Question of the day: What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?
So this next chapter is divided into two parts.
1. Absalom's Consiracy
2. David Flees
Absalom’s Conspiracy
15 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 they receive 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 people of Israel.
7 At the end of four[a] 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.[b]’”
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.
David Flees
13 A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people 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 on 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. 17 So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland.20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”[c]
21 But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”
22 David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.
24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.
25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar’s son Jonathan. You and Abiathar return with your two sons. 28 I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”
32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushaithe Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel’s advice. 35 Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king’s palace. 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.”
37 So Hushai, David’s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.
1. Absalom's Conspiracy
I think here it has to be noted that at the end of the last chapter Absalom comes before his father and sees him for the first time in a long time and they exchange a bow and a kiss. Nothing more. The greeting was formal and they were going through the motions. We had also heard about how handsome Absalom was.
How does Absalom start to take over his father's kingdom?
Step 1: He provided himself with chariots and horses and fifty men to run ahead of him.
What did this do for him?
Step 2: He would get up early and stand by the gate.
What about getting up early and being there helped him? (not the listening part...just the being there part.)
How did this contrast between what we see in David at this point of his rule?
Step 3: “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” How did this statement help him?
“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 they receive justice.”
What can we learn from Absalom?
If it was Absalom's place to help the people what was he doing right?
What was wrong about what Absalom did?
2. David Flees
Step 1: “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”
Knowing what followed I am sure that much more was said.
Can you imagine what David was feeling?
Ellen White writes... "His own son--the son whom he had loved and trusted--had been planning to seize his crown and doubtless to take his life."
David the great king, sitting in his amazing palace, surrounded by all the women he could ever want, children, servants. The great warrior who had won many battles, but now for sometime had been sitting in a state of depression, brought on by his own sin now hears that his son is planning to seize his crown.
When we are faced with unimaginable challenges we have options.
What are some of those options?
What does David choose to do?
In Patriarchs and Prophets Mrs White writes, "In his great peril David shook off the depression that had so long rested upon him, and with the spirit of his earlier years he prepared to meet this terrible emergency."
Step 2: David takes action:
"From his palace David looked out upon his capital--"beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, . . . the city of the great King." Psalm 48:2. He shuddered at the thought of exposing it to carnage and devastation. Should he call to his help the subjects still loyal to his throne, and make a stand to hold his capital? Should he permit Jerusalem to be deluged with blood? His decision was taken. The horrors of war should not fall upon the chosen city. He would leave Jerusalem, and then test the fidelity of his people, giving them an opportunity to rally to his support. In this great crisis it was his duty to God and to his people to maintain the authority with which Heaven had invested him. The issue of the conflict he would trust with God." (White)
At first I thought that this was David "running away" but I don't think that is what he was doing. David for the first time in a long time was taking action. He wasn't just sitting in his feelings and depression but he was actually doing something!!!
Doing something is so important.
How many times do we talk about our challenges and do nothing!
We can talk and talk and talk, but at some point we need to take action.
Earlier in this study of David we have seen how God over and over again asked David to wait. Waiting has actually been one of the themes of this story, but here it is clear that taking action, doing something was important.
David in taking action does something that he has done before. This action of running, or fleeing was taking him back to a time when he was surrendered to God and relying on him. (Well most of the time.)
"In humility and sorrow David passed out of the gate of Jerusalem--driven from his throne, from his palace, from the ark of God, by the insurrection of his cherished son. The people followed in long, sad procession, like a funeral train."
Step 3: Thinking of those around him.
“Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom."
This is another shift. Remember Tamar is raped and his does nothing! Absalom kills the rapist his brother and David does nothing. Absalom comes back to court and David does nothing....For a long time he has been sitting in a state of paralysis where the focus was just on what he was feeling and not those around him.
It is as if David is waking up.
If you are finding your self thinking of your self all the time..... STOP it!
No seriously that is a very good warning sign that perhaps you need to turn your hearts toward God and let him direct your thoughts and actions. That perhaps you need a shift in focus. Perhaps there is a person or persons that you need to be helping.
The act of helping those around us can also help to awaken us.
If you are struggling in a paralysis state of depression, start helping someone who needs you.
Go volunteer somewhere, or step up and help out at church. Where ever God is calling you! Go and do!
Step 4: David sends the arch back.
What is important about this?
What is he doing?
No matter where we find ourselves, we MUST learn to put our trust in nothing and no one other than God himself.
So what can we take away from these two guys today?
I will let you answer that today.
Comments
Post a Comment