I
This day the noise of battle, the next the victory’s won. Or so the king hoped. Much was at stake. His own future was uncertain; the nation’s stability was shaky; the confidence of those around him was low; and, most of all, his relationship with his son was in jeopardy. There had been a terrible and bloody rebellion, which would have been awful in and of itself. But it had been made all the more horrible because it had been led by the king’s own son. His own child, whom he had loved and cherished, had spit in his face; his own son, whom he had carried in a father’s tender arms, now took up arms against him. How was the king to grasp and to deal with so profound a slap? How was he to act toward his son? Should he try to placate him and win him over? Or should he be harsh, and punish this wayward child? Just what should a king do to bring his son back?
All such questions were now just idle speculation, for things had gone too far. The rebellion was full-scale, and the whole countryside had taken sides. David had organized three armies to go out and find the young rebel. Wisely, David had stayed behind. His captains knew that no father is rational at a time like that; they urged him to wait back in the city. David agreed, but on one condition: “Whatever you do, deal gently with the young man Absalom.” My son is only a boy. He doesn’t understand what he is doing. Be careful with him. I love him. The kinds of things any father would say about any son, no matter how rebellious.
Now, picture the king standing on the city walls. He is waiting and watching for some news. He sees, out on the horizon, a runner. Someone is coming! And not far behind, a second runner. News and more news. He can scarcely wait. To the city gates he rushes, there to meet the first runner: “What has happened? Tell me the news.” And the messenger, breathlessly, pushes out the word: “The battle is won. My king, you have been delivered from the power of all those who rose up against you.” David, however, ignores that word and presses for more: “But what of Absalom? What has happened with the young man Absalom?” The messenger’s word is disappointing, “I do not know. There was a great disturbance as I was leaving, but I do not know what it was.”
David waits with mounting impatience while the second messenger hurries to the city. He can scarcely contain his anxiety. Why was he not out there, looking after his son? Why did he entrust Absalom’s safety to others? Before the second runner can catch his breath, David is asking, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” An eternity passes while the runner fills his lungs and gathers his wits: “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.”
No one had to explain that to David. He knew. He knew that the worst had befallen his son. Absalom was dead. Despite David’s orders, they had killed him. Despite David’s love, the young man’s rebellion had taken him too far afield. Despite the promise that someday this young prince of Israel might aspire to higher things, he had grasped the wheel of history, and it had turned and crushed him. David knew. And David grieved. Is there anyone even today so hard of heart that you cannot feel it as this devastated father cries out, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!"?
Do you know what it is like to be unable to stop someone who is bent toward wrong? Do you have a feel for David’s frustration? I talked this week with one of you who has a friend who is talking about suicide. What to do and how to do it?! Frightening, anxious, awesome. There is no grief quite like that; there is no grief quite like the grief of frustration. A whole lot of us know about that, whether we are parents trying to understand our children, or spouses trying to bring our partners back home, or pastors struggling to hang on to defiant church members. We know a little about David’s grief.
II
And so when it is clear that Absalom has died, what does David do? What is David’s response? He withdraws. He goes into isolation. He turns inward and sees nothing else but his own misery. He forgets all about the people who are depending on him. David becomes an island, bounded on the north, south, east, and west, by his grief. Over and over again, the same plaintive cry, thrown out into the winds, for all to hear and for none to hear, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" David has withdrawn; he is stuck in his grief.
But, you know, the way you and I express our feelings has an effect on others around us. Without our even knowing it, others take on whatever we feel. A child goes to school and cannot perform; it’s not that he’s stupid or lazy. It is that tensions at home have sent him off the mark. A hapless husband makes some half-hearted remark about his wife’s cooking, and she locks herself in the bedroom, weeping and wailing the whole night through. It had nothing to do with the cooking; it had everything to do with his remoteness and his insensitivity. The way we express our feelings has a profound effect on others around us.
And so it isn’t long before Joab, David’s general, makes an appeal: “David, your grief for your son makes it feel as though you do not care for your people. Your soldiers fought for you; do you not care enough to come out and be with them? Your family members, they lost someone too; do you not care enough to come out and sit with them? David, as you closet yourself in your grief, you are shutting out all those who love you. You are devaluing all those who have served you. You are putting everyone down. David, be the king. David, go and show yourself to the people. David, go out to them, go now, or else you will lose them altogether. David, King of Israel, go to your people.
The text tells us, “Then the king got up and took his seat in the gate. The troops were all told, ‘See, the king is sitting in the gate’; and all the troops came before the king.”
