Title: Shadow of God's Love
shadow of God's love
“The king’s heart was very sore, and he went up to the gatehouse and wept. As he went up, he said, “My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, if I had died for you, Absalom my son, my son” (2 Samuel 18:33).
I. Background of the text
In the Old Testament era, there could not have been anyone who loved God and received God's love as much as David. Except for the census forbidden by God and the case of adultery with Uriah's wife Bathsheba, he was a man who lived in the Lord all his life with a heart like a child. Although he was the king of a country, it was difficult to find material greed and lust for honor. Rather, he was a philosopher and a man of God who immersed himself in cosmic meditation praising God and singing the faithfulness of God in the firmament. But his family was unfortunately full of scars. The love of his parents and the care of his brothers were foreign languages to him. Although married, his wife did not understand her spiritual world and had children, but despite his outstanding faith, it was just another broken family.
II. death of the evil son
The text reveals David's appearance on the battlefield right after he heard that his son Absalom had died. He wept and went up to the gatehouse, weeping bitterly. “My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, if I died for you, Absalom my son, my son” (2 Samuel 18:33).
This suffering started when David's first son, Amnon, raped Absalom's sister Tamar. To avenge his weeping sister, Absalom invited all his brothers and brutally murdered his half-brother Amnon. Of course, David was also aware of Amnon's misconduct, but his wrath reached its peak when he saw his own children dying and killing each other. So Absalom fled from his father's wrath. Many years have passed. Knowing that the father's heart wanted to see his son, the servants brought Absalom to David, but the deep emotional rift between the rich man was not resolved.
As a result, Absalom plots rebellion against his father. One was because of the anxiety and fear that his father would ever take revenge on him, and the other was because of his desire for power to become the king himself and rule the country. So he prepared the work meticulously. He protected himself as a personal escort, and among David's generals, he brought to his side those who were dissatisfied with David. Likewise, he began to plunder their hearts by saying that he listened to the plight of the people who were injustice. When the appointed time finally came, he declared that he had become the king of Israel, and he rebelled with the crowd that followed. Absalom furthermore