September 18

2 Samuel 14 Some years ago while attending district conference my wife and I stayed with a young lady who housed us while at conference. As we came to know her, she shared with us some of her struggles with God because her little brother had been murdered. It was an emotionally heart and spirit wrenching thing for her. She was working through it and learning to forgive, but it was still a struggle. From a human perspective of all the sins which we commit, with the exception of adultery, probably none is so unforgiveable as murder. Why is it so unforgiveable? From a human perspective, death is irremediable. When the person is gone we have been robbed of a relationship that cannot be restored upon this earth. Yet Jesus forgives all sin, and He calls us to do the same. Absalom had committed murder because David was reluctant to distribute justice for his sister. That Law would have required the death of Amnon for the rape of Tamar. David was reluctant to carry out justice because it was his own son and because of his own sin. Absalom took matters into his own hands. The Law would have required the death of Absalom because he murdered Amnon. When Absalom fled to Geshur, it further complicated matters. For David to demand justice, it would require him to demand that his father-in-law, the king of Geshur, turn over Absalom. That wasn’t going to happen without war. David was certainly capable of defeating Geshur, but he made no demands probably partly because the king of Geshur was his father-in-law and ally and partly because Absalom was his son. Can you imagine the political embarrassment that this whole ordeal brought upon David? His heart yearned for a renewed relationship with Absalom, yet he could not renew it because Absalom murdered Amnon. Not only David but the country reeled in the consequences of the sin. As blood thirsty as Joab was, he at times showed great wisdom. He concocts this whole story to make a point with David. Life is more important than justice. David is a type of Jesus, except Jesus is perfect and can raise us from the dead. When we had committed fornication, rape, murder, lying etc. the great love of the Father asked the Son to love Him and us by becoming one of us and dying in our place so that justice could be satisfied and a door re-opened to life, and we would be raised from the dead. Death is no longer irremediable. Because it is no longer irremediable, we can and ought to forgive! Now that is the glory of our Lord! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john