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2nd
Samuel 13:21-39 “But
when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth. 22
And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon
neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated
Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamer. 23
And it came to pass after two full
years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside
Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the
king’s sons. 24 And
Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers;
let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant. 25
And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my
son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him. 26
Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee,
let my brother Amnon go with us. And the
king said unto him, Why should he go with thee? 27
But Absalom pressed him, that he let
Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him. 28
Now Absalom had commanded his servants,
saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto
you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not:
have I not commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. 29
And the servants of Absalom did unto
Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all
the king’s sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled. 30
And it came to pass, while they were in
the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king’s
sons, and there is not one of them left. 31
Then the king arose, and tare his
garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their
clothes rent. 32 And
Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother, answered and said, Let not my lord
suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for
Amnon only is dead: for by the
appointment of Absalom this hath 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 Amnon
only is dead. 34 But
Absalom fled. And the young man that
kept the watch lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came much
people by the way of the hill side behind him. 35
And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold,
the king’s sons come: as thy servant
said, so it is. 36 And
it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that, behold, the
king’s sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept: and the king also and all of his servants
wept very sore. 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. 39
And the soul of king David longed
to go forth unto Absalom: for he was
comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.” Introduction [Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED673]
“We
have come after the fall of David, to begin to view the failing in his
household, as Nathan said the sword would not depart from his house, there
would be trouble at home. God would be
gracious to him, and his life wouldn’t be required because his repentance was
genuine, but there would be ramifications, there would be repercussions--adult
children that were no doubt aware of their father’s own failing--soldiers,
generals, people of Israel that had watched, had seen, that had known. And trouble now in his own home, his oldest
son Amnon, heir to the throne, the oldest son, would have been the next king,
desiring his half-sister Tamar. Same
father, different mother, Absalom’s sister, same father, David, same mother. And Amnon heartsick over Tamar, no doubt
remembering the sin of his father with Bathsheba, Uriah. His cousin, his father’s, David’s brother’s
son Jonadab comes to him and says ‘Look, you’re the king’s son, what’s
the problem, you should have what you want.
Pretend you’re sick, act like you can’t nurse yourself back to health,
ask the king, your father, if Tamar can come and prepare the food for you that
means so much to you.’ And David
begins to be played by his sons and daughters, the way he played Uriah, the way
he played Bathsheba. And under a ruse,
like the ruse that he sent Uriah to his death, now there is a request by his
son Amnon, who no doubt he deeply cares for, the oldest of the sons, heir to
the throne, to send Tamar. Tamar comes
then to Amnon, Amnon then tries to draw her close, she thinks she’s there to
prepare the food, and no doubt that she was suspicious, we can tell by the
response of Absalom. And she says ‘Don’t
do this wickedness, don’t do this,’ and then she says ‘Well let’s
wait,’ she tries to buy time, but it says Amnon takes her and pulls her
into the bed, and forces her and lays with
her. And it says, no doubt,
because of her resistance, no doubt it’s sickened her, so it says after Amnon
had sex with her, that he hated her then with a hatred that was stronger than
the love wherewith he loved her, and he then said ‘Get out of my
sight.’ Isn’t it interesting,
again. Gals, these days, guys, so often
there’s a physical attraction, and when it’s over and the thrill is gone,
somebody’s just done with you, you’re gone.
He says ‘Get out of the house,’ he tells his servant ‘throw
her out and lock the door.’
She’s a princess in Israel, she’s his sister, his half-sister, he says ‘Put
this woman out.’ It’s not just a
woman. And the stage is now set for more
trouble. Chapter 13, verse 17, “Then
he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman
out from me, and bolt the door after her.” this is his sister, she’s a princess. “And she had a garment of divers
colours upon her: for with such robes
were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted
the door after her. And Tamar put ashes
on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and
laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.” (verses 18-19) She left, her purity was gone, her
marital future was gone, to marry a woman and find out she was not a virgin,
not accepted in Israel, particularly in royalty, so her future ruined. Her hope of marriage no doubt gone in many
ways, she goes out weeping. “And
Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee?” now
notice, he knows right away. “but
hold now thy peace, my sister: he is
thy brother; regard not this thing. So
Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.” (verse 20) Absalom knows what’s going on right away,
look, our reputations precede us.
Remember, we’re told earlier, Mephibosheth came to the table, and that
the kings sons all ate at the table every night, with the king’s family. And no doubt Absalom had seen Amnon, you
know, scoping out his sister and looking at her, he knew right away that
something was going on. Like Samson,
lust will blind us, we think that nobody else sees, we loose our ability to
see, but other people see, and they watch, and they know what’s going on. And this man had lost perspective, Amnon,
because of his sin, but he wasn’t hidden.
You know, it’s funny, people, Christians, believers, when they involve
themselves in sin, and they cross lines, and then they get exposed, they’re
almost shocked, ‘I can’t believe anybody knew.’ We were all watching, we all knew,
knucklehead, everybody knew, you were acting so strange, it was obvious that
you were crossing a line. Absalom, her
brothers, he knew right away. And he
just tells her ‘Come into my home, just don’t let this kill you, don’t
let this weigh that heavy on your heart.’
