“So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered and went barefoot. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went up.” 2 Samuel 15:30
Life can be really hard sometimes. God’s word says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
While we know God’s word is true, we often feel as if we are getting dangerously close to how much we can bear. What make that even worse is when at least part of the pressure we feel is from
our sin and failures to obey God.
David is nearing the end of his reign as king and of his life. Despite
being “a man after God’s own heart” David has some significant
failures in his life. God told him after his sin with Bathsheba that violence would not leave his house. Because of this sin he failed to deal with the sexual sins of one of his sons. Later he sinned against God by numbering the people of Israel for his own pride. That sin was met with a plague killing 70,000 Israelites. Like us, David had other “hidden” sins in his life. He multiplied horses, chariots and wives against God’s commands. Additionally it appears he neglected to teach his children (except Solomon) about God. They surely did not love the Lord with their whole heart the way David did. He was also surrounded by advisors who were double-minded. In some instances they gave David Godly advice, in other instances they walked in the flesh. Toward the end of his life all the consequences of these shortcomings (sins) come crashing down on David’s head in a way that would test his willingness to endure in his faith in God as never before. (Remember God allows all these things to happen, even the consequences of our sins that test and grow our faith.)
David’s son, Absalom, rebelled against his father. After he watched his sister, Tamar, be abused by her own brother and his father, David, did nothing to punish him, his respect for his father as a man and as a king plummeted. He took matters into his own hands (he failed to seek God’s will and direction showing his lack of love for God) and orchestrated the murder of his brother. David loved his son but out of remorse and guilt ostracized him from his life. After Joab, one of his double-minded advisors, orchestrated Absalom’s return to the castle, Absalom began a full scale effort to take the kingdom away from his father who he had come to resent. It doesn’t get much worse for a Godly man than when his family is in conflict, becomes anti-God and fights within itself but there is what David now faced. He likely feels guilty for all that has happened but it seems there is nothing
else he can do. He has reached rock bottom.
What can we learn? In our humanness we cry out, “Why do you allow this to one who loves you Lord?” We don’t like it when bad things happen to good people. Yet we do not see the way God sees. He is not acting in anger or punishment. He corrects to teach David (and us) a lesson to help us grow more into His image. One of the things
that we do not comprehend is how horrible sin is. We call it a mistake or an error. God sees it for what it is – rebellion to His holiness which separates us from Him forever. Thus God leaves consequences so we learn the horror of sin and we desire to avoid it forever.