2 Samuel 19 - son

Joab rebukes David for "hating those who love him and loving those who hate him", because David is overwhelmed by his grief for Absolom and says nothing to the men who have just fought for him in battle. Joab might be exagerating when he says " for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased." but there's probably an element of truth their. The king was more concerned over his own son than the rest of the nation, our ultimate KING sacrificied his son out of love for the entire world.

2 Samuel 18 - mercy

David's love for Absolom is not perfect (if it was, they might not have ended up in this situation in the first place), but it gives us a glimpse into God's love for us as a father. Despite everything that Absolom has done, treating his father with contempt, David still wants to show him mercy. I have treated God with contempt many times, and He still shows me mercy, when i deserve justice.



I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

There for me the Savior stands,
Shows His wounds and spreads His hands.
God is love! I know, I feel;
Jesus weeps and loves me still.

Depth of Mercy, Charles Wesley

2 Samuel 17 - advice

Absolom gets conflicting advice, with Hushai deliberately trying to give bad advice. He suceeds by flatering Absolom, as Husahai's plan involves Absolom going and doing it himself, rather than relying on others. Also, there is no mention in this passage of Absolom seeking the Lord, which is a phrase has occured coutless times in 1 and 2 samuel when people have needed advice.

Do I seek God first when I don't know what to do? And am I more likely to listen to advice that flatters me rather than trying to discern God's voice?

2 Samuel 16 - words

Ziba lies to David in order to get something, to improve his position. How many times am I tempted to miss things out, manipulate the facts, or just flat out lie in order to make myself look better?

Shimei then curses David and chucks rocks at him - an example of how bitterness can take hold of someone, he's probably been gradually growing more bitter over all the years that David has been King. David's response is interesting, he doesn't want to defend himself, or even presume that God will act, but he takes it and hopes that God will show him grace. Why is it that when I am questioned (never mind cursed!) I get defensive straight away?

Absolom's sleazy act with David's concubines is a fulfilment of Nathan's prophecy after David committed adultery - at the time I bet he didn't think it would come true in a literal way!

2 Samuel 15 - David flees

David responds to Absolom's conspiracy in an interesting way. He doesn't want to take the ark (v25), he doesn't fall into the same trap as Saul, who thought that if he had the ark, he had God. David doesn't presume he is in the right, this may be God's judgement on him, this may be the consequence of his sin. He leaves it open for God to restore him... or not. He doesn't try to manipulate God, he continues to recognise his total dependance on God in good times and in bad.

2 Samuel 14 - banished

v14b But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast.

In response, David brings Absolom the outcast back into the city and eventually back into his presence, but it only seems to be partial forgiveness, partial reconciliation. Fortunately, the woman was right about God. I should be banished from God's presence because I have turned my back on him and lived my own way. I should have my life taken from me. But God devised a way so that I do not remain an outcast, through Jesus death and resurrection.

2 Samuel 13 - forgiveness?

chapter 13 is like a family situation you would hear discussed on the jeremy kyle show. Did Amnon really love Tamar? If so, why did his "love" turn immediately to hatred after he raped her? More likely it appears to be lust and then he is not willing to deal with the consequences (see v16 - Tamar now wants to stay with him, as now he has raped her, getting rid of her will consign her to a life as a "desolate woman"v20).

Jonadab shows how it is possible to be clever/shrewd/discerning but totally sinful, when he comes up with the plan to rape Tamar when he should be telling Amnon to sort himself out.

The worst thing about this whole scenario is that David is angry but does nothing (v21). He should be angry, but he should do something. Amnon is not punished or spoken to, Tamar is not comforted or looked after by her father, she is taken in by Absolom.

The world tends to view forgiveness like David's actions here - letting people off without consequences. God's forgiveness is not letting people off with their sin. Something had to be done, justice had to be served, punishment had to be carried out. And it was. On the cross.

2 Samuel 12 - worship

Nathan rebukes David. Was he scared to do this? how would I respond if God revealed somebody's secret sin to me and told me to rebuke them? Also, how would I respond if rebuked? David gets it. "I have sinned against the Lord" (v13). He recognises his sin and repents, rather than getting defensive or justifying it. he recognises that the worst part about this is that he has sinnned against God (ref psalm 51). We might look at this and think that we've never commited adultery or murdered anyone, and that may be true, but we have turned our back on God and gone our own way, and in that respect, we are just like David. We need to repent.

David's response to his child's illness/death is interesting. He pleads with God, hoping that God will be gracious. Recognising that it would be God's grace that would restore this child's health, God didn't owe David anything. When God doesn't answer and the child dies, he goes and worships God. this might seem like the last thing we would want to do. But he is not worshipping God for what has happened, but for who God is. We might feel in or out of the mood to worship God based on our circumstances or what we perceives God has/hasn't done for us. that is idolatry, we are more concerned with getting God's stuff than we are with getting God. We worship God based on who He is and what He did on the cross, not on the basis of our own circumstances.

2 Samuel 11 - failure

In this chapter we see David go from just not going out to battle with his men like he should have, to murdering someone when his plans to cover up his adultery go wrong. He quickly spirals out of control. How can I stop spiralling out of control into sin like that. Certainly I need people around me who can pull me up on things, question me, rebuke me if needed. Did David have these people? Maybe they were out at the battle. It seems that the only people left were his servants who just did as they were told and kept their mouth shut, no matter what they saw. While it may be comfortable to be surrounded by people like that, it's not good.

David is generally recognised as a good king, but here we see vividly that he is not perfect. Jesus is our ultimate, perfect King. He will never "remain at home" leaving his men to go off and fight by themselves. He leads the battle. David was tempted when he saw Bathsheba and it led to sin. Jesus was tempted in every way we are but didn't sin, and we received that righteousness through His death on the cross. David left Uriah out on his own, hung him out to dry while the other men retreated. Jesus will never hang us out to dry. If anything, it's the exact opposite. we withdrew from Him and crucified Him. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.