III
Seize on that phrase, “The king is sitting in the gate”. See, the king is sitting in the gate. And all the people came before the king. What does this mean? Several things:
a
When the king, the leader of the nation, comes to the gate, it means that he cares more about the welfare of the people than he does about his own private feelings. When the king sets aside his grieving for his son and goes out to the gate, it means that he wants to do something to meet the needs of his people. A king in the gate meets his people where they are.
For us, today, there is a king in the gate. God has visited His people. We are not abandoned. We are not alone. God has come in the flesh and blood of the Son of David, Jesus Christ, and has pitched his tent with us. That beloved Scripture begins, “God so loved.” God loves us and wants to be with us. Christmas means there is a king in the gate. “God so loved ...”
b
See, the king is sitting in the gate. And all the people came before the king. What else does this mean?
When the king came to the gate of the city, it meant that he was there to do justice. In the city gates sat the elders and the rulers of the people, and there they brought their cases for judgment. To the gates of the city they came with their complaints, great and small, and there the king rendered justice. When David came back to the gate, it meant that once again he was ready to do what kings must do, to work for justice.
For us, today, there is a king in the gate. God has come to set the captive free. Jesus Christ has come to deal with oppression and hatred, with injustice and corruption. His mother Mary sang when she heard of His coming, “He has put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away.” King Jesus will not be content to reign over that little tiny realm religion. King Jesus will reign over all things. This king in the gate will be lord of lords and king of kings. There is a king in the gate. The Gospel says it, “God so loved the world .. the world.” Even in its wrong, God loves the world and is going to work for justice. Take heart! There is a king in the gate.
c
See, the king is sitting in the gate. And all the people came before the king. What else does this mean?
When the king sits in the gate, it means that he has come to the vulnerable spot in the city’s defenses. He has come to defend the people against their enemies. You know that ancient cities were built with high walls to keep out the enemy, but of course there had to be gates, so that one could enter or leave. Those gates were the points at which the city was vulnerable. But when the king comes to the gate, it means that he intends to defend his people where they can be wounded.
For us, today, there is a king in the gate. God has come in Jesus Christ to face down the powers of sin and death. God knows that sin lies at the door, that all of us are vulnerable, all of us are tempted, all of us are weak. God knows that all we like sheep do go astray, everyone to his own way, outside His protection. And so God in Jesus Christ comes to defend us against the power of sin. There is a mighty king in the gate. Hear the gospel, “God so loved the world ... so that everyone who believes may not perish ..” God’s love takes on our worst enemy, our own sin and our fear of death. He will defeat them. There is a king in the gate.
d
See, the king is sitting in the gate. And all the people came before the king. What else, again, does this mean?
When a king comes to the gate, it means he has regard for the plight of his people. It means that he cares about what they are going through. It means that he identifies with them in their suffering and understands that without a leader, they are going to be scattered and without direction. When the king comes to the gate, he comes to lead his people out to battle. To him they can look, for there is a king in the gate.
For us, today, there is a king in the gate. God has come in Jesus Christ. He wants to lead us and give us vitality. He wants us to have life and life more abundant. He wants us to know that we are worth something. The carol sings, “Long lay the world, in sin and error pining, ‘till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees, o hear the angel voices. O night divine, O night when Christ was born.” God wants life for us. There is a king in the gate. “God so loved the world ... that everyone who believes may not perish but may have eternal life.” Hope! Life! There is a king in the gate.
e
See, the king is sitting in the gate. And all the people came before the king. What finally does this mean?
When David the king came to the city gate, it meant that he could show his grief to his people. It meant that he could let them see how much he had given for them and for their security. When David the king came to the city gate, it meant that despite the rebellion all around him, despite the shortcomings of his people, he would sacrifice for them. When David arrived at the gate, it meant that he was paying the price of the death of his beloved son, so that they might be safe.
And for us, today, there is a king in the gate. In the fullness of time God sent his beloved son, born of a virgin, born under the law, but destined to die a criminal’s death. Think of it! That the young prince of glory, born in Bethlehem in a manger, cherished by his mother, respected by his teachers, followed by his disciples .. that this young prince of glory should hang upon a cross. But God our father has loved us, has loved the wayward and the wandering, the blundering and the foolish, the pride-filled and the arrogant .. God our father has loved us from Bethlehem’s manger to Calvary’s cross. There is a king in the gate.
David’s cry was plaintive, “My son, Absalom, would I had died instead of you.” Jesus Christ’s cry is awesome, “My child, my child, I have died instead of you.”
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
There is a king in the gate. A king at the very gate of your life. There he is waiting. There he is to bring you salvation, to guide you, to offer justice and mercy. There is a king at the very gate of your life. Will you open it now and let him come in?
