2 Samuel 14:25-33 – The Banished Ones
I want to finish with 3 verses from this chapter that illustrate the gospel. Not verses which we are all necessarily intended to apply the way I’m about to apply them, but which provide helpful ways to think about how God works in our own lives.
The first of the three verses is v30. When Joab stops taking Absalom’s calls, Absalom responds by setting his field on fire. And it works! Spurgeon gets a whole gospel sermon out of this verse. How? Well he makes the point that this is what God sometimes does to get our attention. He sets our fields – which are really his fields anyway – on fire. In other words, he brings disasters into our lives to get our attention. For the non-Christian, to bring them to Christ. And for the Christian, to get them to rely more on him. If you want to have that theme fleshed out a bit, read Spurgeon’s sermon ‘The Barley-Field on Fire’.
The second verse I want to highlight is v14. Here I think that the wise woman speaks better than she knows when she says in the second half of verse 14. ‘God devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast’. Now in terms of Absalom, God hadn’t devised means where the banished one could be brought back without repentance. But though her application of it is wrong, the point itself is true enough. More than true enough in fact. Because what she says is actually a great summary of the gospel. Because what are men and women this side of Eden? We’re the banished ones. We are those who have been cast out of God’s presence. The message of the Bible is that that’s what sin does to us. Adam and Eve were banished from the garden for their sin. The nation of Israel was banished from the Promised Land for their sin. Both times they’re cast out of the one place on earth where God was particularly present. We are the banished ones. But as the wise woman put it, God has devised a means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast. What is that means? It’s the cross of Christ. Absalom isn’t the only one deserving death. Each of us deserves it too. The wages of sin is death. But none of us need remain outcasts. Not now – and not for eternity. Because a greater Son of David died the death we deserve. And as a result – heaven is opened to us.
Question
- How does God provide a way to bring back banished ones?
Prayer Points
- Pray for the salvation of family and friends.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.