2 Samuel 15:1–12

After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty 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 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 of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

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 at Geshur in 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 two hundred 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 Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.

Absalom is lying when he says that there is no man designated by the king to hear you. The king himself heard the pleas of the wise woman of Tekoa. That’s how Absalom’s exile ended. David also personally heard out Joab about restoring Absalom to full privileges. That’s how he’s now able to sit in the city gate.

So, what Absalom is doing there is perfectly ironic—and he knows it.

But Absalom plays the long game. He waited two whole years to strike Amnon. That was incredibly shrewd. After all that time, Amnon would have let his guard down.

This time, Absalom lets four years pass before launching the next phase of his coup d’état.

Absalom’s behavior is awful, but it’s not surprising. David’s, however, is. How could he possibly not know what’s going on right under his nose?

David is a popular war hero—the slayer of Goliath and countless other enemies. He’s the true king, anointed by Samuel. While being chased by Saul, he refused to strike the LORD’s anointed when he had the chance. He brought the ark back to Jerusalem and danced before the LORD, shedding all pretense.

Now a conspiracy against him is growing out in the open, yet no one warns, or even informs, David.

There is no natural explanation for this. Nathan’s prophesy is coming true with a vengeance.

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These weekday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. Saturdays' by Matt Richardson. Subscribe here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

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Scripture taken from the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.