The first lesson to take from all this is that David was predisposed to listening to whatever reason someone would bring for allowing Absalom to return home. And we can be like that as individuals. We can be looking for an excuse for whatever sin we find comfort in. Our hearts are so deceptive. Perhaps we convince ourselves that we […]

Here in this chapter we have a touching story. We have emotional manipulation, and people who allow themselves to be manipulated. But the long term outcome of it all – as we’ll see when we get to chapter 18 – is death. Death for Absalom and for many others. Because the wages of sin is always death, sooner or later. […]

If we only had the human characters in this chapter to look at, I think we’d despair. All we could do would be weep. Weep with Tamar. But also weep over the lack of righteousness seen in all the other characters. But one very important question we haven’t asked yet is: Where is God in all this? Because he’s not […]