2 Samuel 16
A coup d’état. Imminent civil war. Confusion.
Bible Passage: 2 Samuel 16
Characters move in and out of the stage. Decisions have to be made.
Ziba, servant of Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan: He comes to help David with provisions from his master’s house but lies (II Samuel 19:24-30) that his master Mephibosheth has turned against David. David believes Ziba and decides to give him all that belongs to Mephibosheth.
Shimei, of the family of Saul: He curses David and throws stones at him, exulting in David’s misfortune and regards it as due punishment from God. David decides to spare him when he reflects on his own son Absalom’s greater treachery and his intention to pardon Absalom later (II Samuel 18:5).
Abishai, nephew of David: He asks for permission to kill Shimei for the crime of lese majesty. David decides to rebuke him in his belief that it was God who has asked Shimei to curse him and that the curse may be compensated with good from the LORD.
Hushai, David’s friend: He pretends to support Absalom and intends to give him poor advice to counter Ahithopel (II Samuel 15:32-37). Absalom decides to trust him and accepts him into his inner circle.
Ahithopel, with discernment and intelligence like “the oracle of God”: He advises Absalom to commit the horrible sin of incest with his father’s concubines, even publicly. This is so that those supporting him would be strengthened in the belief that there is now no way back for Absalom and he would thus not sabotage them if he is losing. Absalom decides to follow Ahithopel’s disgusting advice.
14 Now the king and all the people who were with him became weary; so they refreshed themselves there.
Sadly, this is the most comforting verse of this chapter to me. It seems that in the confusion, lies are told and decisions wrongly made. People become weary and need to be refreshed.
Absalom seals his position as one of the greatest villains of the Bible. Like Satan, he has everything going for him – good looks, physical prowess, a prince. But he wants the ultimate position and is willing to do everything for it.
David is confused and makes many wrong decisions because of his love for Absalom. He later says on hearing of Absalom’s death, “O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place!” (18:33)
But David does not yield the throne to Absalom even though he loves him. There is some clarity here at last – he realizes that he is the anointed one now. Before, Saul was the anointed one and David had to wait for God to place him on the throne. Now that God has made him king, the responsibility of the kingdom lies on him. He, David, has no right to give the kingdom to someone whom God rejects.
14 Now the king and all the people who were with him became weary; so they refreshed themselves there.
Let us seek clarity from God when life gets confusing. Let us be refreshed by His word and see what the situation really is and what we should do rightly.
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
2 Samuel 15
One Comment
Camelinaneedle
Many of us seek spiritual clarity, but sometimes, fail to obtain it entirely. Sometimes, it is because we haven’t been searching correctly, and sometimes, it is because we haven’t searched hard enough. Most times, it is because we have become so consumed by the things of the world, or so engrossed in it, that we tend to merge what we’ve constructed for our spiritual lives with what we’ve built in our lives on earth.
Do your best to always think of Jesus before you speak and act. If what you are about to do is not what Jesus would’ve done, don’t do it. If you don’t even know if what you are about to do is clearly right or wrong, don’t do it.
Unfortunately, the world and life are very complicated things. Many bold statements are definitely easier made than done.
You and I; we get so caught up in unfamiliar situations and blank out because we haven’t had that experience dealing with those issues, and possibly, end up making irreversible mistakes.
I can do what I can to type comments here or try to be of some kind of help for anyone really, but if these words and what I try cannot be put into action, and doesn’t inspire change, we can only really hope and pray that we will eventually be shown the way.