2 Samuel 14:1-24 - The Banished Restored, not Expelled

2 Samuel 14:1-24

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

1 So Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was concerned about Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman, and said to her, “Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel; do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning a long time for the dead. 3 Go to the king and speak to him in this manner.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.

4 And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, “Help, O king!”

5 Then the king said to her, “What troubles you?”

And she answered, “Indeed I am a widow, my husband is dead. 6 Now your maidservant had two sons; and the two fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him. 7 And now the whole family has risen up against your maidservant, and they said, ‘Deliver him who struck his brother, that we may execute him for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also.’ So they would extinguish my ember that is left, and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the earth.”

8 Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.”

9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord, O king, let the iniquity be on me and on my father’s house, and the king and his throne be guiltless.”

10 So the king said, “Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall not touch you anymore.”

11 Then she said, “Please let the king remember the LORD your God, and do not permit the avenger of blood to destroy anymore, lest they destroy my son.”

And he said, ”As the LORD lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”

12 Therefore the woman said, “Please, let your maidservant speak another word to my lord the king.”

And he said, “Say on.”

13 So the woman said: “Why then have you schemed such a thing against the people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring his banished one home again. 14 For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him. 15 Now therefore, I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. And your maidservant said, ‘I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his maidservant. 16 For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of God.’ 17 Your maidservant said, ‘The word of my lord the king will now be comforting; for as the angel of God, so is my lord the king in discerning good and evil. And may the LORD your God be with you.’”

18 Then the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide from me anything that I ask you.”

And the woman said, “Please, let my lord the king speak.”

19 So the king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman answered and said, “As you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. For your servant Joab commanded me, and he put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant. 20 To bring about this change of affairs your servant Joab has done this thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that is in the earth.”

21 And the king said to Joab, “All right, I have granted this thing. Go therefore, bring back the young man Absalom.”

22 Then Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself, and thanked the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant.” 23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 And the king said, “Let him return to his own house, but do not let him see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, but did not see the king’s face.

The key here is the phrase, “He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.”  This is the account of Absalom’s return after three years away from his father king David.  It is a reminder of the Lord’s grace to bring back wayward sinners who are banished from fellowship with Him and others for their serious sins such as the vengeance here that led to having a brother murdered for incestuous rape of a sister.  Surely there is accountability to the law of the land and more importantly to God in all sins, but there is also the hope of restoration through repentance to many whose hearts truly turn from sin to Him as they did before in their salvation.  Here there was an intercessor, Joab, who wisely saw the king’s concern for his missing son but was unwilling to take steps to restore him.  Joab therefore concocted a plot to use a living parable of a wronged woman whose story paralleled the rift between David and Absalom, similar to the type Nathan the prophet used to expose the king’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:1, 4, 7) earlier.  This woman told a tale of a man who had two sons who fought and one was killed, leaving the family wanting to put the surviving brother to death and cutting off the heir so there would be “neither name nor remnant on the earth” for her family.  The king was indignant and told her to bring the boy to him for protection and the heard the story was about him and his son Absalom who killed his brother Amnon and had been banished as if to suffer a similar fate as in the story.  This moved David to do what he offered to the brother in the fictitious tale, bringing Absalom home to not cut his line off for the crime he committed in his plotted anger.  The king then saw Joab’s hand in crafting this rescue and agreed to this wise move, but still held back from the point of offering forgiveness as he kept his son from seeing him personally and kept Absalom in his own home instead.  This demonstrated the means God used to not expel the banished one completely from His presence in the kingdom, yet held accountable at a distance awaiting true signs of a changed repentant heart in the one restored.  Likewise, in church discipline we are to seek restoration (Leviticus 19:17-18, Matthew 18:15, Romans 12:19, James 5:19-20) while not ignoring accountability as we look for a truly repentant heart seen in a changed heart and life.  Remember, the Lord makes the way for sinners to not be expelled, but restored to fellowship through sincere repentance (1 John 1:9) and His forgiveness when banished from fellowship for their sins; only an unrepentant heart is to be kept in this banishment, yet still loved (2 Thessalonians 3:15) as a brother in Christ. 

2 Samuel 13:23-39 - Strike Amnon!

2 Samuel 13:23-39

Absalom Murders Amnon

23 And it came to pass, after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim; so Absalom invited all the king’s sons. 24 Then Absalom came to the king and said, “Kindly note, your servant has sheepshearers; please, let the king and his servants go with your servant.”

25 But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go now, lest we be a burden to you.” Then he urged him, but he would not go; and he blessed him.

