This week on the blog, we’ve been studying the tragic events of a civil war in ancient Israel, and of palace intrigue that led to murder. Think about the numerous themes in these chapters. Weak versus strong leadership. The downfall brought about by fear and jealousy. Of course, lying, deceit and murder.
What we don’t see in these chapters is godly sorrow, except in David who wasn’t the one who committed the lying, deceit and murder. Yet, David himself is not blameless, is he? The author of 1st and 2nd Samuel has been laying the narrative groundwork for David’s most well-known sin, which we will get to in a few weeks. That groundwork has everything to do with David’s unchecked lust for women. So far we have seen that he had six wives, and he made a peace deal contingent on getting back his first wife.
It is a messy, messy story. And that messiness makes the story sound…normal. Yes, normal. I know the story is very dramatic. But also normal. We’ve read about normal people acting the way people act. We humans normally choose to think, talk and act in ways that are contrary to the heart and ways of God. We become jealous. We fixate on our desires, plans and paths, sometimes ignoring or simply being oblivious to how we are affecting others.
Think about the humanness of the people in this story.
Abner kills Asahel in battle (likely in self-defense?). He installs Ish-Bosheth as king, but when Ish-Bosheth shames Abner, Abner orchestrates a coup.
Joab is vengeful and murderous. He refuses to believe Abner’s peace deal, and instead kills Abner.
David is lustful and greedy.
Thankfully, there are some redeeming qualities in David we can focus on. David desires peace between the tribes of Israel. David expresses godly sorrow over the death of Abner, even though David had nothing to do with it. David clearly calls out Joab’s sin, and asks God to deal with it. But let’s focus on David’s godly sorrow.
What is godly sorrow? In 2 Corinthians 7, verses 8-11, the apostle Paul writes,
“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.”
Godly sorrow is vital for disciples of Jesus. Godly sorrow is a quickness to demonstrate humble self-reflection that strongly desires to make things right. Godly sorrow trusts in God’s love for us, saying, “I messed up, I was wrong, but I know that God loves me, and forgives me, so I will clearly declare to all involved that I was wrong, and then I will work to make things right.” Godly sorrow does not avoid, or push people away, or deny, or ignore.
Godly sorrow repents. Repentance is word that goes beyond feeling sorrow in our minds or emotions. As Paul describes in this passage, repentance works hard to restore and heal and reconcile. Repentance is a physical 180 degree turn of thought and life. Repentance brings justice and flourishing after one has chosen pain and hurt and sin. When we practice godly sorrow, we break down the walls of pride and coldness and fear, and we trust in God’s love for us, so that we can strive towards healing.
What I have noticed, sometimes in others and sometimes in myself, is that pride, bitterness, and coldness can become a habit. Almost like a shield that we wrap around us, to protect ourselves, even if we are the ones who have hurt people. What I’m suggesting is that in the story of 2nd Samuel 2:9—3:39, though he has a messy side, David was also a man after God’s own heart who was willing to be vulnerable and sorrowful and take significant action in response to evil and wickedness. There is a real sense in this story that David has godly sorrow on behalf of those who did not, Joab, and David’s selfless godly sorrow is what leads to peace.
But don’t let others have godly sorrow for you. Practice godly sorrow yourself. Who do you need to reconcile with? Who do you need to let down your guard with? Who do you need to apologize to?
Where do you need more humility and less pride in your interactions? Ask God to show you areas of your heart, mind and attitude where there is any bitterness and hardness. Where you are getting offended quickly.
Those attitudes and actions quite often stick with us because of hurt that has not been healed. So the hurt remains and causes pain for yourself and others.
Take that hurt, bitterness, anger, and hard heart to God. Repent. Let yourself feel the sorrow of the circumstance, including the sorrow of your part in it, as well as the sin you carried. Ask God for his presence and healing and change. It’s sometimes difficult to have godly sorrow, but it is also how healing and reconciliation begin.
let’s think about the numerous themes in these chapters. Weak versus strong leadership. The downfall brought about by fear and jealousy. Of course, lying, deceit and murder. What we don’t see in these chapters is godly sorrow, except in David, who didn’t commit the lying, deceit and murder. Yet, David himself is not blameless, is he? The author of the story has been laying the narrative groundwork for David’s most well-known sin, which we will get to in a few weeks. That groundwork has everything to do with David’s unchecked lust for women. Today we have seen that he now has six wives, and he makes a peace deal contingent on getting back his first wife.
It is a messy, messy story. And that messiness makes the story sound…normal. Yes, normal. I know the story is very dramatic. But also normal. We’re faced with normal people acting the way people act. We humans normally choose to think, talk and act in ways that are contrary to the heart and ways of God. We have jealousy. We fixate on our desires, plans and paths, sometimes ignoring or oblivious to how we are affecting others.
Think about the humanness of the people in this story.
Abner was clearly power-hungry. He installs Ish-Bosheth as king. Abner orchestrates a coup.
Joab is vengeful and murderous. He refuses to believe Abner’s peace deal, and instead kills Abner.
David is lustful and greedy. But thankfully, there are some redeeming qualities in David we can focus on. David desires peace between the tribes of Israel. David expresses godly sorrow over the death of Abner, even though David had nothing to do with it. David clearly calls out Joab’s sin, and asks God to deal with it. But let’s focus on David’s godly sorrow.
What is godly sorrow? In 2 Corinthians 7, verses 8-11,
“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.”
