And now we address the concubines.

When King David flees from his son Absalom, who has conspired to overthrow his father, he naturally makes sure that all his loved ones (wives, children, servants) are kept safe. Basically, they flee with him. And he puts his trust in God during this tragic time, as you can see for yourself by reading Psalm 3 or 2 Samuel 15.

But...

But David is far from perfect. In fact, let's use the term he would use: he's a sinner. You can see all sorts of his faults on display in 2 Samuel 11-14. Specifically, it's 2 Samuel 12:13 where David admits his sin, though he also wrote a song about just how deep sin runs in Psalm 51.

Well, here's one way that David sinned when he fled from Absalom. He left 10 concubines in the palace to "take care of it" while everyone else fled for their lives. Maybe he didn't intend for harm to come to them, but it did--they were basically publicy raped (2 Samuel 16:22).

David didn't treat these concubines like he would his own flesh and blood. He treated them like, well, like servants--except that he had actual servants that he loved more and treated better. Not uncommon in the ancient world, before the clarity of the gospel, but nevertheless.

So I was wondering this. Who are those in our lives that we don't really truly love, even though we may act like it? Who is there that we pretend to love and cherish, and yet when the going gets tough--we leave them behind. Who are the people that we have fellowship with every Sunday, smile and greet perhaps, but they are totally expendable to us?

You might say, well, not everyone is family! We can't treat everyone like flesh and blood! But Jesus treated us that way. He laid down His most precious life for us, and He calls us to see every other believer as our brother or sister--as flesh and blood.