26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.”

And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” 27 But Absalom urged him; so he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.

28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, “Watch now, 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 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 arose, and each one got on his mule and fled.

30 And it came to pass, while they were on the way, that news came to David, saying, “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them is left!” 31 So the king arose and tore his garments and lay on the ground, and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn. 32 Then Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, answered and said, “Let not my lord suppose they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons, for only Amnon is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. 33 Now therefore, let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king’s sons are dead. For only Amnon is dead.”

Absalom Flees to Geshur

34 Then Absalom fled. And the young man who was keeping watch lifted his eyes and looked, and there, many people were coming from the road on the hillside behind him. 35 And Jonadab said to the king, “Look, the king’s sons are coming; as your servant said, so it is.” 36 So it was, as soon as he had finished speaking, that the king’s sons indeed came, and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also the king and all his servants wept very bitterly.

37 But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. 38 So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years. 39 And King David longed to go to Absalom. For he had been comforted concerning Amnon, because he was dead.

Strike Amnon!  Absalom, David’s son, finally found the moment to take revenge on his half-brother Amnon after two years for incestuously raping his sister Tamar.  Under the pretense of taking his brother with the group of sheepshearers, he persuaded king David to allow Amnon to come with him and all the king’s sons.  When Amnon was drunk, Absalom ordered his servants to murder him and all the king’s sons got on their mules and scurried away to,avoid being implicated in their brother’s death.  The news that reached David was that all were killed until Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, told him it was only Amnon who was killed in retribution by Absalom for the rape of Tamar his sister as he had determined to do from that event two years ago.  This was the same Jonadab who talked Amnon into following his heart and violating his sister according to his fleshly desires in opposition to God’s prohibition to such abominable actions according to the Law.  This man of evil subterfuge dared to plead for the life of the one who killed the man he had set up to commit the act for which he was murdered!  Absalom of course took off running on his own mule supposedly to  avoid the consequences of his unrighteous act of taking justice into his own hands.  Meanwhile, the rest of David’s sons came back with tears in their eyes for the loss of their brother as the king and his servants joined in their bitter sorrow.  Absalom hid with king of Geshur’s son for three years while David had healed from the loss and yearned to go to him.  This is why we are not to take justice into our own hands and become judge, jury, and executioner of those who wrong those we love.  Vengeance is the Lord’s (Leviticus 19:18, Psalm 98:9, Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:30) and He alone is the judge of all in this life or the next.  When our anger cries out, “Strike Amnon!” as it did with Absalom, we are to hand the offender over to the Judge of all, and to the rulers He put over us (Romans 13:1-2, 3-4) to hold them accountable.  Our anger does not work the righteousness (Matthew 5:21, James 1:19-20) of God, especially since it is our unbiblical attempt to take over the judgments of God for ourselves as if we know better than Him and have the right to violate His word in response to another’s unrighteousness. 

2 Samuel 13:1-22 - The Corrupting Curse of Consequences

2 Samuel 13:1-22

Amnon and Tamar

1 After this Absalom the son of David had a lovely sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. 2 Amnon was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was a virgin. And it was improper for Amnon to do anything to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Now Jonadab was a very crafty man. 4 And he said to him, “Why are you, the king’s son, becoming thinner day after day? Will you not tell me?”

Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

5 So Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’” 6 Then Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let Tamar my sister come and make a couple of cakes for me in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”

7 And David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Now go to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was lying down. Then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. 9 And she took the pan and placed them out before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, “Have everyone go out from me.” And they all went out from him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to Amnon her brother in the bedroom. 11 Now when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.”

12 But she answered him, “No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing! 13 And I, where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you.” 14 However, he would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her.

15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Arise, be gone!”

16 So she said to him, “No, indeed! This evil of sending me away is worse than the other that you did to me.”

But he would not listen to her. 17 Then he called his servant who attended him, and said, “Here! Put this woman out, away from me, and bolt the door behind her.” 18 Now she had on a robe of many colors, for the king’s virgin daughters wore such apparel. And his servant put her out and bolted the door behind her.

19 Then Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly. 20 And Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this thing to heart.” So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.

21 But when King David heard of all these things, he was very angry. 22 And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad. For Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.

