Today, we begin 2nd Samuel Chapter 19.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click HERE.
For the King James Version, click HERE.
“Trembling, the king went up to the room over the gate, weeping and crying, ‘Oh, my son Avshalom! My son! My son Avshalom! If only I had died instead of you! Oh, Avshalom, my son, my son!’”-2 Samuel 19:1
King David is devastated.
What should have been a joyous celebration instead turned into a day of mourning.
However, it was a day of mourning for all the wrong reasons.
David, as God’s anointed king, had forgotten who he was in God.
All he could think of was the death of his evil son.
And that he wished he had perished instead of him.
I can understand his feelings to a degree.
I’ve never been a father, but I know the deep love that parents have for their kids to the point where they would sacrifice their lives for them.
Yet, David’s love was misplaced.
He cared more about the destruction of his wicked son than he did for those who had remained loyal to him.
This included his sons, daughters, wives, and the many soldiers who had risked their lives for him.
At this critical time, the people needed the King’s leadership more than ever.
Yet David was bawling like a baby, crying over spilled ice cream.
What a shame!
The takeaway is a theme I’ve expounded on many times before.
Don’t freakin’ prioritize family over God!
If the two conflict, God comes FIRST.
Period.
The Lord is so consistent in abiding by this principle that it could be considered one of His immutable character traits.
In Scripture, we often see how he’ll switch the firstborn status from one child to another at the drop of a hat.
Or how he has no problem utterly destroying rebels among His own people due to disobedience.
The Golden Calf incident is a perfect case in point.
I’ve seen too many marriages end in disaster because a man fell in love and became one flesh with a girl who wasn’t a believer.
Or how a child tolerates the abuse of an ungodly parent based on a skewed understanding of the command to “honor your parents.”
So lemme close by reminding you that the God we worship is a God of SEPARATION, ELECTION, and DIVISION.
The Lord has demonstrated this attribute ever since the opening chapter of Genesis when He divided the light from the darkness.
Ya feel me?
Alright, I’ll leave it at that for today.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“And do not think you can say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
I tell you that out of these stones
God can raise up children for Abraham.“
-Matthew 3:9
“Do not be yoked
together with unbelievers.
For what do righteousness
and wickedness
have in common?
Or what fellowship can
light have with darkness?”
-2 Corinthians 6:14
and does not hate his own
father and mother
and wife and children
and brothers and sisters,
yes, and even his own life,
he cannot be My disciple.”
David’s bawling over his wicked son is beyond embarrassing. It’s actually sickening. David repented of his great sin and God forgave him, but it seems David lost his mind as a result. Perhaps David didn’t really believe or comprehend what Nathan told him, that the sword would never depart from his house. God’s righteous judgments for sin can seem horrendous and cause us to take leave of our senses if we’re not careful.
God gives us what we deserve for our sins but not all that we deserve, els3 He would destroy us. What He does give us always seems too harsh and unfair but His judgments are perfect and fair and it is up to us to come to terms with his judgments. If He lets us live as He let David live, there will be hell to pay. David clearly did not understand this at all. He apparently didn’t think what he had done with Bathsheba and Uriah was that big a deal, after all he was the king of Israel. And yet as flawed as David was God still called him a man after God’s own heart. Many have questioned that but it illustrates both the tender mercy of God and His horrendous yet righteous judgment for sin.
David’s son Solomon advised to not be too sinful or overy righteous as both can create problems. In David’s younger life some of what he said and did sounds to me like being overly righteous and that may have been a factor for how things turned out for him. If we are too secure in our own righteousness we can slip and have a terrible fall. I once believed there were certain mistakes I would never make because I was just too smart and too righteous. Bad mistake.
Mr. Oka,
You wrote: “Don’t freakin’ prioritize family over God!
If the two conflict, family comes FIRST.
Period.
Mr. Oka, I believe you meant to say, “God comes first.”
Fixed. Thanks!