PROPER 14B 2009
Last in a Series on David
2 Samuel 18:5-33
Today we are completing our series on King David. I don’t know what you have gotten out of it, but I have enjoyed immensely reading and thinking about the life of David. This morning we read about a moment of great pain and suffering for David, the death of his son Absalom.
Absalom had, as the Bible describes her, a “beautiful sister whose name was Tamar.” The oldest son of David was named Amnon- Amnon was Absalom’s half brother -- and he lusted after Tamar, and, after some plotting and conniving, raped her, and then sends her away. The story writer tells us this:
2 Samuel 13:21-22 ( NRSV ) 21When King David heard
of all these things, he became very angry, but he would not punish his son
Amnon, because he loved him, for he was his firstborn. 22 But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good
nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had raped his sister Tamar.
After two years of waiting, Absalom throws a party for his brothers, and he tells his servants:
2 Samuel 13:28-29 ( NRSV ) …..“Watch when Amnon’s
heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him.
Do not be afraid; have I not myself commanded you? Be courageous and
valiant.” 29 So the servants of Absalom did
to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons rose, and each
mounted his mule and fled.
After this, Absalom has to flee and hide from his father, and he remained away three years.
2 Samuel 13:38-39 ( NRSV ) 38Absalom, having fled
to Geshur, stayed there three years. 39
And the heart of the king went out, yearning for Absalom; for he was now
consoled over the death of Amnon.
So Absalom comes back to
2 Samuel 14:33 ( NRSV ) ……….So he came to the king
and prostrated himself with his face to the ground before the king; and the
king kissed Absalom.
After this meeting with his father,
Absalom plots to steal the hearts of the people of
At this point in the story, we again see how complex and interesting David is. When he hears that his son has proclaimed himself King, he says:
2 Samuel 15:14 ( NRSV ) 14Then David said to all
his officials who were with him at
And then we see this incredible
scene of David and his family and friends leaving
2 Samuel 15:30 ( NRSV ) 30But David went up the
ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered and
walking barefoot; and all the people who were with him covered their heads and
went up, weeping as they went.
As they are leaving the city, a man from the house of Saul, Shimei comes out cursing David and throwing stones at him. He says:
2 Samuel 16:7-8 ( NRSV ) 7Shimei shouted while he
cursed, “Out! Out! Murderer! Scoundrel!
8 The LORD has avenged on all of you the blood of the house of Saul, in
whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand
of your son Absalom. See, disaster has overtaken you; for you are a man of
blood.”
One of David’s men says, let me kill this dead dog, who is cursing the King, but David says this:
2 Samuel 16:11-12 ( NRSV )…., “My own son seeks my
life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Let him alone, and let him curse;
for the LORD has bidden him. 12 It may
be that the LORD will look on my distress, and the LORD will repay me with good
for this cursing of me today.”
So David has to flee into the country, meanwhile Absalom has to decide what to do about David, who he and his advisers all knew was a great warrior with faithful men. Summing up the story, Absalom leads his men into battle with David’s and his men are soundly defeated, and Absalom is killed by Joab, as we just read. When the King hears that his son is dead, we read that famous passage:
2 Samuel 18:33 ( NRSV ) 33The king was deeply
moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he
said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of
you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
When this story is read carefully we see such a complex and human person --- a person just like us. Because of his great sin, David had a hard time disciplining his own sons. How could he discipline Amnon for rape when he had committed adultery and murder himself? He loved his son, but did not know what to do when his son sinned greatly. He also loved his son Absalom, but because of what he did, he again did not really know how to deal with him. In David we see the normal human confusion of a father who loves his children but does not know how to discipline them or relate to them.
When David has to flee the rebellion of his son, we see a complex blend of hardened political and military wisdom mixed with brokenness and humility. He flees the city so that he can fight Absalom on his own terms, in the country. He leaves spies in the city so that he can know what is going on. But he is also broken and humbled by his son’s rebellion. And then when he wins, but his son is killed, he is overwhelmed by the loss of his son.
As we have seen over the last few
weeks, David is a very complex and real person. The first time someone reads
this story they usually are perplexed at how this King could be the standard by
which all the rest of the King’s of
1 Kings 15:3 ( NRSV ) 3He committed all the sins
that his father did before him; his heart was not true to the LORD his God,
like the heart of his father David… David did what was right in the sight of
the Lord, and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the
days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
The key to understanding David is this matter of the heart. With all of his flaws, which are many, at his core he was a lover of God. As I read the teachings of Jesus, this matter of the heart was central to his teaching. Over and over again, as Jesus confronted the good, religious people of his day, he concentrated on what was in their hearts.
Matthew 23:27 ( NRSV ) 27“Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside
look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all
kinds of filth. 28So you also on the
outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and
lawlessness.
Jesus teaches that prostitutes and
tax collectors will enter the
But as David’s life teaches us, true faith is much more messy than this. It is messy because we human beings are infected with this thing we call sin, and it never leaves us until the day we die.
A living, real, vital faith is not about perfection, or having all the right answers. It is a matter of where our hearts are set. I like to think of the heart like a compass. We are on a journey heading north, and the compass is set to go that way. Along the way we might take some side roads heading in different directions, but when all is said and done, we are heading north. This is what real faith is. Our hearts are set on loving and serving and pleasing God. This is our north. This does not mean we are always going to be able to please God. In the day to day struggles of life, our flesh and our selfish desires often win out.
David for me stands as a symbol. As we struggle along in this life striving to be followers of Jesus, David is like a huge monument set up by God to give us both guidance and hope. Hope, that even great sinners can be loved by God. Hope that even great sinners like us can be used by God. And guidance by seeing in David that the spiritual life is an issue of the heart, and not simply of good works. In David we learn that faith is a relationship and not what we commonly think religion is. If true religion was based on good works and not sinning, than David would be a sign of failure and what true faith was not. But in David’s life we learn that humility and brokenness and repentance and failure are normal aspects of the spiritual life.
And so in closing this series, I pray that God would give all of us the heart of King David. I hope that this little series on David has helped you understand faith in richer and deeper way. The Christian life is truly a wonderful journey, and I pray that not one of us will miss out on all that God has for us, both in this life, and in the life to come AMEN!