2 SAMUEL MOMENT – (08APR19) Dysfunction came to the house of
David as a result of his sin with Bathsheba. Amnon, David’s son, raped his
half-sister, Tamar, who was the full-blooded sister of Absalom. Absalom, angry
at what his brother did and possibly even angrier that his father failed to
take any action, took matters into his own hands. Absalom held a grudge towards
his brother for two years before finally devising a way to get revenge. Absalom
held a party that he really tried to get his father to come to, but David refused,
so Absalom asked for his brother to be allowed to come. When his brother came,
Absalom had his men to kill him, for they had already planned how this was
going to take place and it happened as planned. The question could be posed as
to if Absalom’s original target was David himself, both David and Amnon, or due
to David refusing the invitation, Absalom just settled on Amnon. Regardless of
what his intentions were, Absalom’s hatred festered into something that spun
totally out of control. David’s sin led to him having a generational curse. He
probably could have never imagined the trouble that would come to his home
because of his sin. Sin has dire consequences and even though we are forgiven
by God, we still suffer from its effects. David really lost two sons – one killed
by death and another’s lost of love and respect. David’s failure to act caused
a negative reaction. Yet, Absalom’s inability to forgive caused him to commit
premeditated murder against his own flesh and blood. All parties were guilty of
doing wrong in this story and all of it was caused by SIN. We must be careful
when we sin because what we do could affect more than just ourselves such as in
the case of adultery, which can hurt the entire family. We must also be mindful
to know hold bitterness and anger in our hearts because we grieve the Holy
Spirit away when we do not forgive those who have wronged us. Then there is the
issue of not addressing a wrong that was done. When we see that someone has been
wronged and it is in our means to correct it, we are obligated to do so, or at
least try. Sweeping things under the rug only allow for them to be exposed
later in a much worse condition. We have seen this take place in churches where
children were sexually abused, and it was covered up. Ultimately, vengeance is
the Lord’s, but He does allow for us to seek justice through our police,
courts, and sources of mediation, who are His agents of justice as well. Something
to ponder…
QUESTION OF THE DAY – (08APR19) David allowed Absalom to
return to Jerusalem due to Joab convincing him to do so. David made it clear
that Absalom was not to come before him, which held to be the case for two
years. The Bible says that Absalom was an attractive man with long hair that he
cut once a year. He was the father to three sons and a beautiful daughter named
Tamar. With all that Absalom had been blessed with, one would think that it
would have been enough for him, but it wasn’t – he wanted more. Are you content
with the things that God has blessed you to have? Do you feel that you have to
keep up with others and their new toys? Do you thank God for blessing you to
have a roof over your head so that you are not sleeping on a bench? Do you
thank God for giving you food to eat where you do not have to dig out of trash
cans? Do you thank God that you have access to clean water where you do not
have to drink and wash out of contaminated ponds? Do you thank God for allowing
you to have a bathroom for relief where you do not have to dig a hole in the ground?
Do you thank God that you have clothes to wear where you are adequately dressed
for all weather forecasts? Do you thank God for having access to transportation
rather it’s a vehicle, bike, bus, subway, or Uber? We have so much to be grateful
for, and even if you do not have everything you want, thank God that He has
blessed you to have exactly what you need. Something to ponder…
2 SAMUEL MOMENT – (08APR19) After David allowed for Absalom
to return to Jerusalem, Absalom repaid his father by trying to overthrow his
kingdom. Absalom faked it until he was strong enough to make it but getting a
chariot, having some men to walk in front of him as if he was important, and
then made rulings on cases outside of the city gate, so that he could win the
people’s hearts. His plan worked and David had to end up fleeing from his own
son. Jesus warned us of how it would be in the last days when He said that a
man’s enemies would be those of his own household (Matthew 10:36). We are
living in a time when family will no longer have loyalty to its members. The
division is becoming greater by the day inside and outside of the church, and
we saw much of this take place with the election of President Trump. People
hate one another just because of a political party. As time progress, the
divide will deepen because many will not stand with those who are standing for
Christ. They will succumb to the beast system (structure of sin) and go along
to get along with popular opinion. The Bible says that there are those that
although they know what is right, and that those who do wrong deserve
punishment, they will not only continue to sin, but approve of those who do it
as well (Romans 1:32). This is why there is a major attack on the traditional
family. The devil knows that if he can divide the family, he can divide a
nation as well as the church. He is being quite effective in implementing his
plan, BUT we who are in Christ can do a lot to place kinks in his progress.
Evangelism is a must in helping people to come to Christ and most importantly
PRAYER. The world is lost, but the family of God can be the LIGHT that the
world needs to see. Something to ponder…
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