Gtcotr/ws100726
Overlays – Each story of the
Bible is a template upon which we can overlay our life to determine who we are
and who we want to be in the story.
Pictures – Every Bible account
is also a picture of God and His story.
Observations – When reading Bible
stories, put yourself in the story first as an observer … lift up your head and
look around to imagine what the other people in the story are experiencing.
This will provide deeper insights and greater truths.
Last
week we briefly discussed the account of David’s son Absalom and his rebellion.
It is interesting to me to realize this story follows the same vein of truth
and deception we see in the little we know about Lucifer’s rebellion towards
God. Lucifer was able to influence 1/3 of the heavenly angels to rebel against
God. No doubt it didn’t happen overnight. It is almost unimaginable how that
could ever happen, but we see this same deception and demonic influence playing
out over and over again in the scriptures, none more plain than the story we
find in 2 Samuel 15 & 16.
The
Story
… Approximately 1000 years before Christ King David’s son Absalom attempted a
coup. Absalom wanted to be king. He worked behind the scenes for years
flattering people and building himself up in the eyes of others all the while
living off of his father’s goodness. He ate the king’s meat and was given
respect as the king’s son, but he felt undervalued, overlooked, and somewhat
mistreated. Insecurities can drive a person to think and do stupid things.
In
the process of time, Absalom gathered enough support from key people in David’s
court that he finally declared himself to be the King. All Jerusalem was in an
uproar.
David
did not want to fight his son Absalom. God had made David a man of war, but he
had no heart to harm his son in battle. Rather, David quickly left Jerusalem
with a few loyal soldiers and some friends. As David was crossing the Kidron
valley and on through the passage between the Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus,
heading east, down the slope and into the Judean Dessert towards the Jordan
River, a man who did not like David began to follow and berate him. This man’s
name was Shimei. Shimei means: Famous; renowned;
hear me! (Basically – I’m important; I’m right; I know what I’m talking about;
I’m better than you; smarter than you; wiser than you; so listen to me; hear
me!)
You
know how some people feel justified when they think they are right, and you are
wrong, and you are finally getting what you deserve? This is how Shimei felt.
He did not consider David his king, he was a supporter of King Saul, and he
believed David was an illegitimate King. It made him so happy to see what he
considered justice finally being delivered to this dirty dog David.
Absalom
didn’t just want to be king, he wanted to hurt his father. It has been said
that “You cannot aim at the crown without aiming at the head wearing it.” The
Bible relates the account much better than I can tell it so let’s read it from
2 Samuel 16.
2 Samuel 16 NLT
5 ¶ As King David came to
Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera,
from the same clan as Saul’s family.
6 He threw stones at the king
and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him.
7 “Get out of here, you
murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David.
8 “The LORD is paying you
back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the
LORD has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own
medicine, for you are a murderer!”
9 “Why should this dead dog
curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and
cut off his head!”
10 “No!” the king said. “Who
asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the LORD has told him to curse me,
who are you to stop him?”
11 Then David said to Abishai
and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this
relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him
curse, for the LORD has told him to do it.
12 And perhaps the LORD will
see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.”
13 So David and his men
continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside,
cursing as he went and throwing stones at David and tossing dust into the air.
14 The king and all who were
with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan
River.
“Perhaps
the LORD will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these
curses today.”
· David was the first
one to realize he wasn’t perfect.
· David didn’t even try
to argue with Shimei or try and defend himself.
· David wasn’t the best
father, the best husband, the best captain, or the best king. He wasn’t even
the best son or the best friend.
· Life is tough and
David had made plenty of mistakes; he had regrets; no doubt he lived every day
of his life thinking of how he could have done things better.
· He knew God had plenty
of reasons why to replace him if He wanted.
· No doubt the enemies
in his mind told this to him every day.
· All David could do was
place his trust in God.
However,
the story today is not about David. The story today is about you.
· You are supposed to
find yourself in this Bible story and strive to be the one God is pleased with.
(find yourself … not other people!)
David
wrote to all of us in Psalms 56:
Psalms 56
1 Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; Fighting
all day he oppresses me.
2 My enemies would hound me
all day, For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
3 Whenever I am afraid, I
will trust in You.
Once
you have given your heart to Jesus, life is no longer limited by what you have
done, but rather by what He has done. In time, just like David and just like
Paul, if you place your trust in God, He will silence the enemies of your soul.
Don’t be confused - God does not support everything which He allows. And truth is not determined by a show of hands. Who are you in this story? Who do you want to be? What can you do to please God and end up on the right side of history?
