Dear Father,

Absalom devised evil against his father, King David. He led a nationwide rebellion and tried to overthrow him. He slept with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel, and even went to war against him. It seems quite extraordinary that a man would go to such lengths against his own blood, and I have often sought the reasoning behind it.

Something tragic transpired long before Absalom's rebellion. His own sister, Tamar, was raped by his half brother, Amnon, and the Scripture records, "Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house." King David, however, did absolutely nothing about it. The wounds of rape were not hidden in those days; they often left a woman without justice and with little hope of rebuilding her life.

Day after day, Absalom would look upon the face of his sister and ponder how one avoidable act had stolen her future. Then he would think of his father, King David, and his silence over all that had transpired. Perhaps daily, his resentment grew, eventually bearing the fruit of rebellion. Why, though, was David silent about what happened between Amnon and Tamar? Perhaps his own sin of taking another man's wife, Bathsheba, and his attempt to conceal it by murdering her husband weighed heavily upon him. Why correct a man whose need for grace is no less than your own?

Perhaps David was restrained by guilt. I think of how often we let our mistakes define and silence us. Unknown to us that, a hero with scars may be in the best position to guide one who has none.

Translations;
Slide 1: English
Slide 2: French
Slide 3: Bengali
Slide 4: Hindu
Slide 5: Urdu

#LettertoGod
#grace
#guilt
#sin
#rebellion