That Is Not What God Desires

2 Samuel 14:7-14 – Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.” The king said to the woman, “Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.” But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon me and my family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.” The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.” She said, “Then let the king invoke the Lord his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.” s surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.” Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” “Speak,” he replied. The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.

Ruth 2:20 – “The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.”

Matthew 27:25 – All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”

Ezekiel 18:32 – For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

Ezekiel 33:11 – Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

2 Samuel 12:13 – Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.

2 Samuel 13:21 – When King David heard all this, he was furious.

Application:

• ·         The guardian-redeemer was responsible for protecting the interests of needy members of the extended family, one of them being to avenge the killing of a relative.
• ·         A truly Biblical Christian should never be guilty of anti-Semitism.
• ·         The woman dwells on the mercy of God, who would rather preserve life than take it.
• ·         God’s basic intention for His creation is life, not death.
• ·         The Lord, in His grace, released David from the customary death penalty for adultery and murder.
• ·         Although David was incensed by Amnon’s treatment of Tamar, there is no record that he took any punitive action against him.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV