“The men stole into the city that day as men steal in who are ashamed when they flee from battle.”
~ 2 Samuel 19:3
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you think of yourselves as being peacemakers? Do you compromise to resolve a problem or an issue? What do you do when a guy, gal or kid does not agree with you about something? What do you do when a guy, gal or kid does not like you for one reason or another? Do you disavow yourselves from a guy, gal or kid who disagrees with you? Do you kill a guy, gal or kid who does not like you? Do you think that you are going to go through life with every guy, gal and kid agreeing with you? Do you think that you are going to go through life with every guy, gal and kid liking you? Do you always agree with every guy, gal and kid who you meet? Do you always like every guy, gal and kid who you meet? 2 Samuel 19 is full of compromises. No one knows who scribed the Samuel Books. The Samuel Books were originally a single book. The second Samuel Book is about the life of David. Even though he was not perfect, David still modeled an ideal theocratic as a divinely led or guided king during the forty years that he was the second king over God’s specially chosen guys and gals. David’s leadership as king over God’s specially chosen guys and gals was invariably decisive and effective. God used David’s leadership as His anointed king over His specially chosen guys and gals to cause His specially chosen guys and gals to be able to prosper as well as to be able to constantly repel guys from surrounding enemy countries who wanted to destroy His especially chosen guys and gals – who were the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. Even though David’s rule as a God anointed king over God’s specially chosen guys and gals was full of glory and success, there were times of weakness and failure in David’s life – which would end up being reflected in the personal lives of guys who were important to him. David stayed in God’s grace because he consistently recognized his inadequacies and sins. David seemed to have a mind set to be always ready to sorrowfully and humbly confess a wrongdoing to his Father God after his Father God had revealed to him that what he had done was something that he should not have done.
Absalom – who was one of David’s kids, after thinking that he could do a better job than what his dad was doing at being a king, went to the leaders of the ten northern Israelite people group’s tribal clans of guys and gals to persuade them to make him their king instead of continuing to have his dad as their king. When David heard what his kid did, David was not pleased. David knew that he had been anointed by his Father God to be the king over all of the Israelite people group’s tribal clans of guys and gals. David really did not want his kid killed but . . . David knew though that he had to do something about his kid so . . . when Absalom realized that his arrogance was leading to his downfall, Absalom took off on a mule. While riding under an oak tree, Absalom’s thick hair became caught in some of the oak’s branches leaving him dangling in the air. When Joab – David’s army commander, was told about Absalom’s plight, Joab stuck three javelins through Absalom’s heart – murdering him. When David was told what had happened to his kid, David was really upset. When David’s warriors saw David’s heart wrenching reaction to what had happened to his kid, verse 3 says, “The men stole into the city that day as men steal in who are ashamed when they flee from battle.” If David knew that Joab was who had killed his kid, David never let on that he did. David replaced Joab though as his army commander with one of his nephews – Amasa. Amasa had been a captain in Absalom’s army during Absalom rebellion. David did not earn points with Joab when he replaced him with Amasa as his army commander. Joab would not forget what David did to him – but that is another story for another day which is found in another chapter. Your grandpaa sometimes wonders why God – when He created the universe and designed and choreographed the life tracks for every single guy, gal and kid who would ever live on planet Earth, would include treacheries, betrayals, and disloyalties that would erode the moral fiber of the lives of guys, gals and kids – as in David’s life as an example. David made decisions that were not popular and that may not have been wise decisions to make – such as replacing Joab with Amasa. Shimei is another guy who treated David with abject disrespect. Shimei threw stones at David while cursing David as David was trying to escape from being killed by his own kid – Absalom. David pardoned Shimei when Shimei hustled as fast as could to David – after David had gotten control again over all twelve of the Israelite people group’s tribal clans of guys and gals, to – while lying flat on the ground in front of David, beg David for his forgiveness. Solomon – who was another one of David’s kids and the kid who would follow David as God’s next anointed king over His specially chosen guys and gals, would not forget Shimei’s disparagement of his dad – but that is another story for another day which is found in another chapter.
Are you blame casters? It is not hard to put the fault on another kid – or on your dad and/or ma, for why you did something that you did that you should not have done. David would ultimately accept the accountability of guilt for something that he did that he should not have done or he would give a guy a second chance after the guy had done something that he should not have done – such as what David did for a couple of sorry dudes like Amasa and Shimei. David inherently wanted to always trust and believe in other guys and gals. Are you ready to forgive and forget grievances that other kids – and guys and gals, have caused you – like David did? Do you hold grudges against other kids – and guys and gals, like Joab did? It is natural to pursue vengeance but . . . David exampled how to turn problems and issues over to God for Him to resolve. What are you doing with your problems and issues?
2 Samuel 19 (479)