WWUTT 379 Absalom's Conspiracy?

The prophet Nathan told David that God had forgiven him for his sin, but there would still be consequences and David's kingdom would begin to fall starting with his own household. We see that coming to fulfillment today when we understand the text.

Program Introduction and the Fallout from David’s Sin

This is When We Understand the Text, a daily Bible commentary to help encourage your time in the Word. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we feature New Testament Study, an Old Testament book on Thursday, and our Q &A on Friday.

Now here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky, and greetings everyone. We do our Old Testament Study on Thursdays and are continuing our study of 2 Samuel today, chapters 15 and 16. If you want to open up your Bible and join with me there, just to kind of recap where we've come thus far.

The book of 2 Samuel is the story of David as king over Israel, and that's the way the book begins with David mourning the loss of Saul and his son Jonathan. He is anointed king over Judah and eventually king over Israel.

David brings the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem, which he doesn't do right the first time, but then the Lord does allow him to bring the Ark of the Covenant back. Then God made a covenant with David, the Davidic covenant, which we read about in chapter 7.

And it's here that God makes the promise of a coming Messiah who would be from the line of David and says to David that on your throne, I will establish my kingdom forever. This is a reference to the Lord Christ who currently sits enthroned in heaven.

God incarnate who came to this earth to die on the cross for our sins was born from the line of David in the city of David, which is Bethlehem. And so God fulfilled his promise with David. We see in chapters 8, 9, and 10, David's continued military successes over his enemies.

And then in chapter 11, David wanes in his wisdom and in his moral character. He sins against God by having an affair with a woman named Bathsheba. Then he tries to cover up this act of adultery by having her husband, Uriah the Hittite, murdered.

Nathan, the prophet, comes to David and rebukes him for this sin. David is cut to the core of his heart. He says, I am undone. I deserve death. But Nathan says that the Lord has blotted out your sins.

However, there are going to be consequences for these sins. David's kingdom would begin to fall and it would begin with his own household. So last week we started to see how David's house began to crumble.

The story of Amnon and Tamar. And because of what Amnon did to his half sister Tamar, Tamar's brother Absalom had Amnon killed. And then Absalom had to flee from the city. David gave Absalom a partial pardon and Absalom was allowed to come back and live in Jerusalem.

However, he could not come into the presence of the king. So Absalom begins to conspire against his father David. And that's where we pick up the story today. Second Samuel chapter 15, starting in verse 1.

After this, Absalom got himself a chariot and horses and 50 men to run before him. 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, Absalom would say to him, see your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you. Then Absalom would say, oh, that I were a judge in the land.

Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me and I would give him justice. 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. Thus Absalom did to all Israel who came to the king for judgment.

So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. Before anybody could come in through the gate, Absalom was right there to intercept them and kind of use his smooth words to win the hearts of the people.

So verse seven, 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. For your servant vowed a vow while I lived in Gesher and Aram saying, if the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will offer worship to the Lord.

The king said to him, go in peace. So he arose and went to Hebron. 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.

With Absalom went 200 men from Jerusalem who were invited guests and they went in their innocence and knew nothing. And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, the Gileanite, David's counselor from his city, Gilo.

And the conspiracy grew strong and the people with Absalom kept increasing. So Absalom going to Hebron to do this. This is where David first became king prior to conquering Jerusalem. The capital city for the Israelites or for Judea anywhere for Judah was Hebron.

That was where David went and was first anointed king over Judah before he was anointed king over Israel. So Absalom is going to that place where David began his reign and Absalom's beginning his own reign.

So verse 13, and a messenger came to David saying, the hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom. Then David said to all of 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. And the king's servants said to the king, behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my Lord the king decides.

So the king went out and all his household after him. And the king left 10 concubines to keep the house. And the king went out and all the people after him and they halted at the last house. And all his servants passed by him and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites and all the 600 Gittites who had followed him from Gath passed on before the king.

Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. You came only yesterday and shall I make you wander about with us since I go I know not where?

