2 Samuel Series

A House Divided

2 Samuel 15-16

Abraham Lincoln, in 1858, a few years prior to the outbreak of the Civil War presciently opined regarding the schism forming in the state of the union over the issue of slaver, that, “A houses divided against itself cannot stand.” John Blanchard observed, “A home with no head is a disaster, one with two is a monstrosity.”

As we learned at the end of chapter 14, David was indecisive in two ways, or at two levels, regarding his son, Absalom. Because Absalom was a murderer of his own half-brother, Amnon, king David had an obligation to deal decisively with him by the Law of Moses. Instead David had Absolom returned to Jerusalem. On a personal level David couldn’t forgive his son. So Absalom remained in a nearby house, but not seeing his father David until a long period passed, and left in a state of suspension and growing frustration between acceptance and rejection. Close to the king and court geographically, but both unjudged civilly by his king, yet judged  personally by his father. This middling ground led to two major disasters, which open here in chapter 15 and conclude in 18. Lincoln and Blanchard are both proved right, and it is thought that Lincoln derived his warning inspiration about the United States from the reading of 2 Samuel here.