Wednesday Thought – March 16, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

After Absalom’s death, David returned to Jerusalem as king and was greeted by some who had betrayed him. They had gone to Absalom and left their loyalty to David. Some wanted these traitors killed. “Abishai son of Zeruiah said, ‘Shouldn't Shimei be put to death for this? He cursed the Lord's anointed.’" (2 Samuel 19:21) Putting enemies to death seemed the reasonable thing to do. Could they ever trusted again?

David responded, “‘What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? This day you have become my adversaries! Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Do I not know that today I am king over Israel?’ So the king said to Shimei, ‘You shall not die.’” (2 Samuel 19:22-23)

David wanted no more fighting in Israel. It was time to put enmity behind them. It was time for forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration and David would lead the way. David forgave and restored those who betrayed him.

That wasn’t easy for David. There must have been a sense in which David wanted vengeance for their betrayal. David said “no” to vengeance and “yes” to what would bring healing to Israel. How could David trust men who had betrayed him? Would there always be doubt in David’s mind about those men? David made a choice to trust them. It may not have been reasonable for him to do so, but it was what the Lord wanted him to do. Israel was to be brought back together again and David led the way by his willingness to forgive and trust again.

It’s hard to be betrayed, especially by those you trust. Having been betrayed, it’s hard to forgive and harder to trust those same people again. David trusted God first and in that trust he was able to set aside his desire for vengeance and his desire to turn away from those who betrayed him. We will probably never be betrayed to the extent that David was – they were seeking to kill him! But we will be betrayed in some less drastic ways. We all face betrayal at times. We all face the opportunity to show forgiveness and to trust again.

His, by Grace, Steve