2 Samuel 15
2 Samuel 15:1-4, In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”
Absalom is positioning himself to take over as king. Having his own chariot and horses was certainly a sign of prominence and royalty. He also enlists fifty men to be with him wherever he went; this would have made quite an impression. Absalom begins to act like a king, although he wasn’t one, by administering “divine justice” for the citizens. By getting up early and standing by the city gate, Absalom would basically intercept anyone heading to David’s court and offer his own advice and wisdom. He was pretty shady – he wanted the people to think that he cared for them more than David and attempted to alienate the common people from the king. And it worked.
We don’t know whether David was aware of Absalom’s actions but most indications are that he didn’t know or didn’t take it seriously. Later in the chapter, David is informed by a messenger that Absalom was planning a coup and that the hearts of the people of Israel were with Absalom, not David. It’s only then that David acts by telling his people to flee. David, the fierce military leader, is going to flee the city and is encouraging his followers to do the same.
How could David have been so clueless as to what was going on right outside the palace? Was he that disconnected from his people that he didn’t see a shift in allegiances? Maybe he had grown too comfortable in the palace or grown complacent in his position, taking for granted God’s protection. Being king meant power, prestige, tremendous creature comforts, and also a certain amount of isolation and not a lot of accountability. Was he walking with God? To be continued tomorrow.
Let’s pray…Lord, Help us walk closely with you. Help us be aware of what’s going on around us, paying attention to the people you put into our lives, but help us also stay keenly focused on what’s going on within us. Create in us a clean heart…Amen.