Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. 2 Samuel 15:6
Absalom wanted to make things right, but all he did was multiply the pain. When you are wounded, you may feel a deep desire to inflict deeper wounds. You will feel that you want to make a person pay. Sometimes it is not easy to tell the difference between the desire for justice and the desire for revenge.
The tragedy of this story is that Absalom multiplied pain and division and bloodshed among God’s people. He would have said that he was pursuing justice, but the truth was that what he did had more to do with his own ambitions for the throne.
This isn’t about Tamar now. It’s about Absalom getting the throne. It’s about who gets the wealth of the palace. It’s about money; it’s about winning; it’s about power. That’s what happens in conflict. It may begin with trying to put something right. Then it develops into destroying another person. Then it becomes “what can I get out of this?”
Something terrible happened in Absalom’s family, and he spent the rest of his life hating, fighting, and destroying. He lived with clenched fists. He lived trying to prove a point. He was consumed with the desire to get even, and he left a trail of pain and destruction behind.
Have you been pursuing justice to right some wrong? Do you see some of the characteristics of Absalom in your own life? If so, ask God to help you turn away from causing further division and destruction.
