So far, David’s fall has resulted in the death of a baby, the rape of his daughter, the murder of the heir to his throne, and estrangement with his son, Absalom. How much more trouble can one simple night’s sin cause?
Plenty.
The next two years after David made peace with Absalom were, from David’s perspective, peaceful ones. But Absalom wasn’t finished yet. He continued to be angry with his father as a result of the Amnon/Tamar issue and his father’s unforgiveness after he had his brother murdered, and his goal became the demise of the king.
His methods were shrewd, however. He took to sitting at the city gate and greeting the people who came to Jerusalem to seek council and justice from the king. Then he would drop innocent little lies: “Then Absalom would say to him, ‘Look, your case is good and right; but there is no deputy of the king to hear you.'” (2 Sam 15:3-4 NKJV). After convincing the people of this falsehood, Absalom would then plant seeds of doubt: “Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” (2 Sam 15:4-5 NKJV)
What was the purpose behind this little two year exercise? To soften the hearts of the people towards himself. You see, David was well loved in Israel, and the people would likely not have followed Absalom in an outright conspiracy. But in this manner, the evil seeds of deceit were planted in the hearts of the people. Over time, they sprouted and grew, and when they did, Absalom was ready to make his move.
Even then, Absalom was careful. He didn’t declare himself king in Jerusalem. Instead, he contrived a plan to get his father’s permission to go to Hebron: “Absalom said to the king, ‘Please, let me go to Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord. For your servant took a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, “If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.”‘ And the king said to him, ‘Go in peace.’ So he arose and went to Hebron.” (2 Sam 15:7-9 NKJV)
Next he invited 200 men from Jerusalem, men who knew nothing about his takeover endeavours, to come with him: “And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything.” (2 Sam 15:11 NKJV)
But Absalom still wasn’t satisfied that his plan would succeed, so he did one more thing: “Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, ‘As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, “Absalom reigns in Hebron!”‘” (2 Sam 15:10 NKJV)
And finally, still under the auspice of deceit, Absalom sent for one of his father’s trusted counsellors: “Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city – from Giloh – while he offered sacrifices.” (2 Sam 15:12a)
Oh, Absalom was an intelligent young man. He laid his snares well, and as a result of his deceitfulness, the Bible tells us: “And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom continually increased in number.” (2 Sam 15:12b NKJV). And then the unthinkable happened: David fled! “David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, ‘Arise, and let us flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.'” (2 Sam 15:14 NKJV)
But unfortunately for Absalom, his little world was doomed to crumble, his plan was doomed to fail. As you read through the next few chapters of 2 Samuel we learn that his fraudulent efforts to usurp his father’s throne only lead to the defeat of his army, and ultimately, to the loss of his own life (Join us for LESSONS FROM DAVID’S FALL, Part 8 for more on this story!).
The lesson we can learn from all of this?
Just this: Deceit is a poor foundation on which to build a kingdom-or any plan, for that matter! Oh, it served Absalom well initially. It succeeded in getting him set up in Jerusalem as king and in causing David to flee, and yes, initially, it looked like things were going well for Absalom. But in the end, it meant utter demise.
Friends, sometimes the deceitfully-minded do appear to succeed. But in the end, their demise is certain. Let’s keep this in our hearts as we go through life, and let’s make a real effort to be 100% honest in all that we do. For only in doing so can we be certain to build a kingdom that will last!
Please join us next week for LESSONS FROM DAVID’S FALL, Part 6: Bad Advice
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two teens, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, www.scripturalnuggets.org, with Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org.
(To access the entire “Lessons From David’s Fall” mini-series, please click here.)