2 Samuel 14 is crammed to the brim with deep theology.
While we’ll explore some of it, we won’t have time to cover everything without getting lost in the details.
You should also know you’re gonna squirm a bit.
We’re gonna get into some things that will challenge how you think, worship, and determine what’s right and wrong.
The bottom line is if you sincerely desire to follow God…
You’ve got to accept that your heart is NOT a better guide than His Word.
It never has been, and never will be.
The words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Isaiah are just as valid now as they were thousands of years ago.
“’For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,’
declares the Lord.
‘As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.'”
-Isaiah 55:8-9
With that said, let’s get our bearings on where we’re at.
Amnon, David’s oldest son, is dead.
This was instigated by Avishalom, his half-brother, who had been patiently plotting to avenge his sister’s rape for two long years.
The perfect moment for revenge finally arrived in the form of the annual sheep-shearing festival in Ba’al-Hatzor.
This was where hard work turned into hard partying, and drunken guards let their defenses slip.
Now, Avishalom was a cunning man and wasn’t about to get his own hands dirty.
He played it smart by taking more than a hint from his father, King David.
He ordered his most loyal servants to kill Amnon…
Just as David had ordered Joab to take out Uriyah, Bathsheba’s husband.
When Nathan called David out on his sin, David repented.
As a result, he was assured he would be forgiven and not die an eternal death.
But his earthly life would still be marked by pain, violence, and much loss of life.
A curse was placed on his family that would echo through the generations.
And now, that curse was playing out.
So today’s takeaway is a reminder.
The kind of forgiveness David received from the Lord was the same kind we get when we put our trust in Christ.
By God’s grace, we will enter into eternal rest…
And attain peace with God after death.
But let’s not kid ourselves…
That doesn’t mean we get a free pass on the mess we’ve made here on earth.
The fallout from our sins will still be very real.
We’ll face pain, consequences, and discipline for our rebellion right up until our final breath.
Only then will we finally be free from the grip of our sin.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“For we know that the law is spiritual,
but I am carnal, sold under sin.
For what I am doing,
I do not understand.
For what I will to do,
that I do not practice;
but what I hate, that I do.
If, then, I do what I will not to do,
I agree with the law that it is good. 1
But now, it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells in me.
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh)
nothing good dwells;
for to will is present with me,
but how to perform what is good I do not find.
For the good that I will to do, I do not do;
but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Now if I do what I will not to do,
it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells in me.”
-Romans 7:14-20
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