Go back and take your brothers with you and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. But Ittai answered the king as the Lord lives and as my Lord the king lives, wherever my Lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.

And David said to Ittai, go then pass on. So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men and all the little ones who were with him and all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by and the king crossed the brook Kidron and all the people passed on toward the wilderness.

And Abiathar came up and behold Zadok came also with the Levites bearing the ark of the covenant of God and they set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city. Then the king said to Zadok, carry the ark of God back into the city.

If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. But if he says, I have no pleasure in you, behold, here I am. Let him do to me what seems good to him.

The king also said to Zadok the priest, are you not a seer? Go back to the city in peace with your two sons, Ahimaz your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. See I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until the word comes from you to inform me.

So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem and they remained there. 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.

And it was told David, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, Oh Lord, please turn the council of Ahithophel into foolishness. When David was coming to the summit where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai the archite came to meet him with his coat torn and dirt on his head.

David said to him, if you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king, as I have been your father's servant in time past.

So now I will be your servant. Then you will defeat for me the council of Ahithophel. Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So whatever you hear from the king's house, tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

Behold their two sons are with them there, Ahimaz Zadok's son and Jonathan Abiathar's son. And by them you shall send to me everything you hear. So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

So he's going to serve as kind of a spy for King David. It says in verse 30, David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went and he worshiped the Lord there at the summit of the Mount of Olives.

A thousand years from now, a thousand years from the story that we're reading here, Jesus Christ would be going back and forth over the Mount of Olives during that week prior to going to the cross. So the Sunday before Jesus was crucified, he came into Jerusalem on the donkey.

That's the Sunday that we remember today as Palm Sunday. And then during the week, he was traveling back and forth between Jerusalem and Bethany on the other side of the Mount of Olives. And it was there on the Mount of Olives that Jesus delivered the Olivet discourse.

When the disciples asked him, what will be the signs of the end? And Jesus told them, we read about it in Matthew chapter 24. And it was at the base of the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus went to pray and was arrested and then was taken before the high priest and before Herod and Pilate.

And then it was decided that Jesus would be crucified. He was crucified on Friday, buried in a tomb. He was in the tomb all day Saturday and then rose again from the grave on a Sunday. So all of these events are going to happen right there a thousand years from this time.

And where David is traveling over the Mount of Olives is going to be that very place where Jesus would deliver the Olivet discourse. And so there is kind of a mourning on Jesus part as well, as he was about to go to the cross and take the wrath of God upon himself for the sin of the world, just as David is going over the Mount of Olives weeping because of his son Absalom who is coming against him.

The psalm that David wrote as he was fleeing from Absalom, Psalm 41, is prophetic concerning what was going to happen with the Lord Christ, the betrayal of Judas against him. Psalm 41, blessed is the one who considers the poor.

In the day of trouble, the Lord delivers him. The Lord protects him and keeps him alive. He is called blessed in the land. You do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The Lord sustains him on his sickbed.

In his illness, you restore him to full health. As for me, I said, oh Lord, be gracious to me, heal me for I have sinned against you. My enemies say of me in malice, when will he die and his name perish?

And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words while his heart gathers iniquity. When he goes out, he tells it abroad. All who hate me whisper together about me. They imagine the worst for me. They say a deadly thing has poured out on him.

He will not rise again from where he lies. Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. But you, oh Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up that I may repay him.

By this I know that you delight in me. My enemy will not shout in triumph over me, but you have upheld me because of my integrity and set me in your presence forever. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, amen and amen.

Where David says there, even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. The New Testament will say that this was a prophecy concerning Christ and that Judas, who broke the bread with Christ there at the table there at the Last Supper, is the one that's being referred to here in David's psalm.

In Psalm 41, even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. So all the events that are going on here are even prophetic concerning what would happen with Christ prior to his crucifixion.

David’s Flight from Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives

So chapter 16 now, when David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him with a couple of donkeys saddled bearing 200 loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine.

