Theological Commentary: Click Here
Today we get
to see David mix politics with his personal life. We get to see his brilliance and his
folly. In his brilliance, David organizes
his men and sets the experienced in positions of power. He has generals who will fight well for him. When the battle rages, his men fight well and
win the day. David shows his brilliance
when it comes to being a political leader.
However,
David makes an absolutely silly request.
David asks that Absalom be spared.
Absalom has already organized a coup under David’s own nose. Absalom isn’t to be trusted, even when shown
grace! Didn’t David invite Absalom back
to Jerusalem after he killed his half-brother?
How can anyone think they could trust Absalom?
I think this
is an inherent flaw in David, and in truth many parents. The upside of this flaw is that parents
naturally love their children unconditionally.
They see opportunities to give their children the best time and time
again. The downside, however, is that parents
are often blind to their child’s flaws. Parents
often struggle with times where tough love is necessary.
In the end,
what I take away from this story is a personal gratitude that God is above
humankind. God can love perfectly. God loves to extend grace as needed. However, God is not afraid to give tough love
and force us to deal with our consequences, too. He is the master of love. Whereas human beings tend to favor one or the
other end of the spectrum, God does both grace and righteous judgment exactly
perfectly every time.
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