Note: Here
are some notes from the four practical applications drawn at the close of last Sunday morning’s message, from 2 Samuel 15:
“…so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel”
(2 Samuel 15:6).
“….behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth
good unto him” (2 Samuel 15:26).
Here
are four applications:
1. There is
a warning here in the depiction of Absalom against those who undermine rightful
authority and sow discord among God’s people.
I know
a pastor who underwent a terrible trial in ministry in a church because of a
man who came in and insinuated himself into the congregation and subtly worked
to undermine his leadership and authority.
A friend said to him, “Someone has sat in the gate and stolen the hearts
of the people.”
Recalls
John’s warning against Diotrephes in 3 John:
3 John 1:9 I wrote unto the
church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them,
receiveth us not. 10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he
doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith,
neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would,
and casteth them out of the church. 11 Beloved, follow not that which is
evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth
evil hath not seen God.
We
might even extrapolate out to the widest of horizons and say that the world is
an Absalom that tries to steal our hearts away from Christ.
2. It is a
reminder that trials also bring about clarity of loyalty and unity.
Trials
uncover the “Ahithophels” (David’s counselor who turned against him) but also
the “Ittai the Gittite” (the foreigner who stood by David).
And
they remind us of our greatest friend, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we owe
the greatest loyalty above all:
Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must
shew himself friendly: and there
is a friend that sticketh
closer than a brother.
3. We can
learn from David’s resignation to the will of God (vv. 25-26).
Can we
say, as David did: “behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth
good to him”? That is a statement of
faith. Can we say that in the sick room,
in time of crisis and conflict, in the heat of battle, on the cusp of failure
or victory?
4. But we
also learn that resignation to God’s will does not mean retreating into
passivity.
David’s
resignation to God’s will did not mean that he gave up working, for he knew
that the Lord uses means.
Dale
Ralph Davis observes that David’s activity was “not a bit inconsistent” with
his words in vv. 25-26. He continues:
It only demonstrates that
complete submission to God’s sovereignty still permits you to use your head, to
work actively. But without the idolatry.
You do it without the feverish anxiety of having to play God. It may sound strange, but people who hold the
faith of verses 25-26 find liberty and relief and energy in it, especially in
the darkest hours. There are people who
know what I mean (2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity, p. 159).
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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