And maybe Absalom wants to see what David is going to do
now. Maybe he’s waiting, because this
will go on for two years that David does nothing. Absalom, maybe he thought ‘Well, the Law
of Moses forbids this, maybe my father will send Amnon away, and the throne
then will come to me.’ Absalom is
the 3rd son, Chileab of Abigail has disappeared, we hear nothing of
him. Once Amnon would be disqualified,
and maybe Absalom thinks ‘The throne is rightly mine then, if I manage this
correctly,’ he tells his sister to just to be quiet, to be there at his
home, and maybe he’s watching to see what his father is going to do. David
Is Extremely Angry, But Does Nothing--David Could Have Broken The Cycle But
Didn’t--We Must Break The Cycle Look
in verse 21, “But when king David heard of all these things, he was very
wroth.” he blew his stack. Now look,
he heard all these things. Well there
was nobody around, but Jonadab knew what happened. Absalom knew what happened. Tamar and Amnon knew what happened, and
Amnon’s servant knew what happened. I
have a feeling that the way David found out what happened was from Absalom,
that he went and told his father what had taken place, and David is extremely
angry, he’s very wroth, but he does nothing.
He does nothing. He’s in a very
uncomfortable position, he is the king, so he’s a final authority, even in
regards to the Law. Sometimes if they
felt the judges weren’t just they could come to the king and make an appeal, he
has a responsibility there. And as a
father he has a tremendous responsibility.
But because of his own sin, he’s paralyzed, because of his own
compromise, he’s not going to step out and do anything about this. And look, that’s the wrong thing. For me, Sunday after Sunday here, if I could
only teach on marriage when I had a perfect marriage, which is about 15 years
ago my marriage got perfect, I knew Kathy would come along, if I could only
teach on marriage because I had a perfect marriage, I could never teach on
marriage. If I could only teach on
forgiveness because I got it perfect, I could never teach on forgiveness. If I could only teach on living a life with
zero compromise, until I waited until there was zero in my life, I could never
teach on that. The pointed is, you can’t
be crippled, David is crippled by his own humanity and his own sin, and too
often parents are afraid to say to their kids, because of their own past ‘This
is our standard, this is the Word of God.’
And we see it here, you know we have kids in the school, I saw a little
kid run by and use a curse word, and we’re shocked, and then you realize the
kid’s parents, a year ago were heroine addicts, and the kid grow up in all of
this, and now they’re saved, and the parents are trying to take the kid and
stick it in a better environment, and the kid’s already programmed from
listening to the language he’s heard in the home. That parent can’t be paralyzed, that parent’s
gotta say to that kid, ‘Look, I blew it, I lived my life this way, I don’t
want you to live your life the way I lived my life,’ it doesn’t disqualify
us at all. Look, each one of us
here is called to be the one who breaks the cycle in our family and in our
lives. Each one of us here is
called to be the one to stand up and put a stop to it. And it can happen, it can happen. My dad’s mom, my grandma, her first husband,
before my dad was born from her second husband, her first husband stole my
dad’s older brother, half-brother, when he was a boy, and sent him back to
Hungary at less than a year old, because he thought his relatives in Hungary
could raise him better than my grandma, who in the ‘40s ended up getting
electric shock therapy, if you can imagine that, and then she was so depressed
and struggled over it, that he, her husband hooked up with this other woman,
girlfriend, and they got in a gunfight, and shot each other, and he died, and
she lived, after he had signed the Inn they had into her name, which left my
grandma completely depressed, married my grandpa, my dad was born, and years later
the older brother comes home from Hungary, goes to Saint Louis, and they send
family to find him, he says to his mother ‘I don’t know who you are, I never
seen you before,’ she comes back more depressed than ever, and the
relatives have to go and convince him, and bring him back, he finds out he has
Lou Gehrig’s disease, this is late ‘40s, John Hopkins says there’s nothing we
can do, he’s deteriorating, he had been a bootlegger during prohibition, my dad
said he walked in the street with a trenchcoat in the summer with bottles of
whiskey inside, and so depressed he drank himself to the edge. My dad came down and found his brother
hanging in the basement, dead, and had to cut him down. I remember my first cousin disappearing when
I was a kid, they told me he was away at college, he was in prison for Murder-1
for 17 years before he got out, then he was back in, in and out, till he
finally drove back and killed himself in a car where he had killed his best
friend years before that. Three days
before I was born my mom smelled gas in the house, and my grandma who’d been
depressed was dead in the oven, had gassed herself downstairs. You can tell me family stories. You know, my dad was Catholic, my mom was
Lutheran, and there was all kinds of tragedy in our lives. My dad was a guy who would cry easily,
because under his humour there was all kinds of brokenness. But I got saved, and my sister got saved, and
then my mom got saved, and my dad got saved before he died. And the cycle is broken, and it needs to be
broken in your lives. [applause] It isn’t subject to all of the ilk’s of the
culture and all the failings of the country that we live in, it’s not subject
to any of that. It’s subject to the King
of kings and to the Lord of lords, he is bringing another Kingdom, that is not
filled with all the brokenness and prejudice and things wrong, and war and
hatred and disease and sin that’s in the culture right now. We are called to something higher, all of
us. And it’s sad to watch this process
here with David, because he’s so human, and his sons and his daughters, and
this cycle that begins. And David could
have stopped it here, early, if he’d have taken Amnon and said ‘Look, because
I failed doesn’t mean you have to fail, because I committed murder and adultery
doesn’t mean the end of everything that needs to be here for you, the God that
forgave me can forgive you. You
disqualified yourself to the throne, but God was gracious to me Amnon, he’ll be
gracious to you, I want you to step aside, I want you to let your brother
Absalom assume the place…’ David could have cut off so much of this, if
he’d have stood up early. But David was
still paralyzed by his own sin, David was still broken. And God will have his way with David, he will
