Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray, and David said unto all his servants
that were with him at Jerusalem, arise and let us flee,
for we shall not else escape from Absalom. Make speed
to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring evil
upon us and smite the city with the edge of
the sword Second Samuel fifteen fourteen. Father, when others come
(00:28):
for my position and influence like Absalom, I will not
worry or be dismayed. Instead, I will take David's lead
in Second Samuel seventeen seventeen and remember a very vital
truth that what's for me is for me. Because this
truth is my reality, it gives me the advantage because
(00:51):
I know that your hand is on me and for me. Therefore,
when people plot against me, they are actually going against
you and your sovereign plans for my life. No matter
what my current position is, everything will turn around and
work out for my good. Titles and accolades don't deter
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me from declaring my destined future. I will continue to
boldly prophesy and speak life over my family, finances, and
future because you have already co signed on me and
everything that you have prepared for my life. Long before
I took my first breath. What is mine is mine.
(01:37):
Then I thank you God that you will see to it,
that it comes to me under your grace in a
perfect way. In Jesus Name, Amen. Listening to these daily
prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the
Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year, brought
(02:00):
to you by Bible in a Year dot com.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Absalom comes for the Throne. In our last story, Joab
convinced David to allow his son Absalom to return from exile.
Absalom returned not as a reformed or changed man, but
more bitter than ever. Absalom displayed evil tendencies by burning
(02:33):
Joab's fields and is reunited with David. Now we witness
the true heart of Absalom as he dethrones his father
and sends David into the wilderness. David, fleeing from his
life again, is met with true loneliness and comforted by
the spirit of God, as inspired by the Book of
Second Samuel.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Hello, this is Pastor Jack Graham once again with today
episode of the Bible in a Year. In yesterday's episode,
we heard how Joe Ab convinced David to allow Absalom
to return to Israel. David eventually allowed his banished son
to return, but did not welcome him with open arms. Instead,
Absalom lived for two years without speaking to his father.
(03:20):
In that time, his anger and bitterness only grew stronger
and stronger. When David finally reconnected with his son, the
damage was done and evil had filled Absalom's heart. He
was determined to kill his own father and take the throne.
Today will learn how he overthrows King David and sends
his father into exile into the wilderness. David will once
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again taste the bitterness of separation from his home and
the fear of being hunted by another man. But even
as he flees for his life, God will remain faithful
to him and comfort him in his loneliness and grief.
So let's listen now to today.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Reading Ambition, greed, and revenge. Thoughts of sitting on the
throne consumed Absalom into the night. Back and forth, he
would pace the halls of his home, plotting how he
might seize the title of king from his father. Slowly
and methodically, he began to take action against David. It
(04:21):
began with a few purchases. Absalam acquired a few chariots
and horses and added them to his collection. Later, he
hired men to ride them. Yet he did not storm
the city of Jerusalem and take his father's throne by force.
No Absalam knew he needed the love and favor of
the people. So Absalom would rise early in the morning
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to stand at the gates of Jerusalem. When men and
women in need would come to visit the king, Absalom
would comfort them. He would spin lives and tales about
David's ineptitude and weariness. You have so many needs. You
are right to seek counsel from the king, Absalom would
tell them. It is a shame he has no time
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or appointed people to hear your cries. If only I
were set as king over the land, every man and
woman would be loved and listened to. Absalom did this often,
and day by day people began to adore him. Absalom
was violent, spiteful, and filled with pride. However, he was
(05:24):
a patient man. For four years, he stood at the
gates and sewed discord among the people. For four years,
he planted seeds of doubt and bitterness towards the king
for four years. Absalom slowly built a small army able
to overtake Jerusalem. Absalom traveled to Hebron, far away from
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the city of Jerusalem, and hired men and women to
spread rumors that Absalom had been named the new king
over Israel. It was only a matter of time before
Absalom could make his final push for the throne and
life of David. The streets began to rumble. Hushed whispers
soon became chance as the people of Israel called for
Absalom to be king. It was music to Absalom's ears.
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A sly smile came across his face. It was time.
Absalom gathered his men and began parading through the streets
of Jerusalem. He postured himself, sending a clear message to David.
The message was received. David and his servants knew that
Absalom would come for David's life. David would not allow
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the city of Jerusalem to become a battleground. He would
not risk the lives of innocent people in a civil war.
He gathered his things and fled through the back of
the palace. David ran towards the wilderness. When he saw
dozens of people waiting on the outskirts of the gates.
David marveled as a gathering of different tribes stood there,
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foreigners that David had welcomed in, David's personal bodyguard, and
mighty men and the priests with the ark of the
Covenant stood there, ready to die. If it meant following David,
you should leave. It may mean death for you all,
David said, doing his best to hold back tears. Wherever
you are, whether in death or in life, we will
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be as well, they said. David was overwhelmed by their faithfulness,
so they ventured forth across the brook of Chidrin, towards
the Mount of Olives. The trees swayed back and forth
as the sun began to set. The people behind David
began to set up camp, but David went ahead to
kneel before God. There in the coolness of the night,
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David wept before his Lord. He prayed earnestly and painfully.
The air was crisp, and the stars were visible in
between the trees. It was in this very place, on
the Mount of Olives, that one of David's descendants would
pray to God as well. He would pray earnestly and painfully.
