2 Samuel 13:34-39 – Where Was God?
The third and final verse I want to highlight is verse 32. What is Absalom’s complaint there? It’s that it would have been better for him still to be in exile than to return, but not be able to go into the king’s presence. Or literally, as some versions have it, to see the king’s face. Is that not how we feel about heaven? Some think that to be a Christian is about escaping Hell and getting to heaven, and that it wouldn’t matter whether Jesus was in heaven or not. For them, heaven without Christ would still be Heaven. In fact, it might even be better. But for the true believer, surely the cry of our heart if we got to Christless Heaven would be: Why am I here if I can’t see the king’s face? Why am I redeemed if I may not see the face of my God?
And so, though a chapter like this does help us reflect on the emotional, heart-string pulling stories that our society tells in order to draw people away from their duty to God. Let’s not forget that each and every one of us fell hook, line, and sinker for the first lies that were ever told: ‘You shall not surely die’. ‘You shall be like God’. But God in his grace hasn’t left us to face the consequences of believing that lie. Instead, he has intervened in our lives. By setting our fields on fire if that’s what he needed to do. By telling us of the means he has devised so that the banished one will not remain an outcast. In order that one day we might see the king’s face.
Question
- What should we want to have in Heaven?
Prayer Points
- Pray for the preaching and hearing of God’s Word tomorrow.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.