Heart Meditations

Scripture – 2 Samuel 15:1-14

Observation – What jumped out to me today was the sentence ‘In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him.’

Application – Betrayal, treason, rebellion, attempted patricide doesn’t happen over night.  You don’t just wake up one morning and say today I am going to declare myself King,  steal the throne from underneath my father’s behind, and force him into exile.  If one did get up one morning and decided to do this you certainly wouldn’t have the backing of the whole kingdom as Absalom did.  It took Absalom over four years to get to the place where he decided to make a move for the throne.  I wonder when Absalom realised what he was doing, realised that what he was seeking for was not just greater equality for the people but power for himself?  In the course of time he got a chariot, the vehicle of choice for Kings at war, he uses his for the daily commute.  In the course of time he gets horses, there was an old law about Kings not multiplying horses (Duet 17:16) and it seems clear that David often rode a donkey.  In the course of time he employs 50 men to run in front of his horses and chariot.  This must have taken some time for the prince to acquire.  Did he realise that his excess was laying the foundation for him to rebel against his father?

My rebellion against my Father God never happens over night.  My attempts to unseat Him from His throne are never spontaneous.  Whether I am aware of it or not they happen over the course of time.  It usually starts with my desire of ease, comfort or prestige.  You start by telling yourself its just an old beat up chariot, they would have thrown it away if I didn’t buy it but before you know it you’ve got a whole stable of horses and a small army running before you.  Sin has a way of creeping up on you in the course of time.  The root cause of Absalom’s rebellion and mine is a lack of satisfaction with the assignment you have received from the King. The feeling that you could be better or more useful in another position or assignment.  The Messiah complex that afflicts many of us in ‘helping’ professions that if we were only in the right position we could solve all the problems.  And so we wake up early, make promises about what we would do if, impress a lot of people but fail to realise that the most beneficial thing we can do is to be faithful in the post the King has put us in.  If the King has not made us a judge in Israel, then to seek to become one, however noble our reasons, is an act of rebellion.

Prayer – Dear Father, forgive me for my rebellious, ambitious, dissatisfied heart.  I am not the answer, I do not have the answer but I have the privilege to know The Answer.  You are the one who is guiding my life, you are in control of my ministry, my future, my finances, my family. All of my hopes and dreams must be submitted firmly to your will and your timing.  Thank you for the place I find myself in now, help me to honour and support your Kingdom by doing my best to fulfil Your assignment for me here.  Be with all those who struggle to be satisfied in the place where you have put them.  Help us like Jesus to humble ourselves and take the form of a servant. Amen