I was just reading the story of Tamar again. I think it is one of the saddest stories in the Bible. I think it is a story that many people could read and misinterpret God’s intentions towards us. Tamar did nothing wrong. She was wronged in an enormous way! By her own brother - no less. Thankfully, where one brother was the evil in her life that drove her closer to the Lord, the other brother was a shelter for her - an avenger of sorts. He interests me, this man Absalom. He was a man that clearly loved his family. He was a man that had a heart for justice - as does our Jesus. However, he couldn’t seem to understand that God clearly says that vengeance is His alone. His downfall seems to have begun with bitterness... A bitterness towards his brother that would have him plot murder and see it carried through. A beginning that would take him further than he probably ever intended to go. Please don’t get me wrong. I do believe that Amnon should have been held accountable for his crime against his sister. I do believe that it was a terrible injustice that he could take those things from her - and then banish her - despise her even where the Word says that she “lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman.” Ugh. A desolate woman. Desolate means, “devoid of inhabitants and visitors, deserted, joyless, disconsolate, and sorrowful through or as if through separation from a loved one; showing the effects of abandonment and neglect.” Not what I want to describe the rest of my days.
Certainly a terrible offense had been committed. But I think we forget that as great as the offense is against us and to us, it is even more offensive to our Holy God.
Was God not grieved by this?
Was God not going to bring about justice in this situation?
It is my opinion that Absalom allowed his hatred towards his brother to fester for two years. All the while, a mounting feeling of distaste for his own father grew. He likely resented David for not doing something to protect his daughter. The Word doesn’t say this. I can only imagine he began to despise his father for his lack of action in this situation. So, he took the matter in his own hands, forgetting that it lay in the Hands of One who is far more capable to see that true retribution take place. So, he plots and he kills and then he runs, and he hides. 2 Samuel 13:39 tells us that King David longed to go to Absalom and that he mourned constantly for his son (Absalom). After a very interesting “enactment”, David calls for his son, Absalom’s return. It is carried out quickly, but David will not let Absalom come to him, and see his face. I don’t know why this is. I didn’t write the Book, nor do I understand the hearts of men. I only know that he didn’t see him... And Absalom’s heart was once again grieved by his father - he says it would’ve been better had he not even returned than to return and not be able to see his own father. In order to get this message to his father, he burned up Joab’s field. Again, he tried to meet with Joab (who had been the instigator in bringing him back in the first place) and when it didn’t go according to his plan and time frame, he burnt Joab’s field to gain audience with him. Again, he takes matters into his own hands.
This post could be very much longer, but I will end with this one thought... As I was reading “The Holy Wild” by Mark Buchanan, he talks about Cain and Abel. And he wrote a sentence that has struck my heart and wont let go. It’s a bit long, but worth the read. Worth the time spent pondering its validity. Buchanan says this, “...of all those (Bible) stories, one haunts me most: Cain’s faithlessness. What gets me is a crisp New Testament gloss on the ancient tale. ‘By faith,’ Hebrews says, ‘Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.’ Abel was a man of faith. Cain, by implication was not. But, he was no atheist, Cain. He was no Nietzsche, rabid with blasphemy... No Freud...
Cain was none of that.
Cain knew God.
Cain talked with God, maybe daily, without candor, face to face, as one friend talks to another. They had a relationship, God and Cain, an intimacy even. They reasoned together. Cain complained to God, argued with Him, rebuffed Him, pleaded with Him. God rebuked Cain, invited him, questioned him, protected him.
Cain knew God.
He just had no faith... Faithlessness is not unbelief. Faithlessness is the refusal to trust. It’s the refusal to rest in God and, therefore, risk for God... Cain is the man who would never, not for anything, not for anyone put all his weight (trust) in God. His character will not rest in God’s character. Only a fool would do that, and Cain’s no fool. He’s shrewd.”
Oh Lord help us. His character would not rest in God’s character. Is that what we see with Absalom? Is that what drove him to try and steal the kingdom from his father? You alone put authority over us, and yet, we act like we are justified in our rebellion just because of their “human-ness”. Help us, Lord. I ask for mercy. Yes, Lord let us learn what it means that you are merciful.
