David, Absolom and the war in Heaven.

The life if Christ and the life of Christ alone hems all scripture with unity. The entire Old Testament is a mosaic of the life of Christ and the plan of salvation. All Holy writ testifies of Christ. Every prophet, priest, and king in scripture somehow prefigures the life of Jesus. Jesus is on every page and in every story of the Bible and if we are not seeing Him, then we are not reading the book aright. The story we are about to consider has an eternal dimension that, 1,000 years before its main focus, demonstrated what was to unfold in Israel at the appearing of the Christian age. It also takes us back before the dawn of time.

You can read the whole story that I am about to explain in 2 Samuel chapters 13 – 18. As you read ask yourself, “Why is this story recorded in such detail.” It obviously has a far deeper meaning than just a superficial one.

The story is rooted in David’s initial sin of adultery and murder in chapters 11 and 12. While he genuinely repented and we have his penitential psalms (32 and 51) as evidence, we also have the chronical in the books of Samuel and Kings.

The part of the story that concerns us today begins in chapter 13 by describing Absolom’s beautiful sister, Tamar. Unfortunately, Absolom’s half-brother, Amnon, fell in love with her and ends up violating her. The wrath of Absolom knows no bounds and, after waiting 2 years, he has Amnon murdered, and then he flees to Geshur.

Here begins our first important insight, not just that sin brings its own reward, but that David, as King of Israel, should have dealt with the sins of his sons. Absolom had committed murder and should have received the death penalty himself, but the king has the problem of not being able to exact the penalty of the Law on his own son. It is here, like a Shakespearean drama, we have an extraordinary contrast. God also loves His children who have sinned. How can He demonstrate His love and yet uphold His justice? As Paul explains, “how can He be just and yet the justifier of them which believe.” (Romans 3:26). While David, as the King, could not exact the penalty of the law on his own son, our heavenly King took the penalty of the broken law upon himself.

Had God excused sin, His immutable law would have been violated and the harmony of the universe disrupted. God must be seen by the universe and “all who dwell therein” (Rev 12:12) to be dealing with sin. There was no way for God to deal with sin except to take its deadly curse upon Himself. Which is what He did in the person of Jesus. Only then can the rest of God’s creation declare “Just and true are your ways O King of the ages! … For your judgments have been revealed.” Rev. 15:3-4).

Because of David’s inability to deal with both sons’ iniquity, the story deteriorates from this point. What happens in Israel is a demonstration of what would have happened in the universe had God not dealt with sin – chaos!

There are many Christ type parallels in the Old Testament, and they are especially abundant in the life of David. In the story of David and Absolom we see a picture of humanities revolt and the suffering and agony of Christ over His sons who have forsaken Him and sought to take His kingdom and His life. This story is much, much more than retribution for the sin of David, concerning Uriah the Hittite, although this is what David saw and accepted it as. While our sins can be forgiven and not counted against us, God does not aways take away the consequences of our actions. At this time David would have been remembering the words of Nathan the prophet who said “From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.”(2 Sam12:10 NLT)

 Absalom’s exile from the kingdom lasted 3 years. Through some political diplomacy from Joab, David’s general, he finds himself back in the Kingdom. As we reflect on the story, read it at a higher level than the superficial. Absalom represents the Devil who was proud of his beauty and was lifted up to usurp the throne (2 Sam 14:25). David represents Jesus in the story.

David means ‘beloved’, he was the shepherd born in Bethlehem. He began his rule by contending with a giant. For this encounter he took a sling with 5 stones in his pouch. He slew the giant with one. When Jesus confronted the devil in the wilderness, He had in his arsenal the 5 books of the law. He slew the giant of sin with one. All His quotes to the tempter came from the book of Deuteronomy! David never lost a battle (except the one he lost within himself in his frailty). Jesus, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15 NLT. The fact that God said David was “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22) should give us hope. TBC