Second Samuel 17-19

God’s message to me: God’s plan is not always what we want. W must learn to rejoice in His perfect will and recognize the good that has been done rather than complaining of the things we don’t like.

It’s easy to understand the pain David felt when his son was killed. Absalom betrayed his father and turned against God’s plan in creating a coup to replace him as king. He turned the Israelites against God’s will in convincing them to make him king and depose David. His sin wasn’t just a personal act but an act of evil which led most of the country into rebellion against God and the king God anointed over them.

Promises: God does not permit His plan to be undone. God appointed and anointed David to lead Israel. Absalom was of David’s lineage and convinced the people to follow him. God could have permitted him to continue on the throne and the promise would not be broken. God did not plan for Absalom to rule, He did not plan for David to be deposed, He did not plan for Israel to become a nation which simply went from one ruler to the next based on who was popular, stronger, or most convincing. Absalom and his followers were killed because they went against God. The key members were hung(Absalom and Ahithophel) which God had said marked them as cursed. Absalom was hung in a manner which could only be seen as an act of God.

Commands: We do not live alone. When we react to the ups and downs of life we must remember the example we set for others and we must also be accountable to those whom God has put under our leadership.

God made David king and the people were rightly proud of defeating Absalom’s coup attempt. David became so overwhelmed with self pity over the death of his son that his grief caused the people to act as though they had done wrong. Joab was acting in the best interests of his country when he chastised the king for so vocally and publicly bemoaning the loss of his traitorous son when the people should have been celebrating the return of the king God appointed for them.

Timeless principles: There is a way that seems good to a man but it’s end is death. I can’t repeat this enough. Showing love to his enemies seemed good to David. it was politically correct and made a great show of following God’s command. It was also quite a quick path to destruction. These people were correctly marked as enemies. They should have been dealt with as enemies. David was quick to promise good to those who would not return the favor.

Ronald Reagan often referenced a book whose title described the problem with David’s habits. The title was “the Treaty Trap”. The United States and Israel are often caught up in the same mistake David made. In an effort to gain peace we establish treaties of friendship with those who desire our harm and never live up to their end of the treaty. We also proceed to continue living up to these treaties long after they have been broken by the other side and, in some cases, even after the state we made the treaty with ceases to exist. (look at all the treaties we still live up to despite the disappearance of the Soviet Union which never lived up to any of them anyway)

God gave us a mind and a heart and ordered us to use both. We love our enemies but we should never let that disable us. Reagan was happy to provide humanitarian aid and food to the Soviets but walked away from the negotiation table any time they tried to get the US to sacrifice sovereignty or defensive capability in exchange for peace. Compare this to David who would have appointed Gorbachev to the Joint Chiefs and placed Qaddafi in the seat of honor at his dinner table each evening.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: I have been considering this heavily in the past hour or so as I took my daily walk. David was a man after God’s own heart and he displayed that in the love he showed to people who were clearly his enemies. God has told us to love our enemies. Hate the sin and love the sinner. David clearly showed love to his son and to Jonathon’s son and to Saul’s family and so many others who would turn against him.

Joab privately corrected the king for his public actions which undermined the nation. David repaid his good action by replacing him as commanding general with a man from among the rebels. From a diplomatic standpoint it may have seemed good but personally it was wrong.

When we take actions we must consider all the ramifications. We must live within God’s law and love those who may hate us. We must also consider the life of others. David’s public grief over the death of an enemy of the state did much more harm to the Israelites than good. Loving the enemy and mourning the death of a criminal are different things. We have people who believe it’s a contradiction to fight abortion and stand up for capital punishment. The bible is clear that abortion is murder and capital punishment is the duty of state. There is no contradiction in saying “turn the other cheek” and “execute the criminal”. The personal duty is to turn the other cheek. The individual often flees from oppression in the bible. The leaders do not have this option. The first duty of leadership is common defense which is why judges, prophets, kings, generals and others in the bible hunt down killers, go to war and execute prisoners. The duty of the individual is separate from the duty of state. Without the leaders acting to enforce justice civilization ends.

more to learn for in-depth study: This story will go on for many years of Israel's history and many of the enemies David protected will be executed under the rule of Solomon. The history of Israel is long and complicated but much more important than any other history we can learn as Christians. If you have trouble understanding don’t be afraid to reread portions and to make notes of your questions. The details of their story spread across first and second Samuel, first and second Kings, first and second Chronicles, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the song of Solomon, and parts of the books of the various prophets. You will likely find yourself learning something new each time you read through these books.

tomorrow: Second Samuel 20-21