. He loves him very much.
Lesson
Sowing and reaping
We are seeing the consequences of David’s sins begin to appear.
David’s sons have learned from their father.
David committed
adultery. Amnon
raped his sister.
David killed
Uriah. Absalom
killed Amnon.
14:1-20 The Woman
from Tekoa
:1 So Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the
king’s heart was concerned about Absalom.
Joab is David’s nephew, and the commander of
David’s army. He himself is also a murderer, having been the one who murdered
Abner in revenge for his brother Asahel’s death
(2Sam. 3:27). He is Absalom’s cousin.
Joab seems to really want to help David. He sees
that David is miserable and thinks he has a solution.
:2 And Joab sent to Tekoa
and brought from there a wise woman, and said to her, “Please pretend to be a
mourner, and put on mourning apparel; do not anoint yourself with oil, but act
like a woman who has been mourning a long time for the dead.
:2 Tekoa (play Tekoa map video)
Tekoa is a city of Judah, about 10 miles south of
Jerusalem. The birthplace of the
prophet Amos.
:2 wise – chakam –
wise, wise (man); skilful (in technical work); shrewd, crafty, cunning, wily,
subtle.
This is the same word used to describe Jonadab (2Sam. 13:3).
:3 Go to the king
and speak to him in this manner.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.
As the king, David was the final judge of things in Israel. He regularly
had to listen to peoples’ stories and make decisions. We saw back in 2Sam.
12:1-4, when Nathan came to David and told him a story, that Nathan used this
to get David to use his own wisdom against himself.
Joab is going to use the same tactic as Nathan.
:4 And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king,
she fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, “Help, O
king!”
:5 Then the king said to her, “What troubles you?” And she answered,
“Indeed I am a widow, my husband is dead.
:6 Now your maidservant had two sons; and the two fought with each other in
the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the
other and killed him.
This is the situation – one brother killed another brother.
:7 And now the whole family has risen up against your maidservant, and they
said, ‘Deliver him who struck his brother, that we may execute him for the life
of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also.’ So they
would extinguish my ember that is left, and leave to my husband neither
name nor remnant on the earth.”
The problem is that some of the family wants the murderer to be put to
death, but that would leave the woman without any sons.
:8 Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give
orders concerning you.”
“Go home and I’ll let you know what I decide …”
:9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My
lord, O king, let the iniquity be on me and on my father’s house,
and the king and his throne be guiltless.”
:10 So the king said, “Whoever says anything to you, bring him to
me, and he shall not touch you anymore.”
:11 Then she said, “Please let the king remember the Lord your God, and do not permit the
avenger of blood to destroy anymore, lest they destroy my son.” And he said, “As
the Lord lives, not one hair of
your son shall fall to the ground.”
:11 the avenger of
blood
Not like these
Avengers (show movie pic)
This is about the
blood feuds, like the old Hatfields and McCoys.
If a family member is killed, the family was duty bound to take revenge.
:11 not one hair
David grants the son a full pardon.
:12 Therefore
the woman said, “Please, let your maidservant speak another word to my
lord the king.” And he said, “Say on.”
:13 So the woman said: “Why then have you schemed such a thing against the
people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is guilty, in that
the king does not bring his banished one home again.
:14 For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the
ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life;
but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.
:14 His banished ones
David ought to show his own son the same compassion that he has shown
towards this woman’s son (if she has one).
:14 like water
spilled on the ground
Lesson
Make things right before it’s too
late
We are all going to die, and then it will be too late to be reconciled to
people.
Don’t let it your pride stand in the way of making things right.
When people are dead and gone (like water spilled), you will regret not
making the effort to reconcile. Even if
you don’t succeed in reconciling, you will know you tried.
:15 Now therefore,
I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king because the people have
made me afraid. And your maidservant said, ‘I will now speak to the king; it
may be that the king will perform the request of his maidservant.
:16 For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the
man who would destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of
God.’
:17 Your maidservant said, ‘The word of my lord the king will now be
comforting; for as the angel of God, so is my lord the king in
discerning good and evil. And may the Lord
your God be with you.’ ”
:18 Then the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide from
me anything that I ask you.” And the woman said, “Please, let my lord the king
speak.”