do that, but it’s a long hard path. Look,
parents, don’t let your own failings and your own failures keep you from using
the Bible as the standard in your home, for your kids and your grandkids. The truth is, it is the standard, and it is
the only way for us to live properly, and it is a lamp unto our feet and a
light unto our path. And the greatest
thing you can give your kids is not something that a lawyer straightens out,
the greatest thing you can give to your kids is a sense that this is in fact
the Word of God, and heaven and earth are going to pass away, and the Word of
God is going to abide forever. And
that’s as true as the day is long. I
look at David here and I thought ‘David, you could have stepped in here with
Amnon, you could have rebuked him, you could have dealt with this,’ but
David, great emotional man, great feelings, David no doubt still feeling
guilty, Satan condemning him, David is still so paralyzed by his own sin. You read here that he’s furious, he’s very
wroth, but he does nothing. Absalom
Has Amnon Murdered “And
Absalom spake unto his brother neither good nor bad:” refused
to talk to him, “for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister
Tamar.” (verse 22) that’s where
murder’s from. He hated Amnon, David has
to bare some of the responsibility here, “Absalom hated Amnon, because he
had forced his sister Tamar. And it came
to pass after two full years,” now the Holy Spirit wants us to know that,
this is two full years, you know, are they still coming to the table every
night with Mephibosheth clumping his way there?
Are they still sitting there, has David noticed that all of his sons
have not talked to each other for two years?
How sad. “And it came to pass
after two full years,” no doubt cooking and seething for those two full
years, “that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside
Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the
king’s sons.” (verse 23) and we’re a number of miles north of the city of
Jerusalem, about 8 miles north, which is beside Ephraim. Now the time of sheepshearing was a time of
festivity, it was a time you invited friends and relatives so everybody could
be there, eating rack of lamb every night, I’d have been there, it was just a
great time, if you love me feed me sheep, you know, it’s a great verse. “And Absalom came to the king, and said,
Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and
his servants go with thy servant.” (verse 24)
He invites David, he said ‘Dad, let’s the family, why don’t you
guys all come with me, we’re shearing the sheep, it’s a great time of
festivity.’ “And the king said to
Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto
thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him.”
(verse 25) he did bless him, he pronounced his blessing on Absalom. “Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee,
let my brother Amnon go with us. And the
king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?” (verse 26) I hope he’s a bit suspicious, and I
know. It seems he should realize they
haven’t talked in two years. But look,
neglected kids, young or adult, make great manipulators. He’s pressing his dad, he wants his way,
we’re going to see this in Absalom, somehow he’s learned over these two years
not to yield to his dad, not to trust his dad, he becomes very manipulative, he
has no desire to submit to the authority of his father, to recognize the hand
of God in his father’s life, so he pushes and pushes and pushes here. He says “But Absalom pressed him, that he
let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.” (verse 27) David yields. Now David is sending Amnon to his death, just
like he had sent Uriah to his death. The
same thing is taking place here, sadly. “Now
Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is
merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear
not: have not I commanded you? be
courageous, and be valiant.” (verse 28) Remember,
Amnon is the oldest brother. I have the
sense that Amnon is a prince, that Amnon is probably a great warrior, he’s
probably strong, Absalom says ‘Get him pickled first, before you give this a
try.’ Now David had gotten Uriah
drunk. Remember? ‘Get him drunk, when his heart is
merry, and you see he’s a little sloppy, then I’m going to give the command,
you guys move in on him, you kill him, just don’t be afraid, be
courageous.’ So it would take
men that were courageous and valiant to attack Amnon, he was no push-over. “And the servants of Absalom did unto
Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all
the king’s sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.”
(verse 29) everybody is on their way, the prophecy of Nathan, ‘The
sword shall never depart from your house,’ is beginning to be fulfilled
in different ways. “And it came to
pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom
hath slain all the king’s sons, and there is not one of them left. Then the king arose, and tare his garments,
and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent.”
(verses 30-31) Now look, here’s an
evidence that David should have been involved, because David doesn’t say ‘That’s
impossible, Absalom wouldn’t kill all of his brothers.’ When David hears Absalom slew all of his
brothers, David believes it. He
immediately, you know, David was sensing things going on, but he didn’t step up
to the plate, he wasn’t the man that he should have been in all of this. The king arose, he tore his garments, he lay
on the earth, and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn. We don’t like this guy, Jonadab, “And
Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother, answered and said, Let not my lord
suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for
Amnon only is dead: for by the
appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced
his sister Tamer.” (verse 32) by
Jonadab’s counsel, Jonadab’s now saying to David ‘Hey, don’t sweat it, all
the kids are not dead, just Amnon, you know he forced his sister Tamar.’ Nobody knew as well as Jonadab, because
he’s the one who counselled Amnon on how to do it. So now he is trying to curry
the king’s favour, no doubt. “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 Amnon
only is dead.” (verse 33) ‘Cheer
up, you got extras, you got spares.’ [fascinating,
Pastor Joe used a term “spares” that is used in British royalty for the next to
the next in line for the throne, that person is referred to as a “spare.” Prince Harry is a “spare,” as compared to his
brother who is next in line to the throne of England.] “But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted
up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came much people by the way of the
hill side behind him. And Jonadab said
unto the king, Behold, the king’s sons come:
as thy servant said, so it is.
