Like Tabloid Stories

2 Samuel 13, 14 & 15

We get to read about the full extent of this royal family’s scandals.

With as much detail as any tabloid could capture and publish. 

All the alliances and the avenging.

The betrayal and the trust.

Real stories with real people

And real grief. 

All the prophesies that came true. 

The trouble in David’s life begins.

Nathan, the prophet went to David and revealed what was on the horizon. 

The Chronicler leaves out the messy bits in his nice neat account.  

2 Samuel 12: 9 “Why did you despise the Word of the LORD by doing what is evil in His Eyes?  You struck down Urriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own.  You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.  10 Now the sword will never depart from your house.  Out of your own house I am going to bring calamity upon you.”

David’s sons all die violent deaths.  And David is driven from Jerusalem by Absalom’s conspiracy in today’s reading.  Absalom avenging his sister Tamar by killing their brother Amnon, and seizing the kingship from his own father, David. 

After Nathan speaks, David is convicted.  And he repents and God forgives but the consequences will follow him all his days.   But.   And there’s always a but….so will the blessing.   

In the midst of all the betrayal and maneuvering, David has a long strong line of trusted friends. Thick and thin type friends.  Friends who will be moles in Absalom’s court. 

And even as the messenger states that the hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom (2 Sam 15:13) The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people (in David’s entourage) passed by. (vs 23)

Oh what a tangled web.   

All the prophesies playing out.  

For three chapters, every detail laid out and bare.

And we will read on,

Because this is not the end of the line

Or the end of the story.

Because God promises a lot.  

That there would always be someone on this throne. 

And you can put your money on that!  

And as I read this story I winced a little. Thinking about what will I write? 

And I wrote and then I drove for an hour and then the thoughts came.

There is always more to the story.  

I think about David and I wonder if he realized that this story would be read by the same generations that sing the praise in his Psalms.  That this dysfunctional family would have all its private messy lives made so very public.  

Do we wince when we read these stories?

Do we wince when the headlines of this kind of story break in the friendship circles around us?

Or do we step up and step into the mess with our families and our friends.  

That we stand by them on their path and weep with them.  

Because as Israel’s heart was with David so our hearts are wrapped up with those around us.  

And that we don’t make it tabloid news. 

We hold each other quietly and tightly.