2Samuel 15:1-6, 13-14
When Chickens Come Home to Roost
We have been studying the returns of David’s sins since 2Samuel 12. I do not know
how much time has passed; but I see in my Bible margins, that some have estimated
the time to be about 10 years since David’s judgments began. Imagine, in ten years
to have lost two children in what you know is a direct result of your actions,
seen one daughter raped by a brother, and have one son exiled for murder. David’s
heart must have been pretty heavy.
I do not want to attempt to read into the text more than is there, but I do want
to see the nuances in his behavior that the Scripture show after years of dealing
with the consequences of his sin.
In this chapter, we see how Absalom, over time, stole the hearts of Israel. I
mentioned that he was a gifted and skilled person with people. Before David even
realizes what has happened, Absalom has gone to Hebron to make himself king.
Some may remember that Hebron is where David was first anointed king. He served
as king over Judah from Hebron. Once that happened, David knew that his life was
in peril from his own son. Let’s look at what David does.
I. Notice some peculiar behavior from David.
A. \\#2Sam 15:14\\ David flees from Jerusalem
1. I know that I am no military strategist, but this seems to be a
mistake.
2. In surrendering Jerusalem, David…
a. Abandons the capital.
(1) Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
(2) Whoever controls that city, controls Israel. In short,
whoever sits on the throne is king.
(3) By doing this, David essentially gave the kingdom to
Absalom.
(4) Of course, that doesn’t mean the situation is un-fixable,
but it was a large concession to make without a single
clash being fought.
b. Abandons a well-fortified location.
(1) We have spoken in the past of how David took the city of
Zion to be his home.
(2) Zion was on the top of the mountains of Jerusalem, making
it a position easy to defend and very hard to take.
(3) David not only loses a well-fortified position, but he
gives it to his adversary.
c. Abandons a place of loyalty.
(1) The typical method of taking a kingdom from a king is
assassination.
(2) If Absalom could have had his father killed before David
even knew he was in danger, I am sure he would have done
it.
(3) The fact that Absalom could not indicates that the people
in and around Jerusalem were mostly loyal to him.
(4) You can read in both chapters 15-16 and see that many of
David’s friends wanted to go with him because they were
so loyal.
3. The question would be, "Why would David do that? Why would he
leave the security and prominence of Jerusalem?"
a. That is another of those questions that the Bible does give us
the answer to.
b. Some say it is because he loved Jerusalem so much that he did
not want to see a battle ravage that city.
(1) My thought would be that his love for the city would be
what would keep him there to fight.
(2) David had worked to prepare this city to withstand armies
with far more potency than Absalom’s.
(3) This was Jerusalem’s purpose. It is WHY David loved the
city.
c. I will give you my answer as to why I believe David did this
later.
B \\#2Samuel 15:23, 30\\ David went over the brook Kidron, weeping, with
his head covered, and barefoot!
1. This is strange behavior indeed for someone who is fleeing for his
life.
a. I have never fled for my life, but if the time comes, I’ll not
be running barefoot and with a blanket over my head.
b. This is not the behavior of a soldier who is advancing or
retreating.
2. Why did David do this? I will give you my answer later.
C. \\#2Samuel 18:1, 5\\ David orders his commanders, in the presence of
all their forces, to be GENTLE with Absalom.
1. This is not the strategy of a leader going into battle!
a. Except for America, no one tells their army not to hurt the
enemy as they prepare for battle.
b. I wager that David has never done anything like this before.
2. Such a tactic confuses and weakens the hands of the army—as it did
in this case.
a. \\#2Samuel 18:9-10\\ Absalom got himself caught in a
defenseless situation and David’s men saw him and left him
there!
b. Not only did they not kill him, but apparently, they didn’t
even try to capture him.
c. Joab, who never learned to play nice, hears of it, rushes back
to the location, and kills Absalom.
d. That effectively ended the war but seeds of rebellion still
remain.
3. Why did David do this?
D \\#2Samuel 18:31-19:3\\ David mourns exceedingly and publically at news
that Absalom was dead.
1. I understand that Absalom was David’s son.
a. This was a terrible situation for David, having to fight his
own son.
b. No father would be glad and celebrate the death of his child.
c. But in this kind of situation, David should have mourned in
private.
2. David knew better than to behave this way before those who had
risked their lives for him.
a. Doing so raised questions about whether David was fit and able
to rule the kingdom or not.
b. Nobody wants to follow a king who wants his enemies to win!
E. So why did David do these things?
II. Because David did not want another of his children to pay for his sin.
A. It should be obvious that David was not concerned about anything
other than Absalom during this rebellion.
