To Encourage You

2 Samuel 13:30-33 “While they were on the way, news came to David, ‘Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons, and not one of them is left.’ Then the king arose and tore his garments and lay on the earth. And all his servants who were standing by tore their garments. But Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, ‘Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons, for Amnon alone is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day he violated his sister Tamar. Now therefore let not my lord the king so take it to heart as to suppose that all the king’s sons are dead, for Amnon alone is dead.’ But Absalom fled. And the young man who kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the road behind him by the side of the mountain. And Jonadab said to the king, ‘Behold, the king’s sons have come; as your servant said, so it has come about.’ And as soon as he had finished speaking, behold, the king’s sons came and lifted up their voice and wept. And the king also and all his servants wept very bitterly.”

As king of Israel, David had great authority.  Like anyone in such a high position, people constantly sought an audience with him.  They came to him with all kinds of problems. It was the responsibility of many of his servants to keep him informed.  We have two instances of this in the account above.  It was a time of tremendous turmoil in David’s kingdom. One of David’s sons, Amnon, had raped his half-sister, Tamar.  Jonadab, David’s nephew and Amnon’s friend, had hatched a plot for Amnon to get Tamar alone by pretending that he was sick and asking the king to send him to her.  As a result of Amnon’s actions, his half-brother Absalom (and the full brother of Tamar) hated him and eventually murdered him.  David’s other sons were present during this murder, and they fled from Absalom in fear.  One of David’s servants came to him with the report that ALL of his sons had been killed, which plunged David into anguish.  It was then that Jonadab entered the scene, assuring David that it was only Amnon that had been killed. Then when the king’s sons arrived, Jonadab in essence says, “See, everything is just as I said.”  What he didn’t say, however, was that he had been behind the whole sordid affair by advising Amnon at the very start of it all. 

As I thought about this strange account, my thoughts turned to the great contrasts between David, the king of Israel, and Jesus, the King of kings.  Can you imagine the number of people who go to this King every day with their problems?  There are millions of them from all around the world. Perhaps you are one of them that went to Him today. But unlike David, our King is never surprised by any news that he hears from us.  He is never misinformed, for he knows all things and He knew them already before there was time (Isaiah 46:9-10). This omniscient King, wonderfully, knows every need of every single person who comes to Him before they even ask (Matthew 6:8).  And while Jesus is one who sympathizes with our weaknesses because He Himself endured all the same kinds of trials we face while He walked the earth (Hebrews 4:15), He is never overwhelmed by the situation like David was.  He knows how to perfectly help each and every person with their every need.

And yet there are those like Jonadab, who congratulated himself by telling David, “See, all your sons are here but Amon, just like I said,” all the while he hid the fact of his own wickedness that started all the havoc that had come about. He reminds me of the Pharisee that Jesus spoke about in Luke 18, who prayed, “’God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” And then Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

You see, people like Jonadab and like this Pharisee can never pull the wool over Jesus’ eyes. The King of kings is no one’s fool!  Whenever we come to Him, we should never try to foolishly hide things from Him in some futile effort to prove to Him that we are better than we really are. We can be, and indeed should be, brutally honest with Him about everything. This includes the truth about our sins.  But, wonderfully, we find that if we confess those sins to Him (sins He already knows about, by the way), “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). 

You see, we can never tell Jesus anything about ourselves that He doesn’t already know.  In fact, He knows us far better than we know ourselves, and He knows our greatest needs far better than we do.  And so, we are to come to Him.  We should never hold back. We are to pray about everything, moment by moment, day after day. And you know what? He is more than able to handle it!  He’s sovereign over it all.  He has told us, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” 

What a wonderful King to Whom we can go. Have you been to His royal throne?