Day 23 of 90 - 2 Samuel 17 - 1 Kings 1

Day 23 - COMPLETE!

On Day 23, we completed 2 Samuel 17- 1 Kings 1, and the stories in these chapters are literally no different than the most popular dramas on ABC or NBC in 21st Century Pop-Culture. Long short, David has impregnated Bathsheba and murdered her husband, Uriah, in an attempt to cover up his error. Nathan, the prophet, exposes him and tells him that his entire family will be punished as a result. In the next chapter, Amnon, David’s son, rapes Tamar, David’s daughter. Absalom is David’s other son, and he finds out what Amnon did to his sister, and he waits for two years, and then kills Amnon.

When David finds out about Tamar, he does nothing. And when David finds out about Amnon, he does nothing. Over time, Absolom decides that he will crown himself king. And around that same time, he plots to have his own father, David killed. So we see this interesting turn of events because Absolom wants to kill David, but David wants to save Absolom. In the middle of all of this, David’s nephew Joab, steps up to the plate and eventually kills Absolom so that David can stop “sleeping with one eye open and the other closed,” and when David finds out in 2 Samuel 18:33 he is distraught. He literally cries out, “o my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you.” Because in part, this will always be his son, but on the other hand, this same son plotted to kill David.

So in comes Joab with a strong word for David. At this point, Joab is the only person that can really tell David the truth and he says these words that resonated with me so deeply: 2 Samuel 19:6 You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that the commanders and their men mean nothing to you. I see that you would be pleased if Absolom were alive today and all of us were dead.”

When I read those words, I thought about a play I wrote years ago titled LOVING YOU IS KILLING ME. Why? Because David was literally consumed by someone who was committed to destroying him. David couldn’t see the truth that was staring right in front of him, but before we judge David, we first need to ask, have we ever been David? Have you ever been blinded by “love” that you didn’t see the “lust?” Have you even been so hung up on fixing something broken that you didn’t realize how much it was breaking you. I pray, ultimately, that God will open all of our eyes so that we don’t waste our time, energy, and love on people who, truly, want us dead.