:19 So the king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?”
And the woman answered and said, “As you live, my lord the king, no one
can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king
has spoken. For your servant Joab commanded me, and he put all these words in
the mouth of your maidservant.
:20 To bring about this change of affairs your servant Joab has done this
thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of the angel of God,
to know everything that is in the earth.”
:19 the hand of Joab
David knows he’s been had. He figures it must be Joab. I think Joab must be
standing in the room with David and the woman.
:21 And the king said to Joab, “All right, I have granted this thing. Go
therefore, bring back the young man Absalom.”
Joab has been in the room while the lady has presented her case.
:22 Then Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself, and thanked
the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in
your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his
servant.”
:23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought
Absalom to Jerusalem.
:24 And the king said, “Let him return to his own house, but do not let him
see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, but did not see the king’s
face.
:24 do not let him
see my face
David has allowed Absalom to return, but he will not allow Absalom to see
David.
We were told earlier that “the soul of king David longed to go forth unto
Absalom …” (2Sam. 13:39), so we know David misses Absalom.
But David must not think that it would be proper to fully restore him.
It is possible that David is unsure of restoring Absalom. He had his arm
twisted into letting Absalom come back. You could probably make a case the
Absalom had only carried out the Law in having Amnon
put to death, but you could also probably make a case that Absalom was a
murderer.
Either way, David decides that though Absalom can come back, he isn’t
restored fully to the king.
14:25-33 Absalom is
back
:25 Now in all Israel there was no one who was praised as much as Absalom
for his good looks. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there
was no blemish in him.
Absalom was a good looking guy. He is a strong, forceful person. He’s
popular with the people.
:26 And when he cut the hair of his head—at the end of every year he cut it
because it was heavy on him—when he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head at
two hundred shekels according to the king’s standard.
:26 two hundred
shekels
About five pounds
of hair. A lot of hair. Absalom was a good-looking and hairy guy (like a cross
between Fabio and Brian Wilson’s beard). His hair will get him into trouble
later.
:27 To Absalom
were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a woman
of beautiful appearance.
It seems that Absalom names his daughter after his beautiful sister.
It would seem that Absalom’s sons
died before he did –
(2 Sa 18:18 NKJV) —18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up a pillar
for himself, which is in the King’s Valley. For he said, “I have no son
to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name. And
to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.
:28 And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, but did not see the
king’s face.
It’s now been a total five years since Absalom has seen David.
:29 Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would
not come to him. And when he sent again the second time, he would not come.
:29 he would not
come
Joab is Absalom’s cousin. Joab never returned Absalom’s calls. It’s
possible that he has begun to feel like David, that he needs to distance
himself from Absalom. Or perhaps he
feels like he’s already overstepped himself by helping Absalom out.
Lesson
Speak up
Sometimes we can get into trouble by not speaking up or by not answering
when we should.
Illustration
Holding A Grudge
One day a visitor leaned on the old fence around a farm, while he watched an old
farmer plowing with a mule. After a while, the visitor said, “I don’t like to
tell you how to run your business, but you would not have to work so hard if
you would just say, “gee” and “haw” to that mule instead of just tugging on
those lines. The old farmer stopped and pulled a big handkerchief from his pocket
and wiped his face. Then he said, “Reckon you’re right, but this animal kicked
me five years ago and I ain’t spoke to him since.”
:30 So he said
to his servants, “See, Joab’s
field is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” And Absalom’s
servants set the field on fire.
This is one way to get somebody to answer your call.
:31 Then Joab arose and came to Absalom’s house, and said to him, “Why have
your servants set my field on fire?”
:32 And Absalom answered Joab, “Look, I sent to you, saying, ‘Come here, so
that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there
still.” ’ Now therefore, let me see the king’s face; but if there is iniquity
in me, let him execute me.”
Absalom doesn’t see what good it has been in coming to Jerusalem. He wishes
he’d stayed in Geshur. If David doesn’t like Absalom,
then he should kill Absalom.
:33 So Joab went to the king and told him. And when he had called for
Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before
the king. Then the king kissed Absalom.
:33 the king kissed Absalom
Absalom is restored to David.
It’s all good now … but the worst is just around the corner …