“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
One famous rabbi has pointed out an interesting aspect of the word “trembling” that begins verse 1 in this chapter.
He says David trembled not from mourning his son, but from overwhelming guilt.
Deep down, David knew the cause of Absalom’s rebellion was his own sin.
He knew this was God’s curse working itself out in his life.
The burden of personal responsibility was weighing heavily on his soul, causing him to tremble.
This is a lesson to all who would ignore God’s Word and His commandments.
I pity those believers who hold to a dangerous theology that states there are no longer any consequences for sin.
Nothing could be more false than that satanic doctrine.
Yes, your sins have been forgiven per the sacrifice of Yeshua.
But that’s only in the spiritual realm, homies.
You’re still gonna pay the earthly consequences for your dastardly deeds, just as David did.
He would bear the consequences of what he did with Bathsheba and her husband for the rest of his life.
And that’s your takeaway for today.
Accepting Yeshua as your Lord and Savior is only the first step.
That was the equivalent of the Israelites going from bondage in Egypt to freedom at Sinai.
What happened immediately afterward was learning the Lord’s Torah.
Or here’s another way to look at it.
When God punishes you, recognize that you’re paying the price for your sin…just like David did.
Don’t try to brush it off as no big deal.
Remember, David was a man after God’s heart
He was closer to the Lord than any of us ever will be.
Yet God still put a heavy curse on him for all the wrong he did.
Done.
But the people apparently didn’t see David’s “trembling” that way. They were angry that David was sobbing over his evil son. The famous rabbi gave his opinion of what “trembling” referred to but as far as I can see it was only an opinion. Instead of trembling and sobbing over his son he should have been trembling and sobbing over his own foolishness, and I see no indication of that. After David’s alleged repentance I see no indication of it from him. Just a lot of weakness, indecision and feeble mindedness. He never stood up in front of the people and admitted that he had brought all this on himself. Just too proud, no doubt. It’s hardly inspiring, unless self pity is supposed to be inspiring.
The viewpoint I shared came from Rashi, and yes, I can agree it was only an opinion.
Ultimately, we can’t see what’s going on inside a person’s heart and mind.
But I think Rashi is right on.
And I’ve felt the same way in my life whenever misfortune struck.
I can imagine it must be the fruit of my past sins coming back to haunt me.
Thanks for sharing.
The question becomes, when God punishes us for our sins in the sight of all the people, what sort of example should we try to set? David may have been truly repentant but from all indications he didn’t convince anyone of that with his post repentance words and deeds. Now some might argue that we’re not obliged to convince anyone but God of our repentance, but if so then what be the purpose of such an uninspiring narrative as was David’s travails and tribulations following his big sins?
I think I can agree with you on this one.
The bottom line is that David got emotional and let his feelings for his son Absalom take priority over God.
I do, however believe his repentance over his sin with Bathsheba and her husband was sincere.
What can I say?
Welcome to the fallen human race.
It’s a shame that you’re stuck in the Old Covenant. You like your fathers still worship a God the Jew created out of their own evil imagination. This is why they didn’t recognize their Messiah. What were Saul/Paul’s consequences when he accepted Christ? Was he held accounted for all the arrests he made of Christians or for the assistance of Steven’s death?
Was Peter, James, and John held accountable for forsaking Jesus that night?
Remember, David, Thy Mercy is from everlasting to everlasting and is renewed every morning.
Repent and accept Jesus and enter the New Covenant! Looking forward to setting up a meeting with you. Send me a Zoom link, and we can get started. You received my email; the challenge is now in your hands.
It’s a shame you are still thinking what you think.
I wonder how Jesus will react when you call his father the result of an evil imagination?
And what about God, himself?
Well, he is forgiving, but didn’t Jesus say to blaspheme the holy spirit is an unforgivable sin?
Good luck with your antisemitic rhetoric.
Wow! Some really off-the-wall replies to this one,Rich.
I can cut the hatred of Jews with a knife.
I’m setting up a Zoom call with him, if he agrees.
Hi Tony,
I just sent you an email to set up a Zoom call.
Please check.