Godly sorrow is vital for disciples of Jesus. Godly sorrow is a quickness to humble self-reflection that strongly desires to make things right. Godly sorrow trusts in God’s love for us, and so is willing to say, “I messed up, I was wrong, but I know that God loves me, and forgives me, so I will clearly declare to all involved that I was wrong, and then I will work to make things right.” Godly sorrow does not avoid, or push people away, or deny, or ignore.
Godly sorrow repents. Repentance is word that goes beyond feeling sorrow in our minds or emotions. As Paul describes in this passage, repentance works hard to restore and heal and reconcile. Repentance is a physical 180 degree turn of thought and life. Repentance brings justice and flourishing after one has chosen pain and hurt and sin. When we practice godly sorrow, we break down the walls of pride and coldness and fear, and we trust in God’s love for us, so that we can strive towards healing.
What I have noticed, sometimes in others and sometimes in myself, is that pride, and bitterness and coldness can become a habit. Almost like a shield that we wrap around us, to protect ourselves, even if we are the ones who have hurt people. What I’m suggesting is that David, in this story, though he has a messy side, was also a man after God’s own heart who was willing to be vulnerable and sorrowful and take significant action in response to evil and wickedness. There is a real sense in this story that David has godly sorrow on behalf of those who did not, Joab, and David’s selfless godly sorrow is what leads to peace.
But don’t let others have godly sorrow for you. Practice godly sorrow yourself. Who do you need to reconcile with? Who do you need to let down your guard with? Who do you need to apologize to?
Where do you need more humility and less pride in your interactions? Ask God to show you areas of your heart, mind and attitude where there is any bitterness and hardness. Where you are getting offended quickly.
Those attitudes and actions quite often stick with us because of hurt that has not been healed. So the hurt remains and causes pain for yourself and others.
Take that hurt, bitterness, anger and hard heart to God. Repent. Let yourself feel the sorrow of the circumstance, including the sorrow of your part in it, as well as the sin you carried. Ask God for his presence and healing and change. It’s sometimes difficult to have godly sorrow, but it is also how healing and reconciliation begins.
let’s think about the numerous themes in these chapters. Weak versus strong leadership. The downfall brought about by fear and jealousy. Of course, lying, deceit and murder. What we don’t see in these chapters is godly sorrow, except in David, who didn’t commit the lying, deceit and murder. Yet, David himself is not blameless, is he? The author of the story has been laying the narrative groundwork for David’s most well-known sin, which we will get to in a few weeks. That groundwork has everything to do with David’s unchecked lust for women. Today we have seen that he now has six wives, and he makes a peace deal contingent on getting back his first wife.
It is a messy, messy story. And that messiness makes the story sound…normal. Yes, normal. I know the story is very dramatic. But also normal. We’re faced with normal people acting the way people act. We humans normally choose to think, talk and act in ways that are contrary to the heart and ways of God. We have jealousy. We fixate on our desires, plans and paths, sometimes ignoring or oblivious to how we are affecting others.
Think about the humanness of the people in this story.
Abner was clearly power-hungry. He installs Ish-Bosheth as king. Abner orchestrates a coup.
Joab is vengeful and murderous. He refuses to believe Abner’s peace deal, and instead kills Abner.
David is lustful and greedy. But thankfully, there are some redeeming qualities in David we can focus on. David desires peace between the tribes of Israel. David expresses godly sorrow over the death of Abner, even though David had nothing to do with it. David clearly calls out Joab’s sin, and asks God to deal with it. But let’s focus on David’s godly sorrow.
What is godly sorrow? In 2 Corinthians 7, verses 8-11,
“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.”
Godly sorrow is vital for disciples of Jesus. Godly sorrow is a quickness to humble self-reflection that strongly desires to make things right. Godly sorrow trusts in God’s love for us, and so is willing to say, “I messed up, I was wrong, but I know that God loves me, and forgives me, so I will clearly declare to all involved that I was wrong, and then I will work to make things right.” Godly sorrow does not avoid, or push people away, or deny, or ignore.
Godly sorrow repents. Repentance is word that goes beyond feeling sorrow in our minds or emotions. As Paul describes in this passage, repentance works hard to restore and heal and reconcile. Repentance is a physical 180 degree turn of thought and life. Repentance brings justice and flourishing after one has chosen pain and hurt and sin. When we practice godly sorrow, we break down the walls of pride and coldness and fear, and we trust in God’s love for us, so that we can strive towards healing.
What I have noticed, sometimes in others and sometimes in myself, is that pride, and bitterness and coldness can become a habit. Almost like a shield that we wrap around us, to protect ourselves, even if we are the ones who have hurt people. What I’m suggesting is that David, in this story, though he has a messy side, was also a man after God’s own heart who was willing to be vulnerable and sorrowful and take significant action in response to evil and wickedness. There is a real sense in this story that David has godly sorrow on behalf of those who did not, Joab, and David’s selfless godly sorrow is what leads to peace.
But don’t let others have godly sorrow for you. Practice godly sorrow yourself. Who do you need to reconcile with? Who do you need to let down your guard with? Who do you need to apologize to?
Where do you need more humility and less pride in your interactions? Ask God to show you areas of your heart, mind and attitude where there is any bitterness and hardness. Where you are getting offended quickly.
Those attitudes and actions quite often stick with us because of hurt that has not been healed. So the hurt remains and causes pain for yourself and others.
Take that hurt, bitterness, anger and hard heart to God. Repent. Let yourself feel the sorrow of the circumstance, including the sorrow of your part in it, as well as the sin you carried. Ask God for his presence and healing and change. It’s sometimes difficult to have godly sorrow, but it is also how healing and reconciliation begins.
Photo by Road Trip with Raj on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 