You Better Watch Yourself!

2 Samuel 15:7–14 NKJV

7 Now it came to pass after forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please, let me go to Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord. 8 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.’ ” 9 And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. 10 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!’ ” 11 And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything. 12 Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city—from Giloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom continually increased in number. 13 Now a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” 14 So 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.”

Sermon Title

My parents are not right!

My daddy is mean!

I wish my mother would listen to me!

My folks just don’t understand!

Many homes are filled with children that feel that their parents have failed. Whether the child is right or wrong is not the issue. What needs to be determined is this.

Is the son or daughter honoring the Creator by being obedient to His commands?

The text before us today is the aftermath of a the His brother had raped Absalom's sister, and King David did not handle the situation at all. He did not punish, condemn, or correct. He did nothing. So, Absalom took matters in his own hands and thereby sowed the seeds to him seeking not just to kill his brother, but to destroy his father.

Are you acting out?

Are you responding to your parents like Absalom?

Learn today to consider your words, ways, and wants.

I. ARE YOUR WORDS HONORING? (vs. 7-9)

1 Samuel 15:7–9 NKJV

7 And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

After four years passed, Absalom regained the favor of his father.

Absalom stole the hearts of the people

He lied to his father about fulfilling a vow he had made to the LORD. His deception did not please God nor complete His command to “honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”

Exodus 20:12 NKJV

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Furthermore, the LORD despises lying

Proverbs 12:22 NKJV

22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.

and falsely swearing by the LORD’s name or profaning His name is forbidden

Leviticus 19:11–12 NKJV

11 ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

Children, are you sorry? Did you really forget to _________ (fill in the blank)? Did you go to your friend's house? Are you lying or being deceptive to your parents about your whereabouts?

Have your parents given you consent for something you are don't intend on doing or going?

Speak righteously! Don’t dishonor Yahweh by dishonoring your parents.

II. ARE YOUR WAYS HONORING? (vs. 10-11)

2 Samuel 15:10–11 NKJV

10 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!’ ” 11 And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything.

When Absalom's ways are examined, one will see that his ways dishonored the King.

First, he sent spies or messengers throughout the tribes of Israel with a message of treason.

Second, he invited two hundred men from Jerusalem to go with him to Hebron, who did not know what David’s son had planned in stealing the kingdom. He also sent for David’s adviser Ahithophel, whose counsel was like receiving instruction from God (16:23).

Absalom may have felt justified in acting this way because of his father’s bad parenting concerning his sister’s dilemma.

He did not consider that “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death”

Proverbs 14:12 NKJV

12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Does it feel right or seems right to

TALKING BACK,

Feeling justified does not equate to being right in God’s eyes. He just dismissed the scriptures, which admonishes that “the one who attacks secretly his neighbor is cursed’” (De 27:24).

The King's son ways detested the LORD. He stands as a warning to every child of the King. Do our ways honor Him, or have we "traveled in the way of Cain” (Jude 11)?

Have you “gone astray by abandoning the straight path and following Balaam's path" (2 Pe 2:15)?

The Lord is calling us to be just and our way to be upright and God-honoring.

III. ARE YOUR WANTS HONORING? (vs. 13-14)

2 Samuel 15:13–14 NKJV

13 Now a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” 14 So 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.”

Absalom had stolen the hearts of the people as he stood by the gate and implanted the notion that he should be the judge in the land (15:3-4), and now "the hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom” to make him King.

Out of all the things he could have wanted that his father had, he wanted to be what was given by God. He wanted to rule and ruin his father.

After being away from Jerusalem, Absalom wanted to be back in the city. The King permitted him to return. Then he tried to have an audience with King David. After being allowed to see the King, he wanted more.

He mimicked the proverb, which says, "The leech has two daughters: "Give, Give!" Three things are never satisfied; four never say, "Enough!"

Proverbs 30:15 NKJV

15 The leech has two daughters— Give and Give! There are three things that are never satisfied, Four never say, “Enough!”:

David had to run from King Saul, and now he had to flee from his son. Saul and Absalom had this in common that (Look at the verse)

wicked people desire evil and have no consideration for their neighbor, friend, and in this case, his father

Proverbs 21:10 NKJV

10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

Children, when your ways please the LORD. He will make your enemies be at peace with you.

Do you want what God wants?

Do you desire what God desires?

Are you willing to say, "Not my will, but God's will be done?"

Conclusion: It has been a trait that I strive to cultivate, which is to learn from others’ mistakes. Will you learn from the mistakes of children that have been disobedient, unruly, and nasty? Paul said, “Now these things became examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did” (1 Co 10:6). Watch your words, your ways, and your wants!