Devotional & Sermon Summary for 2 Samuel 18
Absalom, the embodiment of the pride we all are vexed with, builds himself a monument, only to die a horrible, cursed death on a tree. To this day, people spit as they pass his monument in the Kidron valley. He is a picture of all of us, dying the death we deserve, and yet, his father loves him, and wants to give him mercy! But how can he? How can David have mercy on his son, while also being a just king? This tension will not resolve until Jesus, the innocent Son, dies an Absalom’s death, cursed on a tree, pierced, in the place we deserve. David’s sobs become God’s and Jesus’ sobs of love to the lost “that I had died instead of you!” Jesus did die in our place. Now all that is left is to accept His sacrifice, and surrender to His kingship and immense love!
Have you in the past or present built a “monument” for yourself? Have you or are you experiencing being “caught in the tree” of your own doing? How were you delivered? Are you snagged in a tree now? How have you experienced God’s deep emotional and Fatherly love for you in the past or present? Are you aware of that reality today? Take some time this week and meditate on David’s love for Absalom, as being just a shadow of God’s love for you.
Supplemental studies:
The Bible Project: ‘How to Read the Bible Videos’ – ‘How to Read Biblical Narrative’