10/16/2022, Remsen Bible Fellowship
Introduction:
Do you long for a just world? Justice is a word which gets a bad wrap, depending upon who is using it. If someone on the left cries out for social justice, half of our society assumes they mean Marxism. If someone cries out for criminal justice, the other half of the society assumes they mean a strategy to maintain structures of power and privilege. We are very suspicious of the word justice, and the people who use it.
Nevertheless, it remains a word with an enormous amount of purchase in our society. Despite our rampant skepticism and perhaps even cynicism regarding justice, we still want it. We want a world that is fair, where good is rewarded and wickedness punished. This desire is good, and it’s right. It’s a reflection of our being made in the image of a just God. If you remember back to our sermon about a month ago, we asked the question, “how can God forgive?” Given God’s justice, for him to forgive our sins required there to be a mechanism by which sin was atoned for in order for we sinners to live in God’s presence. God’s justice will not be mocked or compromised.
So when we come to a text like 2 Samuel 13, we are right to cry out with the Psalmist, “how long oh Lord?” How long will God allow sin to run rampant, how long will God permit terrible abuse like Amnon’s rape of Tamar? And how long will he allow indolent kings like David to sit on the throne?
All of this longing for justice makes someone like Absalom a sympathetic character in our eyes. He, too, saw the injustice. He saw the evil committed against his sister, and the king’s refusal to act. But Absalom was a man with a plan. He seethed in bitterness, and he schemed. 13:22 reads, “22 But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had violated his sister Tamar.”
Trusting Himself for Justice
Absalom trusted himself. He trusted his own wisdom, his own cunning, his own charm and good looks. And when you have a great deal of cunning, wisdom, charn and good looks, that may well seem like a reasonable plan of action. But as we read this text, the perspective the author wants us to have is that of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:35, where we hear these words from the Lord, “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.” The Lord is the one who brings justice, and he is not slow as some count slowness. But he’s too slow for Absalom.
Which says something, because Absalom is a patient man. He refuses to speak to Amnon, but we read that two years later, as those who work for him shearing sheep are hard at labor, he invites David and all the brothers up to a party. If you remember the story of David and Nabal in 1 Samuel 25, there seems to be a great deal of festivity attached to this time of year. That connection should also put us on alert to potential parallels in the story. A time of sheepshearing, and an enemy of David.
David doesn’t want to go though, “lest we be burdensome to you,” v25. Nonetheless, he gives leave for the other brothers to attend. And so Absalom has Amnon right where he wants him - once Amnon is drunk and can’t defend himself, Absalom has his servants murder him, v28-29. This, understandably, makes the rest of David’s sons feel like the party is over, and it’s time to saddle up the mules and head home. Which is where that old snake Jonadab comes back into the story. While David has heard news that his sons have all been killed, Jonadab offers the comfort that, “it’s only Amnon, and of course Absalom has been planning this a long time - so don’t take it to heart.” The cold and ruthless calculation of Jonadab is obvious here. Of course Amnon wouldn’t be dead if he hadn’t raped his sister, which wouldn’t have crossed his mind as an option unless Jonadab basically told him “if you want something, go get it.” Now Amnon is dead, and Jonadab says to David, “no big deal. It was only one son, and he kind of asked for it, right?” Beware of people like Jonadab who always are concerned with weaseling their way into power and manipulating events to their advantage.
Of course, Absalom’s actions are not only an act of violence against his brother. Because Amnon was the eldest son and heir apparent, it could well have been construed as an attempted coup in and of itself. And so while David and his servant are filled with sorrow, Absalom flees to the city of Geshur (v37), which was a city in Syria - and where Absalom’s mother, Maacah, was from. He stayed there three years.
