Day 133: Persevering in Trust

2 Samuel 15:1-37 Bitter fighting between Judah and the other tribes and even within Judah itself continued to take its toll on the unity of God’s people. David’s own sons continued to be a thorn in his side and a rival to his power.

Psalm 3 Psalms 3-14 are designated as morning prayers and night prayers. Like the Jews, Christians, from the earliest times, prayed the psalms daily. In time, the Church arranged the Psalms to be prayed at different times throughout the day over the course of a week or a month in what is known as the Liturgy of the Hours, or Divine Office, which is the official prayer of the Church.

Absalom: This son of King David sought to overthrow him.

I wake again: St. Ambrose saw this as a prophecy of the Resurrection of Christ from the “sleep” of death; in both instances, it is God who raises the dead. 

Your people: To pray for the people is a sign that it is the king who is praying. The Church teaches that David was a king “after God’s own heart” because he prayed for his people, submitted to God’s will, offered praise to God, and repented of his sins. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, David, in the Psalms, is considered the first prophet of Jewish and Christian prayer. (CCC 2579, 2700)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• As with Amnon, David fails to punish Absalom.

• Perhaps this flaw of leniency is what encourages Absalom’s ambition

• The prince sets himself up as a judge and ingratiates himself with the people by issuing favorable decisions without any sustained investigation.

• He does this for four years, and yet David does not notice it (an indication of his growing passivity)!

• Building on the support he has won, Absalom proclaims himself king at Hebron and mounts a rebellion.

• David must flee for his life as he once fled from Saul. 

• He heads east beyond the Jordan-that is, beyond the boundaries of the inheritance promised to Abraham’s descendants.

• Like Adam and Eve’s transgression, David’s sin costs him the Promised Land and casts him east into exile.

• Among those who join Absalom in the rebellion is Ahithophel the Gilonite, the father of Eliam, the father of Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:3, 15:12, 23:34)-in other words, Bathsheba’s grandfather!

• Ahithophel’s role in the rebellion places him as a living monument of David’s sin, as much as Absalom’s uprising bespeaks David’s failure as a father. 

(*Walking With God: A Journey Through The Bible By Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins)

• Keep in mind that 1 Chronicles 19 & 20 is a bit of a flashback

• We will read about David’s battles from a retrospective aspect

• We will also read about how in the spring the king’s army goes into battle

• Joab leads the armed forces

• David stays at home

• We won’t be getting the story of David and Bathsheba in Jerusalem

• We will be getting just the story of the battle

• That’s because 1 Chronicles highlights the fact that God is going to restore the KINGDOM and the TEMPLE

• God is going to restore the PEOPLE OF GOD and the WORSHIP OF GOD

• So we see how David was a great WARRIOR KING even if he wasn’t a great FATHER

• We declare our trust in God EVEN IN THE MIDST OF BATTLE 

• So Psalm 131 is one of Fr. Mike’s favorites (it’s only 3 verses long for one thing 😉) and is a great psalm of trust and humble confidence in the Lord

• Psalm 3 is an incredible, phenomenal psalm of TRUST

• Here is David who is on his throne who trusted in the Lord

• Psalm 3 was written when David was fleeing from Absalom

• Imagine everything is falling down around you

• You are fleeing from your OWN SON who is trying to KILL YOU and trying to take your throne and authority

• Everyone you know and love is now under threat from your own son

• AND IT’S YOUR FAULT 

• So under that context, David wrote this psalm

• “God, I trust in you.”

• David is saying that he isn’t going to wait until the battle is WON to trust God

• David is going to TRUST GOD in the MIDDLE OF THE BATTLE

• Gosh, you guys 😉

• We have the flawed sinner David

• Maybe you can’t think of David anymore without thinking of his massive sins

• But David is LIKE US

• David STILL TRUSTS IN GOD

• So in 2 Samuel Ch 15 David is fleeing from Absalom

• Absalom is back in Jerusalem and is the “Brad Pitt” of Jerusalem (I personally prefer George Clooney 😉)

• He positions himself at the gate of the city and convinces the people to let him be the JUDGE of their cases

• He tells them he is JUST and RIGHT

• He makes them believe that King David can’t be bothered with their problems

• Now yes, Absalom does want to actively take care of the people Israel but for a nefarious purpose

• He wants to take control of the kingdom away from his father

• But he shows initiative 

• He gathers the people at Hebron to fight against David, his father

• David realizes the writing is on the wall (All in all we’re just another….brick in the wall 🎸😜)

• David knows that he has to flee Jerusalem

• Let’s highlight this fact that as Absalom is leading his army into Jerusalem to kill his father, David is walking with his people to escape Jerusalem and he WAITS

• David makes sure his people are SAFE as he makes sure they all leave the city

• David stands there

• Not only is this a good sign of David saying “Women and children first, you get in lifeboats. I’m going to wait here until everyone is out.”

• This is essentially the captain going down with the ship (cue My Heart Will Go On 🎶)

• His people probably knew that David failed as a king

• His people probably  knew that David failed as a father when he didn’t deal with Amnon who raped Tamar

• His people probably knew that David failed as a father when he didn’t deal properly with Absalom

• So David is standing there as they all have to walk by him and see him in his SHAME

• There is something NOBLE about this (I kept picturing the scene in The Two Towers where King Theoden is leading his people out of Edoras to flee Saruman’s army 🤓)

• David is a SINNER, but remains a NOBLE PERSON

• David remains the king who TRULY wants to care for his people

• But we will see him humbled EVEN MORE soon

• David is telling the priests Abiathar and Zadok and the other Levite priests to carry the Ark of the Covenant back to the Temple

• If God wanted to bring David back, David trusted that he would be in the presence of God again

• But the Lord belonged in the Tabernacle

• David shows this TRUST very very clearly in this moment

• Ahithophel is David’s advisor

• Absalom sends for him and turns him to his side

• When David realized this, he was heartbroken and truly disturbed

• It is often thought Ahithophel was who David was thinking about when he wrote in the Book of Psalms, “Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted his heel against me.”

• Ahithophel was David’s counselor who betrayed him

• In the midst of all this, David shows his HUMILITY

• In the midst of all this, David shows his TRUST IN THE LORD

• In the midst of all this, David shows his TRUE REPENTANCE

• BUT....

• Will it be enough?

• Will it be enough for David to keep the kingdom together?

• Will it be enough for David to save his son?

• We will find in the following days that David, almost more than anything, wants his son Absalom to be safe

• If we need to act today, to care for the people we love

• Maybe they don’t know we love them

• Maybe they don’t know we have forgiven them

• Maybe they’ve offered forgiveness to us but we haven’t received or accepted it

• That’s an opportunity for US

• To OFFER FORGIVENESS

• To RECEIVE FORGIVENESS

• To OFFER RECONCILIATION

• To RECEIVE RECONCILIATION

• We know this ALL started with INACTION

• This ALL started with FAILING TO LIFT UP THE HEAD AND ACT ON JUSTICE, TO DO WHAT WAS RIGHT IN DAVID’S OWN FAMILY AND DAVID’S OWN LIFE

• We need that

• We need the help to ACT when we know we need to act

• We are VERY MUCH into the journey, not quite the middle yet 

• Therefore we are VERY MUCH into praying for each other

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we praise you and we give you thanks. Gosh, Lord. We do thank you. We offer this word of trust, this word of confidence in you and your goodness and your faithfulness. Even in times of insecurity, even in times of uncertainty, even in times of great trial and battle where the enemy is winning. We declare our trust in you this day and every day in Jesus’ name. Amen.”