16 When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine. 2 The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.” 3 The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?” Ziba said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather’s kingdom.’” 4 Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” “I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.” 5 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. 6 He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. 7 As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! 8 The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!” 9 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.” 10 But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’” 11 David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12 It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.” 13 So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. 14 The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself. 15 Meanwhile, Absalom and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. 16 Then Hushai the Arkite, David’s confidant, went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” 17 Absalom said to Hushai, “So this is the love you show your friend? If he’s your friend, why didn’t you go with him?” 18 Hushai said to Absalom, “No, the one chosen by the Lord, by these people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and I will remain with him. 19 Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve the son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you.” 20 Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?” 21 Ahithophel answered, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself obnoxious to your father, and the hands of everyone with you will be more resolute.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. 23 Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice.

David’s in a dreadful situation. His beloved son Absalom is trying to kill him to seize the throne. David’s position is incredibly dangerous, and he’s clearly at emotional rock bottom. We see here how four people respond.

David had protected and been generous to Mephibosheth, and I would have expected some loyalty. But he is overcome by ambition. He’s looking for how he can profit from David’s disaster and become king himself. (He’s blind to reality as well as David’s need.) Shiba is blinded by hatred and blind in his hatred. (David didn’t take Saul’s kingdom. It was always God’s kingdom to give to whomever he chose.) Now he’s looking for how he can hurt David when he’s down.

When Ziba sees David’s need, he doesn’t wait to be asked. He’s ready and waiting before David gets there. He’s both generous and proactive. Hushai is already infiltrating Absalom’s court to sabotage Ahithophel’s good advice. Both take huge personal risks.

The challenge for me is how will I respond when a friend is in crisis. Will I be like Ziba and be there with help before the need is even felt, or will I wait until I’m asked? Will I take a risk like Hushai or will I play it safe? Then there’s Jesus, who came looking for me before I knew I was lost. He died for me before I was even born. He became vulnerable and small for me.

Jesus, I want to be like you. Give me your eyes to see the need, your heart to be generous, and your courage to act even when it’s a risk.

Written by David Cornell

15 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” 3 Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” 4 And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.” 5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel. 7 At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. 8 While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.’” 9 The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron. 10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.

In this passage we see Absalom, third son of David, with a desire to take down his dad as King and become King himself.  His heart is deceitful exploiting what He sees as a weakness in his father’s kingdom to gain traction on his campaign. He strategically positioned himself at the gates; this being the primary sight for legal cases to be settled, he sees this as his greatest way of getting the people to resent David and get them on his side.  His deceit and conspiracy end up working. Absalom rallies a large amount of support.  

Absalom looks right. He has chariots and horsemen providing him with a look of importance with all the pomp and circumstance. He says the right things, he shows compassion and empathy.  However, the people don’t realise that Absalom is the perfect example of what Samuel warns against in 1 Samuel 8:11.

Often, we see people who we think are the perfect model of what is to come. To the Israelites, Absalom looked right, said the right things and seemed to have compassion and empathy for their circumstances. We as followers of Jesus, we need to be people who rely on the Holy Spirit, not judging by an earthly measure as to what is good or acceptable but using an eternal standard and being spirit led.  No one is perfect, definitely not David, however, he was God’s chosen which the people lost sight of.  Perspective is important, reliance on the Holy Spirit helps us to keep our eyes fixed to Jesus.

Heavenly Father, thank you that you are gracious and kind.  Thank you that you give us the Holy Spirit to help us keep our eyes on you and fixed to your ways.  We ask that you lead us, help us and enable us to reflect you to our sphere of influence today. In Jesus name, Amen.

Written by Ps. Annique Botta

14 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3 Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth. 4 When the woman from Tekoa went[a] to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!” 5 The king asked her, “What is troubling you?” She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. 7 Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.” 8 The king said to the woman, “Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.” 9 But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon me and my family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.” 10 The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.” 11 She said, “Then let the king invoke the Lord his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.” “As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.” 12 Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” “Speak,” he replied. 13 The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? 14 Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him. 15 “And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant’s request. 16 Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’ 17 “And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the Lord your God be with you.’” 18 Then the king said to the woman, “Don’t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.” “Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said. 19 The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. 20 Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land.” 21 The king said to Joab, “Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.” 22 Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant’s request.” 23 Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.

