I’LL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT
Opening Prayer
Father, thank you that I can always come to you asking for mercy, for comfort, for wisdom; you will never turn me away.
Read 2 SAMUEL 13:23-39
Absalom Kills Amnon
23 Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king’s sons to come there. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, “Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his attendants please join me?”
25 “No, my son,” the king replied. “All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you.” Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go but gave him his blessing.
26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us.”
The king asked him, “Why should he go with you?” 27 But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king’s sons.
28 Absalom ordered his men, “Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Haven’t I given you this order? Be strong and brave.” 29 So Absalom’s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king’s sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.
30 While they were on their way, the report came to David: “Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons; not one of them is left.” 31 The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his attendants stood by with their clothes torn.
32 But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, “My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom’s express intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”
34 Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.
Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, “I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill.”[a]
35 Jonadab said to the king, “See, the king’s sons have come; it has happened just as your servant said.”
36 As he finished speaking, the king’s sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his attendants wept very bitterly.
37 Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned many days for his son.
38 After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. 39 And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon’s death.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 13:34 Septuagint; Hebrew does not have this sentence.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What do you deserve from God? Give thanks that we do not receive our just deserts.Tam’s wife is a memorable character in Burns’ poem Tam o’ Shanter. What does she have in common with Absalom? Both ‘nursed’ their ‘wrath to keep it warm.’* Tam’s wife waits to give drunken Tam his due on his return. Absalom waits two years for the opportune moment to make Amnon pay for the rape of Tamar. His father David had done nothing. He would ensure justice was done. Shameful experience teaches us that justice for the sexually abused can be quietly ignored. But there are dangers in assuming we are to be the executors of judgment, which is why Jesus issues his warning against arrogant judgmentalism (Matthew 7:1).
Like his half-brother Amnon, Absalom is a skilled schemer but with bigger ambitions. Motivations for exercising judgment on others are almost invariably mixed. For Absalom there was anger and ambition behind his action. He had one eye on the horrendous crime against Tamar, the other on the throne.
Absalom’s haughty stance is apparent when he exhorts Amnon’s assassins by echoing words spoken to Joshua on entering the Promised Land (Joshua 1:6,7,9). Confusing our human ambition with God’s purpose and failing to recognize the seriousness of our sinfulness (14:32) are a clear path to disaster.
Apply
Do you feel the criticism of judgmentalism leveled at Christians is fair? How do we avoid assuming the role of judge that only God can play?
Closing prayer
Lord God, keep me from a critical and judgmental spirit. Enable me to keep my thoughts and actions in line with your will for me.
*Robert Burns, 1759–1796.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.