The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 132: David and Absalom (2023)

Episode Date: May 12, 2023

Fr. Mike reflects on the story of David and Absalom, and points out the lack of forgiveness and repentance on both men's part. God forgives us no matter what, but without us mirroring that forgiveness, rebellion can easily rise up. Today's readings are 2 Samuel 14, 1 Chronicles 18, and Psalm 14. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 132. We're reading from 2 Samuel chapter 14, 1 Chronicles chapter 18, and we are praying today, Psalm 14. If you are interested in the Bible

translation that I'm reading, it is the Revised Standard Version, 2nd Catholic Edition. I'm reading from the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. And if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, you can click on subscribe and you would be subscribed. As I said, it's day 132. We're reading from 2 Samuel 14, 1 Chronicles 18, and praying Psalm 14. Second book of Samuel, chapter 14. David is persuaded to bring Absalom back. Now Joab, the son of Zeruiah, perceived that the king's heart went out to Absalom. And Joab sent to Tekoa and fetched from there a wise woman and said to her, Pretend to be a mourner

and put on mourning garments. Do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead, and go to the king and speak thus to him. So Joab put the words into her mouth. When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance and said, Help, O king. And the king said to her, What is your trouble? She answered, Alas, I am a widow. My husband is dead. And your handmaid had two sons, and they quarreled with one another in the field. There was no one to part them, and one struck the other and killed him. And now the whole family has risen against your handmaid, and they say, Give up the man who struck his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he

slew. And so they would destroy the heir also. Thus they would quench my coal which is left, and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant upon the face of the earth. Then the king said to the woman, Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you. And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father's house. Let the king and his throne be guiltless. The king said, If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall never touch you again. Then she said, Please let the king invoke the Lord your God, that the avenger of blood slay no more, and my son be not destroyed. He said, As the Lord lives,

not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground. Then the woman said, Please let your handmaid speak a word to my lord the king. He said, Speak. And the woman said, Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in giving this decision, the king convicts himself inasmuch as the king does not bring his banished one home again. We must all die. We are like water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away the life of him who devises means not to keep his banished one an outcast. Now I have come to say this to my Lord the King, because the people have made me afraid. And your handmaid thought, I will speak to the King. It may be that the King will

perform the request of his servant. For the King will hear and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the heritage of God. And your handmaid thought, The word of my lord the king will set me at rest, for my lord the king is like the angel of God to discern good from evil. The lord your God be with you. Then the king answered the woman, Do not hide from me anything I ask you. And the woman said, Let my lord the king speak. The king said, Is the hand of Joab with you in all of this? The woman answered and said, As surely as you live, my lord the king, one cannot

turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. It was your servant Joab who bade me. It was he who put all these words in the mouth of your handmaid. In order to change the course of affairs, your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know all things that are on the earth. Then the king said to Joab, Behold, now I grant this. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.

And Joab fell on his face to the ground and did obeisance, and blessed the king. And Joab said, Today your to the ground and did obeisance and blessed the king. And Joab said, Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant. So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. And the king said, Let him dwell apart in his own house. He is not to come into my presence. So Absalom dwelt apart in his own house and did not come into the king's presence. Now in all Israel, there was no one so much to be praised for his beauty as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head,

there was no blemish in him. And when he cut the hair of his head, for at the end of every year, he used to cut it. When it was heavy on him, he cut it. He weighed the hair of his head, 200 shekels by the king's weight. There were born to Absalom three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman. David forgives Absalom. So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem without coming into the king's presence. Then Absalom sent for Joab to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. And he sent a second time, but Joab would not come. Then he said to his servants, See, 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. Then Joab arose and went to Absalom at his house and said to him, Why have your servants set my field on fire? Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent word to you. Come here that I may send you to the king to ask why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still. Now therefore, let me go into the presence of the king, and if there is guilt in me, let him kill me. Then Joab went to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.

The first book of Chronicles chapter 18, David's kingdom established and extended. After this, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines. And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute. David also defeated Hadadezar, king of Zobah, toward Hamath, as he went to set up his monument at the river Euphrates. And David took from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left

enough for a hundred chariots. And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezar, king of Zobah, David slew twenty-two thousand men of the Syrians. Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went, and David took the shields of gold which were carried by the servants of Hadadezar and brought them to Jerusalem. And from Tibhath and from Kun, cities of Hadadezar, David took very much bronze. With it Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze. When Tau, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezar,

king of Zobah, he sent his son Hadaram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadadezar and defeated him, for Hadadezar had often been at war with Tau. And he sent all sorts of articles of gold, of silver, and of bronze, these also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold which he had carried off from all the nations, from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek. David's just administration. And Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, slew 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and he put

garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people. And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder, and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Shavshah was secretary, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherithites and the Pelethites, and David's sons were the chief officials in the service of the king. Psalm 14, Denunciation of Godlessness To the Choir Master of David

