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Unity - At What Cost? 02/27/2011Get
ready for a very long narrative... If it's not offensive to you, you
may choose to play the Soprano's soundtrack in the background. This is
the overall narrative of 2 Samuel - the entire book. There are large
narratives left out of this telling only because we have already covered
them previously.
2 Samuel 2:12-17 12
Abner and the servants of Saul’s son went out to Gibeon. 13 Joab and
the servants of David, met them at the pool. One group sat on one side
of the pool, while the other sat on the other side of the pool. 14
Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men come forward and have a contest
before us." Joab said, "Let them come forward." 15 So they came forward
and were counted as they passed by, twelve for Saul’s son, and twelve
for David. 16 Each grasped his opponent by the head, and thrust his
sword in his opponent's side; so they fell down together... 17 The
battle was very fierce that day; and Abner and the men of Israel were
beaten by the servants of David.
2 Samuel 3:6 6 While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul.
2 Samuel 3:12-13 12
Abner sent messengers saying, "Make your covenant with me, and I will
give you my support to bring all Israel over to you." 13 David said,
"Good…
2 Samuel 3:20-27 20 When Abner
came… David made a feast for Abner and his men. 21 Abner said to David,
"Let me go and rally all Israel to my lord the king, in order that they
may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your
heart desires." So David dismissed Abner, and he went away in peace.
22 Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab 23 When Joab heard,
"Abner son of Ner came to the king, and he has dismissed him, and he
has gone away in peace." 24 Then Joab went to the king and said, "What
have you done? Abner came to you; why did you dismiss him, so that he
got away? 25 You know that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you, and to
learn your comings and goings and to learn all that you are doing." 26
Joab sent messengers after Abner… Joab took him aside in the gateway to
speak with him privately, and there he stabbed him in the stomach.
2 Samuel 3:31-32 31
Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear
your clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner…” The king
lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people
wept.
2 Samuel 3:35-37 35 Then all the
people came to persuade David to eat something while it was still day;
but David swore, saying, "So may God do to me, and more, if I taste
bread or anything else before the sun goes down!" 36 All the people
took notice of it, and it pleased them; just as everything the king did
pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood
that day that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner.
Chapter 4 – dealt with the potential heirs to the throne from Saul’s house
Chapter 5 – anointed king
Chapter 6 – brings ark back, uniting the kingdom
Chapter 7 – more on establishing a kingdom
Chapter 8 – even more on it – and a list of his cabinet
Chapter 9 – he’s kind to Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son
2 Samuel 10:6-14 6
When the Ammonites saw that they had become repellant to David, the
Ammonites sent and hired an army of Arameans… 7 When David heard of it,
he sent Joab and all the army with the warriors. 8 The war began… 13 So
Joab and the people who were with him moved forward into battle… (they
win.)
Chapter 11-12 – Bathsheba and Nathan
Chapter 13 – Enter Absalom
Let me tell you about David’s son Absalom. His older half brother
Amnon had a crush on his half sister named Tamar. He came onto her and
she said she too had feelings for him – or what she said actually was
that if he would ask their father, she was certain he would give his
blessing. Instead of asking their father for his blessing, he
overpowered her, raped her. Her brother was Absalom. He set out to
avenge the wrong done to his sister. Absalom killed the king’s sons,
including Amnon and then fled. And there we have a window into David’s
family life. We never hear more of Tamar, or her ordeal.
2 Samuel 14:1-33
Now Joab son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's mind was on Absalom.
2 Joab asked a wise woman to "Pretend to be a mourner; … 3 Go to the
king and say… "Help, O king!... I am a widow… 6 I had two sons, and they
fought with one another in the field; there was no one to part them,
and one struck the other and killed him. 7 Now the whole family has
risen against your me. They say, 'Give up the man who struck his
brother… The king said, "As the LORD lives, not one hair of your son
shall fall to the ground…” 13 The woman said… in giving this decision
the king convicts himself, because you have not brought your banished
one home again. 14 We must all die; we are like water spilled on the
ground, which cannot be gathered up. But God will not take away a life;
he will devise plans so as not to keep an outcast banished forever from
his presence… 18 Then the king asked, "Is the hand of Joab with you in
all this?" The woman answered and said… 20 In order to change the
course of affairs your servant Joab did this… 21 Then the king said to
Joab, "Very well, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom."
... "Let him go to his own house; he is not to come into my presence."
So Absalom went to his own house, and did not come into the king's
presence… 28 So Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without
coming into the king's presence. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab to send
him to the king; but Joab would not come to him. He sent a second time,
but Joab would not come. 30 Then he said to his servants, "Look, Joab's
field is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire."
So Absalom's servants set the field on fire.31 Then Joab went to
Absalom’s house and said to him, "Why did you set my field on fire? 32
Absalom said, "Look, I sent word to you: Come here… let me go into the
king's presence; if there is guilt in me, let him kill me!" 33 Then
Joab went to the king and the king summoned Absalom. So he came to the
king, prostrated himself with his face to the ground before the king;
and the king kissed Absalom.
