Today on Summit Life with J.D. Greer. There is a divine order to how God set things up and stories like David's and Isaac's and the Bible illustrate that sin works itself out according to the law of the harvest.
Our sin multiplies what a man sows into his family he also reaps to even greater degrees than he sowed it. Thanks for joining us today for Summit Life with Pastor J.D. Greer. As always, I'm your host Molly Vidovich. Today we'll be finishing up the tragic story of David and his son Absalom and we're kind of left to wonder what might have happened if David had used his power to protect and heal instead of allowing his power to keep him detached and uninvolved just hanging out in his palace. Pastor J.D. explains why humanity is forever stuck in this kind of perpetual cycle of brokenness and violence and how Jesus thankfully broke us out so we could experience his healing and grace. We are in the home stretch of our teaching series called The Life of David so if you missed a day you can catch up anytime at our website jdgreer.com. Right now grab your Bible and let's rejoin Pastor J.D.
where we left off yesterday. Last year we talked about something called the laws of the harvest. That was the idea that when you sow something it multiplies. When you plant something what comes back to you is greater than the seed that you planted. For good or for bad the law of the harvest shows up everywhere in God's creation and it applies especially in regards to the seeds of sin or the seeds of righteousness that we sow into our lives and into our families. In fact in Galatians 6 when Paul uses that phrase what a man sows that will he also reap he is talking specifically about sowing sinful habits into your flesh. He says that whenever you do that sin grows and grows in you until it takes you over and chokes out all spiritual life in you. In these chapters what we're seeing is the principle of sowing and reaping work itself out in David's family. David sows lust and betrayal and murder and it multiplies to much greater degrees in his kids. You can always be forgiven of sin but you can't unsin and what a man sows that will he reap. This is part of what is meant when God says in Exodus 34 I will visit the sins of the parents to the third and the fourth generation. He's not saying when he says that I'm going to hold the kids responsible for the sins of the parents that would be immoral.
He's just saying they end up suffering for it. The truth of this principle is illustrated over and over and over again throughout the Old Testament. Take the Genesis story of Joseph. I've told you every important theme in your Bible starts in Genesis and it's contained in Genesis. The rest of the Bible is basically just an expansion, a footnote on the themes that are introduced in the book of Genesis.
Same is true with this one. Joseph's brothers are jealous of him and sell him into slavery but that sin against Joseph, y'all realize that didn't come out of nowhere. Joseph you see had been the son of Rachel who had been his daddy Jacob's favorite wife. Jacob showed extensive favoritism to Rachel and Joseph was Rachel's kid. And so the sons of Leah, the despised wife, took out their bitterness toward their dad and his favoritism of Joseph's mom instead of their mom and that harvested in his sons.
That sort of favoritism and strife by the way is one of the many problems with polygamy while the Bible consistently portrays it negatively. So Jacob's sin of favoritism manifest in his sons but Jacob's sin of favoritism that didn't come out of nowhere either. You see Jacob's daddy had played favorites also. Jacob's daddy was named Isaac and Isaac had favored Jacob's older brother Esau over Jacob because he was more of a man's man. Esau always got the extra piece of chicken.
He always got the last brownie for dessert. Isaac's eyes lit up when Esau walked in the room. He loved to brag about Esau to his friends.
Look at what Esau did. Jacob was the the other son. Isaac's sin of favoritism multiplied into Jacob which multiplied into his sons which resulted in Joseph being betrayed and sold into slavery and ultimately the entire nation of Israel being enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. One small sin of favoritism in Isaac multiplies into the death, destruction, and the captivity of the entire nation. That's what's being taught in Genesis is that the sins of the parents multiply into the children. Parents, the sobering reality is that our sin affects and shapes our children.
They learn and often repeat our mistakes, often to much greater degrees. Studies show, for example, that if you neglect your kids they likely will grow up neglecting theirs. You abuse them, they often abuse theirs. Hurt people hurt people.
You're a workaholic. They grew up with identity issues that manifest in all kinds of toxic ways. You're unfaithful to their mother or their father. They grow up with commitment issues of their own. You fail to be faithful in your giving or you nurse a secret love of money. They grow up materialistic. They overhear you gossiping about or judging others in your home. They grow up with a critical and complaining spirit, self-righteous, have problems getting along with others. It honestly breaks my heart when I see my idols replicated in my children.
I see it all the time. Things that have just become a little too important to me that start to manifest in them. I don't want to be really specific here. It's not that I can't handle telling you what's in my heart. I just don't want you to see my kids doing something and be like, ah, that's your daddy's sin. That's not fair to them.