Such incest was unheard of yet happened to David’s children as part of the curse of consequences brought on them by their father’s adultery and murder as pronounced through the prophet Nathan by the LORD.  His son Absalom had a sister Tamar who was desired by another son, Amnon.  These three siblings were the focus of this account.  In 2 Samuel 12:11 we recall the consequences cast on the children of David and their children as well, just as the sins of us all were accounted to the ultimate Seed of David who was sinless yet took the punishment for,our sins on Himself to deliver us from the curse (Galatians 3:13) of sin.  Here the lust of Amnon for his own half sister (2 Samuel 3:2-3) overwhelmed him because it was unchecked by God’s word (Leviticus 18:9, 20:17) prohibiting this deviant behavior.  Then Jonadab, the nephew of David, who was a crafty and skillfully unwise fellow, helped devise a plan for Amnon to entrap and rape his sister.  He pretended to be sick and have her bring him food in bed, alone, and then took her.  She resisted by exclaiming, “no such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!”  Her shame would be overwhelming and she pleaded for him to even ask the king to give her to him almost lawfully, yet he forced himself on her and then despised her afterwards with more hate than the earlier desire for her.  He threw her out of his bedroom and bolted the door behind her to cover his obscene behavior.  She lamented the rape by tearing her clothes and putting ashes on her head as a sign of despair and grief over what happened to her.  Absalom her other brother knew what happened when he found her in distress and began planning revenge for his lewd half-brother.  Even David found out what had happened as Absalom hid his anger and hate for Amnon for forcing his sister in bed for the passing pleasures of sin at her expense and was biding his time for the right moment to avenge her while keeping his feelings and plans inside away from everyone, including his brother, sister, and father.  What should have happened was for David to enact the law to hold his son accountable and provide justice for his daughter, but his own shame likely kept him from acting and would bring further damage to his family.  Sin must be held to account, especially in church discipline for repentance and restoration, but also must be dealt with in the law of the land and not covered up for appearances.  The curse of consequences will follow even more if repentance and justice are ignored. 

2 Samuel 12:26-31 - Reconciling Grace to Fight the Good Fight

2 Samuel 12:26-31

Rabbah Is Captured (1 Chronicles 20:1–3)

26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city’s water supply. 28 Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called after my name.” 

29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. 30 Then he took their king’s crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on David’s head. Also he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance. 

31 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

King David was still staying at home (1 Chronicles 20:1) in Jerusalem when kings go out to battle while Joab did his fighting and gaining victory over their enemies.  Joab took the royal city Rabbah in Ammon to the point of final victory and called David to come and finish the fight and take the credit as king to name the city after him.  Joab was a loyal warrior even after having to play a part in the murder of Uriah for the king to take that man’s wife.  David came with a small force to finish off Rabbah and he took the king’s crown for himself and brought the abundant spoils back home.  As for the people of that city, he enslaved them as workers to serve Israel as he did with all the captives of every Ammonite city.  He then returned to Jerusalem with the booty taken from the royal city which Joab had made possible to overcome.  It may seem curious that he did not kill them all until we remember that the Ammonites were descended from Lot (Genesis 19:38, Deuteronomy 2:19) and were family (though tribal as inbred through Lot’s daughter), not of the ungodly nations Israel was to annihilate when possessing the promised land.  This conquest shows David struggling to personally lead the army of the LORD into battle after the incident with Uriah and Bathsheba, yet also demonstrates the grace in the LORD honoring the repentant heart of David’s desire to yet serve as the anointed to bring the Seed of the Messiah to us through his lineage.  The consequences remained in the conflicts of his family but we find hope in the election and of the calling of God (Romans 8:28, 2 Peter 1:10, Ephesians 1:4, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14-15) for ourselves in his example of hope in reconciliation (Romans 5:10, 2 Corinthians 5:18, Colossians 1:20) to us all in the Seed who is the Anointed Christ Jesus.  We have the reconciling grace of Jesus Christ to fight the good fight (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) against the enemy (Luke 10:19, 20) until the Lord returns to establish His eternal kingdom to come as we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer. 

2 Samuel 12:1-25 - Consequences of Sin and Restoration of Grace

2 Samuel 12:1-25

Nathan’s Parable and David’s Confession

1 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’”

13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”

And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” 15 Then Nathan departed to his house.

The Death of David’s Son

And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!”

19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?”

And they said, “He is dead.”

