Begotten
31 Then the Cushite came and the Cushite said, "Good tidings for my lord the king! For the LORD has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you." 32 The king said to the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" The Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to do you harm be like that young man." 33 The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept, and as he went he said, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" (2 Samuel 18:31-33)
Just as God, through the prophet Nathan, had warned King David that the sword would never leave David's family, violence and turmoil indeed plagued them. Because David had failed to discipline his eldest son, Amnon, for raping Tamar (Amnon's half-sister), David's other son, Absalom, felt justified in taking matters into his own hands. Absalom killed Amnon and attempted to overthrow and kill David, claiming that he would be a more just and righteous ruler than his father. Despite the betrayal, David would not sanction his generals to harm Absalom. Yet Joab, one of David's most trusted commanders, ignored David's instruction. Joab pierced Absalom in the heart and had his troops kill Absalom. David was devastated, and he grieved for his son.
We might wonder if Amnon came to devalue women as a result of seeing his father's treatment of Bathsheba - and perhaps the unrecorded treatment of his own mother. And we might consider that watching his father build great acclaim for himself as a conqueror could have contributed to Absalom believing that a physical battle was the best way to settle the score with his brother and father. But what we can be assured of is that choosing paths of disregard and violence brought despair to everyone. Harm begot harm. No problems were really solved. No one was proven "right". Everyone's problems and pain were multiplied by the harm
they chose to do to one another.
By God's unconventional patience, immeasurable love, and unfathomable grace, God used humanity's propensity for rash judgement and violence to bring about our salvation. Because of Jesus, our sin begot our redemption. We are not bound to the sins of our bloodline or our own past. We are free to choose the path of true righteousness rather than the chains of self-righteousness. We don't need to be heirs to an earthly throne to be children of the King. To God be the glory!
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Look to him, and be radiant, so your faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor soul cried and was heard by the LORD and was saved from every trouble. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. 8 O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. (Psalm 34:1-8)
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