2 Samuel 15:1-16 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 15:1-16. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
2 Samuel 15:1-16 (NIV)
1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him.
2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.”
3 Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.”
4 And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice.”
5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him.
6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7 At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD.
8 While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: ‘If the LORD takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.'”
9 The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron.
10 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.'”
11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter.
12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.
13 A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”
14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword.”
15 The king’s officials answered him, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.”
16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace.
On verses 1-16: Here we see Absalom beginning to subtly, secretly campaign for himself to be king in place of his father David. Absalom would get up early and stand by the road that people would take to go see his father King David. On their way to seeing King David, they would pass by Absalom, who would greet them, ask them to share their troubles with him, and tell them that they have a valid claim but that the king was too busy to hear them. I could imagine Absalom saying to people on their way to David: “It’s too bad that King David doesn’t want to see your face. If only I was king, then I would make sure that you got justice.” (v4) Absalom would also stop people from bowing to him and instead reach out and kiss them. In doing these things, Absalom “stole the hearts of the people of Israel” (v6). After 4 years of winning people to his side this way, Absalom goes to Hebron and has himself declared king over Israel (v7-11). Absalom also poaches David’s top advisor, Ahithophel (v12).
When David hears about the ever increasing following that Absalom has been garnering, he believes that staying in Jerusalem would only result in the city being destroyed and them being killed. So David, his entire household and his remaining officials go into exile, leaving ten concubines to watch over the palace (v13-16).
What can we learn from this? Beware those who secretly, subtly promote sedition in your family, church, or workplace. What is sedition? Sedition is doing or saying things that encourage others to rebel against their God-given leaders. Absalom was like his father David in many ways: he was handsome, charismatic, easily likable, smart, driven, persevering, and had a strong work ethic. But one of the biggest differences between Absalom and David was in the way they related to authority. No matter how cruel or unreasonable King Saul was to David, David never stopped respecting and honouring his God-given leader, whom he would continue to call “the Lord’s anointed”. In contrast, Absalom spent four years planning and launching a revolution against his father and king David his God-given leader and led thousands astray in the process. While Absalom posed the greatest threat to power that David ever encountered, Absalom’s efforts would not succeed and eventually led to his untimely death.
Are you a seditious person? Do you directly or indirectly encourage others to rebel against your leaders, whether in your family, church, workplace, or elsewhere? If you have been seditious in any way, you need to watch out. For no matter how talented or charismatic a person is, God hates sedition and will not bless a work that is built on an attitude of sedition. So be careful not to be seditious or to associate too closely with those who are seditious.
Father, we agree with Your Word when You say that sedition — or “dissension” — is sin (Galatians 5:22). May we not be seditious and encourage others through our actions, words or example to rebel against our God-given leaders. May we also be careful not to associate too closely with seditious people. For You will not bless any work that is founded on sedition, but You will bless those who stand united with their God-given leaders and who treat their submission unto their leaders as their worship unto You. So in our homes, church, marriages, families and workplaces, may we always be careful to honour and follow the leaders You place over us in Your name. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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