20 So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”

22 And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”

Solomon Is Born

24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the LORD loved him, 25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

We see the serious and painful consequences of David’s sin with Bathsheba and the restoration of God’s good and loving grace afterwards.  When David covered his sins of adultery and murder, the LORD sent Nathan the prophet to confront David with a parable to open the king’s eyes to the seriousness of his sinful actions.  He told the story of a rich and powerful man who took the beloved lamb of a poor man from him and his children whose pet that lamb was and killed it to serve as a meal for a passing stranger.  This rich man refused to offer his own lamb but took the only beloved one from the poor who could not stop him.  David heard this tale and cried out for accountability for the rich oppressive man who,had no pity for the one with so little, all he had.  Nathan then hit him with the truth of the parable saying, “you are that man!”  God had given David so much in power and wives and children , yet he had taken the only wife as a lamb from Uriah his obedient soldier and had him murder to seal the deal to take the man’s wife for himself as a passing stranger to consume her.  The consequences included ongoing adversity with conflict in David’s children and his wives would publicly be taken in the full light of day by other men to his shame as he had taken Bathsheba from Uriah in secret to dishonor God.  David admitted his sin as we read also in Psalm 51:1-2, 3-4, 9-10 in his song of abject godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9-10) to sincere repentance.  God forgave David and put away his sin (Psalm 103:12) but the consequences remained to lose his child of sin whose existence brought blasphemy on God’s name because he was the anointed king and servant who represented the LORD.  His punishment and forgiveness were given for Israel’s and our example (1 Corinthians 10:11-12, 13) to consider the consequences of our sin and flee from even considering it.  When the child finally died, David stopped mourning as all hope had gone for the baby and he worshipped the LORD for His mercy and grace that onlookers could not fathom.  We also see the hope of the resurrection here as David explained the loss he could not bring back, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”  God then showed restorative grace in giving him and Bathsheba another son afterwards who would be loved by God, Solomon.  We learn that no sin is unforgivable, and yet consequences of our sin do not just go away.  We are accountable (1 Corinthians 3:14-15, 16-17) for what we do, yet we are safe and secure in eternal life in the righteousness of Christ who seals us (Ephesians 1:13, 14) as His forever (John 10:28, 29, Romans 5:20, 21, 6:23, Hebrews 7:25) in forgiveness of grace and the presence of His Spirit in us.  This then is a parable for us of God’s restoration of grace in spite of the consequences of sin we bring on ourselves. 

Samuel 11:1-27 - When Kings Go Out to Battle

2 Samuel 11:1-27

David, Bathsheba, and Uriah

1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”

6 Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war prospered. 8 And David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah departed from the king’s house, and a gift of food from the king followed him. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 So when they told David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”

11 And Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”

12 Then David said to Uriah, “Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

14 In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.” 16 So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war, 19 and charged the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king, 20 if it happens that the king’s wrath rises, and he says to you: ‘Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

22 So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent by him. 23 And the messenger said to David, “Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate. 24 The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.”

25 Then David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.’ So encourage him.”

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

It was spring and the time for kings to go out to battle after the cold winter had passed and wars had to be won for their honor kingdom.  King David did something foolish, however, in that he stayed home in Jerusalem with too much time on his hands as he wandered about the king’s house while sending others out to fight for him.  He ambled to the roof where he looked down and observed a very beautiful woman bathing, and then went too far.  Instead of turning away, he fixated on her beauty and then began to desire her for himself to have a conquest of his own as general Joab and the army were making conquests over the Ammonites.  He misused his royal authority to find out who she was and the had the woman brought to his place to sleep with her, all the while knowing she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and not his to do this with.  She got pregnant and told David this.  Instead of confessing his sin (he was surely safe from retaliation because he was the king), David had Uriah sent to the front lines to die since he could not cover up the deed with the good soldier refusing to sleep with his wife when he felt obligated to be fighting in the battle with his fellow soldiers and not enjoying eating and drinking and lying with his wife as they were unable to do.  To add to the injustice of insult to injury, David wrote a letter to his general Joab and sent it by the very hand of Uriah whom he planned to be sent to the front and left to die unprotected.  When the man was killed by archers, David whitewashed the affair to Joab by telling him these things happen as “the sword devours one as well as another,” and told him to just take the city in battle as if this event was nothing to rattle his conscience for his part.  When Bathsheba finished mourning her husband, David sent for her and made her his wife and had a son by her.  Of course, this whole affair greatly displeased the LORD and consequences would follow.  We learn from this not to break up the marriage of another for your own desires, especially as a Christian who should be engaged in the good fight (2 Timothy 2:2, 3-4) instead of idly wandering into fleshly desires (1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Peter 2:11, 2 Timothy 2:21-22) that entice us and lead into (James 1:14-15) sin.  This temptation faces us all and we are to keep God’s word foremost in mind and continually be about our Father’s business to avoid the flesh and its consequences as we put others before our own desires and love the Lord with all we have instead of following the path that king David took.  Even so, there is forgiveness and reconciliation to be men and women after God’s own heart as he was called even after this epic failure.  There is hope in repentance and restoration, but there are also severe consequences for such actions.  May we remember that when kings go out to battle we should also be engaged and not allow idle hands lead us astray like the good king.