And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that,
behold, the king’s sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept: and the king
also and all his servants wept very sore.” (verses 34-36) Absalom
Flees To His Granddad Talmai, King Of Geshur “But
Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every
day.” (verse 37) Now
this is what Absalom does, Absalom can’t go to a city of refuge, remember there
were the cities of refuge in Israel. But
that was for somebody who committed involuntary manslaughter. Someone who committed premeditated murder,
they were not protected in the city of refuge.
So Absalom flees to his grandpa, his mom’s father, Talmai who is king of
Geshur, and he flees to another country to get away, and he seeks refuge
there. Let me tell you something, I hear
so many stories here, kids leaving home, going to their grandfather’s, moving
in with their aunt, we hear about so many fractured and broken families, it’s
such a shame. Listen, the amazing thing
in all of this, is that God is stooping down to us. He’s stooping down to us, listen, if you have
a broken family tonight, if you haven’t been able to live at home, if you’ve
had to leave and live with your grandma or your grandpa, and the situation is
terrible, there’s been violence, there’s been abuse, look, God stoops down into
the middle of all of this. And he gives
us incredible detail, it means so much to him.
He’s involved in every flip of the story here, every flip of the page
God is there, he’s involved. Every page
there’s an opportunity, he writes it all out for us, he hands it to us. Because he wants us to know, whatever’s going
on in the home, whatever’s going on in the family, whatever difficulty there’s
been, whatever scars we carry, for ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years
sometimes, God is deeply involved with all that, and he cares greatly. And when we get to heaven [get into the
Kingdom of God, which will end up on earth, cf. Revelation 21:1-23] there’s not
going to be any more tears, not going to be any more sorrow. But he desires to step alongside of us in this
pilgrimage and bring healing to our lives now.
If we can only believe that he tenderly and deeply cares, for even the
dysfunctional things that go on in our families and our lives, so many of us
just we lead lives of quiet desperation, we never come accountable to anyone,
or vulnerable, we don’t feel like there’s anybody--and I’m telling you that the
Lord cares. That the details we have in
this family, and all so human, tell us that he would stoop down to us, here,
tonight, in this church, in this age. In
the churches across this country and around the world, he cares so deeply. And again, in this world when something is
broken, you throw it away. In God’s
Kingdom, when something’s broken, is when he gets started. Man, if he can get his hands on a broken
heart, a broken man, a broken woman, he wants to work. Sad here, Absalom flees to his grandpa, to
the in-laws. “So Absalom fled, and
went to Geshur, and was there three years.” (verse 38) You can refer back to 2nd Samuel,
verse 3, it tells you about his grandpa.
“And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto
Absalom: for he was comforted concerning
Amnon, seeing he was dead.” (verse 39) Look,
he’s longing for Absalom, the reason, “for he was comforted concerning
Amnon, seeing he was dead.” You
know, David can’t condone, he can’t condemn, you know he’s stuck in that place
because of his own sin. But it tells us
this man is longing after Absalom his son, he’s spent three years in this
process of mourning over Amnon, it’s run its course to a degree, although I
believe he would never get over that here, one of your sons murdered, another
one of your sons, no doubt David would carry that his whole life. But his heart has come to the point where
he’s ‘I have a son whose heir to the throne, Absolom is out there.’ And yet David is paralyzed, he doesn’t do
anything. 2nd
Samuel 14:1-33 “Now
Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward
Absalom. 2 And
Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray
thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and
anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for
the dead: 3 and
come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth. 4
And when the woman of Tekoah spake to
the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said,
Help, O king. 5 And
the king said unto her, What aileth thee?
And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is
dead. 6 And
thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there
was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him. 7
And, behold, the whole family is risen
against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that
we may kill him, for the life of his brother, whom he slew; and we will destroy
the heir also: and so they shall quench
my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name
nor remainder upon the earth. 8 And
the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge
concerning thee. 9 And
the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be
on me, and on my father’s house: and the
king and his throne be guiltless. 10
And the king said, Whosoever saith ought
unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more. 11
Then said she, I pray thee, let the king
remember the LORD
thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer avengers of blood to destroy any more,
lest they destroy my son. And he said, As
the LORD
liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. 12
Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid,
I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on. 13
And the woman said, Wherefore then hast
thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak
this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again
his banished. 14 For
we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be
gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished
be not expelled from him. 15 Now
therefore that I am come to speak this thing unto my lord the king, it is
because the people have made me afraid:
and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that
the king will perform the request of his handmaid. 16
For the king will hear, to deliver his
handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son
together out of the inheritance of God. 17
Then thine handmaid said, The word of my
lord the king shall now be comfortable:
for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good
and bad: therefore the LORD
thy God will be with thee. 18 Then
the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the
thing that I shall ask thee. And the
woman said, Let my lord the king now speak. 19
And the king said, Is not the
hand of Joab with thee in all this? And
the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none
can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath
spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade
me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid: 20
to fetch about this form of speech hath
thy servant Joab done this thing: and my
lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things
that are in the earth. 21 And
the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom
again. 22 And
Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the
king: and Joab said, To day thy servant
knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king
hath 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 turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw
not the king’s face. 25 But
in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his
beauty: from the sole of his foot even
to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. 26
And when he polled his head, (for it was
at every year’s end that he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head
at two hundred shekels after the king’s weight. 27
And unto Absalom there were born three
sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance. 28
So Absalom dwelt two full years in
Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face. 29
Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have
sent to the king; but he would not come to him:
and when he sent again the second time, he would not come. 30
Therefore he said unto his servants,
See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on
fire. And Absalom’s servants set the
field on fire. 31 Then
Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him,
Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire? 32
And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I
sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say,
Wherefore am I come from Geshur? It had been good for me to have been
there still: now therefore let me see
the king’s face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me. 33
So Joab came 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: and the king kissed Absalom.” The
Opportunity For Restoration & Reconciliation Is Temporary Joab
Devises A Sneaky Plan To Get Absalom Back “Chapter
14 says this, “Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was
toward Absalom.” (verse 1) When you
work together every day, you just get to know each other, you know the staff
around here, if I walk in glum, my face is hanging and Jerry or Jeff or one of
the guys, Rob says ‘How you doing?’ and I say ‘Fine,’ they say ‘No
you’re not.’ When you’re around
somebody long enough, you just know, you can tell by looking at ‘em. I can tell by Kathy walking in the door,
whether we’re in for happy times or you know, we’re gonna be working something
out, you can see it on your kid’s faces.