The fool says in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none that does good. The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there are any that act wisely, that seek after God. They have all gone astray,

they are all alike corrupt. There is none that does good. No, not one. Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers, who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord? There they shall be in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous. You would confound the plans of the poor, but the Lord is his refuge. Oh, that deliverance for Israel would come out of Zion. When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob shall rejoice. Israel shall be glad. Father in heaven, we give you thanks and give you praise. You are a good, you are God, and

you're a good dad. Lord God, you are a good dad. You're a good father and you continue to meet us. You forgive us completely, but you also call us to complete repentance. You offer forgiveness totally, but you also call us to totally come back to you. And so help us, please, Father, help us do that. Help us to come back totally so that your mercy may totally transform us, that your grace may totally transform us, that your love may totally renew us. Lord God, bring us back to you. Let your face shine on us and we shall be saved. In Jesus' name we pray. In the name of the father and of the son and the holy spirit amen okay here we are gosh here's the story of Absalom and David and this is going to get worse just so you know

this is chapter 14 and David gets persuaded to bring Absalom back so Absalom has escaped right he remembered yesterday he fled went to uh Talmai son of Amihud, king of Geshur, lived over there in Geshur. And he's living in isolation. He's living in exile. And here's Joab, who, remember Joab is in charge of the army. And he has this plan that he wants Absalom to come back to Jerusalem. And so he gets this woman and basically hires her to say, tell David this story. It's kind of, it's really reminiscent of the story of Nathan the prophet, when David was busted for what he did with Bathsheba and Uriah.

Nathan comes forward and tells him this story about the man who has a bunch of sheep, but then his neighbor has only one precious ewe lamb. And here is the story of this woman. She's a widow. She has two sons. One son killed the other son. And people want to kill that son who is the murderer. And what do I do? And David says, okay, yeah, you got to restore. You got to keep the family intact. You got to keep the family

intact. So bring that son into a place of safety. And if anyone wants to kill him, you know, he'll have words with me. And this is the boldness of this woman. She says one more word, by the way, this is you. It's basically like Nathan saying, you are that man who took that precious you child. You had all the people you wanted in your life to, to marry, to take care of, to care for, and you just stole Uriah the Hittite's wife from him. This is the woman saying essentially the same thing. So that convinces David. David also notices that this is Joab's work. Now, why would Joab want Absalom to not be in Gesher anymore? Why would Joab want Absalom to be close to David? Chances are very good that we know about Joab. We know that he's very loyal to David. So chances are very good that what Joab wanted was he wanted, he's like,

I can see Absalom who's described in this chapter as well as being incredibly beautiful, a beautiful man, no blemish in him from his head to his toe. And his hair was so heavy. Apparently that's a really good thing back in the day. Maybe it's a good thing now. I don't know. But Joab probably recognized that here is Absalom who poses a threat to David. Absalom is an estranged son of David. And if he stays in Gesher, he can draw people to himself and he can raise a revolt, a rebellion against the king. And so it's likely that Joab orchestrated this thing with the woman of Tekoa to get David to bring Absalom closer to home so that he could be not as much of a threat, which isn't going to work. It's going to backfire because in chapter 15, here's Absalom who's going to be a big threat. We'll hear about that tomorrow. But we also see something important.

We also see that Absalom is the kind of guy who is not willing to put up with much, right? He's not willing to put up with the sin against his sister. He's not willing to put up with being exiled from his father. And so he's not willing to put up with Joab not responding to him. And so after the third time he calls to Joab, he sets his field on fire. You weren't going to come talk to me, so I've set your field on fire. I just think that's just, he kind of says it so matter-of-factly. You weren't going to do what I say, so I've set your field on fire. I just think that's just, he kind of says it so matter-of-factly. You weren't going to do what I say, so here you go.

And what happens? Joab goes to the king, make peace with Absalom. And Absalom does obeisance, right? He bows with his face to the ground and David kisses him. And that's the extent of the forgiveness. That's the extent of the repentance. And this is key for us. Absalom shows no sign of repentance.

Absalom shows no sign that he realizes, I might've done something wrong in killing my own brother. Yes, his brother did something wrong in violating his sister. Absolutely. A hundred percent. But Absalom shows no repentance in acknowledging the fact that, and I killed my own brother, which is a very serious thing. So he shows no repentance and David shows no real forgiveness. Yes, he lets Absalom come back to the city, but he doesn't see him for two years. You may not come into my presence. That's not real forgiveness. So here's how God forgives us. He calls us to true repentance, right? He calls us to turn away from our sins and turn back to him. But then he gives full forgiveness. He gives us complete access to himself. But here's David. Again, he's just, in so many ways, David can be a good king. In so many ways, maybe he was a good father, but in this way, he was not. In this way,

he's not an image of the father. In this way, he's not an image of Jesus Christ, the king of kings, because he gives partial forgiveness. Yeah, you can come back to town, but you can't come in my presence. But think about how good God the Father is. When we're forgiven in Jesus Christ, we are given complete access to the Father's house and to the Father's heart. But we also have to have repentance. In this story, chapter 14 of 2 Samuel, we see neither repentance nor real full forgiveness. And so what we see is what's going to happen in chapter 15 and following is without true repentance, there is no true forgiveness. And without that true forgiveness and reconciliation, we find rebellion. And that's what's going to happen tomorrow. Not to give it away, but that's what's going to happen tomorrow. No true repentance, no true reconciliation. With no true reconciliation,

there is rebellion. So one of the things that I take away from this is I need to come before the Lord, knowing that I'm letting go of my sins, letting go of whatever I've chosen instead of God or over and above God and clinging to the Lord. Because in Christ Jesus, we have full forgiveness and full access, as I said, to the Father's house and to the Father's heart. We can't do that on our own. Of course, we need God's grace. And so please pray for me to be able to do that.

You know, I, gosh, I'm in constant process of repentance, constant process of conversion. And I know you are too. Sometimes it's hard to let go. It's hard to trust in the Lord. It's hard to be forgiven. But I'm praying for you. Please pray for each other that we can be people who are constantly being converted back to the Lord, constantly repenting of our sins and constantly experiencing the beauty and the power of God's mercy and forgiveness. As I said, I prayed for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.