Rev. Don Campbell

2 Samuel 16-18

THOUGHT FOR TODAY, May 17, 2019

“IN YOUR FACE, DAD”

Teens often rebellion against the will and wishes of parents, only to adopt later in life the very traits against which they rebelled. Absalom was no adolescent when he committed the ultimate in-your-face-Dad sin against his father.

David had fled Jerusalem and Absalom, his rebel son, entered somewhat as a hero in the eyes of the rift-raft. Ahithophel who had been a counselor to David, pretending to be a spokesman for the Lord, advised Absalom as to how he could seal the deal and spit upon his father at the same time: “Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, ‘What should I do next?’ Ahithophel told him, ‘Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.’ So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines” (2 Samuel 16:20-22).

The traitor was not through: “Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, ‘Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king, and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace.’ And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel” (2 Samuel 17:1-4).

However, God was also at work. Hushai the Archite convinced Absalom that Ahithophel’s advice was not good because David was an experienced fighter since the day he killed Goliath and he and is men would not be easily defeated. He counseled Absalom to gather the people to him from Dan to Beersheba and utterly destroy David’s band. David escaped and when Ahithophel saw that his counsel had not been followed, he hanged himself (2 Samuel 17:23).

As David’s army marched out to put down the rebellion, David gave orders that they should deal gently with Absalom (18:5). They disobeyed those orders and killed Absalom and threw his body into a great pit and piled stones over him. When word came to David of Absalom’s death, David lamented, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (18:33).

CONNECTIONS

1. We don’t have children with an expectation of burying them. Do you believe that David’s lament came solely from the heart of a loving father or that there was an admixture of guilt in that lament, as it was David’s own sin that started things in motion?

2. Have you ever been betrayed by a friend or family member? How did you—or how are you dealing with it?