The funeral was something to behold. Here was an estranged family now engulfed in the pain of the loss of a family member yet still at odds with each other. Some of the sons were not allowed to see their brother in the casket. And this side of the family came to me to see how to resolve this especially since they had made it plain to them that they had no right even to view the brother in the casket.
At the time I had very little wisdom. So I simply said to the funeral director “Call the brothers who weren’t permitted to come to the funeral itself and let them come for a private viewing. Then hold a private viewing for the others followed by the funeral with rest of the neighbors and friends.
Surprisingly, it worked out well. Yet, what I recall from this funeral is still in my memory today. The funeral itself was a time of very loud wailing and weeping which I’d never heard before or since. It was, to say the least, an extremely sad funeral, which seemed to go on and on and on. But finally it concluded and the son was laid to rest in a nearby cemetery. And, as far as I know, these family members continue to wage war against each other to this day.
Wailing is what comes to my mind when I read the last verse of II Samuel eighteen. “And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
But look on further to II Samuel chapter nineteen and verse one. II Samuel 19:1 “And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. (2) And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. (3) And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.(4) But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
In these words and in this prayer/wish, David knew that there was only one place to go to find balm for his wounds. And that place is the LORD Himself. It’s really the only place we can go when we truly need and want comfort and relief from such grief.
So, first, it’s good and it’s natural to weep.
Second, it’s best to turn to the One Who is The God of All Comfort.
The old Bible commentator John Peter Lange describes it this way. “O when a man first reaches the point where he is lord of his pain, that no longer sorrow rules over him, but he rules over his sorrow, that thoughtfulness, quiet, and peace returns into his heart. Then, he is again in a good way, and a door is opened for all help and deliverance.” [Lange’s Commentary quoting Father Arndt; found on ww.archive.org].
It really is God’s intent that we find Him as the One Who can and will comfort us when we really need it. In the NT we find these words recorded by the Apostle Paul in II Corinthians chapter one. II Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;…”
Now, can you remember the prayer David prayed when he was out on the hillside away from the palace and while Absalom was on the throne inside the walls of the city of Jerusalem? Go on to page four
At the time I had very little wisdom. So I simply said to the funeral director “Call the brothers who weren’t permitted to come to the funeral itself and let them come for a private viewing. Then hold a private viewing for the others followed by the funeral with rest of the neighbors and friends.
Surprisingly, it worked out well. Yet, what I recall from this funeral is still in my memory today. The funeral itself was a time of very loud wailing and weeping which I’d never heard before or since. It was, to say the least, an extremely sad funeral, which seemed to go on and on and on. But finally it concluded and the son was laid to rest in a nearby cemetery. And, as far as I know, these family members continue to wage war against each other to this day.
Wailing is what comes to my mind when I read the last verse of II Samuel eighteen. “And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
But look on further to II Samuel chapter nineteen and verse one. II Samuel 19:1 “And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. (2) And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. (3) And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.(4) But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
In these words and in this prayer/wish, David knew that there was only one place to go to find balm for his wounds. And that place is the LORD Himself. It’s really the only place we can go when we truly need and want comfort and relief from such grief.
So, first, it’s good and it’s natural to weep.
Second, it’s best to turn to the One Who is The God of All Comfort.
The old Bible commentator John Peter Lange describes it this way. “O when a man first reaches the point where he is lord of his pain, that no longer sorrow rules over him, but he rules over his sorrow, that thoughtfulness, quiet, and peace returns into his heart. Then, he is again in a good way, and a door is opened for all help and deliverance.” [Lange’s Commentary quoting Father Arndt; found on ww.archive.org].
It really is God’s intent that we find Him as the One Who can and will comfort us when we really need it. In the NT we find these words recorded by the Apostle Paul in II Corinthians chapter one. II Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;…”
Now, can you remember the prayer David prayed when he was out on the hillside away from the palace and while Absalom was on the throne inside the walls of the city of Jerusalem? Go on to page four