Then he would cross the brook towards his end enemies
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and be crucified. David and his people ventured a little
further into the wilderness. As they passed through the countryside,
they were met with kindness and curses. Some remembered the
courageous and compassionate leadership of David and helped him. Others
were loyal to Absalom and threw rocks, sticks, and curses
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toward them. It was a humbling season for David. He
longed to lead his people again. He longed to see
his family. He longed to see the Lord unleash his justice. Meanwhile,
back in Jerusalem, Absalom sat upon the throne. He gave
out a deep sigh of contentment and laughed. It had
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been a long and drawn out plan, but it was
worth it. Absalom was finally king over Israel, although David
was still alive. Absalom set up a tent on the
roof of the palace and slept with all his father's servants.
He began his hostile and lustful take over Israel. Absalom
called a Hithefel and Hushai to his side. The two
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were once counselors to David, and now Absalom sought their advice.
What should be our plan of attack for David? He
asked a Hithefel was a weak man. His loyalty was
not to David or to Absalom, but to whoever would
provide for him and keep him safe. A Hitherefel rubbed
his hands together and said, you ought to choose twelve
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thousand men and pursue David to night. Do not give
him time to regain his strength. You should move now
while he is discouraged. Absalom enjoyed the advice and began
to make arrangements. He called Hushai and asked him the
same question. Hushai was a strong man and dedicated to
God and David. He spoke to Absalom as a loyal servant,
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although his true allegiance was to David. Your father is
no fool, Hushai said. You forget that he and his
men are mighty warriors. You would not be able to
ambush him so easily. In fact, you may not be
able to find him at all. I think you should
hold a rally with the people of Israel, gather them
all together and motivate them then, with their cheers and
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support behind you, you should ride into battle against David.
For if you are the true king, you should be
able to defeat David yourself. Who Shai appealed to Absalom's
vanity the rally would buy David more time to prepare. Then,
if Absalam rode into battle, it would give David the
opportunity to get rid of the problem himself. Absalam agreed,
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and who Shai secretly sent word to David. When Absalom
prepared his rally, David prepared his people. He fed them,
clothed them, intended to them as a shepherd would his sheep.
David knew something that Absalom did not. The anointing of
God is what makes a man king. No title, no army,
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and no influence would ever replace the hand of God
upon David. He had learned this when facing Goliath, he
learned it facing the Philistines, and he learned it in
the wilderness fleeing from Saul. Nothing and no one would
harm David, for the God of all heaven and earth
was with him. This was something Absalom would learn soon enough.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Our passage begins with a bitter and hateful Absalom sitting
in motion an evil plan to force David, his own father,
off the throne. We know that Absalom is willing to
wait for his time of vengeance. He waited two years
to exact revenge on his brother Amnon, and this time
he will do the same. He waits, he begins to
(11:46):
amass horses and cheriots and men to ride with him
when the time was right. But before he could make
his move, Absalom knew he needed to weaken the foundations
of David's rule, and so, like the serpent in the
garden of Eden, Absalom began to whisper lies, questioning the
goodness of the king. Day after day, he would meet
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people who came to see the king, and he would
fill their heads with lies, seducing the people into believing him,
eroding their loyalty to David and his rule. For four years,
he worked to undermine the king, all the while building
his own army. But he didn't stop with the lies.
In Jerusalem. He spread rumors and false tales across the land,
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leading people to believe that he was already king of Israel.
In time, Absalom was ready to strike. David saw the
riding on the wall and though he counted on loyal
and courageous men, he was not willing to turn the
city of God into a battleground or to put the
lives of his people in danger. It's been said that
it takes a bigger man to walk away from a
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fight than to start one, and David demonstrates that he
is the bigger man. So he left the palace for
the wilderness. It was something that he had done when
Saul wanted to kill him, but this time he was
leaving the throne, his home, and the place where God's
temple was. But even in the wilderness, he knew that
he was not alone. God was with him as always,
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but so were many faithful Israelites who believed in him,
along with priest who brought the Ark of the Covenant.
But David was not willing to see the ark remove
from its rightful place in Jerusalem. He trusted God enough
to send it back to the city, knowing that if
it was God's will, then he would return one day. Clearly,
this was a time of great challenge for David. He
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is running for his life. His son is sitting on
the throne of Israel, an illegitimate king who was not
anointed or blessed by God, and it grieved David, as
did the fact that he was so far from the
place of worship, the temple, the symbol of God's presence,
and the place that he loved to worship his Creator.
In Second Samuel sixteen, verse thirty, we get a sense
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of David's sorrow and grief when we read 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. Through this time,
God comforted David's heart and strengthened him. And from David's
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exile we have some of the most heartfelt and beautiful
psalms poems that speak of David's longing to be in
the dwelling place of the Lord again. And even as
David endured loneliness and sadness, God was preparing the way
for his return. For as Absalom surrendered himself with advisers
and sought their counsel, his vanity kept him from seeing
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that some in his mist were loyal to David and
would set the stage for Absalom's downfall. And we will
hear all about that the next time. Dear God, we
thank you that when we are lonely and broken, or
in times when we are as strange from loved ones
and friends, when when we are grieving, when we are hurting,
that you always comfort us. We know that we can
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seek you and find you as you have promised. When
we face our trials and our struggles and our difficulties,
when we are betrayed by even people that we love,
we pray that your presence will always fill us with
your grace and peace. In the name of Jesus, who
is the Prince of Peace. Amen. Thank you for listening
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to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack Graham,
and we appreciate so very much your interest, your prayers,
and your involvement in this wonderful effort to walk through
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Thank you and God bless you.