Prayers for you all! 2nd Samuel chapter 18.
David and his followers have been fleeing for their lives. David mustered his men to get ready for battle. David was going to fight with them but the men insisted that he stay out of the battle. The Lord delivered Israel into the hands of King David. And Joab killed Absalom even though King David said not to.
King David's men said that they were willing to fight to the death for him. They were very faithful to their King. A seemingly impossible situation and God delivered Absalom and his men into King David's hands. Their faithfulness was astonishing. Two things from this chapter that stuck out to me:
- We must let God fight our battles. When we let God, by faith, fight our battles then we can overcome the seemingly impossible situations.
- I wish that people were as faithful to the church as the men were faithful to King David. Think of how churches would flourish. Think of the ministry opportunities. Sadly, people are not faithful to the churches today:
- Some attend only on special occasions.
- Some attend two or three times a month.
- Some attend most weeks but are not involved in any Ministry of the church.
- Very few attend regularly and very few are involved into Ministry. If we are not faithful to God and the church, then we are faithful to something else. What am I faithful to? What are you faithful to? How does God and ministry of the church fit into the picture of your life?
I would like to share Luke 15:21-24.
And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
This passage is from the parable of the prodigal son. I think that it’s probably what David yearned for so much as a father. David really wanted to have a restored relationship with Absalom. Sadly for David, things didn’t turn out that way for him. Absalom was killed along with twenty thousand men.
David had ordered his men to deal gently with Absalom, but Joab didn’t follow that instruction even when he was reminded by the man who saw Absalom stuck in the oak tree. Joab had been putting up with Absalom for a long time and he was probably sick of handling matters with him such as his burned field. Perhaps Joab thought that it would be best to end Absalom’s life while he had the perfect opportunity so that’s what he decided to do. David was told the news that Absalom was dead and he grieved for his son.
I was thinking about what David wrote in Psalm 3:3-4.
“But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and He answered me from His holy hill.”
Remember how David wept and prayed when his first son with Bathsheba fell sick. But when this same son died, David stopped weeping and said that his son wasn’t with him anymore. I believe David knew that since his son died before the age of accountability, he would see him again in eternity. When Absalom died, David’s mourning probably reflected the fact that he knew Absalom was lost for eternity and it broke his heart.
I know that feeling. It’s tough to lose a loved one here on earth. It’s even sadder when you are not sure you will ever see that person again in heaven. Don’t give up on the non-believers in your life …. Continue to pray that your loved ones will come to the saving grace of our Lord and Savior before it is too late. Walk in a way that reflects our Lord so that they might also see and want to come to know Him.