Let’s pause for a moment and think about this human pursuit of justice apart from God. Absalom is rightly furious about the treatment of his sister and Amnon’s seeming to get away with it. Yet when he takes matters into his own hand, what purpose is this serving? How is Tamar ministered to? She remains a desolate woman in Absalom’s house (13:20). When justice is served by the state there is, in a sense, a community statement that “we will not tolerate such behavior in our bounds.” When we outlaw something we define ourselves as “the people who will not indulge or allow x.” But, of course, vigilante justice manifestly does not serve that same communal purpose of corporate condemnation and vindicating the righteous, in this case a righteous victim like Tamar. Instead, vigilante justice in the end always turns in on itself, looking to exert one’s own will on the world. If you’re familiar with the John Wayne movie, The Searchers, you see an example of this. I won’t go into the plot here, but the character Ethan Edwards, played by Wayne, is seen at first to be looking to avenge some family members who were murdered and perhaps even save the life of one. But over time the pursuit of that vengeance destroys him and he transforms from being a potentially heroic character into the clear villain of the story. But, of course, he doesn’t see that transition himself.
Patient Conspiracy
Remember what I said about Absalom’s patience. Throughout our narrative we have time stamps, and I think one of the purposes is to help us see how drawn out it all was. After three years in Geshur, though, Absalom is probably tired of living in hiding. And though it is never clearly stated, it seems likely he has maintained some connection with people in the kingdom, notably Joab, the commander of David’s army. So Joab hatches this plan, by recruiting a “wise woman” from the city of Tekoa (v2). We0 might well wonder if Joab had attempted to convince David to forgive Absalom and bring him back to the royal court, and 13:39 had said that David’s heart went out to Absalom. But this apparently hadn’t worked, and so Joab resorts to deceit. The woman is recruited to tell David the story of two brothers who quarrel, and one is killed, and the rest of the family drives him away. Of course, as in the story of the rich man stealing the sheep of the poor man in chapter 12, this story is meant to spin back on David. When he promises in v11 that, “not one hair of your son shall be destroyed,” the woman turns around and asks why he won’t show this kind of kindness toward his own son, and why is he keeping him in exile?
Commentator David Payne notes that Absalom’s concern in this seems to be the good of the nation and the peaceful transfer of power. David is aging, Amnon the firstborn is dead, and Chileab the second born has seemingly disappeared from the story. And so Absalom seems like the logical next king, and wouldn’t it be better for him to be nearby? This would explain the statement of the woman in v13, that David keeping Absalom in exile is an action “against the people of God.”
David gives in to this line of attack - but only partially. Absalom is allowed to come to Jerusalem - but not all the way home. He is not to be allowed into the presence of the king. But this is an enormous mistake on David’s part. 14:25-26 lingers over the beauty of Absalom, the absence of any visible blemish, the majesty of his hair. And apparently the beauty was hereditary, because his daughter Tamar was beautiful as well.
But after two more years, Absalom is tired of being in Jerusalem, this near to power, and having none of it for himself. Surely he could be running things better than David could. So he sends for Joab, telling him of his desire of an audience with himself and then the king (v29). When Joab doesn’t come, Absalom resorts to vandalism, and has his workers light Joab’s barley fields on fire. That gets Joab’s attention. When Joab cries out, in 14:31, “why have your servants set my fields on fire!” you can almost hear him add, “you lunatic!” But while Absalom may have resorted to crazy tactics, he got exactly what he wanted. Welcomed into David’s presence, as the king whose heart went out to Absalom in 13:39, now kisses his son in 14:33.
But Absalom being this close to power is now very bad news. He acquires a chariot and a crew of men to go before him (15:1). He then sets up shop at the city gate, stirring up and appealing to those who felt justice was not rightly administered in their land. And there is no quicker way to build a political coalition than to say that the current administration is dead set on hurting you or simply doesn’t hear cases like yours. Absalom is able to parlay this combination of discontent with the status quo with his own charm and promise to do better by these citizens, were he the king, and 15:6 tells us he “stole the hearts of the men of Israel.”
