One Night of Sin, One Lifetime of Sorrow!
Meditation for the week of April 28, 2013
Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: "O my son Absalom–my son, my son Absalom–if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!" (2 Samuel 18:33)
David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), that is He loved the Lord and was always loyal to Him. He never once was tempted to turn aside to the worship of the heathen gods of the land of Canaan. But while He was not tempted to worship other god’s, he did yield to temptation. That one night of sin when he sent for Bathsheba and committed adultery with her led to a lifetime of sorrow.
In 2nd Samuel 11, David forgot that a leader serves his people. He doesn’t misuse or abuse them. David did what he could because he was king, but even so God held him accountable for his sin. A baby was conceived that night. To cover his sin, David had Uriah the Hittite, the husband of Bathsheba, killed in battle. David had now added murder to his adultery. As a result of this one night of passion, David’s newborn son died. His firstborn son Amnon seemed to learn from his father and raped his half sister Tamar. Tamar was the sister of Absalom. He held a grudge against Amnon and finally managed to kill him. Absalom also apparently held a grudge against his father for not dealing properly with Amnon, and tried to usurp the kingdom. Ultimately Absalom is killed. Ahithophel the grandfather of Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel 11:3, and 2 Samuel 23:34) also carried a grudge against David that ultimately cost him his own life. If David could have lived that night over, do you suppose he would have done things differently? Even though all sin can be forgiven by God and confession of sin on the part of a Christian does restore our fellowship to God and should restore fellowship one to another, there can be terrible consequences that result from sin. While we reap what we sow, thank God we don’t always reap ALL that we sow. Sometimes we have crop failures. God is gracious!
Why was David wailing after Absalom died? Could it be because David knew that he had set the events in motion that ended with Absalom’s death? Is that why he wished he could have died for Absalom? That may be the reason, but I think there may be another reason. David did not wail this way when the baby born to Bathsheba, the woman he defiled, died. However, he was responsible for that death as well. When that baby died he quit weeping and fasting and said, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me (2nd Samuel 12:23)." I think David knew that Bathseba’s child would be in paradise because that child never had the chance to reject the worship of Jehovah, but he also knew that Absalom would be banished from the presence of God forever when he died. He had died in rebellion against David and against God. Absalom was old enough to know better. Absalom was used to fulfill God’s promise to David that the sword would not depart from his house because he had murdered Uriah. But I believe Absalom was personally responsible for rebelling against God. He showed that rebellion by trying to take his father’s throne. That is exactly what Satan did in Isaiah 14:13-14.
Absalom then becomes a picture of Satan and he acts like Satan and does the work of Satan. His eternal destiny is that of Satan. No wonder David wailed when he died. If David had died for Absalom, he would have gone to paradise. Christ did die for us so we can be with Him in paradise when we die. But will our lives convince our neighbors and our children that we really believe this? Or will we some day be wailing with David, “If only I had died in your place!”
David had one night of pleasure and passion and he had a lifetime to regret what he had done. However, God did raise up Solomon to rule the nation when David was gone, and Solomon was Bathsheba’s son. I don’t understand the ways of God, but I do know that he shows His grace in spite of us, not because of us. The hymn writer has said, “Who is a pardoning God like thee, or who has grace so rich and free.”
Bruce Collins