Avenger: a person who takes revenge for an offense. Avengers feel that by engaging in terrorism they right the wrongs committed to their people. An avenger is a person who takes revenge on behalf of someone else.  Many movies, past and current, portray avengers as heroes to be adored. Most often, avengers, because of their knee-jerk reactions to trouble find themselves in trouble themselves.

An avenging person who hastily reacts immediately to a wrong committed has a controlling mind, thinking he/she can fix people and circumstances.  God is left out of the equation of seeking solutions, however.  Avengers seek justice with no mercy.  “Off with their heads” is their first response and battle cry whether figuratively or physically.  Avengers are led by their own emotions and frustrations in life.  They “follow their hearts” in solving whatever problem presents itself within their hearing.  There is no wisdom, no consulting God, which results in actions of injustice which is opposite God’s justice.  Avengers strike and run for when the deed is done they are just as guilty as the one they destroyed and put to death for their sins.

Micah 6:8 is a well-known verse that outlines what God requires of humans: “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.” Micah says it is God’s requirement of mankind to live a life that reflects God’s character through righteous actions, compassionate hearts, and a humble spirit. 

David’s family was in conflict. His eldest son, Amnon, raped Tamar, his own half-sister. Absalom, Tamar’s brother, murdered Amnon in revenge. Absalom is an avenger who does not walk with God. Absalom has accumulated an army of men who are loyal to overtake his father’s kingdom.  He will do anything to obtain what he wants. How this must grieve the heart of David of seeks a restored relationship with his son. How deeply this must grieve the heart of God who seeks restored relationships with us when we run from His love and care. 

2 Samuel 14

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. ² So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. ³ Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.

⁴ When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

⁵ The king asked her, “What is troubling you?”

She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. ⁶ I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. ⁷ Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”

⁸ The king said to the woman, “Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.”

⁹ But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon me and my family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.”

¹⁰ The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.”

¹¹ She said, “Then let the king invoke the Lord his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.”

“As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”

¹² Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.”

“Speak,” he replied.

¹³ The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? ¹⁴ Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.

¹⁵ “And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant’s request. ¹⁶ Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’

¹⁷ “And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the Lord your God be with you.’”

¹⁸ Then the king said to the woman, “Don’t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.”

“Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said.

¹⁹ The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab with you in all this?”

The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. ²⁰ Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land.”

²¹ The king said to Joab, “Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

²² Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant’s request.”

²³ Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. ²⁴ But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.

²⁵ In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. ²⁶ Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels by the royal standard.

²⁷ Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman.

²⁸ Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face. ²⁹ Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. ³⁰ Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

³¹ Then Joab did go to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”

³² Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent word to you and said, ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!”’ Now then, I want to see the king’s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.”

³³ So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

ACT ONE: SCENE ONE

Just as Nathan had confronted David the sinner by telling him a story (2 Samuel 12:1–7); Joab confronted David the father and king by putting a fabricated account of a family problem into the mouth of a woman who was both wise and a very good actress.  Her story about a warring family moved the heart of David the father.

When has God used a story from someone’s life to open your eyes to your own story?  What was your first reaction? What did you do as a result? Who did you run to for help?

When troubles, conflicts, and circumstance that demand justice come; Seek God’s help first.  Kneel before God, asking for His wisdom and direction before doing anything about the injustice to us or a loved one.  When we plunge into a sea of trouble without God we will drown from our own attempts to save ourselves or others. Rescuing, saving, and restoring God’s work. God is the justice we seek.

“Had God not forgiven David’s sins? The woman confessed that she was afraid that her family would slay her son and rob her of the inheritance God had given them. Until we remember we are also targets of God’s mercy, we won’t be able to see how badly others need His mercy—even when it comes through us!” –Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe Study Bible

We must daily remember and internalize what God has so graciously done for us and continues to do through us as He pours out his mercies over us!  The more we realize the depth of God’s love, mercy, and grace; the more we will begin to extend His form of justice, mercy, and love to others. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, Paul reminds us. (Romans 3:23) “Waling humbly with God”, a requirement of God, is remembering all He has done for us!

SCENE ONE: ACT TWO

There is no record that Absalom was repentant and sought his father’s forgiveness, or that he offered the required sacrifices. Father and son were together again, but it was a fragile truce and not a real peace. Absalom had his hidden agenda and was determined to seize David’s throne. Now that the prince was free, he could be visible in the city and enjoy the adulation of the crowds. During this ruse; Absalom is quietly organizing his sympathizers for the coming rebellion to overthrow the throne of David. David was about to lose his throne and crown, his concubines, his trusted adviser Ahithophel, and ultimately his son Absalom. It would be the darkest hour in David’s life.

Stay tuned…there’s more to come!

Lord,

Thank you for lessons that leap from the pages of Your Story through your people. Thank you, Jesus, for your parables that further explain who you are while bringing  Light to the Truth.  We know what please you.  Help us to walk humbly with you daily.

You love justice and you also provide heaping amounts of undeserved mercies daily to all who believe and follow you.  Continue to be make us mindful of all you have given to us so that we will be more like you, developing your character traits of real love, merciful kindness, and unmerited grace to all those around us. I need you every hour to seek restoration; not revenge.

In Jesus Name, Amen