And Joab I believe loved David, in spite of his humanity, and he
perceived that David’s heart is broken, longing after Absalom, Amnon is dead,
Tamar has been shamed, Absalom is gone, David’s in a place paralyzed by his own
sin, loving Absalom, broken. He takes
things into his hands, he’s the general of all the armies, “And Joab sent to
Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign
thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not
thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead: and come to the king, and speak on this
manner unto him. So Joab put the words
in her mouth.” (verses 2-3) Now
Joab’s given her a story that she’s going to recite in front of the king to
elicit a response from the king. Joab no
doubt knowing what Nathan had done as he came with a prophecy of the poor man
with one little lamb and a traveller coming, now David finally said ‘Now
that man is going to be put to death,’ and then Nathan said to David ‘You’re
the man.’ So Joab recreates very
much the same kind of a situation here in sending this woman with this
story. “And when the woman of Tekoah
spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and
said, Help, O king. And
the king said unto her, What aileth thee?
And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is
dead. And
thy handmaid had two sons,” I’m sure that already
pains in David’s heart, “and they two strove together in the field, and there
was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him. And,
behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said,
Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his
brother, whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also:” she
has one son left, “and so they shall quench my coal which is left,” I’ll
have no family, no lineage, “and shall not leave to my husband neither name
nor remainder upon the earth.” (verses 4-7) my two sons, one killed the
other, and everybody now wants to mete out justice on the one whose guilty of
this, is going to leave me without family, no one to carry my husband’s
name. “And the king said unto the
woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee. And
the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be
on me, and on my father’s house: and the
king and his throne be guiltless.” (verses 8-9) ‘no,
no, if you do this you’re going to be guilty, let this be on me,’ “And
the king said, Whosoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he
shall not touch thee any more.” (verse 10)
She’s pushing David for a sentence of
forgiveness. “Then said she, I pray
thee, let the king remember the LORD
thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer avengers of blood to destroy any more,” now
in that culture there were no police, there were no detectives, when there was
murder that was committed deliberately, the closest of kin had the
responsibility to go and to put to death the one who was guilty, to mete out
vengeance. If it was involuntary
manslaughter he could go to the city of refuge until the high priest of Israel
heard the entire story, and then judged him to be innocent, then he could live
there. But she said the avengers of
blood were involved here, “to destroy any more, lest they destroy my
son. And he said, As the LORD
liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.” (verse 11) Now that’s
exactly what she wants to hear, and here David is guaranteeing safety at the
expense of justice. David wanted
vengeance when he heard Nathan’s story, ‘that man should be put to death,’
stealing sheep, that wasn’t the charge in Israel, you had to repay fourfold,
David said ‘the guy that did that should be put to death.’ David’s a man of great emotion. Now he’s saying, because he’s so emotionally
involved in the story because of his own two sons, he’s saying ‘Nobody’s
going to touch her remaining son, not gonna happen,’ and at the expense of
justice he’s guaranteeing safety over the Law of God, but he’s the king. “Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I
pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king.” and Joab’s
probably saying to himself ‘OK, here it comes.’ “And he said, Say
on. And the woman said, Wherefore then
hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth
speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home
again his banished.” (verses 12-13) she’s saying, ‘What about
Absalom? He’s the heir to the throne,
this is something that’s going to affect the whole nation if you don’t do this
right, and you’re pronouncing clemency on my son whose guilty of murder and
you’re refusing to do so on your own.’ She’s
brought him right to the point where Joab had laid this whole thing out. And then I don’t know if this is from Joab or
this is something the woman said, but we know it’s from the Holy Ghost because
we got it here on the page today, and it’s very profound, verse 14, she
says, “For we must needs die,” you all got that? If the Lord tarries, that’s where we’re all
headed, a hole in the ground. Just a
good thing to keep in mind. We’re going
to go the way of all the earth. There’s
a point to it, this is not here just to depress you, I’m not just trying to
drag you down. “For we must needs
die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up
again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished
be not expelled from him.” (verse 14) she’s said something incredibly profound
here. She said to David, the king, ‘Everybody
dies, and you have to be careful this is not like water that’s spilled on the
ground that can never be gathered up again.’