Let me just talk in general terms in this. Parents, if you worship the idol of success, which some of you do. In other words, you think that being at the top of your field, making lots of money, being the smartest person in the class, that's required to be happy. Then your kid absorbs that and they grow up with the pressure of always feeling like they got to be first or best or top of their class to have any worth. You may never even verbalize it to them, but look into your heart, mom, dad. If you think that the only way, the best way to be happy in life is to be rich and successful, I guarantee you that you are communicating that to your kids. Your kid in all kinds of ways. You are multiplying that idol into them and that idolatry multiplies into all kinds of pressure and dysfunction in their lives.
Here's one, and this one might sting. If in your heart you believe that a good marriage is necessary for happiness, that is happiness in life, you believe is not, it's not really just discovering God's plan and living it out. No, you believe there's no way to be happy and be unmarried.
You can be really happy and be single. That's an idol you cherish in your heart and they pick that up. That means if in God's sovereignty they end up single or they stay single for a long time, they think life has dealt them an unkind blow and God has abandoned them. That's just your idol manifested in them.
Can I do one more? You really want your kid to be an athlete because when you grew up, those were the popular kids. So you put sports ahead of church. Your kid's always gone, rarely at church because they're always on some travel team and that multiplies in them. So when they go off to college, they stop going to church at all when your first priority is so it becomes no priority for them.
Your idol, your obsession multiplied into destruction in them. You all get what I'm saying? Now let me be clear. Am I saying that every sin we see in our kids is our fault?
No, of course I'm not saying that. Our kids, especially as they get older, start to become their own people and they make their own decisions and thank God sometimes those decisions end up being way better than the ones that we made. Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds.
But I am saying that there is a divine order to how God set things up. Stories like David's and Isaac's and the Bible illustrate that sin works itself out according to the law of the harvest. Our sin multiplies. What a man sows into his family, he also reaps to even greater degrees than he sowed it.
Y'all listen to me. Sin is serious. It is deadly serious. That's why John Owen, the Puritan, always said, you've got to be killing sin or it's going to be killing you.
At any given moment, one of those two things is happening. You're either killing the sin in your heart or it is killing you and not just you, but your children and those you influence for generations to come. The sin of the parents is multiplied in the children.
Now, that was a little heavy, wasn't it? How about a little good news? Number two, you can break the cycle. You can break the cycle, but how?
It wasn't like David sinned once, y'all, and this was all inevitable. Now, in these chapters, we see multiple points of failure. That's actually really good news because there are multiple places they could have broken the cycle.
That means there are multiple places that you can too. Amnon failed by objectifying his sister. Nobody made him do that. Absalom failed by not dealing with his anger properly. And then pursuing revenge, it was really more about him than her. So Absalom failed. But when I read this story, y'all, I find one particular point of failure, one particular point of failure that stands out above the rest that seems to be the linchpin of all the rest of them. That one failure is the silence of David at some very key moments. The first of those moments was where David, after finding out about Tamar's rape, gets mad and then does nothing. Our pastor of counseling, Dr. Brad Hambrick, wrote a really helpful article about this event that I found really helpful.
Here's what he said. David sought no justice for Tamar. As Deuteronomy 22 verses 25 through 27 prescribed, it was David's obligation as king to see that these divine instructions were followed, but he did nothing. Furthermore, based on Absalom's reaction, we're left to believe that David did not even confront Amnon as a father. The most striking feature of this passage is David's indifference. And when, as a king, David did nothing, the people around him found it more difficult to act.
Tamar was invisible and ignored, and tragedy followed. Y'all, I cannot help but wonder what might have happened had David stepped in and cared for Tamar. What if he pursued justice on her behalf, brought her into his home instead of her having to live desolate and alone, or comforted Absalom and calmed him down and taught him what godly justice actually looked like? It might've kept Absalom from going on this murderous rage, which ended in his banishment and then a murderous coup. Or I wonder, I wonder what would have happened had David reconciled with Absalom instead of stonewalling him for five years?
We can't know for sure, but the silence of David in these chapters is definite. As we take a brief pause from today's teaching, I want to share with you about a fantastic resource from Summit Life that's available to you free of charge each day. Our daily email devotional is a great way to develop a daily habit of keeping yourself grounded in the word of God. These devotionals even follow along with the current teaching series here on Summit Life, and they include a scripture reading, a devotional thought, and a prayer prompt to help you start your day on the right foot. We know that sometimes, heaven forbid, you might miss our program here on the station, but the good news is these daily devotionals cover what we're talking about here on Summit Life. So if you miss a day, you can stay caught up with a quick reading in your email.
It's completely free, and you can sign up today at jdgrier.com slash resources. We pray that these devotionals are a source of encouragement and growth in your walk with Christ. And remember, free resources like this are made possible by the generous support of listeners like you. Now let's get back to today's teaching with Pastor J.D.
Greer here on Summit Life. The psychologist Larry Crabbe has an old book called The Silence of Adam. It's been renamed now Men of Courage, but the first title was Silence of Adam.
