2
Samuel 13. One of the ways that exceptional authors display their genius is by
introducing a particular theme and then subtly echoing that theme multiple
times as their storylines develop. An example of this would be John Steinbeck’s
iconic novel, East of Eden, in which the
“Cain and Abel” rivalry and its devastating effects appears and reappears
throughout the book. This literary echoing is difficult to do at all; nearly
impossible to do well; and the Holy Spirit does it often and superbly using the
forty-or-so human authors responsible for writing the sixty-six books of the
one book we know as The Bible.
A-Mazing!
In
2 Samuel, note how David’s sins “echo” the sins of Genesis 1-6. David’s sin of
taking Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:1-4) echoed Adam’s sin of taking the forbidden
fruit. David’s exile from Jerusalem (2 Sam. 15:13-18) echoed Adam’s exile from
the Garden. And the lethal rivalry of David’s sons, Amnon and Absalom (2 Sam.
13:28-29) echoed the lethal rivalry of Cain and Abel.
As
Solomon repeatedly noted in his Ecclesiastes,
“There is nothing new under the sun.” And therefore every descendant of Adam,
including King David who was “a man after God’s heart”, was doomed to rehearse
and repeat the sins of the first Adam until the last Adam (the Lord Jesus
Christ) would come and break the horrific cycle of sin and death.
But
the last Adam has come. The cycle of sin is broken and the echoes are abating. For
unlike David and the rest of the Old Testament saints, we are no longer the “slaves
of sin” (Rom. 6:18.) Alleluia and amen!
HT: Peter Leithart
GH
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