The opportunity for restoration and reconciliation is temporary. If someone’s offended, and there’s someone
you need to be restored to, someone you need to make things right with, listen,
I’ve been at too many funerals here at church, where somebody has said ‘You
know what, I never asked them to forgive me before they died,’ or they’ll
say ‘I never told them that I forgave them, I was so mad, I forgave them,
but I never told them,’ or ‘I never told them that I loved them before
they died.’ She’s saying ‘Look,
the opportunity for restoration is fleeting sometimes, seize it while you can,
David, because sometimes it’s like water poured out on the ground, then it’s
gone, and you can never retrieve it again.’ David may be thinking of water that was
brought to him by a man in his army at one point, at the risk of their lives,
and he poured it out on the ground. I
don’t know. But she says this, and this
is incredibly insightful for the Old Testament, she said, “neither doth God
respect any person:” ‘David, God doesn’t love my son more than he
loves Absalom, you’re going to give clemency to my son?’ “neither doth God respect any person:”
what he does is this, “yet doth he devise means that his banished be not
expelled from him.” (verse 14b) Isn’t
the Gospel interesting, where you find the Gospel message in the Old Testament? “God devises means whereby his banished
do not have to be expelled from him.” And God doesn’t do it at the expense of
justice, Romans tells us that he’s both just and the justifier of the
ungodly. This woman says ‘The God
we worship David is the kind of God that he devises a means,’ and David
should know that, because David had committed murder and adultery, both of
those were capitol crimes in Israel, he should have been put to death, but he
said ‘Sacrifice and offerings thou hast not desired,’ he realized
‘but a broken and contrite spirit thou wilt not despise,’ and God
was gracious to him, and now this should be hitting him between the eyes. ‘You receive your son back, David,
because the God we worship is a God where he diviseth means whereby his
banished don’t have to be cast away from him, they don’t have to be
expelled.’ Isn’t it wonderful
this evening, as one banished to another, all you banishter’s out there? that
God has devised means whereby you and I, and we should have been, rightly by
the Law, cast away, because we’re all lawbreakers, but God is one that
doth devise means whereby his banished need not be expelled from him. What an incredible statement, the God of
grace that we love, that gave his own Son to die in our place. By the way, just stop there for a second, if
there is somebody you need to forgive tonight, would you please forgive
them? I am not saying it’s easy. I’m saying it’s the challenge that’s in front
of us. You’re heart may be very
broken. I would advise you if there’s a
root of bitterness, get alone with God and just be completely honest, just say ‘Lord,
I know your Word says that I should forgive, but here’s how I feel, I want to
strangle this person. Now I know that’s
not right, I’ve asked you to strangle them for years, and you haven’t done
that, because vengeance is yours, not mine.
But I also know Lord, that you have devised means that when I was
banished, you brought me back. And if I
understand your grace rightly Lord, that person doesn’t need the blood of Jesus
more than I do, we are equal sinners in your sight. But Father I’m human, I can’t see the end
from the beginning, I’m deeply hurt, I bear this pain, would you turn it into
the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ who was betrayed by those close to
him? Father would you turn this into
redemption, would you make it something that draws me closer to you, Lord, let
me feel your heart and your brokenness and your love, because I do not have the
means in my natural surplus, I don’t contain it. It would be easier to stop that leak in the
Gulf of Mexico than to stop the anger that I have leaking out of my heart,
Lord. And it’s deeper than a mile.’ The God that we serve is a God, I love
this, ‘that doth devise means, genius, he doth devise means whereby his
banished do not have to be expelled from his presence.’ What a God. The
Woman Finishes Here Spiel To David “Now
therefore that I am come to speak this thing unto my lord the king, it is
because the people have made me afraid:
and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that
the king will perform the request of his handmaid. For
the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that
would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. Then
thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be
comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is
my lord the king to discern good and bad:
therefore the LORD
thy God will be with thee.” (verses 15-17) she’s
buttering him up a little bit, now that she’s dropped the bomb. “Then the king answered and said unto the
woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee.” ‘my
turn, I’m going to ask you a question now,’ “And the woman said, Let my
lord the king now speak. And
the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this?” ‘This
smells fishy, I know exactly the smell of that general.’ “And
the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none
can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath
spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade
me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid:
to
fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing:” ‘He
wanted to bring you to this conclusion,’ “and
my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all
things that are in the earth. And
the king said unto Joab,” who must be standing
there looking at him now, “Behold now, I have done this thing:” ‘You’re
right, Joab, I’ve pardoned her son and I haven’t pardoned my own.’ “go
therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.” (verses 18-21) You know, you think David would say ‘You’re
right, I’ve blown it, get my horse, get my chariot, I’m going to go get my
son.’ You think he would have run to
grab his own son. He sends Joab. “And Joab fell to the ground on his face,
and bowed himself, and thanked the king:
and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy
sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his
servant. So Joab arose and went to
Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my
face. So Absalom returned to his own
house, and saw not the king’s face.” (verses 22-24) Now this is again, a tragedy continuing,
here’s David, he’s under so much conviction, he knows what’s right, he brings
Absalom back, but he’s still refusing to fellowship with him, to talk to him. David is deeply hurt. And I’m not saying this would be easy for
anyone. Look, when you line this up
against the parable of the prodigal son, that father ran to his son, and fell
