Search and Rescue (2 Sam 14-18)

This passed Sunday Pastor Chris delivered a message that was title (I think) "Search and Rescue". This message was based on the parables in Luke 15. We are all familiar with these parables. I wonder though, how familiar are we with the notion of Search and Rescue? What about the times when God may send us out to search for those who wronged us, or even less drastic, being OK with God sending out the search party to look for those who have wronged us?


"Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him."

 In today's reading King David finds out that one of his sons has murdered his brother and is hiding in a foreign land. Joab set David up by sending a wise woman to him to tell him that his actions in his personal life were not in line with the ruling he made on behalf of her son in a separate situation. This story was fabricated by Joab to help King David see his error. Absalom returns home and is a bigger headache then it was worth, but that is not the point of the story.  The point is Search and Rescue: But God does not take away life; instead,, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.

Sometimes it may be difficult to see that God loves those who have wronged you and I. Not only does He love them, but He has a desire to bring them into the "family". I understand that there are times when this may be harder then anyone could imagine but it must happen. King David allowed for the Search and Rescue team to find a son that not only killed a member of the family but who will eventually wage an all out attack on his father. God doesn't need our permission to send out a search party but He does want us to have a heart that is in line with His. This heart needs to guide us to forgiveness as well as a desire to see the lost found and rescued by our Father in heaven.

How many times do I have to tell you? (1 Sam 24-26)

Have you ever felt like God is telling you the same thing over and over again? Without fail we realize the error in our ways, turn from our sin and inevitably we return to it. God rebukes us again and we are almost surprised that we were caught sinning in the same way again.

In today’s reading David spares 2 men’s lives. The first is King Saul. Not only does he spare his life once but also actually he lets him live twice. David also forgives the harsh words of a man named Nabal. David first spares Saul’s life in a cave while “Saul reliefs himself”. (Pause for laughter) After he lets Saul know that he did not kill him, Saul repents and leaves David be. David then sends word to a man named Nabal and asks for food rations. Not only does Nabal refuse to help, he insults David and his men. On the way to kill Nabal, David meets Nabal’s wife Abigail who pleads for her husband’s life. David turns Nabal over to God and returns back to his camp. Right about this time Saul forgets that David spared his life and pursued him again. Once again David prevails as the righteous man and Saul leaves him be.

What does all of this have to do with us? The first thing that we need to see is that we are in a relationship with a forgiving God. We are regularly given second, third, fourth and even hundredth chances to repent and turn from our sin. This may be the case but lets not take advantage of God’s grace and mercy. Secondly we need to see that even if someone is trying to chase us down and kill us, it is not our place to seek revenge. “Vengeance is mine says the Lord.” As easy as it is for us to identify the wrong doings of others, it is not our place to bring them to justice. This may be difficult in some cases but as we see in today’s reading, God will handle the situation and do so fairly.