Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”
So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

• 2 Samuel 12:1-6

Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?”
Ahithophel answered, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself obnoxious to your father, and the hands of everyone with you will be more resolute.” So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice.

• 2 Samuel 16:20-23

Until I prepared this morning’s Bible study and read the quotations from the Rev. MacArthur commentary, I had not made the connection in the curse upon David, pronounced by the prophet Nathan.

David’s “wives” would be slept with by a member of his own family in broad daylight in front of all Israel for what David had done to Bathsheba and then had Uriah killed.

Of course, I knew that Absalom slept with David’s concubines, but I never realized that Ahithophel was Bathsheba’s grandfather.  As Rev. MacArthur thinks, this heinous action by Absalom, intended to make Absalom a stench among his own family, especially David, was an attempt of revenge by Ahithophel for having adultery with his granddaughter.

Was Ahithophel aware of Nathan’s prophecy?

And Nathan spoke to say that God would raise up someone to do this terrible thing.

Jesus took the Twelve into his confidence.  He even let Judas Iscariot control the purse and he knew Judas was stealing from it.  He stated to the Twelve that one of them was a devil.

Before the latest season of the Chosen came out, the person playing Judas spoke of how others were given an opportunity to be forgiven, but Judas was not.

This seems to be a misunderstanding of God’s will.  God hates sin, but He will play one person against another so that the one who is prone to make the evil choice will make that choice to get one more piece of the puzzle complete.  He is not making them do what they do.  God knows what is in that person’s heart.  Judas deserved the epithet that it would be better if he had never been born.

So what of Absalom?

When Nathan came to David, he may not have had anyone in mind.  He was just passing along what God had told him to say, but Absalom was an adult by this point, probably.  He was already a narcissist.  He cut his hair once each year and had it weighed.  He knew he was good looking.  And I think that Absalom knew his father.  He knew that he could play on David’s attitude of giving mercy.  He killed his brother Amnon.  He should have been killed in return but he was exiled.  Then he manipulated Joab and then David.  He got away with murder.  So, his next manipulation was to overthrow his father and become king himself.  It was a tiny step in sleeping with the concubines at this point.

God did not make Absalom do all those things to fulfill the prophecy.  Absalom had that in his heart the entire time.

So now, do you have an Absalom in your family?  Have you prayed and done everything you could think of to help your Absalom see the truth that is in Jesus?

We can all be better parents, but that rebellious child was given ample opportunities to repent.

In spite of what they might say, if they are not saved, it was their decision, not your poor parenting.  Those who go to Hell get there on their own two feet.

That is no consolation at all.  If you are like me, you will pray for them until your last breath.  Could I have done better?  Probably, but that cannot be used as an excuse when they are before the Great White Throne.

God is Love.  God is Holy.  God is Just.  And He will wipe away every tear.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.