Special Saturday Edition
Ethan Barton, Pastoral Resident, Tallowood Baptist Church
David just wants to make a good impression. He had just become king of Israel, and yet surviving members of Saul’s family were still warring with David’s men. Bloodshed was abounding and was causing more bloodshed. Should David wipe out his enemies, or do the harder thing of trying to reconcile with them and unite the kingdom?
David decided on the latter, and he tried to show kindness even to those that didn’t deserve it. But his trusty, mighty right-hand man Joab had a score to settle. Abner had hurt him deeply by killing his brother; and even if the reason was justified, Joab just had to hurt him back. He had to get revenge.
The lust for revenge is poisonous. It never satisfies us quite like we’d like it to; all it does is double the mess, and make someone else lust for revenge in turn. It’s a bloody cycle. As agonizing as it may feel, the better option is almost always to forgive and reconcile with the person that has wronged us. God reminds us in his Word that our business is to love; vengeance is his, not ours. Rather than convince ourselves that repaying evil for evil will fix things, we are to trust God’s promises to fix absolutely everything—in his own good time.
Because of Joab’s revenge, the kingdom of Israel would remain divided and in chaos for seven more years. Perhaps David’s son and successor, Solomon, had this conflict in mind when he wrote Proverbs 10:12: “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” Imagine if David had been able to establish peace and unity in the kingdom through love and reconciliation! Better yet, imagine if we today were able to do that in the church! Who are you still holding a grudge against today? Who do you need to reconcile with? The gospel of Christ gives us the ability, and even the freedom, to reconcile with our fellow men. God’s kingdom thrives not through retribution but through peace. Let’s learn to forgive and choose peace.
