It's Complicated (S2): WK 6 - FRI
2 Samuel 18:24-33
24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the town, the watchman climbed to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked, he saw a lone man running toward them.
25 He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.” As the messenger came closer,
26 the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one!” The king replied, “He also will have news.”
27 “The first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok,” the watchman said. “He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied.
28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “Everything is all right!” He bowed before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise to the Lord your God, who has handed over the rebels who dared to stand against my lord the king.”
29 “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?” Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of commotion. But I didn’t know what was happening.”
30 “Wait here,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside.
31 Then the man from Ethiopia arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today the Lord has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.”
32 “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?” And the Ethiopian replied, “May all of your enemies, my lord the king, both now and in the future, share the fate of that young man!”
33 The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”
Isn’t it interesting that as Ahimaaz yells the “good news” he is carrying to the king, the only thing the king wants to know is how Absalom is doing? He doesn’t mention the civil war. He doesn’t ask about the other soldiers or if the Israelites who had followed Absalom are ready to swear their allegiance once again to David. With all the craziness that has happened between David and Absalom, at the end of the day what you have is a father who wants to know if his son is ok.
Family matters.
David presses Ahimaaz again, and Ahimaaz realizes what David cares about most. What he thought would bring the king joy, was a side dish to the main entree. David wanted to know his son was ok. Ahimaaz knew he wasn’t, but at that moment, he couldn’t bring himself to tell the king and he likely was afraid of what the king would do to the man who brought that news.
The Ethiopian doesn’t seem to know any better. He tells the king the truth, and when he does, the king is undone. I’m surprised he didn’t just collapse right there, but somehow, he made his way to a separate room and there, all his grief hit him like a ton of bricks. We even see him enter into the Bargaining stage of grief where he wishes he was the one to die instead of Absalom. Even after all that Absalom did, David wished he had died instead of Absalom.
Grief is a strange and difficult thing. We were never meant to experience it, so its always a stranger to us, not to mention an unwelcome companion. And at this point, David has lost two of his sons, his daughter was raped, his kingdom was nearly torn in two. Needless to say, the beginning of his role as the new king has not gone so well.
But thankfully, David didn’t give up. He would somehow find the strength to continue to put one foot in front of the other, take one breath at a time, and he would survive the worst of his grief. And good things were to come. Israel would flourish under his leadership, and under his son, Solomon, Israel would see some of the greatest time of peace Israel had ever experienced.
So however difficult a time you are currently in, no matter what has happened along the way, no matter how tough it is to keep putting one foot in front of the other, please, for God’s sake, don’t give up. He’s not done with you yet. He has plans to do in you and through you more than you can possibly imagine. Remember, he never promised you easy, he just promised he’d be with you ever step of the way, even when the way leads through the valley of the shadows. Hang on, He’s not done with you yet.
24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the town, the watchman climbed to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked, he saw a lone man running toward them.
25 He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.” As the messenger came closer,
26 the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one!” The king replied, “He also will have news.”
27 “The first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok,” the watchman said. “He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied.
28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “Everything is all right!” He bowed before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise to the Lord your God, who has handed over the rebels who dared to stand against my lord the king.”
29 “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?” Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of commotion. But I didn’t know what was happening.”
30 “Wait here,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside.
31 Then the man from Ethiopia arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today the Lord has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.”
32 “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?” And the Ethiopian replied, “May all of your enemies, my lord the king, both now and in the future, share the fate of that young man!”
33 The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”
Isn’t it interesting that as Ahimaaz yells the “good news” he is carrying to the king, the only thing the king wants to know is how Absalom is doing? He doesn’t mention the civil war. He doesn’t ask about the other soldiers or if the Israelites who had followed Absalom are ready to swear their allegiance once again to David. With all the craziness that has happened between David and Absalom, at the end of the day what you have is a father who wants to know if his son is ok.
Family matters.
David presses Ahimaaz again, and Ahimaaz realizes what David cares about most. What he thought would bring the king joy, was a side dish to the main entree. David wanted to know his son was ok. Ahimaaz knew he wasn’t, but at that moment, he couldn’t bring himself to tell the king and he likely was afraid of what the king would do to the man who brought that news.
The Ethiopian doesn’t seem to know any better. He tells the king the truth, and when he does, the king is undone. I’m surprised he didn’t just collapse right there, but somehow, he made his way to a separate room and there, all his grief hit him like a ton of bricks. We even see him enter into the Bargaining stage of grief where he wishes he was the one to die instead of Absalom. Even after all that Absalom did, David wished he had died instead of Absalom.
Grief is a strange and difficult thing. We were never meant to experience it, so its always a stranger to us, not to mention an unwelcome companion. And at this point, David has lost two of his sons, his daughter was raped, his kingdom was nearly torn in two. Needless to say, the beginning of his role as the new king has not gone so well.
But thankfully, David didn’t give up. He would somehow find the strength to continue to put one foot in front of the other, take one breath at a time, and he would survive the worst of his grief. And good things were to come. Israel would flourish under his leadership, and under his son, Solomon, Israel would see some of the greatest time of peace Israel had ever experienced.
