FORGIVE OTHERS - our LIVES are SHORT!
April 3 Bible
Reading: 2 Samuel Chapters 13-15
FORGIVE OTHERS - our LIVES are SHORT!
"For
we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be
gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so
that His banished ones are not expelled from Him." (2 Sam 14:14)
Absalom had
fled away for Geshur after killing his brother Amnon as a revenge for raping
his sister Tamar, and he was there for about three years (2 Sam. 13:34-38).
David longed to see Absalom but could not take the step towards forgiving his
son (v. 39). David’s army general Joab noted that David was concerned about
Absalom (2 Sam. 14:1), so he devised a plan to reunite David and Absalom. He
engaged the services of a wise woman from Tekoa who appeared before the king in
mourning apparel. When David asked the cause of her grief, she related the sad
story that one of her sons had killed another and now the family avengers were
seeking the murderer’s life (2 Sam. 14:1–7).
Touched
deeply by this poor woman’s plight, David assured her that her surviving son
would live under royal protection (14:8–11). She then revealed to David that it
was he to whom she referred and that it was he who must forgive the wrongdoings
of his estranged son Absalom (14:12–17).
This crafty
woman then provided a superb analysis of the brevity of life and the finality
of death, representing life as water poured out on the ground. Like water
spilled on the ground, what was past (like the death of Amnon) could not be
gathered up again, so why dwell on that? Life is too short to be wasted in a
prolonged quarrel. She then reminded
David of God’s mercies, which caused God to develop means for the restoration
of sinners. God does
not immediately destroy an offender but devises means by which the sinner might
be forgiven and restored!
What we can
understand is that we should be aware of our own mortality and the brevity of
our lives. We all will die one day, and when we live we should be merciful and
compassionate towards others (Matthew 18:32-33). God’s will is to forgive
sinners, and as His children we must do the same. We should continually
practice forgiveness and thus imitate the ways of God.
God’s
forgiveness is complete and we can come into His presence and “see His face” (1 John 1:9–2:2). Like
David forgave his son Absalom completely and accepted him back without
reservations (2 Sam. 14:33b), we should also forgive and accept people who have
offended us. It is then that our Heavenly Father will forgive and accept us
completely!
