David Loses His Third Son of Four

And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the LORD hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee. And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is. And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! II Samuel 18:31-33

Steps: 10, 11, 12

David had said that the man who stole the ewe lamb must repay four times. God said this would be part of David’s punishment. David had already lost his first born child by Bathsheba, his son Amnon, and now he loses Absalom. In the future he will lose his son named Adonijah. All of this because of his sin of murdering his body guard Uriah the Hittite. Because of his guilt David did not address issues in the family as he should have done and these little issues allowed to grow to fruition caused much chaos and difficulty and these natural events, not checked by God, grew to issues which cost the lives of these 4 boys, including the greatest tragedy, that of Absalom. Absalom, was a very handsome young man, who had great energy and talents, and vanity. When David did not address the crime of Amnon, then Absalom took it into his hands to correct the problem. Then after killing Amnon Absalom concluded that David was not fit to be the king anymore and Absalom would be king. In the process of time God used this civil war to chastise Israel and to correct a number of abuses in the kingdom. God used David’s crime to work out His holy will in Israel and to communicate the message to all of His children that sin always comes back to haunt us with unseen suffering.

Prayer for Today: God, You know what effect our sins will have on us and on those we love. Please help us to want to have victory over sin and help us to ask You for this victory. We acknowledge that we can not stop our sins but we come to You to get Your help. Thank You for Your loving care over us.