2 Samuel 15:7-12 – Don’t live deviously

Unwittingly, David did not know that he was nurturing a snake in his bosom. In those years that he had allowed Absalom to return, he trusted his renegade son. Not once did he suspect that he would be working clandestinely to seize his throne. In 2 Samuel 15:7, we are told that at the end of 40 years Absalom began to put into action all that he had plotted. The number 40 could mean that when Absalom started to execute his plot, he was 40 years old. However, the New International Version translated the number 40 to 4. Whether 40 or 4, we leave that to the scholars to debate. It is sufficient for us to know that Absalom undertook many activities in the years leading up to his seizure of David’s throne.

Under the pretext of wanting to serve the Lord, Absalom sort David’s permission to go to Hebron. He claimed that while he was with his maternal grandfather in Geshur, he vowed to serve the Lord if his father would allow him to return to Jerusalem. This was a good reason and why should David, a man after God’s heart, decline such a holy ambition? So he gave Absalom his blessing without the slightest whiff of suspicion. Why did Absalom choose Hebron to launch his uprising? Firstly, it was at the heart of Judah, the place where David first operated before he shifted to operate in Jerusalem. Secondly, 2 Samuel 3:3 tells us that it was his birthplace, hence he should naturally have more support there. Thirdly, Hebron and Jerusalem were quite a distance apart, and it would require time for David to send men to squelch any rebellion.

Verse 10 reveals that Absalom had deviously planted spies all over the tribes of Israel. They were there in readiness waiting for the signal to begin the revolt. They were told that as soon as the trumpet sounded, they would herald loudly saying that “Absalom is king in Hebron.” Besides, he also invited 200 unsuspecting leading citizens of Jerusalem to accompany him to Hebron. These people were unaware that they were being used as pawns in his rebellion. Absalom’s plan was to give the impression that his revolt had massive support from the leading men of Jerusalem. He also invited Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors, to join him. Ahithophel joined Absalom probably because he had an ax to grind with the king. After all, he was the grandfather of Bathsheba, whom David had committed adultery with. As if the adultery was not bad enough, David also had Uriah, Ahithophel’s grandson-in-law, murdered. All along, this offended counselor was probably waiting for an opportunity to get back. And now the chance had presented itself so he could see no reason why he should not go along willingly. So with all the leading men of Jerusalem and one of David’s trusted counselors, Absalom’s rebellion gained momentum.

What Absalom did, leave us many things to ponder. Would he be so merciless had David been a better father? What was David thinking when he decided to allow lust to consume him? A moment of pleasure with Bathsheba brought about a lifetime of pain. Was it worth it? Sin will do us in, not just once but many times over. The downward spiral of David’s family shows us that sin had extracted a massive price. So far, one of his daughters was raped, one of his sons was murdered and now another of his sons was rebelling against him. Parents, especially fathers, here is a clarion call to be careful about how we lead our lives and do our parenting. One misstep and the consequence may be a lifelong payment in endless installments. The cost of bad fathering or mothering is too enormous a price to pay. So we must learn not to renege on our duties as parents. Secondly, we learn the need to better appraise who we are following. Like Absalom, there are those that had the gull to use the name of God for their own unholy ambition. We cannot imagine being one of those two hundred leading men of Jerusalem unsuspectingly being deceived. It behooves us to be more evaluative. It is better to wait when unsure than going headlong mindlessly and follow anyone and ending up feeling mystified and trapped. Live life without guile.