There’s nothing that tears at the heart of a father more than the rebellion of a beloved son especially if this very son directly and openly threatens his father. This is the exact predicament that David finds himself in Psalm 3. Rather than confront his son David chose to leave his fortress to avoid bloodshed. But his son Absalom was determined to pursue his father at all cost and eliminate him once and for all in order to secure a revolutionary government.
The rebel forces were closing in and a fierce battle ensued that day. The irony of it all was that David’s own men who gallantly fought with him in many battles were now arrayed against him deceived and blindly following their rebel leader. This must have weighed heavily on David’s mind.
Emotionally shaken and his heart torn apart David prayed, “But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.” David tried to keep it all together and at the lowest point of his life he turned to the Lord, “I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.”
While reflecting on this psalm I am reminded of another son who rebelled against his father – the prodigal son in the gospel of Luke. After realizing his grave mistake he came back to the waiting arms of his father.
We are all born rebels. But rather than go by the way of Absalom we can choose to return to the loving arms of our Father and find forgiveness through the death of His son Jesus who gave His life that we may live. #myjourneythroughpsalms (Written: 13JULY2016)