1 Kings 2:5, 8 ~ “Forgiving & Forgetting” Is Not Always the BEST Policy

Al and I are reading through the Bible for our morning worship together, and this morning we read 1 Kings 2.  It was a very interesting chapter.  Two lessons jumped out at me, and I’ll share one here.

Speaking to Solomon, before he died, David said, “Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.” 1 Kings 2:5

“And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.” 1 Kings 2:8

David knew that these men, Joab, Shimei and Abiathar the Priest, were all men who could not be trusted. So even though David had let them live after they joined the revolution against him, he knew that Solomon’s kingdom would not be safe while these men were alive. So he encouraged Solomon to kill them, so as to ensure the stability of the kingdom. I’m sure some would say, “David should have just “forgiven and forgotten” and not worry about what these men might do….but I think this is a real example of how there are times when it is dangerous to “forget” the treacherous past that someone has taken, and to just TRUST that everything is going to “turn out right in the end.”

I believe God wants us to use common sense.  Whether it be in our families, our church or our community, when others have openly come against us for no good reason, we should not just “forgive and forget” and TRUST that person as if nothing ever happened. If they ask for forgiveness, we should give it to them.  But TRUST is earned, it is not a GIVEN, just because you are FORGIVEN. And it does not mean that you are not a good Christian because you do not TRUST someone who knifed you in the back and now is “repenting”.  We need to handle things in the right way, the Christian way, the way Jesus would, but that does not mean we need to TRUST people who have proven UNTRUSTWORTHY.

• This topic was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by Tammy Roesch.
• This topic was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by Tammy Roesch.