upon him, weeping and kissing him, to restore him. But that father, Jesus says, is God in
heaven. David is doing his best. And in that story, the son came repenting,
broken, ‘I have sinned before heaven and before thee.’ Absalom will continue to justify, he believes
he was completely justified to murder his brother. So both of them fail in this picture. What a wonderful picture the Lord gives us,
he says ‘No one knows the Father but he who comes down from above, no man
has seen the Father.’ And Jesus
portrays our Father in heaven, if you’re a prodigal tonight and you’ve been
away, been compromising with a sin, and Satan’s been telling you he doesn’t
love you, you come back to him. It says
when the prodigal came to his senses, he said ‘I’d rather be a servant in my
father’s house,’ when he came back into his right mind, and as he came the
father ran and embraced him, kissed him, restored his robe and the ring of
heirship on his finger. Sadly here,
David goes part way, not all the way. He
went to his own house, he didn’t see the king’s face. After
Two Full Years Not Being Allowed To See David’s Face, Absalom Gets Joab To
Intervene Now
look, this is important, “But in all Israel there was none to be so much
praised as Absalom for his beauty: from
the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in
him.” (verse 25) just handsome,
remarkable, nobody to be compared with him, from the sole of his foot even to
the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. Israel’s going to be drawn to that, that’s
why they were drawn to Saul, it says that he was handsome and he was head and
shoulders above all the other men of Israel.
Absalom now portrays all of those natural virtues to the nation, it’s
going to describe him here. “And when
he polled his head,” cut his hair, “(for it was at every year’s end that
he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels
after the king’s weight.” (verse 26)
Every year he cut 6lbs of hair off of his head. Now I understand why he did that, because in
two years that would be 12lbs, in three years 18lbs, four years it would be
24lbs, pretty soon, your whole head. I’m
sure it was raven black hair, I’m sure it was beautiful. It wasn’t on his head so he could brag about
it, it was on his head to get caught in a tree on the right day, when he should
have cut his hair and didn’t. But it’s
describing this man to us, he was handsome, he was to look upon, there was no
one in Israel like him, raven black hair, cutting it off every year, 6lbs of
it. “And unto Absalom there were born
three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.” (verse
27) this is a man, Absalom, who had
deep feelings, much like his father. He
has this aunt of this little girl in the house, Tamar, whose been ruined, who
remains barren and remains in his house.
And he has a little girl, and he names the little girl after her aunt,
so he could say to his sister ‘I want you to come in here and meet somebody,
this is little Tamar.’ He’s a man
with deep feelings, and that will be his weakness too. He will be angry, he will be bitter, he had
deep feelings. A remarkable man for
sure, handsome, he’s able to assert himself, he’s able to win the hearts of the
people, and his daughter it says, of a fair countenance, he names her
Tamar. “So Absalom dwelt two full
years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face.” (verse 28) Listen, David
is failing at forgiveness here. And
look, the tragedy of it is, he had been forgiven for murder and for
adultery. And you would think that, and
we all know people like that. We could
probably all name somebody, if not more than one person tonight, that right now
tonight somewhere is filled with rage or anger or bitterness, and they’ve been
forgiven by Christ themselves, they’ve been forgiven so much. And David is failing here, he had been
forgiven incredibly, of murder and adultery, both death sentences, God had
forgiven him, and he’s failing at forgiving his own son here. It’s one of his weaknesses, and it’s being
brought before us. He’s been separated,
him and Absalom for five years now.
Amnon rapes Tamar, and for two years Absalom cooks, just angry, deep
feelings, loves his sister, we can see that here. David does nothing, so he finally plans the
murder of his brother Amnon, and kills Amnon, then he flees, he’s gone for
three years, he’s brought back to Jerusalem now, two years go by, it’s been
five years since David looked on his face.
Five years of anger, and of bitterness.
For those two years now he’s been back.
“Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent to the king; but he
would not come to him: and when he sent
again the second time, he would not come.” (verse 29) So he keeps sending for Joab, Joab now
refuses to come, “Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab’s field is
near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire.” he’s making a direct call, “And
Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.” (verse 30) Now I have a feeling that Absalom and
Joab have a decent relationship, because Joab was not the kind of guy whose
field you burnt down unless you were pretty confident that he wasn’t going to
hack your head off. So, he sets Joab’s
field afire, he’s got his attention now.
Please don’t try this, this is just telling us what these sinners were
doing. “Then Joab arose, and came to
Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants
set my field on fire?” (verse 31) ‘And
Absalom answered, I called three times, keep getting a busy signal, you never
returned my call, so I made a direct call.’
“And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come
hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from
Geshur? It had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king’s face;” and
notice this, isn’t this self-righteousness? he’s a murderer, what do you mean
“if there is any iniquity? “and if
there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.” (verse 32) Now what he wants is he wants public
reconciliation, because Absalom has determined by this time, he is going to
usurp his father’s throne, and he knows if he gets public reconciliation he can
begin to set the groundwork for his own rebellion. So this is, he hasn’t seen his dad for 5
years and 30lbs of hair later, “So Joab came 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: and the king kissed Absalom.” (verse 33)
of course, Absalom wants it to appear patched up to everyone, just emotion
here, as we read through this, to me, with this father and son, incredible
emotion. 2nd
Samuel 15:1-6 “And
it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and
fifty men to run before him. 2 And
Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that
had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him,
and said, Of what city art thou?
