Turning Away

Today, countries and their leaders are living under the constant threat of a nuclear war. The greatest fear is that some terrorist faction will get hold of nuclear weapons. The tragedy is that if and when they do, they can use it as a bargaining tool. Nuclear power was a status symbol for the super powers in the sixties. Those were the days when there were a few countries that were safe from threat. Now this power has flowed into the hands of even developing countries like China, India, and Pakistan, and the scenarios have changed. When countries realize that they face a nuclear threat from one of their enemy nations they decide they too need to acquire nuclear weapons so that they will not be held to ransom. The only way out today to prevent a nuclear war is if countries can live in peace with one another. Countries should live as open societies so that they do not inflict harm on each other. The extent of the enmity between nations has boiled down to the possible destruction of the entire world or a large part of its resources. There is a close correlation to the end of the world and a nuclear war. There is not going to be much of a warning, only the signs as we see them now. Is it not time that countries stop making threats and wars, and find amicable solutions so we can avoid the possible destruction of a large part of human civilization. Why does there have to be so much of violence and hatred?

Greed, anger, lust, obsession, hatred, envy, and covetousness will eventually turn our hearts away from God. These same emotions can drive us to war, murder, rape, conspiracy, and other acts of violence. Eventually we find ourselves estranged from God and people. The root cause for terrorism according to some is deprivation of rights of one faction of people. The only way to address these issues is to compensate those who have been deprived in some way. When Mahatma Gandhi fought for freedom, he was very firm that he would achieve his goals through non-violence. Spurred by Gandhi’s example Martin Luther King Jr. also fought for equal rights for African-Americans through non-violence. Can declaring war on a faceless enemy bring about peace? Causes for the terrorist’s acts must be clearly identified and justice must be speedily brought about.

When Saul turned away from God’s commandments he lost favor with God and the prophet Samuel. David was anointed King while he was still a shepherd boy. When he ascended the throne of Israel, he started well as a king; his humility, courage, psalms, and loyalty were touching. David was described by Samuel as a man after God’s own heart. But in time pride, power, and prominence slowly crept into the heart of David. There are many lessons to be learned from these stories of strife and discord in the life of the family of David. He married many women and worse, overcome with lust David murdered one of his own men, who served in his army, in order to marry the wife. His reckless lifestyle caused much turbulence in his household. He had so many children that they started to fight amongst themselves. One of his own sons, Amnon, raped his half-sister Tamar. David did not bring Amnon to justice, thus angering his other son, Absalom. This in turn led to conspiracy and murder; Absalom, Tamar’s brother (II Samuel 13-19) murdered Amnon for his scandalous act. Why did David have so much trouble disciplining his own children?


Absalom slowly won the people over with his good looks, opulent lifestyle, keen interest in social justice, and effusive personality. His charisma was so overpowering that he stole the hearts of many of the people of Israel (II Samuel 15:1-6). Why did David allow Absalom to openly flaunt his lifestyle and campaign against David without reprimanding him? With the David’s permission Absalom went to Hebron to perform a religious ceremony to God, for bringing him back to Jerusalem after his exile for murder (II Samuel 15: 7-12). While he was performing this ritual he secretly sent messages to stir up a rebellion against his own father, David. David on the other hand truly believed that his own son would do him no harm, and gave him a lot of freedom. Nonetheless Absalom deceived David and tried to gain control over the throne. Did not his righteous behavior deceive David into thinking that his son was a God fearing person? Have you seen through the deceit of some of the religious and political leaders who cause more strife than peace? How many of us evaluate the real goals of our leaders? Are we so overcome by their charisma that we do not look any further than what we see on the outside?

David, who was leading a sedentary life, was forced to take charge of his army again. His lifestyle of deceit and immorality had overcome him and he could no longer function ably. Confronted with a conspiracy to kill him, he was forced to defend himself and all those who supported him. Joab was appointed as one of David’s generals to fight against Absalom. Joab was also a cousin of Absalom and a nephew of David. Joab and the other generals were expressly told to not harm Absalom. Although the others feared David’s command, Joab killed Absalom when he found him helplessly dangling from a tree. Here we see a man who set his own standards and did what he thought was right. This again is a dangerous position to be in. Being ingenious and having a fine expertise to win battles, without the proper direction from one’s superiors and advisors could have disastrous results.

Then we see an excessive show of emotion from David. He cried his heart out and made all those around feel terrible about their victory and guilty for something they felt they had done wrong. Often an obsessive love for one’s children causes us to ignore their insolent and defiant behavior. Nevertheless David comes to his senses when Joab, brought home to him the reality of the situation they were in.

We see that even among David’s own family members there was so much violence and hatred. Even though David was greatly blessed by God, he turned away from God after a while. He pursued his own evil desires and became embroiled in controversy, conspiracy, and murder. Yet the greatest credit can be given to this great king. When he was confronted by Nathan, a prophet, for his sin with Bathsheba he opened his eyes and had the humility to repent. Forgiveness from God filled him with great delight, but for the rest of his life he had to live with the cost of his transgressions. Is the grace we seek from God costly or cheap? It is this that God is searching for in our hearts – a willingness to repent and return to God. Do we learn from our blunders? It was this quality in David that gave him the honor of being the one after God’s heart (Acts 13:22). Do we follow God with only our words or are our hearts loyal to Him (Psalm 78:36-37)? It is from the royal family line of David that God brought Jesus the Messiah into the world.

Jesus referred to this in the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24). When the prodigal son returned home and repented, he said to his Father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.” The father immediately called for a grand feast, making merry, and reinstating the position of the prodigal son. He said, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” The father and son relationship was restored. We see God as a loving father who reaches out and restores sinners immaterial of what their sins may have been. The father embraces the son in his state of nothingness, worthlessness, and emptiness and fills him with love, joy, and peace.