| Heart Message #2
How Absalom Turned
A Nation Against King David (Part 2)
Absalom murdered his half
brother for the rape of his sister Tamar. He fled Israel. Returning
after 3 years, he waited 2 more to see his father in what appears to
be reconciliation. Soon
after, however, Absalom began his plot to take over the kingdom from
his father King David by a cunning plan of amassing political and
military strength.
Though David’s sin allowed
the “sword” to enter his household, the methods Absalom used to
manipulate a population are worth studying.
Jesus said before his
crucifixion that the prince of this world is coming and he has no
hold on me. John
14:30 As
Absalom began to manipulate the population of Israel, there were
many worldly holds for him to exploit, ripe & ready to be
manipulated.
PERSONAL BEAUTY
We are attracted to
beauty. If someone has
the look, they start off with favorable ratings, having done nothing
more than to appear.
In all Israel there was not
a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From
the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in
him 2 Sam. 14:25
A SHOW OF
POWER
We (fallen humans) are
attracted to confidence and displays of power.
Now it came about after
this that Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses and
fifty men as runners before him. 2 Sam 15:1
EXPLOITING
RESENTMENT
We love people who seem to
validate our claims of justice and victim-hood.
Absalom used to rise early
and stand beside the way to the gate; and when any man had a suit to
come to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say,
"From what city are you?" And he would say, "Your servant is from
one of the tribes of Israel." Then Absalom would say to him, "See,
your claims are good and right, but no man listens to you on the
part of the king."
2 Sam. 15:2,3
EXPLOITING MISERY
Absalom was shamelessly
‘using’ the suffering within others for his own purposes, implicitly
promising relief “if only he had the power”.
Moreover, Absalom would
say, " Oh that one would appoint me judge in the land, then every
man who has any suit or cause could come to me and I would give him
justice." 2 Sam 15:4
FLATTERY
We like people who compliment
and build us up, and there is nothing wrong with giving honor to
whom honor is due, but Absalom became an over the top smooth
talker.
And when a man came near
to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and take
hold of him and kiss him. 2 Sam 15:5
A VOID OF
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Absalom exploited a void of
justice left by David, who was absent, and not providing any
leadership to deal with the civil concerns of his people.
In this manner Absalom
dealt with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; so Absalom
stole away the hearts of the men of Israel.
PHONY RELIGIOSITY
Absalom did anything but ‘go
in peace’. Like the
Pharisees, he put on a religious show to impress others. Perhaps he was trying to
out-righteous his father.
Now it came about at the
end of forty years that Absalom said to the king, "Please let me go
and pay my vow which I have vowed to the LORD, in Hebron. "For your
servant vowed a vow while I was living at Geshur in Aram, saying, '
If the LORD shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will
serve the LORD.'" The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he arose
and went to Hebron.
1 Sam
15:7-9
PEER PRESSURE
Absalom used the fear of man
to persuade others to go along. He created a sudden sense of
finality about seizing power by making noise and hiring bold
persuasive loud mouths to proclaim the seizing of power in the past
tense.
Then Absalom sent secret
messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "As soon as you
hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, 'Absalom is king in
Hebron.' " 2 Sam
15:10
MASS MANIPULATION
In our fallen world, numbers
bring credibility to any endeavor; it is a strong temptation to
judge God’s approval based on how many others are present. Of course many people can be
deceived, and God save by many or by few. The amount of people
involved in anything means only that those people are there. It is never proof of the
justness of any cause.
Then two hundred men went
with Absalom from Jerusalem, who were invited and went innocently,
and they did not know anything.
APPARENT
WISDOM
And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the
Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city Giloh, while he was
offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the
people increased continually with Absalom. 1 Sam
15:12
While
Absalom was showing off his piety, he called for the man who was
closest to King David, his trusted and wise counselor
Ahithophel. This was
decisive since the reputation of Ahithophel was
spotless.
Now in those days the
advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God.
That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel's
advice. 2 Sam 16:23
But if Ahithophel was so
wise, why did he join Absalom’s rebellion? Perhaps his wisdom was
clouded by deep & bitter resentments, privately held against the
man of God he served.
Perhaps Ahithophel could not keep his own heart clean but
bore a secret rage.
Compare 2 Sam 11:3 & 2 Sam23:34 for one possible source
of abiding unforgiveness.
CONCLUSION
In the end however, the first
cause of this rebellion was David’s sin, which brought a sword into
his household 2 Sam
12:10,11 Yet, David was
repentant (Psalm 51) and the call of God remained upon his
life. The Messiah Jesus will still sit upon the throne of
David. God did not
abandon him but redeemed the sin of David and used it to show the
power of his forgiveness.
Absalom was overthrown, his
plot was destroyed, and he died in disgrace.
When an Absalom is stirring
up strife and manipulating the unfinished business in the hearts of
people, it is our own responsibility to guard our hearts with all
diligence and not be taken in by shameless exploitation of worldly
desires. It is also our
responsibility to hold our leaders accountable. Many might not confront a
gifted leader for fear of being an Absalom. None of us need be an
Absalom by stirring up strife in secret. None of us need be
manipulated by an Absalom, listening to divisiveness in
secret.
It is our responsibility to
walk in the light, to confront in the light, and to also cleanse our
hearts of bitter resentments by walking in forgiveness.
Church splits happen. But we don’t have to be a
part of it.
| 