2 Samuel 15 (Part 1) Bible Study (Absalom's Conspiracy) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Second Samuel chapter 15. Tonight, you and I are going to study something that God hates. I'm not sure if that's the most exciting way to start a bible study, but I'm sure that it grabbed your attention nonetheless. The God that we love and sing to and testify about is a God of love. God is love.

But his love does not does not rather let me put it this way. His love does discriminate. His love doesn't spill over into absolutely everything without condition or without standard. God loves, but because he loves so perfectly, he also hates. And in Proverbs chapter six, we are given seven things that the Lord hates.

In Proverbs six sixteen to 19, we are told of six things that the Lord hates and seven things that are an abomination to him. An abomination is something that one holds with great disgust and abhorrence. And God has those feelings about certain things. And the seventh thing that God abhors on that list of dedestation is one who sows discord among brothers. What that means is somebody who intentionally plants seeds of doubt or suspicion within a group of people with the purpose of causing a severance in some kind of faction.

And usually that is motivated by personal agenda. This is something that God absolutely despises. And unfortunately, what God tells us and makes clear to us of what he hates is what men tend to passionately pursue. And such is the case with this man Absalom. Absalom in this chapter is ready to orchestrate a divisive campaign with remarkable discipline and dedication.

And instead of the Holy Spirit just giving us that as a general observation or a general statement, what you're gonna discover as we read is that we actually have Absalom's scheme in great detail leading up to that execution of division. If the Holy Spirit did not think that this was important, he would have generalized this moment in Israel's history under David's reign with what we see here at the end of verse six. Look at it very quickly with me. It says here, so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. That would have been a sufficient way of telling us why there will be a civil war at this point in David's life as the leader of this people.

But God goes beyond that. Again, he wants to show us what it was that led to the people's hearts being stolen. And what led to a division among a people that were enjoying unity and prosperity in different ways. And I thought to myself, Lord, why is it important that in the first six seven verses, we see here exactly what Absalom would do? Why spell out?

Why draw out the drama of this conspiracy? And I believe the reason is because the Lord wants to instruct us. And the Lord wants us to be benefited by something such as this for the sake of making us a discerning people. A discerning people who would be able to detect the early stages of division in whatever sphere you find yourself in. Division is possible in any place where two people are gathered or committed to one another.

It can happen in marriage, it can happen in families, it can happen in business, it can happen in institutions, and it can especially happen in the community of faith. And so there is something here for us in order to be observant, discerning, careful, watchful. First with our own hearts to see if there is anything that we are unknowingly entertaining, but even in what we see around us because you and I are constantly as the people of God under under attack. Under attack and one of Satan's favorite plots is to sow discord among the people of God. He enjoys it.

It's it's one of the oldest playbooks of sin. It's what happened in heaven. It's what happens throughout the Bible. And we see it here before us in this example, and it is greatly beneficial for us as a people who strive to be in partnership for the glory of God. Now from experience, I've learned that whenever the subject comes up that those who are already set on entertaining and harboring a spirit of division are very hard to convince to turn from such a way of life, to turn from such a mindset.

Most people who are divisive are frighteningly committed to that cause. And so my primary aim here, though God can do miracles in the most rebellious heart, my primary aim is to through this bible study as we come together to equip and protect those, which is all of us, who can be seduced by someone or some people that would attempt to bring division in our lives. And though these principles apply to every sphere of society and and any any area of life where you have relationships with others, I want to focus on the local church. The local church. And so allow me through this Bible study it's gonna be very unique because it's gonna be more of a study of a very uncomfortable subject, but it's gonna be important for us to see at least three ways division occurs.

Even among the most spiritual where God is moving, where God is blessing, where where people have been brought together evidently by God's providence. I want you guys to see here very carefully through Absalom's example, the ingredients that are necessary to take to see division take place. Let's read the first few verses together. After this, Absalom verse one. After this, Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and 50 men to run before him.

And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom will call to him and say, from from what city are you? And when he said, your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel, Absalom would say to him, see your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you. Then Absalom would say, oh that I were a judge in the land. Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me and I would give him justice.

And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. Thus, Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. The first ingredient that is required to see painful division possibly take place among the people of God is that number one, division begins in the heart of unholy men. Division begins in the heart of unholy men.

What are the first two words of verse one? After this. After this. If you were here last week, you know what happened before this. What happened before this was that king David acquitted his son Absalom for his murderous plot and forgave him and restored him and gave him all his privileges back though there was no sign of confession, there was no evidence of remorse, there was not a hint of repentance displayed.

And David was wrong for doing that. David was in error for allowing someone like Adam to go free in this way. Yes, we are a faith of forgiveness and restoration reconciliation, but we ought to forgive us Christ forgave. And part of that forgiveness pursuit is to release them in our hearts and not take vengeance. But in order for reconciliation to happen, it requires repentance from the offending party.

Christ, does he not wait for men to repent for us to be reconciled to him? Absolutely. And we don't see that here but instead of focusing on David more, let's turn our attention to Absalom and consider his attitude in this whole thing. Absalom, based on what we heard last week, believed that he was completely justified in what he did to his half brother Amnon. Completely justified.

This man he had no sense of personal accountability to God and he obviously had no touch of how his sins affected others. And when you look at Absalom up to this point you realize that he was a man who was driven by his own criteria. He had his own standard of right and wrong. He had his own concept of what was permissible and what was not permissible. And such a man who does not subject himself to the law of God and who elevates his own understanding despite divine law being violated or overstepping people's rights, that kind of a person is dangerous.

