000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

While the New Testament does not cite the specific content of this text,
some of the parables attributed to Jesus operate on the same literary principles
as the parable that Nathan told David. Instead of confronting the
hearer with the main issue of the text, and risking an immediate rejection
on the part of the hearer, they first establish sympathetic identification
among the listeners and the setting, characters, and beginning of the plot
in the story. The storyteller then introduces a startling development into
the plot, a twist that catches the listeners off guard. By the end of the parable
hearers are faced with an unexpected possibility about which the congregation
needs to make a decision about how to think, feel, or act. A
preacher could adopt this model for sermons on such texts.
Exodus 16:2–4, 9–15* (Paired)
For comments on this passage, please see Proper 20/Year A.
Proper 14 [19]/Year B
2 Samuel 18:5–9, 15, 31–33+ (Semicontinuous)
Proper 14 [19]/Year B 173
This passage requires the larger narrative context. Absalom is the third of
David’s six sons (each from a different mother). In a story that turns the
stomach, Amnon (Absalom’s older brother) feigned an illness that brought
their sister Tamar to care for him. Amnon raped her, and David did not
punish him (2 Sam. 13:1–23). Setting a trap similar to the one by which
Amnon deceived Tamar, the enraged Absalom had Amnon murdered.
Absalom then stayed in exile at his mother’s house for three years. David,
in the meantime, mourned Amnon’s death and grieved Absalom’s absence,
but did nothing (13:23–39).
Joab, David’s nephew and commander of the army, used a wise woman
from Tekoa to get David to bring Absalom back from exile (2 Sam.
14:1–32), but Absalom soon began to undermine David’s rule. The narrator
ironically presents Absalom winning the hearts of Jerusalem by posing
as a wise judge who imparts justice to the community in contrast to
David who provides no mechanism for such matters (15:1–14). The
reader naturally thinks, Would that such wise judges were still at the center
of our common life.
Fearing Absalom, David fled Jerusalem (15:15–16:14). Absalom entered
the city supported by Ahithophel, one of David’s advisors. Ahithophel