To Encourage You

2 Samuel 18:31-33 “And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, ‘Good news for my lord the king! For the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.’ The king said to the Cushite, ‘Is it well with the young man Absalom?’ And the Cushite answered, ‘May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man’ And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept.”

The Bible tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), and so we are to understand that if we want to know the heart of God, it would be good for us to look at those things that reveal the heart of David. One such example is in the passage above.  Here we see a man identified as “the Cushite”, i.e., a man from what is now Ethiopia who had been serving in David’s army, coming to David with “good news.” So, what was that news? It was that David’s enemies had been defeated. He was bringing news to David that the rebellion that had been led by David’s own son Absalom had been crushed.  And what was David’s response? Notice that it wasn’t elation. He wasn’t thrilled by the Cushite’s “good news.” Rather, David immediately asks about the condition of his son.  It had obviously been his most pressing concern.  And the Cushite’s response? “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man.”  In other words, “He got what was coming to him for his evil. Might everyone else who is evil get the same thing.”  And David’s response to this? He took absolutely no pleasure in this “good news.” Rather, he was deeply moved and wept.  

Throughout the Bible we see many references to those, who, like the enemies of King David, are the enemies of the King of kings.  There are stern warnings against such people.  Some examples follow: “I will not acquit the wicked” (Exodus 23:7); “The wicked shall be cut off in darkness” (1 Samuel 2:9); and  “The wicked . . . are like chaff that the wind drives away.  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:4-5).  As we listen to these words, we can begin to think that the Cushite, rather than David, was a man after God’s own heart.  But why would God speak in such ways? Why such stern warnings to “the wicked” throughout the Old Testament? And why would Jesus, God the Son, call people like the Pharisees hypocrites (Matthew 23:25) and children of the devil (John 8:44)?  Is it because He hated them and wanted nothing more than their destruction? Well, if that’s God’s heart, then why do we have such passages as the following from Ezekiel 18, in which God says, “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? . . . For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” 

You see, God has spoken such stern warnings to the wicked because His heart is for them to turn from their sin and live.  We see the very same sentiments spoken by Jesus in Luke 19:41-44, where it says, “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’”  And then from the cross as His enemies mocked Him and cast lots for His clothes as He was dying: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). 

You see, God doesn’t delight in the destruction of the wicked, though that destruction is certain for anyone who would defy the King of kings.  Rather, He mourns for them, as David mourned over the death of his own rebellious son.  He speaks sternly to the wicked for their own good, much as we would speak sternly to our own children to keep them from running in front of a car or touching a hot stove.  We do such things because of our love for our children. 

So, back to David.  We might say that David’s sorrow over his enemies was because one of his enemies was his own son.  And yes, parents typically love their children, even the wayward ones, very much.  But whenever we think about David as being a man “after God’s own heart” we should not think that David’s heart was so full of love that it was anywhere near the infinite love of God.  For you see, while David mourned over the enemy that was his own son, God loved his enemies so much that He GAVE His own son on a cross to die for them, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). 

Yes, God’s greatest desire for the wicked is not for their destruction, but that they might turn from their futile rebellion against Him and live.  That’s what He wants for each and every one of us.  The question, however, is “What do WE want?”  Do we love our sin so much that we would spurn the mighty love of God, or would we turn from the sin that will ultimately destroy us, and live forever with the King of kings?