Sun.’s Devo - Exposing he Bad Actors

Read: 2 Samuel 14:1-15:22; John 18:1-24; Psalm 119:97-112; Proverbs 16:8-9 David missed Absalom and longed to see him but his pride wouldn’t let him reach out to Absalom. Joab realized this and wanted to help David so he sent a woman to act like she had a similar situation so he could see his problem from another perspective. It worked and David told Joab to bring Absalom back to Jerusalem, but he didn’t want to see his face. Absalom was handsome and also very crafty. He had beautiful long hair that grew to weigh 5 pounds before he would finally cut it. His hair would be his downfall in the end. He also had a beautiful daughter that he named after his sister who was raped…Tamar. After living in Jerusalem for two years and not getting an audience with his father, he went to Joab. When Joab ignored him and wouldn’t meet with him, he had his servants burn down Joab’s barley fields. Joab met with him. Absalom complained that he wanted to see David, so Joab went to intercede for him. David agreed to see him and they met. Now that Absalom had the audience of the king, he devised a plan to win the people over to him so he could take David’s kingdom. He hired a chariot and horses and 50 body guards so he would look important. He went to the city gate where all the legal matters took place and personally spoke to everyone seeking justice. He told them that if he was the judge, they would get justice, then he would hug them. He did all this to win their hearts and he succeeded. After two years of Absalom’s plan, he went to David and asked permission to go to Hebron and fulfill a vow to the Lord. (Hebron is the place where David was anointed king.) David gave him the okay. Absalom had asked 200 men from Jerusalem to come with him who knew nothing about his plan. He had sent secret messages to the leaders of each tribe of his desire to usurp the kingdom and they met in Hebron. At Hebron, he told his followers to yell “Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron” when they blew the ram’s horn. Some of the men from Jerusalem who had no idea this was going to happen ran home and warned David of the insurrection. David gathered his household and his followers in Jerusalem and they fled the city. He left his concubines to watch after the palace. David noticed that Ittia, a Philistine warrior who had been taken captive, was coming with him. He told him he didn’t have to come if he didn’t want to, but Ittai was a true soldier who would not abandon his leader and David was now his leader. Ittai brought 600 men with him. In John, Judas led a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to where he knew Jesus would be. Jesus knew they would come and stepped forward and asked them who they were coming for. When they said Jesus of Nazareth, he answered, “I am he”. When he did, they fell backward on the ground. We would say, they were slain in the spirit. How they could deny his power is that they were under a spirit of deception. Jesus asked that they let his disciples go free. Peter took his sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. It doesn’t tell us here, but in Luke 22:51 it tells us that Jesus touched his ear and healed him. I wonder if Malchus didn’t become a believer then. They arrested Jesus and took him to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest. He was questioned about his doctrine and Jesus responded that he spoke his doctrine publicly, there was nothing to tell them in secret. Jesus was slapped for talking to the high priest disrespectfully. Jesus told him he was only speaking truth. Simon Peter followed and listened from the courtyard. Peter denied he knew Jesus to a girl who recognized him as being a disciple. This “trial” broke all their laws which they so accused Jesus of doing. They were showing their true colors. Both David and Jesus were experiencing deception and seemingly usurpation but God had a plan in both of their lives and it was not for harm but to establish their kingdom. But first, God had to expose the bad actors. Lord, help us to be honest and upright. The truth is the truth and you guard over your truth. May we hide in you and your truth.