II Samuel 15:1-37 – Generational Consequences
The Living Word With Chuck Davis
II Samuel 15:1-37 – Generational Consequences
Welcome to the Living Word with Chuck Davis. 2 Samuel 15, 1 to 37, generational consequences. After this, Absalom got himself a chariot in horses and fifty men to run before him, and Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, "From what city are you?" And when he said, "Your servant is of such and such a tribe of Israel," Absalom would say to him, "See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you." Then Absalom would say, "Oh, that I were a judge in the land. Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice." Whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment, so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. And at the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, "Please let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to the Lord and Hebron. For your servant vowed to vow, while I lived at Yesher and Aram, saying, "If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will offer worship to the Lord." The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he arose and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say Absalom is king at Hebron." With Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem who were invited guests, and they went in their innocence and knew nothing. While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for a hitful fell, the Gillowy Knight, David's counselor from his city, Gillow, and the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing. In a messenger came to David, saying, "The hearts of men of Israel have gone after Absalom." Then David said to all of his servants who were with him, "At Jerusalem, arise and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtakes us, and quickly bring down ruin on us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword." Then the king's servants said to the king, "Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my Lord the king decides." So the king went out, and all his household after him, and the king left ten concubines to keep the house, and the king went out, and all the people after him, and they halted at the last house. And all his servants passed by him, and all the Charest fights, and the Pelothites, and all the 600 Gittites, who had followed him from Gath, passed on before the king. Then king said to Ty, the Gittite, "Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner, and also an exile from your home. You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go, I know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you." But Ty answered the king, "As the Lord lives, and as my Lord the king lives, wherever my Lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be." And David said to Ty, "Go then, pass on." So Ty, the Gittite, passed on with all his men, and all the little ones who were with him. And all the land wept aloud, as all the people passed by, and the king crossed the Book of Kidron, and all the people passed on toward the wilderness. And Abiathar came up, and behold, Zaddok came also with the Levites bearing the Ark of the Covenant, and they set down the Ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city. Then the king said, "Is that that? Carry the Ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back, and let me see both it and his dwelling place. But if he says, "I have no pleasure in you, behold, here I am," let him do to me what seems good to him. The king also said to Zaddok the priest, "Are you not a seer? Go back to the city and peace with your two sons, Ahimaz, your son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar. See I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me." So Zaddok and Abiathar carried the Ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there. David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot, and with his head covered, and all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up weeping as they went. And it was told David, it was told David, Ahithoseth is among the conspirators with Absalom, and David said, "Oh Lord, please turn the council of Ahithofel into foolishness." While David was coming to the summit where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai, the arkite, came to meet him with his coat torn and dirt on his head. David said to him, "If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me." But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, "I will be your servant, O king, as I have been your father's servant in time pass. So now I will be your servant, then you will defeat for me the council of Ahithofel." Are not Zaddok and Abiathar the priest with you there. So whatever you hear from the king's house, tell it to Zaddok and Abiathar the priest. Behold, their sons are with them there. Ahimaz, Zaddok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son, and by them you shall send to me everything you hear. So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem. These five chapters, 1st Samuel, or 2nd Samuel 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19, are going to point to the growing rebellion of Absalom. There's a bitter seed in him. There's a longing for power. He begins to put out his desire, "Oh, that I were the judge of the land." Eugene Edwards in his book, A Tale of Three Kings, says it this way. Absalom is saying, "If I were in responsibility, this is what I would do." You see, rebellion is growing in his heart. He offers false promises. He lies to his father, and we're told that he starts the insurrection. He sends secret messengers. See, this has been growing in Absalom, two years of plotting the death and murder of his brother, now four years of plotting a coup to take over complete power. David flees, and in his fleeing, he's thinking about other servants. He tries to release the Gitite servants. He gives them this blessing, "May the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you." This series of people that he works with, we not only see David's concern for others, but we see him moving with a certain level of wisdom. It appears that Absalom hasn't thought about his father and his own wisdom. It was interesting for looking to the story of Jesus, as David crosses the Kidrone, mounting up the Mount of Olives. This would have been Jesus' path towards the Garden of Gethsemane. There's weeping, there's pain, and there's regret in David's life at this point. The somewhat of this passage is another reminder that as David refused to be a Saul, he also refuses to be an Absalom. Absalom is power hungry, and David's not going to fight power with power. He trusts God completely. There's an aspect of his journey here that he points to the fact that he will come back and see the Ark of the Covenant in its dwelling place, if God is the one who's going to vindicate him. David is not power hungry in the way that Absalom is. Now one of this is a reminder that power can slowly corrupt us. We've been looking at this kind of tension in David's life between passivity and aggression. He's kind of stuck. His pass sin is seen to take away his resolve. There's always trouble. Again, I like what Edward says in his book. You see, there is no kingdom without discord. Even God had his critics in heaven, you know, referring to Satan in his fall. When you're in leadership, there's always going to be opposition. Our character will be seen in how we respond to the people over us and the people who rebel against us. And so Lord, keep us from the extremes of passivity or aggressive domination. Help us to trust you without being passive. Help us to take initiative without being self-serving. We put ourselves at your disposal in Jesus' name, amen.