”And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, but did not see the king’s face. Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. And when he sent again the second time, he would not come. So he said to his servants, “See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire. Then Joab arose and came to Absalom’s house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” And Absalom answered Joab, “Look, I sent to you, saying, ‘Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” ’ Now therefore, let me see the king’s face; but if there is iniquity in me, let him execute me.”“ II Samuel 14:28-32 NKJV
a. Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, but did not see the king’s face: During these two years, we can imagine that Absalom grew more and more bitter against David. He was reconciled but only partially. David offered only a partial, incomplete reconciliation.
i. Absalom was banished from Israel because he murdered his brother Amnon (2 Samuel 13). Yet Absalom felt entirely justified in killing the man who raped his sister. His sense of justification made the bitterness against David more intense.
b. Joab’s field is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire: Frustrated that he could not see his father, Absalom burnt Joab’s fields to get his attention. This showed how brutal and amoral Absalom was.
i. It’s hard to think of a greater contrast than that between Absalom and the prodigal son of Jesus’ parable. The prodigal son came back humble and repentant. Absalom came back burning Joab’s fields.
ii. At the same time, sometimes God gets our attention by setting our “barley field” on fire. “He, knowing that we will not come by any other means, sendeth a serious trial - he sets our barley-field on fire, which he has a right to do, seeing our barley-fields are far more his than they are ours.” (Spurgeon)
c. If there is any iniquity in me, let him execute me: This statement reflects Absalom’s sense that he was fully justified in what he did. (Guzik)
Serious Trial!
If we are going through a serious trial it would do well of us to ask ourselves, is God trying to get my attention?
Bad things happen because we live in a fallen world but inner self examination is a good thing as the Bible says:
”Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.“
II Corinthians 13:5 NKJV
And,
”And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.“
Psalms 139:24 NKJV
Are you in the faith?
Blessings
No comments:
Post a Comment