And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. 3
And Absalom said unto him, See, thy
matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of
the king to hear thee. 4 Absalom
said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath
any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! 5
And it was so, that when any man
came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took
him, and kissed him. 6 And
on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for
judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of
the men of Israel.” Absalom--Plays
The Master Politician Setting
the stage now, we’ll read a few verses, we won’t dig into this tonight, “And
it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty
men to run before him.” (2nd Samuel 15:1) So, these chariots and horses are not for
speed, it’s all for show, you don’t have 50 guys running when you want to make
time. And there is enough Absalom in
each of us, or you Absalomesses, just there are lessons here. Notice, he’s determined, “And Absalom rose
up early, and stood beside the way of the gate:
and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to
the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art
thou? And he said, Thy servant is
of one of the tribes of Israel.” (verse 2) good old boy, just striking up
conversation. “And Absalom said unto
him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed
of the king to hear thee. Absalom said
moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any
suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!” (verses
3-4) Now part of this cooking in
him, he’s thinking ‘He never did justice to Amnon,’ he never dealt
properly, so there’s part of this, he believes in his own anger no doubt. “And it was so, that when any man
came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took
him, and kissed him. And on this manner
did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of
Israel.” (verses 5-6) he stole the hearts of the men of Israel. [Comment:
these first 6 verses perfectly describe how politicians operate,
historically and even right now. Some
worse than others, but this is their basic methodology, how they operate in the
political campaigns for election or re-election, pressing the flesh, kissing
the babies while stealing their lollipops.
Nothing has changed since Absalom did this, nothing.] By the way, next time we come back, we’ll
look at it, Psalm 3, Psalm 41, Psalm 55, Psalm 62, Psalm 63, Psalm 39, David
wrote during this time of Absalom’s rebellion, and most feel that he was sick,
he’s over 60 years old at this point in time, he had an illness, and the people
in Israel thought he was dying, and they were then very attracted to Absalom
who seemed to be the heir apparent.
David said “Blessed is he that considereth the poor, the LORD
will deliver him in time of trouble, the LORD
will preserve him and keep him alive, he shall be blessed upon the earth, and
thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The LORD
will strengthen him upon his bed of
languishing, thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. I said LORD
be merciful to me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee, mine enemies
speak evil of me, when shall he die and his name perish? And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity,
his heart gathereth iniquity to itself, when he goeth abroad he telleth
it. All that hate me whisper together
against me, against me do they devise my hurt, an evil disease, say they,
cleaveth fast to him, and now that he lieth, he shall rise up no more.” You
can read through there, Psalm 41. So
David it seems at this point in time, in the palace, Absalom outside in the
gate, becoming noticed, and Absalom’s out there saying ‘There’s nobody here
to listen to you, they don’t really care about you, what you’re saying is so
true, so right.’ And it’s a ruse of
the devil [and all politicians], because Satan will always say to you ‘The
King doesn’t care, he doesn’t answer prayer, he doesn’t have time for you, he’s
not going to listen to what you say, he doesn’t care, you have rights, the
thing you’re saying is right, the King doesn’t care, come to me, let me counsel
you. Let me tell you how to solve
this.’ And no doubt Satan working
behind the scenes. We’re told, once
specifically, another time inferred, that Satan was involved in the life of
David, no doubt he’s fast at work here.
And Absalom is stealing, not earning, stealing the hearts of the people,
and just because he’s charismatic.
That’s no endorsement, because the anti-christ is going to be
charismatic [Adolf Hitler was charismatic], he’s going to steal the hearts of
the world. What an interesting,
interesting picture. Hey look, I
encourage you to read onward. Isn’t it
amazing, and in all of this, there’s God’s involvement, in all of this the LORD
has his hands on it, in all of this the LORD
stoops down. I am always amazed, listen,
how God stoops down to us. I read
through the Law, and I hear God say ‘If you get up in the morning, and
you go in your cupboard, and you look in your pot of grain, and you find a dead
mouse in there, don’t give that pot as a present to someone else.’ He says that.
He knows us that well? ‘Don’t
regift that pot because you found a dead mouse in it,’ he stoops all
the way down to our cupboard, to our kitchen.
Is that important? He says if
we’re faithful in the little things, it will make us faithful in great
things. He actually does care what we do
with that pot with the dead mouse in it.
[Comment: this law about dead
mice in a pot of grain is just one tiny law amongst God’s food laws, given for
our health, recorded in Leviticus 11.
Some say these were only ceremonial laws, but in reality, they are
health-laws, given for our wellbeing.] Because
it does reflect him, he does stoop down to our tears and our bitterness and our
brokenness, and he does care, how honest we are with him. He does want us to come and say ‘Father, I
can’t forgive this person, I read it in your Word, it tortures me, I don’t have
the strength,’ because he loves us.
And he’s committed to conform us into the image of his Son, who said ‘Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ He’s going to continue the good work he’s
begun in each of us…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on 2nd
Samuel 13:21-39, 2nd Samuel 14:1-33 and 2nd Samuel
15:1-6, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500
Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116] related
links: Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED673
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