Not So With You

In the pursuit of greatness, people are drawn to displays of pomp as a symbol of power and prestige. These displays of fashionable clothes, impressive modes of travel, and an abundance of self-confidence convey to the world that here is a winner. However, Jesus Christ introduced a radically different understanding of greatness. Jesus declared: “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27).

Absalom, David’s oldest son, had been brought back to Jerusalem after three years of exile and reinstated to his place. One would think that Absalom would be glad to be home and recognized by the king, but that was not the case. Absalom did not return with a humble attitude, but with the complete opposite. What is so strange is that Absalom was heir to the throne, but he never learned the value of delayed gratification. To wait for the time for his father to hand the throne to him was to wait an entire lifetime. He could not wait; he would not wait. He would make it happen in his time.

The reinstated prince took steps to develop his image. He needed a rebrand. “After this, Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him” (2 Samuel 15:1). The only purpose for all of this was to make Absalom look important and to impress the people. Chariots had no functional purpose in Jerusalem. But Absalom looked great parading with an escort of fifty men running ahead of him. 

“There is no problem with your complaint,” (2 Samuel 15:3).  Absalom would assure each person. “It’s a shame you won’t receive justice.” Why? Because “there is no man designated by the king to hear you”. The king clearly does not care enough about you to provide someone to see that your case is heard and dealt with. The point of all this was to provide a solution to everyone’s problem. Of course, Absalom was the solution!

Absalom had made some kind of bargain with the Lord while he was in exile. If the Lord would bring him back to Jerusalem and he was reinstated as the king’s son, then he would make an offering to the Lord (2 Samuel 15:7-8).

Absalom would be no one’s servant. He could only see himself as king. His outward expressions of submission to his father were insincere. If Absalom made a vow in Geshur, it was certainly not to serve the Lord.  Absalom requests permission to go to Hebron to make an offering to the Lord, and David grants it to him. Absalom was fomenting a revolt under David’s nose, and David did not see it. (2 Samuel 15:9).

Absalom’s methods had worked. He had won the people and stolen one of David’s chief advisors, Ahithophel, “And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing” 2 Samuel 15:12). This is the way of Absalom. Now listen to the way of Jesus. How different are the ways of Absalom from the ways of Jesus?

Luke 22:24-27 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

Setting Fields On Fire

People often engage in dysfunctional games of manipulation with each other in life. Some people are intent on getting what they want at any cost, while others are the victims.

Families play games of control. As a result, dysfunctional patterns develop and are passed on to subsequent generations. Even within the pages of scripture, some of the most famous people had some very dysfunctional problems, which they played out in these games.

Joab, David’s commander of the army, was one of those people, and so was King David and his son Absalom. David had been playing a game of avoiding his son, Absalom, for three years. Joab could see a potential problem if the king and his eldest son, the heir to the throne, did not speak to each other, so he wanted to fix it. Joab brought a wise woman to speak with the king and instructed her on what to say (2 Samuel 14:2). Joab’s strategy involved deception, as all dysfunctional games often do.

The woman pretended to be a widow with a serious problem that seemed unsolvable. One son had killed the other in a moment of heated anger. Her extended family wanted to put to death her only remaining son. The king was ready to help the woman. After telling the king her story, she directed her words to him. You have done something similar: “You have a son you do not speak to and show no mercy to. You are willing to help me, but not your son.”

The king told Joab to go and bring Absalom back from his exile (2 Samuel 14:21). Joab was delighted. His game of manipulation had worked, and then it didn’t. Then David told him, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” (2 Sam 14:24).

Absalom had been back for two years and had not seen his father. That is, five years altogether that he had not seen his father, when you add the three years of exile. Absalom tried to get Joab to help him see the king, but Joab had had enough of the games. To get Joab’s attention, Absalom instructed his servants to burn Joab’s barley fields (2 Sam 14:30).

There are sons and daughters setting fields on fire to get their father’s attention everywhere. “Dad, I am here. Will you come to my game?” Dad, do you see me?” “Do you have anything to say to me?” Finally, Joab got an appointment for Absalom to see the king; “Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom” (2 Sam 14:33). It was an awkward meeting.

What a different reception the son in Luke’s parable of the lost son receives: He finally realizes he must go home to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” Luke 15:20).