King For A Day

A while back I was reading in 2Sam 15 where David experiences some of the worst pain of his life (part of the fallout from ‘Bathsheba Gate’). David’s son Absalom has gotten it into his heart to betray and overthrow his father the king. The story unfolds with incredible drama, of course, but one aspect of the story that caught my attention as I read it again was the way in which Absalom set out to win the hearts of the people of Israel.

Here is how the passage reads:

“He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel." Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." And Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice."
Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” 2Sam 15:2-6

Thus begins the horrendous rebellion of Absalom against the king that would lead to a father’s broken heart and a son’s ultimate demise. There is lots about the story, and this portion of it, that warrants our attention, but one particular aspect of this portion that I find particularly interesting is the way that Absalom exploited the people’s personal discontent. He used a classic line. He said, in effect, “If I were king, things would be different.”

The account provides some great insight into the human heart, for the truth is, we all tend to think far too highly of our own opinions and judgments. Have you ever marveled over how, with but a few words, we are quickly and easily able to solve the great problems that other people face which seem to have proven too difficult and perplexing for them? What a great place the world would be if we were king!

This scenario plays itself out over and over again. The story of Absalom is a classic example of our own attitude, so often, day in and day out, all hearkening back to the great archetype of fallen-ness, the devil himself, whose great pride was to think of himself beyond what he really was. And thus the proverb – pride goes before a fall.

I’m sure we’ve all been on both sides of it. We’re doing a job we have done for years and someone who has never done it comes along with some critical advice for us! Yeah, you’ve had it happen. But how often has that other person been us? How often have we been the ones with the ‘simple solutions’ to other people’s problems? How often do we stand outside at the gate, engaged in great talk, thinking ourselves superior to those who are busy in kingdom work?

I think George Burns expressed it quite well when he said, “It’s too bad that the people who really know how to run the country are all too busy driving taxis and cutting hair.”

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” James 3:13