For four years this goes on. You might say Absalom spends four years on the campaign trail, before he decides he’s actually ready to challenge his father. But by this time, Absalom was very strong, and he was continuing to increase in strength (v12). Absalom continued to play his father, and asked for permission to go to Hebron to worship. This is a suspicious place to go for worship, and of course the reader remembers that David’s own reign began with seven years in Hebron. But David seems oblivious to all that is going on.
That happy ignorance is shattered in v13. Messengers come to David with news of the conspiracy. And by this point things have gotten so out of hand that David thinks the best option is to flee. Absalom has been proclaimed king at Hebron (14:10), and apparently has a sufficient force that David doesn’t want to risk battle, at least not at the potential cost of the city. And so he gathers his household and servants, and they leave (14:16-17).
Now we need to pause here again and consider Absalom’s actions. Back in chapter 13, we meet Absalom as a man whose sister has been wronged and who is harboring some anger which he has every right to feel. But that anger because a determination for vengeance, which morphed into a lust for his own power, power to be wielded rightly, for the good of the people!, in contrast to the rule of his father which would let such egregious sin go unpunished. So he makes a plan to grab for that power.
Absalom’s objections to how David ruled were not wrong. David was not exercising his authority wisely or well, the back end of David’s life is filled with all sorts of folly and failure and outright sin. And yet, he was the Lord’s anointed. And remember all the lessons David himself taught us during the reign of Saul - one ought not reach out his hand against God’s anointed king.
And while we certainly have no such king in our model of government - no king at all, and no covenant with God where he uses a prophet to anoint - nonetheless, Romans tells us that all governments are such up by God’s righteous decree. And thus, while human governments are always full of and run by humans, therefore being at times unjust, insufficiently just, corrupt, or simply incompetent, I think we are right to infer from our text, alongside the entire witness of scripture, that we are never to pick up arms against and forcefully rebel against human authority. There are times to disobey, there are times to refuse to doing that which is wrong, no matter who tells us to do it - but Absalom could have addressed any of these matters with the king in a direct and humble way, but instead chose to seek justice for himself. What a contrast with his father.
Trusting in the Lord for Justice
David, for all his imperfections, knows where to go in trouble. Indeed, as you read the story of his life, it’s times of ease and peace that seem to cause him the most trouble. When times are tough, David knows where to turn.
After stopping in 15:16 at the last house out of town, David’s servants all pass by. When Abiathar and Zadok come leading the Levites with the ark of the covenant out of town, David stops them. And in verse 25 he says, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. 26 But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.” David doesn’t feel the need, like the Israelites in 1 Samuel 4, to treat the ark like a google luck charm that you take into battle in order to win. David knows that God is in control of all things, and if he wants David on the throne (and David has the promise of 2 Samuel 7 in his mind), God will bring him back to town. So he sends the priests back.
David sends all kinds of friends back. Zadok and Abiathar are sent back because David doesn’t need the ark as a trinket. They will also serve as helpful spies for gathering intelligence. The chapter closes with his friend, Hushai, coming out, dressed for mourning, to accompany David. But David sends him back as well, to also serve as a spy. David doesn’t eschew any human means of wisdom or intelligence. But he knows that in the end, these things don’t matter a hill of beans if God is not on your side.
As we come into chapter 16, there are two characters who present contrasting responses to the retreating king. The first is Ziba, servant of Jonathan and then Mephibosheth. And while Mephibosheth thinks that David’s exit from Jerusalem is his chance to finally become king of Israel, his servant Ziba brings a massive load of supplies to David, an extraordinary act of kindness - and an example, even in a dark time, of the Lord’s provision for his servant. The second man is also from the household of Saul, and his name is Shimei. He comes out cursing the sky blue (v5), and hurling rocks at David (v6). And rather than allow Abishai, one of Zeruiah’s violent sons, to do him in, David simply accepts this cursing and abuse as from the Lord. Verse 11 reads, “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it.”
