34 Then Absalom fled. And the young man who was keeping watch lifted his eyes and looked, and there, many people were coming from the road on the hillside behind him. 35 And Jonadab said to the king, “Look, the king’s sons are coming; as your servant said, so it is.” 36 So it was, as soon as he had finished speaking, that the king’s sons indeed came, and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also the king and all his servants wept very bitterly.
37 But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. 38 So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years. 39 And King David longed to go to Absalom. For he had been comforted concerning Amnon, because he was dead.
We have connected the dots between David’s failure to act righteously in this story and Absalom’s subsequent decision to take matters into his own hands. The continued decline of this royal family can even be traced to David’s sin with Bathsheba, for how could he judge Amnon’s actions with Tamar when he has his own sinful history to reflect on.
Amnon is dead—the punishment his actions likely merited—but the losses continue to mount. Now David has lost another son. Absalom has fled and the complex question of an appropriate response to his vengeance will further cripple David’s decision-making. Even after David has recovered from his grief, his thoughts of Absalom fail to produce any action. David’s own sin continues to multiply in his failure to do anything to stop the spread of evil. At the moment, Absalom is a lost son only a few miles away. Soon enough, though, he will be lost forever as well.
Don’t stand by when grace and forgiveness could stop the march of evil around you. Step up and step in with the same love and compassion God has extended to you. Only grace and genuine love can stop the wicked tidal wave Satan keeps stirring amidst our failures.
– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.
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