I actually like that title better. In which he makes the case that the original sin goes back in part to the silence of Adam, and then he makes the case that the failure of men to step up and lead and protect when they should be has been a dominant problem throughout human history. When God created Adam and Eve, he put Adam in a position of authority to serve and to protect. Not because he's superior, it's just the roles that he gave to men and women. The Hebrew shows us that in some very important and very distinct ways.
Sometimes we miss them in English. God made Adam first and then gave Adam the responsibility to name everything in creation, including Eve. That was a Hebrew way of communicating Adam's leadership role in the relationship. In fact, the Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 2 that that actually indicates the leadership role that he's supposed to have in the home.
That doesn't mean that the man is superior in any way, just that he has to take the lead. God then gives the commands of the garden to Adam, and Adam is supposed to relay them to Eve and lead her by example in obeying them. Adam is told to love and protect her like his own body. That command is given to him first. Sure it applies to her, but it's given to him first. He's supposed to lay down his life for her so that she can prosper.
Pastor Tony Evans points out that the fall in Genesis 3 came in part through the total abdication of that leadership role by the man. We know that because Genesis 3 says that when the snake tempted Eve, Adam was, literally in Hebrew, with her. With her in Hebrew.
With literally means elbow to elbow in Hebrew. He watched her as she took of that forbidden fruit. That was not just a failure of spiritual leadership.
That was a failure of protection. See, Adam knew that God had said the day that they ate of it, they would surely die. So what's Adam waiting on? He's waiting to see if she drops dead when she eats it before he's going to touch it.
Only when she doesn't drop dead does he then take it for himself. In other words, Tony Evans says the original sin did not begin with an act of commission. The original sin began with an act of omission. The original sin was not just taking of the forbidden fruit. The original sin was a man failing to step up, lead, and protect what he was supposed to.
And so it makes sense, doesn't it? That God's question to man that evening when he came into the garden looking for them. What was his question? Genesis 3 9. The Lord God called out and said, where are you? The way I read that is, Adam, where were you? Where were you? Genesis 3 9 is the question I would want to ask David in these chapters. David, where were you? And it's still God's question to so many of us men.
Where are you? Our world suffers because we've got a generation of males that never grew up to be men who take up their role as spiritual leaders, passive males, lifelong adolescents, dudes, boys who shave. Some of you ladies may feel like you're married to one of those, or you're dating one. Why do so many women have to take the lead in counseling when the relationship is in crisis?
Man, when your relationship is in trouble, it should be you leading into the counseling office, because God holds you responsible for it. Why do so many men sit back and let their wives do all the parenting? Why are so many women so much more engaged in spiritual growth? I'm not saying that's all true at our church. I'm not trying to smack all the men.
I'm just saying I'm speaking in generalities here. What would have happened had David been active in that moment? What if instead of allowing his power to keep him detached in his palace, he'd use his power to pursue justice, to protect, to heal? You can break the cycle.
Man, but you've got to act. The obvious question though is why didn't David? Why don't his sons break the cycle? Why is humanity stuck in this perpetual cycle of brokenness and violence? Why does seemingly every king, every leader, every person we look up to, why is it just a part of who we are? Why does everybody disappoint?
I mean, think about it. What you got in these three chapters, or these five chapters, are three men who act like kings, but they're all the wrong kind of kings. David's the passive king, silent when he should be silent when he should be speaking. Amnon is the abusive king, using this power to pleasure himself rather than to serve. Then you got Absalom, the selfish king, who does everything in his power for himself.
Why can't any of these guys break the cycle? These chapters scream, don't they? We need a new king. Even the family of David, who has been the best of the best, is hopelessly broken.
See, that's our last consideration. Number three, a new king is coming who will break the cycle. A new king is coming who will break the cycle as David flees out of Jerusalem barefoot with his head covered. A picture, I told you, of abject failure. There's this little detail tucked in there you don't want to miss.
Some of you saw it and were like, that's interesting. David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefooted with his head covered. Why does the author go out of their way to tell you where exactly he fled from Jerusalem?
See, the ascent of the Mount of Olives would later be renamed the Garden of Gethsemane. See, years later, another son of David would walk that same path, weeping, sweating great drops of blood. This future son of David would also have been rejected as king, but unlike David, it was not his own sin that drove him out of Jerusalem. It was ours. That son of David walked up that same ascent to the Mount of Olives so that he could die for our sins.
Make sure you see this. Jesus walked David's same path of shame so that he could redeem David and put back together his kingdom. In this story, David laments, my son Absalom, how I would gladly have died instead of you. David wanted to die for his son's sins, but he couldn't.
Jesus actually could, and he did. See, that's how you break the chain of sin. Because Jesus has broken the curse of sin, he can inject grace and life where previously there were only repeating cycles of sin and corruption and death.