David seems to accept that the cursing he receives is of the Lord. And if it is unjust, well, then surely the Lord will repay (v12). And so he endures this taunting and cursing, and marches on. Finally, exhausted, David and his men reach the river Jordan. Heading into exile, leaving the promised land.
As I read of David absorbing that ridicule and abuse, my mind cannot help but be drawn to the description of Jesus in 1 Peter 2:21-23, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” David was not stoic or fatalistic in the sense of saying, “well, that’s just the way things are.” But he knew the one who was ultimately in control, and, like his Greater Son, entrusted himself to his faithful God.
But how do you do that? Do you just form a stiff upper lip and march on? I think we can be helped by looking at the words David writes while on the run from Absalom. For those, turn over to Psalm 3. (read the text)
Very briefly, consider three ways David addresses himself to God in Ps 3.
* First, David addresses God honestly (1-2). He tells God that there are many foes, and that they mock his dependence upon God. (v1-2). Do you take your concerns, worries, and enemies to the Lord? We so often are caught up in wanting to say that we don’t have enemies on the one hand, or hating them on the other, that we’re afraid to just come to God and say, “here’s who my enemies are. They are bothering me. Their words and actions are damaging me. Could you do something? Where are you?” Those statements and questions sound almost sacrilegious to us, yet they are modeled for us over and over in the Psalms. And while David is confident in the Lord, his upper lip is emphatically not stiff. Back in our text, 15:30 reads, “But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went.” Weeping up the Mount of Olives.
* He remembers that God has helped him in the past and helps him right now(v3-6). David has many times to draw upon - God delivered him from the lion, the bear, Goliath, Saul, Ish-Bosheth, the list could continue. He answers from his holy hill. For the believer, remembering how God has helped us in the past can take multiple forms. We can certainly draw on those individual experiences. The time you were out of money and a check for just what you needed to pay rent or buy groceries came at the last minute. The time you were incredibly discouraged and someone gave you an encouraging word at just the right moment. Or maybe like verses 5-6, you simply recognize that each morning you wake up is an act of his grace. But as we remember God’s work for us, our minds ought to be drawn to another man, crying up the Mount of Olives. Jesus, who wept on that mountain with such ferocity that his capillaries burst and he started sweating blood, then went the next day to the cross and bore the weight of all our sins. 1 Peter 2:24 reads, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” If you have trusted in Jesus, then you can remember that he purchased you with his own blood. And if you haven’t trusted in Jesus, then none of this can really make any sense to you.
* He trusts the Lord for future salvation (v7-8). Again, the forthrightness here may take us aback. “Strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.”
David is able to entrust himself to the Lord because he acknowledges to God what his concerns, worries, and fears really are. He isn’t putting on his Sunday morning face and heading to prayer “put-together.” He then remembers that God has helped him before, and indeed helps him every day. David need not take his own vengeance. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, and he will repay Absalom, and Shimei, and everyone else who needs it.
Conclusion
We are told in texts like Deuteronomy 32 that vengeance belongs to the Lord, that taking revenge is wrong, and that we ought not do it. What we see played out in the life of Absalom is how devastating it is to your soul when you let bitterness and revenge become a driving force. It morphs into a form of self-seeking pride that ends up as ugly as the original injustice it sought to avenge. But in David we see a man who refused to take that same kind of revenge. And this is an example we can follow. Not because we’re some sort of goody-two-shoes and let people walk on us. But because we have confidence that the God of all the universe is the only one who is truly just. And he will punish all sin. Sin has real consequences in this life, and we’ll see that for Absalom next week. But sin also has eternal consequences. Every injustice in this world will be paid for. Those responsible will either perish in hell forever for what they have done, or they will trust in Christ. And friends, if you would be saved from all of the sin in your life, you must trust in Christ. You have committed injustices against others. In all likelihood, you have sought vengeance at one time or another. These are sins which deserve God’s wrath. But Jesus bore that wrath in his body on the tree, that you might die to sin, and live to righteousness. He entrusted himself to his Father, the just judge. You should do the same.