And the king said to Ziba, why have you brought these? And Ziba answered, the donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink.

And the king said, and where is your master's son? Ziba said to the king, behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father. Then the king said to Ziba, behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.

And Ziba said, I pay homage, let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king. So here's what's going on here. If you'll remember, Mephibosheth is the son of Jonathan, who was crippled in his feet.

And in chapter nine, David showed favor toward Mephibosheth and let him eat at the king's table. Well, with everything that's going on, all the chaos that's going on, Ziba, Mephibosheth's servant, or actually Jonathan's servant, but was also in the service of Mephibosheth, Ziba's deciding to take matters into his own hands and claim part of the kingdom for himself.

So he makes up this story with David. He tells David that Mephibosheth is going to take back all that belonged to Saul. And so David is saying, no, I tell you what, everything that I promised I was going to give to Mephibosheth, since this is the way he's going to treat me after I let him eat at my table, I'm going to give all of that stuff to you.

So that now belongs to you. But Ziba lied to David. And we're going to find that out when we get to chapter 19, Mephibosheth is going to give David a completely different account of what was going on and Mephibosheth himself will have been accursed in the midst of what's going on with Absalom.

So that's next week when we get to that end of the story. Let's continue on here with verse five. When King David came to Baharim, there came a man out of the family of the house of Saul whose name was Shimei, the son of Gerah.

And as he came, he cursed continually. And he threw stones at David and all the servants of King David and all the people of all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And Shimei said, as he cursed, get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man.

The Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul in whose place you have reigned. And the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son, Absalom. See your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.

Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, came to the king. Why should this dead dog curse my Lord, the king? Let me go over and take off his head. But the king said, what have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah?

If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, curse David, who then shall say, why have you done so? And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, behold, my own son seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjaminite leave him alone and let him curse for the Lord has told him to.

It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today. So David and his men went on the road while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed him as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust.

And the king and all the people who were with him arrived weary at the Jordan, and there he refreshed himself. Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem and Ahithophel with him.

And when Hushai the archite, David's friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, long live the king, long live the king. And Absalom said to Hushai, is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend, referring to David?

And Hushai said to Absalom, no, for whom the Lord and his people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain. And again, whom shall I serve? Should it not be his son?

As I have served your father, so I will serve you. Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, give your counsel, what shall we do? Ahithophel said to Absalom, go into your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.

So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went into his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. Now in those days, the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God.

So was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom. And what Ahithophel encouraged Absalom to do was sin. But you notice that it is also fulfilling what it was that Nathan had said was going to happen to the house of David, that even his own son was going to sleep with David's wives, or in this case, his concubines.

David’s Betrayal, Absalom’s Sin, and the Prophetic Psalms

Let's go to the Psalms, Psalm number three. This is another Psalm that David had written, asking the Lord for deliverance from Absalom. Oh Lord, how many are my foes? Many are rising against me. Many are saying of my soul.

There is no salvation for him in God. Say la. But you, oh Lord, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord and he answered me from his holy hill. Say la. I lay down and slept.

I woke again for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, oh Lord. Save me, oh my God. For you strike all my enemies on the cheek.

You break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing be on your people. Say la. And that's what it is that we're going to see next week when we continue this story, or in two weeks rather, I take that back, because I'm going to do something different next week.

So we won't come back to 2 Samuel again for two weeks, but we will read how God delivers David from the hand of his enemy, who in this case is his own son, Absalom. Let us pray. Our great God, we know that salvation belongs to you and blessing be on your people, all those who are in Christ Jesus.

We thank you for the salvation that has been given to us in Christ our Lord, and may we live as your people, showing the works of Christ in the things that we do. May everything that we offer up to God be pleasing in your sight, not because of any great work that we have done, but because of the work of your Son, Christ Jesus, whose blood is upon us, our sins have been forgiven, and now we stand justified before our great God and benevolent Father, now and forever.

In the name of Christ we pray, amen.

Gabriel Hughes is a pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas. Find out more online at www .utt .com.