1. He abandoned Jerusalem, not to destruction, but so that he
would not have to fight his son.
a. David left because he didn’t want to fight.
b. I’m not sure he was thinking like a strategist at this time.
c. I believe he was thinking like a father.
2. He left the city in mourning. Not weeping because he left the
city, but weeping because of his broken heart.
3. He ordered the troops to be gentle with Absalom because he
would have rather to have lost the kingdom than to see Absalom pay
for his sin.
B. And David says it all in \\#2Samuel 18:33\\\-"would God I had died
for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!"
1. David took sinful pleasure in Bathsheba for one to two years, but
bore the judgment of that sin for the remainder of his life.
2. The tally of David’s sin is hard to figure.
a. Uriah’s death
b. The baby’s death
c. Amnon’s lust and death
d. Tamar’s violation
e. Absalom’s bloody and bitter life and death
3. These are only the price tags we can see!
C. At this point, David was broken and wanted to pay the price for his
own sin.
1. I don’t believe this was grief speaking.
a. Sometimes in grief we say things we really don’t mean.
b. David meant this, not just for the moment but for the remainder
of life.
2. He wanted God to change the punishment for his sin.
a. His family had paid the price for him, but he had to bear the
guilt of knowing it was his debt.
b. Like Cain, David called out, "My punishment is greater than
I can bear!"
III. What happens when chickens come home to roost?
A. We can’t pick or predict what our sin will cost us.
1. Sin always takes us farther than we want to go, keeps us longer
than we want to stay, and costs us more than we want to pay.
2. That is just the nature of it.
a. The wages of sin is death.
(1) In all cases of judgment, death is a picture of the worst
scenario.
(2) God has taken the sting out of death for us, and we are
glad for it.
(3) But for the lost, death is never a good thing.
(4) It means instant and eternal damnation.
b. Someone says, "God was not fair to let David’s family pay for
his sin."
(1) Do you not realize that such is the nature of sin and its
punishment?
(2) Adam and Eve sinned but you and I bear the marks of it.
3. And so it always is that sin has both a residual and rising
effect.
a. Sin’s effects are always passed down to the next generations.
(1) That is what residual is.
(2) A sin leaves a permanent effect.
b. The tendency to sin grows with each generation.
(1) There are some individual cases where a son or daughter
will turn to God and live a more godly life than their
parents.
(2) But overall, each new generation accepts as proper
behavior that the last generation deemed sinful.
(3) We are to the place now where we hesitate to even call a
behavior sinful.
4. And so the price of sin grows as well.
a. If God allowed us to predict or pick our own punishment, the
punishment would be less punishing, wouldn’t it?
b. That will never happen.
c. You always have the option to repent and to repent quickly, but
that is your only influence in the matter of sin and its
punishment.
B. God is not the villain here
1. Sin is the monster that looses the punishment.
a. God warned Adam and Eve of sin before they committed it.
b. God wrote a Book with warnings throughout it.
c. His Holy Spirit warns us today.
2. We have seen that sometimes David was merciful.
a. David is a type of God and sometimes God is merciful in dealing
with our sins.
b. However, even when God is merciful, sin leaves a heavy heart.
(1) Even if there is NO physical or material punishment, sin
hurts us.
(2) The sorrow that leads to repentance produces a heavy
heart.
3. We just cannot play with fire and not be burned.
C. We must remember to show compassion to those who are reaping sin’s
returns.
1. David, as a king, did wrong in mourning before the people.
a. He was a father weeping for his son but he should not have done
it in public in this situation.
b. It’s sad, but people in leadership are not always afforded the
luxuries of being human.
2. However, my heart bleeds for him.
a. I see the travail of his heart and although it is a wound
thousands of years old, my heart aches for him.
b. The people had put down a rebellion and they wanted to
celebrate with their king.
c. Their king had lost a son and wanted to pull the world into
a hole after him.
d. It reminds us that we must show compassion on those who are
reaping their sin rewards.
(1) Sin leaves us in the most painful situations.
(2) Do we deserve what we get? Yes. God is not unjust in
punishing us.
(3) But it hurts so very, very badly.
(4) If we forget that in our dealings with those who have
sinned, we ourselves are sinning and are asking God to
send a judgment upon us that will leave us just as broken
and friendless.
The only chicken I have ever owned was fried, broiled, or, barbequed; but I have
still had many been come home to roost. Sadly, I am certain that, like David, I
will have many more come back home. May God be loving and kind to us when it
they do.
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