2 Samuel 19:41 (NLT)
41 But all the men of Israel complained to the king, “The men of Judah stole the king and didn’t give us the honor of helping take you, your household, and all your men across the Jordan.”
How short is your memory? Obviously, there are those because of medical issues may have a difficult time with long term memories, or even short term memories, but without those limitations, most of us can remember things that occurred recently in our lives. But, have you noticed that oftentimes, we don’t like to remember or be reminded of the things we do that are wrong or have negative impact. Strangely, those are the very things that many of us remember most often. Bad memories can be much more poignant in our thoughts than good memories. So, what is going on with the men of Israel in our passage. Remember, the men of Israel had largely turned away from King David and declared their allegiance to Absalom. Seemingly, without any consideration of loyalty, the 10 tribes of Israel had whole-scale not only declared their allegiance to Absalom but had actually crowned him king. The tribe of Judea had been somewhat split, because both David and Absalom had been from the tribe of Judea, but most everyone in the other ten decided for Absalom. Regardless of why, they acted indigent when Judea first brought him back and actually fought some battles for David. The other tribes complained to David that Judea had stolen him from them. David understood what was going on, and ensuring that the other ten tribes did not have their faces smeared into the dirt, forgave them and moved forward. However, that doesn’t make the situation less irritating. So, what is the point? We see that before David passes, another usurper comes forward, actually Absalom’s brother, to steal the throne, and once again the ten tribes are ready to betray David again. However, this time, David names Solomon as his heir and crowns him co-King. Crisis averted! However, we should all be aware that a problem ignored today only becomes bigger. People might “pretend” to not remember, but most do. We are called as brothers and sisters of faith to hold each other accountable, and by doing so, we are more likely to stay on the path of righteousness. Peace and Blessings!
In the Love of Jesus Christ, Pastor Bob – church
pastorbobtitus@gmail.com, (412) 520-5407
