2 SAMUEL 15:1-12 - Absaloms 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 towards 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 years, Absalom said to the king, Let me go to Hebron and fulfil 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, Davids counsellor, to come from Giloh, his home town. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absaloms following kept on increasing. Behind Absaloms growing fame was a cunning plan. He spent four years charming the people to win their hearts (15:10) but with questionable motives- he wanted to steal his fathers throne. Unlike his father David, who had been loyal to Saul as Gods appointed leader, Absalom made himself king while his father was still on the throne. The family infighting was a direct result of Davids sin with Bathsheba and had been prophesied by Nathan (2 Samuel 12:11). Yet Absaloms popularity perhaps stemmed from Davids own lapse of leadership. Absaloms comment in verse 3 implies that there was no justice mechanism - a sign of David neglecting his kingly duties, just as he had neglected his military duties in chapter 11. Perhaps the public acclamation he had received at the start of his leadership was allowing David to become complacent, forgetting that the peoples ongoing support depended on his continued efforts as king. This is a challenge for all of us involved in ministry of any sort. Are we always looking to improve, or do we become complacent too easily? Do we rest too much on past successes, forgetting that there is still work to be done? If your energies or enthusiasm for Christ are running low, ask God to refresh you with his Spirit and reinvigorate you for the service to which he has called you.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 09:25:15 +0000
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