I love the line of that old hymn that we sing. He breaks the power of canceled sin and sets the prisoner free. On the cross, Jesus canceled your sin. He paid your debt, and a lot of Christians have received that part. But what Isaac Watts, the writer of that hymn, was trying to say is he also breaks the power of already canceled sin. He didn't just die to pay the penalty for your sin. He also rose from the dead to break its power over you. Some of you have experienced the forgiveness of sins, but you have never escaped Jesus breaking its power.
He breaks the power of canceled sin, and he sets the prisoner free. See, all that's good news, not just for David. That's also good news for Tamar. In this story, Tamar seems all but forgotten. She's never mentioned again. She's literally forgotten by David. But she wasn't forgotten by Jesus. Jesus walked up that hill of brokenness and shame and failed kingdoms weeping so he could bring healing to her too. When he wept, like David, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was weeping for Tamar.
David forgot her, but Jesus didn't. Some of you, like Tamar, have been hurt by other sins. You've been the recipient of violence. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. We esteemed him smitten by God and afflicted. Yet he was actually wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was laid on him, and that means by his stripes I can be healed, whether my name is David or Tamar. Sometimes I hear people talk about generational curses, sins in a family's past generation that still manifests in the present. To be honest, I don't know exactly what I think about all that, but I do know I can plead the blood of Jesus against any curse or any residue of sin and break it immediately regardless of where it comes from. He breaks the power of canceled sin. He didn't just die to pay your penalty. He died to release you from sin's power so he can set you, a prisoner, free. I'm not captive to any sin of the past, whether mine or somebody else's. His blood can make the foulest clean.
His blood availed at one for me. Whether you're a David looking to break the cycle in yourself or a Tamar looking to escape the devastating effects of sins committed against you, Jesus walked up that hill for you. His cross reconciles your past, and his resurrection recreates your future. So from what I'm telling you, I don't know whether you're David or Tamar, but it is time for you to get up out of that grave and get on with what God has for your future. Love how William Carey talked about it, the missionary.
The future is as bright as the promises of God. Now, one special word before I close. Some of you, as I've walked through this, you identify with Tamar. You were failed by your father or a brother, maybe even abused. And I know that's a deep wound that you've got to deal with, and I'm not trying to trivialize it.
But what I will tell you is this. You can find healing from the wounds of your earthly father in the arms of your heavenly one. I know it because I've seen it in the lives of countless people at this church. Wounded and broken and shameful past transformed, wounded and broken and shameful past transformed by an encounter with the truly loving, perfect father. And I know that as I say that, some of you can't even think about God as father, at least not with any joy, because of what your earthly dad did to you. And he was so bad and so neglectful, so abusive or whatever, that you can't even hear the word father without thinking of all that he was. Let me give you a perhaps life-changing thought, okay?
Here it is. Rather than seeing your heavenly father through the lens of your earthly one, you should start looking at your earthly father through the lens of your heavenly one. Find your completion in your heavenly father and let that help you come to terms with the failures of your earthly dad. In fact, given enough time, you might even be able to forgive him. Are you ready by his power to break the cycle of sin? Are you ready to receive healing?
Here's the thing. He can do either of those things. He's rich and abundant in mercy and healing, but you got to come to him. You got to open yourself up to him. Scripture says that he stands at the door and knocks. He's doing that with some of you right now.
Are you ready to let him in? When we sin, we can know that God always has more than enough grace to forgive us, no matter what we've done. But the reality is our sin still has consequences and our poor choices do lead to what feels like a harvest of difficulty. That's why we're even more grateful for the grace and redemption found in the gospel. As a reminder, if you missed any part of today's teaching, feel free to catch up anytime, free of charge at jdgrier.com. And while you're on our website, you can check out our entire library of free resources to help you grow in your relationship with God. And all of it is made available for free by the generosity of our gospel partners who financially support this ministry each month.
To thank them, we always curate a featured resource that is exclusive to our gospel partners and financial supporters. And this month we are sending out a commentary that Pastor JD Ko wrote with Heath Thomas called Exalting Jesus in First and Second Samuel. Now, if you've never owned a Bible commentary before, this is the perfect one to start with. Commentaries are meant to give you an in-depth look at the meaning of scripture, but this one is special because while it does take you deeply into God's word, it's also very practical and readable and applicable to your daily life.
And it even includes reflection questions at the end of each chapter. We can't recommend this resource enough, and we'll send it to you with your gift of $35 or more to this ministry. To give, call us at 866-335-5220, or you can give online at jdgrier.com. I'm Molly Vitovich, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow as we begin more new teaching called Life Song. We'll see you Wednesday here on Summit Life with JD Greer. Today's program was produced and sponsored by JD Greer Ministries.
