Treachery

2 Samuel 15:1-12

¹  After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him.

²  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 in Israel,”

³  Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.”

⁴  Then Absalom would say, “Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.”

⁵  And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him.

⁶  Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷  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, in Hebron.

⁸  For your servant vowed a vow while I lived at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will offer worship to the Lord.’ ”

⁹  The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron.

¹⁰ 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!’ ”

¹¹ With Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem who were invited guests, and they went in their innocence and knew nothing.

¹² And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.

There is an iconic scene from the movie Titanic where Leo DiCaprio playing the young stowaway Jack, stands on the very tip of the hull of the ship and shouts out “I’m the king of the world.” He’s merely a lowly stowaway, but in that moment, we smile as he enjoys the feeling of being invincible. The notion of being the king of the world can be enticing. It takes a great deal of drive to even want such a position. While Jack probably wasn’t interested in all the trappings that go with such a title that is the desire we find in Absalom as we read today’s passage from 2 Samuel. When pride and arrogance are given the lead in a person, terrible things are sure to follow. That drive to see ourselves as the king of the universe will do damage to all those around us and could end in our demise. This is the path we find Absalom on in today’s reading.

What we continue to see in Absalom is shrewdness and cunning that is almost diabolical in scope. He has laid out a plan to secure the throne from his father sooner rather than later (with the later being after David’s death). For Absalom, the old man is hanging on just a bit too long. While he is unwilling to wait for David’s natural death to take the throne, he is willing to slowly and carefully worm his way into the hearts of the people through lies and deceit. While never actually saying anything against the David, he insinuates that David is too busy, uncaring, or not wise enough to deal with their issues. “If only I were judge in your situation this matter would be settled and you would win!” (That’s my paraphrase.) So, while the promises are ludicrous it works and the people come to love Absalom and are willing to make him their leader. Interestingly, Absalom goes to Hebron to be crowned as king, just as David had done in the beginning of his reign.

Whenever we manipulate people or situations to promote ourselves into a position that is not yet supposed to be ours (or maybe never supposed to be ours) we travel across thin ice. We have abandoned God’s timing and God’s ways, for we are indeed acting as the “king of the world.” It is an old temptation. Look at Genesis 3:1-6. Satan tempted Adam and Eve with nothing less than “you will be like God.” What more could we want? But we can never be like God, for we do not possess His characteristics, power, or wisdom. Even Adam and Eve, in their perfection before the fall were not like God. Whenever we find ourselves reaching out for greatness it is time to pull that arm back in and do a gut check. What purpose is served in seeking to be the “king” if not to stroke our own ego and the promotion of the self? The Holy Spirit is always there to convict us when we go too far in the direction our own ego takes us. He will draw you back, but you have to listen when He does so. It is easy to quiet the voice of God in our heads and turn away. But He will continue to pursue and convict, ever seeking our return to His side.