To read 2 Samuel, chapters...
Illustration
To read 2 Samuel, chapters 13 through 18, is to sense how badly David handled and dealt with his own children. His was an example of benign neglect which in times of crises he tried to make up for through parental indulgence. Among the people of his own nation, David was a strong leader, but in his own household he was a failure. His devotion to his sons, strangely enough, rendered him tolerant of their shortcomings and constant sinning.
Absalom, for example, was a rebel who would gladly snatch the kingly crown from his father's head, yet an unwitting David, before a strategic battle when Absalom's troops were arranged against the realm, said to his generals, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom" (v. 5). Solicitous to the very end, David was inclined to provide every advantage for this unprincipled son. Occupied as he was with the affairs of state, he might not be fully blamed for his parental oversight, yet David forfeited those useful opportunities to be a guide, counselor and friend to those whose lives were entrusted by family responsibility to him.
The problem is widespread in America today. Many a son wants to grow up to be like Daddy. Many a daughter, to be like Mother. Yet in every community parents let slip the possibility of this youthful aspiration being fulfilled. Fathers and Mothers can leave behind no greater memorial than children who live in a sense of gratitude for the interest, care and comradeship of their parents. A piece of doggerel English verse puts the matter sharply and plainly:
I love the Day Nursery where they take me each day,
And the fields which Prince Philip has opened for play;
The clinic where I get my vitamins free,
But my Mother -- God bless her -- she never sees me!
- Macleod
Absalom, for example, was a rebel who would gladly snatch the kingly crown from his father's head, yet an unwitting David, before a strategic battle when Absalom's troops were arranged against the realm, said to his generals, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom" (v. 5). Solicitous to the very end, David was inclined to provide every advantage for this unprincipled son. Occupied as he was with the affairs of state, he might not be fully blamed for his parental oversight, yet David forfeited those useful opportunities to be a guide, counselor and friend to those whose lives were entrusted by family responsibility to him.
The problem is widespread in America today. Many a son wants to grow up to be like Daddy. Many a daughter, to be like Mother. Yet in every community parents let slip the possibility of this youthful aspiration being fulfilled. Fathers and Mothers can leave behind no greater memorial than children who live in a sense of gratitude for the interest, care and comradeship of their parents. A piece of doggerel English verse puts the matter sharply and plainly:
I love the Day Nursery where they take me each day,
And the fields which Prince Philip has opened for play;
The clinic where I get my vitamins free,
But my Mother -- God bless her -- she never sees me!
- Macleod
