Getting Biblical in Daily Life
Dysfunctional Families
Dysfunctional families might be a current, hot-button topic—but they've also been around for oh, forever. Just check out a popular novel by John Irving like The Hotel New Hampshire or a contemporary movie like The Royal Tenenbaums and compare it with these Biblical stories. Dead ringers.
Consider how many family problems are depicted in 2 Samuel:
- adultery
- intense marital disputes
- incest
- sibling murder
- (literally) rebellious children…
The list goes on. Of course, the families of people in America today aren't typically comprised of multiple wives and concubines—which adds a distinctly ancient vibe to the whole thing—but the basics are still present.
In particular, think about Absalom. He's at the center of David's family's dysfunction (though it's not entirely his fault, by any means). Absalom becomes a more sympathetic character once you realize how strongly he felt about his sister being sexually assaulted by Amnon, and the fact that David wouldn't punish Amnon. It's pretty complicated and terrible stuff, really.
War
There are numerous wars and battles throughout the course of 2 Samuel—especially civil war, when Ishbaal, Absalom and Sheba fight their respective wars against David. This is supposed to have happened three millennia ago, but civil wars still rage in the Middle East. Just think of the ongoing conflict in Syria or the continuing inter-religious strife in Iraq.
The wars in 2 Samuel—as in 1 Samuel—are wars fought not just for plunder, but to advocate for a particular religious viewpoint and interpretation. They are God's wars (as the Biblical authors believe), fought for his glory. In Syria today, numerous groups—Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Alawites—are all caught up in a catastrophic and deadly struggle for survival and (in the case of many of these groups) domination and rule. It's a tragic, modern example of the same variety of civil strife that constantly shattered the world of David's time period.
At the same time, 2 Samuel sometimes lets in a few beautiful moments of peace, like when David is sent into forgiveness mode after the death of Absalom, and when Abner cries out to Joab and Abishai who are trying to kill him for killing Asahel. He says, "Is the sword to keep devouring forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you order your people to turn from the pursuit of their kinsmen?" And, surprisingly, this argument… works.
Women's Rights
Let's not mince words: women are treated pretty badly in 2 Samuel. Yet there are also moments where they get to exercise influence—as in the woman of Tekoa's moving and eloquent speech urging David to make-up with Absalom. But for the most part, 2 Samuel depicts men who treat women as property in their power games.
One needs only to consider the worst example—Amnon's rape of Tamar and David's refusal to act, due to the fact that Amnon was the heir presumptive—to see a good example of this kind of horrifyingly misogynistic treatment.
Other examples of women being used as symbols of male domination involve Absalom taking over and having sex with his father's concubines (in public!)—a way of directly seizing power from the king and claiming the king's privileges. Something similar is at play when Abner sleeps with Rizpah, Saul's former concubine, leading Ishbaal to chastise him.
But the story of 2 Samuel also gives women some moments to shine. There's the part where Rizpah goes out to protect the bones of her sacrificed sons from scavengers, which sends a clear message to David, even though we don't get to hear any of the words that Rizpah may have actually said on that occasion. It is these acts of subtle influence that make the situations of women in these stories all the more poignant, contrasting their usually harsh treatment and abuse.