2 Samuel 15:1-6 After
this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run
ahead of him. 2 Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the road
into the gate; and when anyone brought a suit before the king for
judgment, Absalom would call out and judge the people… 5 Whenever people
came near to do obeisance to him, he would put out his hand and take
hold of them, and kiss them. 6 Thus Absalom did to every Israelite who
came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole the hearts of the people
of Israel.
2 Samuel 15:13-14 13 A
messenger came to David, saying, "The hearts of the Israelites have gone
after Absalom." Then David said to his officials "Get up! Let us flee,”
Chapter 16 – Absalom moves into his father’s concubines
Chapter 17 – Absalom’s army goes out in search of David
2 Samuel 18:5-12
5 Thenthe king ordered Joab, saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the
young man Absalom." And all the people heard when the king gave orders
to all the commanders concerning Absalom. 7 The men of Israel (under
the direction of Absalom) were defeated there by the servants of David… 9
Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on
his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His
head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and
earth, while the mule that was under him went on. 10 A man saw it, and
told Joab, "I saw Absalom hanging in an oak." 11 Joab said to the man
who told him, "What, you saw him!Why then did you not strike him there
to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver
and a belt." 12 But the man said to Joab, "Even if I felt in my hand
the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not raise my hand
against the king's son…
2 Samuel 18:14 14
Joab said, "I will not waste time like this with you." He took three
spears in his hand, and thrust them into the heart of Absalom, while he
was still alive in the oak.
2 Samuel 18:31-33 -19:2 …33
The 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!" It
was told Joab, "The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom." 2 So
the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the troops; for
the troops heard that day, "The king is grieving for his son."
2 Samuel 19:5-8
5 Then Joab came into the king, and said, "Today you have covered with
shame the faces of all your officers who have saved your life today… You
have made it clear today that commanders and officers are nothing to
you; for I perceive that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead
today, then you would be pleased. 7 So go out at once and speak kindly
to your servants; for I swear by the LORD, if you do not go, not a man
will stay with you this night; and this will be worse for you than any
disaster that has come upon you from your youth until now." 8 Then the
king got up…
Take a moment and consider this song: The Beast in Me
David’s calling was to unify the kingdom. He wasn’t even to manage it
or rule it. He had to take 12 related but disjointed clans and make
them into one kingdom. He was an empire builder. What do we make of
David? What do we make of the people that surrounded him? What do we
make of the way that the kingdom of Israel was pieced together? What
can we take away from this historical look at the sacred? What does it
tell us about this ancestral look at God, or nations, or kingdoms, or
kindred, or family?
- David is an odd choice for King.
- David is a faithful servant and a covenanted friend.
- He was human and broken.
- He was generous and hospitable.
- He let his greed get the best of him but he owned up to his shadows.
And
now… what do we learn from today? Is it – don’t more than one woman?
Don’t have so many kids? It’s good to have someone who has your back.
What is there to learn?
Might I draw our attention to this verse: God will devise plans so as not to keep an outcast banished forever.
God help the beast in David. David had banished his son but then
clearly misses him. But he’d have to swallow his pride and adjust his
attitude. Unifying a kingdom seemed to require killing all the bad… and
if you can’t kill it, banish it forever. But God will not keep an
outcast banished forever… and David did not either. Of course Joab
ended up killing Absalom and David ended up having to ignore his grief
in order to keep the people feeling safe. But for a moment, for a
moment, we see David praying, "O God, help the beast in me.” And the
beast took a break, set aside his pride and listened to his inner voice
of love for the sake of unity.
What did unity cost the
kingdom of God? Lots of blood and suffering, pain and brokenness. But
the greatest cost sometimes is to our ego – to put down our pride,
adjust our attitude and let love in.
May I be honest? That
lesson seemed to me as though I was focusing on a small, almost easily
overlooked section of a long narrative filled with destruction. It
seemed like I was forcing myself to see something a lesson amidst "what
not to do” or "what I wish wasn’t true of David’s reign.”
When we look at the overall narrative of David’s world, we see war, the
misuse of power, and brokenness, with moments of faithfulness,
friendship and forgiveness.
But then again, when we look at
the overall narrative of our world, we see war, the misuse of power,
and brokenness, with moments of faithfulness, friendship and
forgiveness.
There will be kings after David (and next week
we’ll see him pass on the kingdom to his son Solomon). But none of
those kings will ever live up to David. David will become the "good ol’
days.” The days when the kingdom was united – at great cost to their
greatest leader. It cost lots of blood and suffering, pain and
brokenness. But the greatest cost sometimes is to our ego – to put down
our pride, adjust our attitude and let love in.
Last Updated - Saturday, March 05, 2011 - 13:35 - cpcadmin
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