2 Samuel 10:1-19 - Meet Dishonor with Honor

2 Samuel 10:1-19

The Ammonites and Syrians Defeated (1 Chronicles 19:1–19)

1 It happened after this that the king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. 2 Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.”

So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the people of Ammon. 3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?”

4 Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”

6 When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, the people of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand foot soldiers; and from the king of Maacah one thousand men, and from Ish-Tob twelve thousand men. 7 Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men. 8 Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And the Syrians of Zoba, Beth Rehob, Ish-Tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

9 When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. 10 And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon. 11 Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 12 Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.”

13 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. 14 When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai, and entered the city. So Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went to Jerusalem.

15 When the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered together. 16 Then Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the River, and they came to Helam. And Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army went before them. 17 When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in battle array against David and fought with him. 18 Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand horsemen of the Syrians, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, who died there. 19 And when all the kings who were servants to Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore.

King David sought an honorable peace with Ammon because he knew Nahash the father of Hanun and wanted to repay the father’s kindness shown to him in the past.  Unfortunately. The honor David extended was met with cynical rejection as if the king of Israel was spying on them to get some kind of advantage for attack.  This paranoid reaction led to dishonoring the servants David sent back in humility, dishonor and shame returned for sincere honor.  This dishonorable people of Ammon realized they had awakened vengeance on themselves by this dishonorable conduct and quickly hired over thirty thousand soldiers from Syria to supposedly gain the advantage for battle.  Joab led the army of David and soundly trounced the invading forces of Ammon with their Syrian mercenaries.  The Syrians saw their defeat and ran away and the Ammonite forces followed like cowards on their heels.  The Syrians then regathered to attack because they had been dishonored in running from battle but were soundly defeated by Israel once more and ended up becoming servants of God’s people after losing many in battle.  They did not help Ammon anymore after that, no matter the price offered, for their honor was compromised and Israel was shown to be honorable and therefore victorious over those who wronged them as Ammon did.  The lesson here is to submit in honor to one another (Psalm 34:14, Matthew 5:9, Romans 12:14, 18-19, 2 Corinthians 13:7, 1 Peter 3:11) and not be cynical or reject honorable offers of peace from others, whether at a national or personal level, and not act dishonorably.  We are to meet dishonor with godly honor to reflect the love, mercy, and grace of God shown us in Christ. 

Samuel 9:1-13 - Honoring Covenant Faithfulness

2 Samuel 9:1-13

David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

1 Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

2 And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

He said, “At your service!”

3 Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?”

And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.”

4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?”

And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”

5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.

6 Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?”

And he answered, “Here is your servant!”

7 So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”

8 Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”

9 And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. 10 You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.”

“As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.” 12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.

David acknowledged that Saul was once the anointed of God put on the throne by Him and who only lost that position due to disobedience and dishonoring to Him.  Because of his oath to the king’s son Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:42), he sought to find a survivor of the lineage of Saul to show God’s kindness towards.  This word kindness means “covenant faithfulness” as well, demonstrating David was keeping his covenant promise to Jonathan to provide for his descendants always after his death.  A servant of Saul named Ziba told david there was a lame  son of Jonathan called Mephibosheth still alive, and the king sent for him to live with him and be taken care of, even eating at the king’s table, a high honor indeed because it made him equal to one of the king’s own sons.  This son of his best friend may have been unable to walk on his own with two lame feet, but he walked tall in the presence of the king in such undeserved grace.  We also are totally undeserving of God’s grace and honor, yet He has adopted us as His own sons and daughters to sit with Him and dine in His divine presence both now at every Lord’s Supper and at the end of time at the table of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Luke 12:35-36, 37, John 14:23, Revelation 3:20, 19:7-8, 9) of God, His own Son who calls us who cannot walk on our own, crippled by sin, to stand and walk with Him in the kingdom to come.  What a privilege we can never earn nor deserve!  Such goodness of His covenant faithfulness in Jesus Christ our Savior God!  May we be honored in our crippled spiritual state to sit with thinking of kings as honored and undeserving children to dine with Him as we remember these things when we partake of the bread and wine in this new covenant faithfulness in which we are honored to be accepted fully in His blood to one day join with Him at that table in heaven as we now live daily in anticipation (Luke 22:19-20, Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 1:7, 11:24-25, 26) of that Day.  Come quickly, Lord!