2 Samuel 14-15 Absalom's Conspiracy
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Today we are in our 19th sermon in our series called a Prophet and 2 Kings.
We are going to be in 2 Samuel 14 & 15 today…
Before we get into our text,
I want to ask the question.
What are you reaping from your harvest?
7bfor whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Last week we saw a harvest for David of consequences from his affair with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah.
As David set the tone in his home to do things that were not to be done in Israel,
so Amnon followed his fathers lead,
and did things that were not to be done in Israel.
Amnon commits rape and incest with his sister Tamar,
and in David’s complacency,
he does nothing to address his son’s evil actions.
For 2 years Amnon has no judgement for his wickedness,
but in these same 2 years Absalom has watched his sister suffer.
Thus, Absalom makes a plan to have his brother Ammon killed for what he did to their sister Tamar.
I said last week,
As Amnon devices a plan against his sister Tamar,
so now Absalom devices his own plan against Amnon.
(Reap what you sow)
After Absalom’s plan is successful to have Amnon killed,
Absalom goes into hiding for 3 years in Geshur.
In those 3 years away,
Joab, who is the commander of David’s army,
see’s his king longing to be reunited with his son Absalom.
In Joab seeing this,
he devices this plan to help reunite the father and son.
Joab finds this wise woman from Tekoa to come and see the king.
And per the instruction of Joab,
the wise women tells a story that helps persuade David to bring Absolom back home to Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 14)
Now Joab brings Absolom back to Jerusalem,
But there is one condition...
24 And the king said, “Let him dwell apart in his own house; he is not to come into my presence.” So Absalom lived apart in his own house and did not come into the king’s presence.
Absalom has been away for 3 years already,
and once he is back in Jerusalem,
he is not to see the king.
Now this goes on for a period of 2 years.
28 So Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without coming into the king’s presence.
For 5 years David and Absalom have not seen each other. (long time)
Remember when I said David does not deal well with conflict…
(avoids the hard conversation)
Finally after 5 years,
Absolom is tired of his situation,
so he sends for Joab to help persuade the king to see him.
But Joab ignore’s Absalom's request,
not once but 2 different times.
Absolom gets tired of the silent treatment from Joab,
so has an idea to get Joab’s attention..
Absolom tells his servant go and set Joab’s field on fire. (effective)
This gets Joab’s attention,
and Joab goes to see Absolom to confront him.
31 Then Joab arose and went to Absalom at his house and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” 32 Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent word to you, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now therefore let me go into the presence of the king, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.’ ” 33 Then Joab went to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.
After 5 years of being apart,
it seems that Absalom and David reunite as father and son.
(Beautiful reunion)
[takes 2 to reconcile a relationship]
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.
Absalom is a planner...
Absalom is very intentional about what he does,
and is very strategic in how he does it.
After the evil that was done to his sister,
he spent 2 years planning how to get revenge on Amnon.
Jonadab said to David… (All the sons are dead)
32b Amnon alone is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day he violated his sister Tamar.
NLT “Absalom has been plotting this ever since Amnon raped his sister Tamar”
For Absalom he was planning to have Amnon killed for 2 years...
this was not just a brash decision...
Which demonstrates something important about Absalom,
and that is,
he is very disciplined in whatever he decides to do.
(very strategic)
How many know that God given gifts can be used positively or negatively?
(Gifts… leaders can lead… to the promise land… stay in the wilderness…)
Absalom used his gift for selfish gain
2 years of disciplined planning,
leads Absalom to accomplish his goal of killing Amnon.
Which leads him to go into hiding for 3 years in Geshur,
and when he returns to Jerusalem has another 2 years before he see’s the king.
For 5 long years,
Absalom has been planning and scheming.
In those 5 years,
he knows exactly what he wants in life.
Absalom wants to be king of Israel.
I am sure in Absalom’s heart,
he believes that he would be a much better king than his father, David.
After all,
David has hit a rough patch and has made some bad decisions as of late.
16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
(Though Absalom’s plot to overthrow his father was wicked, David gave an opening for this to happen)
Absalom begins to execute his plan to overthrow his father and become the new king in Israel.
His first step is to get himself a chariot and horses,
along with 50 personal bodyguards.
What was Absalom doing you may ask?
It is quite simple, he was creating an image for himself.
It is amazing how easily people can be manipulated by image and perception.
confidence does not equal competence…
(Billy Carson and Wesley Huff) Self renowned....
