Contemplative Bible Reading

2 Samuel 14:14 (New International Version)

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.

In this verse, a “wise old woman” is speaking to King David. David’s son Absalom has been banished from Jerusalem. Absalom is staying with his mother’s father in a distant place. Absalom is “banished” because he killed his half brother Amnon who had previously raped Absalom’s sister Tamar. This is a long, twisted story. Read about the ancestors, wives, and descendants of David. Then read 2 Samuel 13 and 14 – s l o w l y.

Notice how the wise old woman characterizes God:

he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.

This is opposed to water spilled on the ground:

which cannot be recovered.

God desires the banished to be recovered. God desires forgiving and restoring those who by all rights have been set aside. Absalom had Amnon killed (he didn’t do it himself, but he ordered his men to do the murdering). Absalom “deserved” punishment.

I’ve never had a relative murder another relative of mine. I’ve never had a friend murder another friend of mine. I’ve never known anyone who murdered anyone with whom I had the slightest relationship. But I am not clean. I have held far too many grudges. I have let my anger and dislike for some person or another fester far too long. I have emotionally banished people to the farthest reaches of my heart. I have been much better at banishing than I have been at recovering the banished.

God, help me to more like you. Help me to desire recovering what to me appears to be water spilled on the ground.