Joab wished to see the relationship between King David and his estranged son, Absalom restored and this was to start by Absalom returning to Jerusalem. Joab didn’t feel he could approach the king on this directly so he thought out a shrewd plan which worked.  Having said that King David was quick to work out that Joab was behind this plan.

The words of the woman from Tekoa stick out to me, “Yes Joab sent me and told me what to say. He did it to place the matter before you in a different light.” Often the Lord does bring people into our lives to show us a perspective we may not have otherwise seen on our own.  Joab certainly helped David on this occasion.  It got me thinking who has helped me along the way?  The Christian life is not one you do successfully on your own. On the flip side of that who have I come alongside and helped with context?  It is interesting to ponder our dependence on one another. 

Dear Lord,  thank you for the fellow believers you have placed around me who have  helped shed light along my path. Thank you for the truth they have imparted.  Amen

Written by Ps. Ainslie Woods

13 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. 2 Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her. 3 Now Amnon had an adviser named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, “Why do you, the king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.” 5 “Go to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.’” 6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.” 7 David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9 Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat. “Send everyone out of here,” Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.” 12 “No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her. 15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!” 16 “No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.” But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.” 18 So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing an ornate[a] robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went. 20 Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman. 21 When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22 And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.

What a terrible story of a family broken apart by lust, greed, deception, and revenge.

Here is Amnon who is full of lust, he becomes ill and then seeks (bad) advice from Jonadab his cousin.  Neither of these men have any regard for the law, their family or their sister/cousin Tamar and her future.  Amnon’s greed and lust and then the deceptive plan he gets from his cousin, brings about years of hatred and sees a family fragmented.

V 21 “When King David heard what had happened, he was very angry.”

V 22 “and though Absalom never spoke to Amnon about this, he hated Amnon deeply because of what he had done to his sister.”

What bothers me in this passage is that no one (his father or his brother) had the courage to talk about this.  To challenge Amnon’s behaviour and his sins of lust, deception and greed.

It made me think that I would much prefer a friend (brother/sister) to come to me and challenge my sin or blindness; than allow revenge, hate and unforgiveness to continue to eat at me.

If David or Absalom had gone to Amnon and challenged him (see the scriptures below) – revenge would not have been sought 2 years later, resulting in the death of Amnon; and then David would not have had another 3 years of separation from Absalom as he left town!!

Psalm 27:5-6 says:  Better is an open rebuke than hidden love.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy

Matthew 18:15:  If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.  If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

Luke 17:3:  Pay attention to yourselves!  If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

Lord, help us have the courage to challenge sin in our own lives.  To not allow ourselves to be deceived and commit even worse sin. Help us to be courageous and love people enough to challenge sin, with your love and mercy.  Help us Lord to love and forgive when we are wronged.  Teach us to be carriers of reconciliation, grace and forgiveness.

In Jesus name.   Amen

Written by Ps. Sue Botta

16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” 19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” 20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. 21 His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!” 22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” 24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; 25 and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.

Typical expressions of grief can include shock, sadness, crying, withdrawal, lack of self-care, feeling of numbness; anger, regret or guilt; feeling helpless or hopeless; isolation and fear of being alone, disbelief and denial of your loss. When experiencing grief, one may exhibit any or some or all of these expressions. I attended a funeral this week and in a room of 80 people, each person was expressing their grief in differing ways.

Grief truly is a personal experience that lacks predictability. 

It is easy to judge people for the way they express themselves. When David is made aware of his son’s death, he finishes his fast, washes, goes to church and goes to Bathsheba. His attendants appear critical of David behaving this way – as evidenced in verse 21 where they say to him directly, “Why are you acting this way?“.The attendants had not expected this behaviour, as evidenced in verse 18 when they said “he may do something desperate” when discussing how David may respond to the death. 

What I find amazing is that God knew how David would respond. God knew how the attendants would respond. God knows how I will respond – in each situation that I find myself in – because He made me. 

Dear God, it brings me great comfort to know that You, my maker, understand how I feel, even when those around may not understand. Thank You for making me the way You did. Amen. 

Written by Susannah Ware