Today’s Scripture Reading (January
26, 2013): 2 Samuel 19
A few years
ago I was driving in a nearby town and I, unintentionally, cut a guy off.
Immediately, I realized what I had done, and I watched the advent of Road Rage
rise in the face of my victim. I think he was about to scream at me when I
rolled my window down and smiled and said – sorry, my bad. I know I was in the
wrong and I apologize. Almost immediately, the Road Rage that had been about to
explode out of him simply disappeared and was replaced by a sense of confusion.
It just was not the reaction that he was expecting. He paused, and then mumbled
something about it being okay and we all make mistakes sometimes – and then he
drove off. But he was right – we do all make mistakes.
Shimei had
cursed the king as he had left Jerusalem. The reality was that he was making a
gamble. As the king left the city, he could no longer protect the people within
the gates. The best defense, no matter what your political leanings might have
been, was to curse the outgoing king and praise the one that was in control of
the city.
So as the
war ends, David has a problem. He had no idea neither of who it was that had felt
coerced into their actions – nor who it was that were really his enemies. It is
a story that would be repeated time and time again as David moved back into Jerusalem.
So David decides on a unique course of action – he decides to display grace. I
am not sure that any one in David’s circle of influence understood David’s
motive – after all, it really did not matter what the reason was for the rebellion.
Either way, the people who rebelled could not be trusted.
But David
understood that that was exactly what God had done with him. Even though David
had rebelled, God had offered grace as his response. It was God’s response to
David, and it is God’s response to us. So, like David, what other choice do we
have other than to offer grace to those around us.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2
Samuel 20
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