In this daily Bible reading are more Israeli genealogies. King David’s offspring are also listed here. David had many wives and many sons. Most of his wives were Israelites. However, one of his wives, Maacah, was from Geshur, a country that bordered Israel.
David had fled to Geshur when Saul was pursuing him, and David took refuge and protection under Talmai, King of Geshur. David married Talmai’s daughter Maacah, and they had a son named Absalom.
Later after David had been established as King of all Israel and Absalom was grown, a series of bad things happened in David’s family. Absalom’s sister was raped by another of David’s sons, Amnon. Absalom then killed Amnon and fled to live with his grandfather, Talmai.
After two years David allowed Absalom to return to Jerusalem, but David refused to see him. This produced strife between David and Absalom. Absalom then garnered a following and attempted to take the throne of Israel from David.
David had to leave Jerusalem, and Absalom controlled Jerusalem for a while. Absalom was later killed in battle against David’s forces, and David retained the throne.
All these events were God’s punishment because David committed adultery with Bathsheba. Bathsheba was the wife of one of David’s soldiers, Uriah. Bathsheba became pregnant with David’s child. David tried to cover up the adultery and pregnancy by having Uriah killed.
The son that was born from their adultery died. They had a second son, Solomon, who became King of Israel after David.
This story illustrates the fact that God’s punishment for sins may not happen immediately after the sins we commit. In fact, God may delay HIs punishment for years. We should be aware of this and consider it if we contemplate continuing a sinful life because there are no immediate consequences.
