Passage Read: 2 Samuel 18-21
Meditation Verses: 19:5-6
Thought
Absalom hated David. There's no escaping that conclusion. He had grown so bitter against his father for not protecting his sister and not judging his half-brother, that he convinced himself that killing his father was the good and right thing to do. He was determined to destroy his father. In the end, God destroyed him. Joab did what he thought was best and eliminated the threat to David, whereas David preferred mercy in hope of restoring his son to fellowship. We'll never know what would have happened if Absalom had been captured rather than killed. God took the decision out of David's hands, and with Joab's action, completed the punishment decreed for David's sin with Bathsheba. David grieved the loss of his son, knowing it was because of his own sin. But Joab was right: Absalom hated David, and regardless of any justification, he had made all the wrong choices to bring about his own death.
Application
I wish there was a promise that fathers and sons would all be reconciled, but Scripture offers no such promise. Absalom only saw what his father did wrong by his judgment; he couldn't see the mercy that was given to his brother and was available to him too. Sons can become so embittered against their father that though the father would welcome reconciliation, the sons would rather see him rot in hell. Jesus even warns that sons would be among those who betray fathers to death because of Christ, as well as fathers their sons. I wish I could say I'd been a perfect father so that none of my sons would have cause to be driven from me. But even if I'd done everything right, my sons can hate me for my obedience to Christ. I'm confident I've done right and I know I've done wrong. I can only hope that all my sons can receive the grace they need to overcome my wrongs and to honor where I was right, and not be destroyed by bitterness.