Welcome to the Relational Grace Podcast where we share the teachings of Pastor Nick Harris who taught us that Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship. I’m your host Jamie Russell, Pastor Harris’s son.
Last episode Pastor Harris talked about Absalom, Son of David, as he made his plans for a coup d'etat against his very own father. He left Jerusalem making his home in Hebron, which was the first capital city of David. Apparently David found nothing curious about this, he had no suspicion as to Absalom's move. He was totally unaware when the coup erupted. This seems really odd, as it takes a great deal of time organizing a revolt, in fact, Absolom may have spent as much as four years time planning it and yet David had not the smallest inkling of an idea that he was planning it.
Absalom was extremely shrewd in his dealing with the revolt. Somehow Absalom had begun to win all the hearts of the people of Israel. He had somehow made them think that a man who had just taken revenge on his brother and had killed him was a man devoted to justice. He seemed to convince people that words were more profitable than actions. He was even able to lure 200 of Jerusalem's best citizens to Hebron to join him.
Therefore cunning and deceit seemed to be some of his best qualities. He used them many times in his dealings leading up to the revolt and during the revolt. He used them to induce the majority of the men of Israel to turn against his very own father, their great King David. Even David’s own tribe of Judah was ready to abandon David and follow Absalom. This man was capable of much. For this reason and many others, he proves though that he was not fit to be king of God’s chosen Nation. But his father does not come out of the story looking that great either. In fact, he gets had by his own son who was able to pull the rug right out from under him without even seeing it. He didn't smell the revolt for the four long years that his son was in Hebron. So David does not look that great either, in fact he looks quite complacent. For this reason it looks like he was out of touch; it left room for Absolom to come in and steal their hearts.
A big lesson learned here is this: It is essential for good leaders to remain in touch with the people of their nation.
All this said, neither David nor his son were the most ideal leaders. But at least David was a man after God’s own heart and he showed this when Jerusalem was about to be laid under siege he fled and protected it. And Absalom, as Pastor Harris will demonstrate, cared nothing for people, he did not care how many people died as long as he remained in power.
So let’s jump into the seventeenth episode of The Saga of David series, titled, “David’s Sons Revolt”.