A Man After God's Heart: 2 Samuel 3:17-21
Just as God forgives us, He expects us to forgive others. Jesus gives us a parable in the New Testament about a person who is forgiven by their lord, but who turns around and refuses to forgive someone who owes him a debt. Jesus uses the story as a negative example. As we have been forgiven much, we should forgive much.
After bringing David’s wife back to David, Abner leaves with David’s peace and meets with the rest of the Hebrew tribes. His words tell a significant story about his defection. He reminds the elders they have been seeking David’s rule for some time. They see the writing on the wall. They see David’s strength growing while the strength of Abner’s force under Ish-bosheth diminishes. As they grow weaker, they are not only susceptible to David’s forces, but they are susceptible to raids from the Canaanites. As their position grows weaker, they look to join someone who can make them strong again.
Abner was not the only one realizing Ish-bosheth was the wrong choice. When Abner made his play to switch allegiances to David, he did it knowing the bulk of the Hebrew people were behind him. Looking back to the conflict between him and Ish-bosheth over the harem, the story genuinely feels like a setup to give Abner a reason to defect.
David puts his heart on display during this story. For anyone who wonders, as I often do, how David can make so many mistakes yet still own the moniker “A man after God’s own heart,” these verses are significant. The righteous part of David’s character shines brilliantly here.
David throws a feast for Abner. David receives Abner openly. Abner walked with Saul every time Saul hunted David, antagonized Joab into a fight when he thought he had a superior force, and brought antagonism in David’s life for almost a decade. David could have held a grudge. David could have resented Abner. David had every right to refuse Abner at every turn.
Instead, David forgives. Like the father of the prodigal son, David receives Abner, throws a feast, and immediately forgives him of past indiscretions. David does not linger on Abner’s past actions; David looks forward to what God can do once the Hebrew people are reunited.
David is every bit of a sinful man as the rest of us. Because he is such a popular king, his sinful behavior is put on display in God’s Word for everyone to see. What makes David such a great role model is not his perfection in life, but his ability to be so forgiving. David is a man after God’s own heart because he understands how much God has forgiven him and he generously applies the same forgiveness to those around him, even people like Abner who were long-time enemies seeking his destruction. Just as God forgives us, He expects us to forgive others.