So however difficult a time you are currently in, no matter what has happened along the way, no matter how tough it is to keep putting one foot in front of the other, please, for God’s sake, don’t give up. He’s not done with you yet. He has plans to do in you and through you more than you can possibly imagine. Remember, he never promised you easy, he just promised he’d be with you ever step of the way, even when the way leads through the valley of the shadows. Hang on, He’s not done with you yet.
By Paddy McCoy
Crosswalk Portland
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2 Samuel 18:19-23
19 Then Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run to the king with the good news that
the Lord has rescued him from his enemies.”
20 “No,” Joab told him, “it wouldn’t be good news to the king that his son is dead. You
can be my messenger another time, but not today.”
21 Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The
man bowed and ran off.
22 But Ahimaaz continued to plead with Joab, “Whatever happens, please let me go, too.”
“Why should you go, my son?” Joab replied. “There will be no reward for your news.”
23 “Yes, but let me go anyway,” he begged. Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” So
Ahimaaz took the less demanding route by way of the plain and ran to Mahanaim
ahead of the Ethiopian.
Have you ever had news to tell someone else that you thought was good, but it wasn’t received that way? I remember telling a coworker that the project they were worried about being given to them, was actually given to someone else. I thought my coworker would be relieved and even high-five me for lightening his load. But in reality, though he was nervous about the project he was excited about the opportunity to prove to his boss what he could really do.
Ahimaaz is excited because the civil war is over and David’s throne is safe. They’ve been working towards this end for some time, and now it’s here. He is obviously not aware of the complicated nature of David’s love for his son, the rebel. He is not aware of the cost to David for the end of this war. So though Joab tries to save him from this task, Ahimaaz is set on being the one to share the “good news” with the king.
We refer to the gospel as “good news”. That’s what the word in the Greek, euangelos, means. But what is this good news?
The way some people describe it, it’s only good news if you obey all the rules. Or it’s only good news if you belong to the right faith tradition. Or it’s only good news if you believe the right things. But as a preacher once said, “If it’s not good news for everyone, it’s not good news for anyone.”
I’ll tell you what I believe. I believe the good news of the gospel is that God loves us so much that He became man, to prove to us once and for all, how much He loves us. That His desire is to reconcile us to Himself so that we may live together, forever, the way He meant us to in the beginning. My job is to simply accept that truth, that God is that kind of God and did all those things for me, and you, and all of us. If that good news is for all of us, then I want all of us to know it not because I’m required to tell others, but because I can’t imagine NOT sharing that good news with everyone I meet.
So do you know what the good news of the gospel really is? The sign that you do is that you are anxious to tell anyone you meet.
1. Why do you think Ahimaaz wanted so badly to be the one to tell the king? Was it strictly what he thought was good news, or was it maybe something more?
2. Put what you think the gospel is into your own words. When you do, is it good news for everyone, or just good news for some?
19 Then Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run to the king with the good news that
the Lord has rescued him from his enemies.”
20 “No,” Joab told him, “it wouldn’t be good news to the king that his son is dead. You
can be my messenger another time, but not today.”
21 Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The
man bowed and ran off.
22 But Ahimaaz continued to plead with Joab, “Whatever happens, please let me go, too.”
“Why should you go, my son?” Joab replied. “There will be no reward for your news.”
23 “Yes, but let me go anyway,” he begged. Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” So
Ahimaaz took the less demanding route by way of the plain and ran to Mahanaim
ahead of the Ethiopian.
Have you ever had news to tell someone else that you thought was good, but it wasn’t received that way? I remember telling a coworker that the project they were worried about being given to them, was actually given to someone else. I thought my coworker would be relieved and even high-five me for lightening his load. But in reality, though he was nervous about the project he was excited about the opportunity to prove to his boss what he could really do.
Ahimaaz is excited because the civil war is over and David’s throne is safe. They’ve been working towards this end for some time, and now it’s here. He is obviously not aware of the complicated nature of David’s love for his son, the rebel. He is not aware of the cost to David for the end of this war. So though Joab tries to save him from this task, Ahimaaz is set on being the one to share the “good news” with the king.
We refer to the gospel as “good news”. That’s what the word in the Greek, euangelos, means. But what is this good news?
The way some people describe it, it’s only good news if you obey all the rules. Or it’s only good news if you belong to the right faith tradition. Or it’s only good news if you believe the right things. But as a preacher once said, “If it’s not good news for everyone, it’s not good news for anyone.”
I’ll tell you what I believe. I believe the good news of the gospel is that God loves us so much that He became man, to prove to us once and for all, how much He loves us. That His desire is to reconcile us to Himself so that we may live together, forever, the way He meant us to in the beginning. My job is to simply accept that truth, that God is that kind of God and did all those things for me, and you, and all of us. If that good news is for all of us, then I want all of us to know it not because I’m required to tell others, but because I can’t imagine NOT sharing that good news with everyone I meet.
So do you know what the good news of the gospel really is? The sign that you do is that you are anxious to tell anyone you meet.
1. Why do you think Ahimaaz wanted so badly to be the one to tell the king? Was it strictly what he thought was good news, or was it maybe something more?
2. Put what you think the gospel is into your own words. When you do, is it good news for everyone, or just good news for some?
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