[Image does not equal truth]
Absalom is creating this image of a king,
and begins to look the part.
It is important to understand that Absalom can play king,
but he is still not anointed by God to be king.
(People can play Pastor, but that does not mean that are anointed to be a pastor)
[titles are given freely by man, but it cost you something to get a title from God] Amen!
After Absalom has a chariot and bodyguards in place,
he begins to wake up early and stand by the gate.
Absalom was positioning himself to interact with citizens that were seeking justice by the king.
Absalom would say things like…
You have a great case here,
I wish I was king… I give you justice…
Giving them what they wanted to hear…
(David has given an opening for this to happen because he has not given justice.)
Absalom is very intentional in his actions to gain support from the people of Israel.
And his plan is working perfectly…
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.
As I said earlier,
Absalom was a very disciplined man.
He knew that he could not be king over night,
but he knew that over time he could over-throw his father as the new king.
What it is interesting,
is this is happening right in front of David.
David continues the pattern of not dealing with problems that need to be addressed. (David was Abused by Saul)
Pondering this situation that David is having with Absolom,
I can’t help but believe that if David would have dealt with Amnon,
things with Absolom would have never happen.
But further back,
I can’t help but believe that if David does not have an affair with Bathsheba,
everything that happens with Amnon does not happen.
But even further back,
If David does not get complacent,
the story looks much different all together.
David is reaping a not so great harvest…
Whatever a man sows, that will he also reap (Galatians 6:7)
Nathan prophesied to David something he would harvest from the seeds that he planted with Uriah and Bathsheba.
11a Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house.
What is happening?
out of David’s own home,
comes a great rebellion to take his kingdom from him.
Absalom’s rebellion is a direct result of the seeds David’s planted
Things continue down a dark road for David,
as Absalom continues his plan for takeover for the next 4 years.
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.
5 years of planning,
another 4 years of strategic execution of that plan,
all lead up to this moment.
With the target in his sights,
Absalom pulls the trigger to overthrow his father,
and become the new king of Israel.
Absalom uses spiritual worship as a means to manipulate his father into letting him carry out his plan.
I know it may sound like a broken record but I have to say this...
David could you be any more complacent???....
Absalom has been working the people for 4 years right under your nose.
David, your son has been stealing the hearts of the people right in plain sight.
So, you would think,
David would have a knowing that something is off with Absalom.
To give you some perspective....
Absalom has been in Jerusalem for 6 years at this point...
And after 6 years he remembers a vow he made before the Lord to go to Hebron to make a sacrifice to the Lord?
(Come on David...)
There has been wake up calls…
What happened with Bathsheba and Uriah should have been a wake up call for David.
What happened with Amnon and Tamar should have been yet another wake up call.
But David seems to be unresponsive.
Paul quotes from Isaiah in...
14b “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
It is God’s mercy that gives us these wake up call moments,
but it is up to us how we respond…
(Don’t hit snooze)
For David it seems that his wake up calls don’t have lasting effect on his life.
Absalom takes full advantage of David’s complacency,
as he turns Israel away form David,
and toward himself.
Absalom’s plan and execution seems to be going flawlessly...
13 And a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.” 14 Then David said to all 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 overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” 15 And the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.” 16 So the king went out, and all his household after him. And the king left ten concubines to keep the house. 17a And the king went out, and all the people after him....
30 But 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.
These scene for David is all to familiar,
as this is the second time for him that he has to go into exile.
This is the second time for David,
that he has to flee for his life.
The first time he left alone,
now the second time with only a small remnant.
I am quite certain the second exile is much harder for David...
The first exile David was betrayed by a mad king.
whereas the second exile,
David was betrayed by his rebellious son.
As David left I wonder if the words of Nathan echoed in his mind...
“This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. (2 Sam 12:11 NLT)
As David sowed seeds of betrayal toward Uriah,
now the harvest of betrayal comes back to David.
I want to close with the question that I started with...
What are you reaping from your harvest?
7bfor whatever one sows, that will he also reap
Principle of reaping and sowing….
Last year Problem… Need more kids in this church…
If you don’t hear crying the church is dying…
Sowed in Bogota Columbia…
Purchased Gospel project… (Sundays)
Purchased team kids… (Thursdays)
28 students here Thursday…
(Be like David and have the next generation rebel against us… or rise up the next generation to go further than us)