That kind of a person is dangerous for many reasons. To be driven and to be determined by your own rules is a scary world view. And such people despite any other rules that might challenge his own, he believes that he is in the right. That kind of mindset is detrimental to any any kind of sphere of our lives. And the potential disruption of such a person is so severe that division is highly likely.

Such a person has no problems stepping over people, stepping on people, dismissing any rule to get what they want. And and usually, this kind of a person is an individual who can excuse any kind of sinful behavior if they are offended, if their their feelings are so strong or if the object of their desire is so strong. Such a person inevitably will bring about some kind of discord in their world. And you see this often with people who become who become offended by by others, whether Christians or especially by spiritual authority. This is common.

Disappointment and unmet expectations can easily energize a divisive spirit unless they are restrained by the truth of God's word in the Holy Spirit. And that is who we are dealing with here. Absalom's attitude is not excused by immaturity. He's not somebody here who is, stubborn or irrational because he lacks experience in life. It's much deeper than that.

Significantly much deeper than that. Look at verse one again. What stands out to you? After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses and 50 men to run before him. Why do you think he's doing that?

Attention. Is this Absalom trying to get somewhere quicker? Is this about faster mobility? Absolutely not. Why?

Because you got a chariot but you have 50 guys running in front of you. This is not about transportation. This is not about mobility. This is about showmanship. This is about performance.

This is about somebody who who is walking around now drawing attention to himself. We've already discovered that Absalom was a man who crave the praise of man. And if you are not convinced that this is what he is up to, go to his brother's account in first Kings one and verse five. Adonijah, when he wanted to be king, I want you to see something eerily similar with Absalom here in second Samuel chapter 15. Look at first Kings chapter one verse five in your Bibles and notice what what happens here.

Now Adonijah, that's Absalom's brother, the son of Hagath exalted himself saying I will be king. And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen and 50 men to run before him. It's clear. Right? There's the connection.

Exalting oneself and parading oneself in in the exact way that Absalom does here in our subject, in our study right now. And here's the point that you and I have to understand, individuals who live for the admiration and the applause of others are those who are most capable of stirring problems in any setting that is organized by positions, by platform or by authority. When you got when you have a guy like Adonijah, when you have a guy like Absalom who survive and thrive on the applause and the recognition and the respect and all of the above. Those are the people who are the candidates for chaos. In any setting which includes the church where there are platforms, positions or authoritative titles and responsibilities.

And, you know, I've I've mentioned this verse on so many occasions. Sometimes I hesitate to repeat them but it's good. We're creatures of repetition. Remember what James tells us in James three sixteen? What does he say there?

He says, for where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder. There will be disorder in every vile practice. Jealousy and selfish ambition is the simple recipe for relational disaster. Jealousy and selfish ambition is the simple recipe for relational disaster among friends, among couples, among siblings, among congregants and elders and deacons. And so if you're able to by the truth of God's word, subdue these two vices, then you can most definitely secure harmony and peace in a setting like this.

So I told you about Proverbs six sixteen to 19 where we are told about the six things that the Lord hates and seven that are an abomination to him. Well, in that same chapter, we are told something interesting about the one who continually sows discord. And it is this in verse 14. Proverbs six fourteen tells us, with perverted heart devices evil continually sowing discord. With perverted heart devices evil continually sowing discord.

Do you see the association there? Sowing discord is connected to perversion of the heart. Perversion of the heart. It is the perverted heart that is capable of intentionally coming to a peaceful place where there is fruit and there is an honor to God and to try to sever it and separate it and to bring damage and harm to it. And we see here that it is an evil thing.

It is absolutely evil. It's okay, guys. I know my throat gave out there. There's no need to panic or worry. It's an evil thing.

And what's amazing here is that devising evil requires strategy. It requires planning. It requires thank you. It it requires thinking and meditation. And so the first ingredient here is that division Division begins in the heart of unholy men and woman.

When they are more concerned with self than the glory of God, when they are more concerned about their position than the presence of God, when they're more concerned about how they feel than the good of others, some kind of pain is gonna come on a horizontal level. It doesn't have to all the time but it's more likely. And then we read here again that there is a there is a devising with this kind of a heart, this kind of a mindset. A person who sows division, who plants seeds of doubt, brings us to our second ingredient. Division requires and utilizes deception and accusation.

So it begins in the heart of an holy man, an unholy woman who doesn't have God's word in mind, doesn't God's standard in view, but from there, it is nurtured and it is strengthened through deception and accusation. Look back here in our bible study. Look at verse two. It says here, Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. That disturbs me.

He got up early. I mean, this is a man who was driven. This is a man who was like set on making this happen. And what sowing discord makes it especially detestable in the sight of God is just that. It requires great effort and it requires here an accompanying of other evils in order to see it come about.

And we see here that this man here is doing just that. Now, let me say this beforehand. We all know that if you do life with people long enough that there will be some level and episodes of irritation caused by others. Right? Either by ignorance or by moments getting into the flesh.

But those instances can be easily resolved through loving rebuke and honest repentance. Look brother, I got out of hand during that meeting. I was I was I'm very passionate about the subject and it just came out and it wasn't Christ like, will you forgive me? Done deal. That is not the same of what I'm speaking about here.

What we're seeing here with Absalom is this conniving sophisticated and manipulative scheme. To sow discord is to strategically arouse and heighten conflict. For what purpose? To pin brothers and sisters in Christ against one another for the sake of a hidden agenda. That's what it means to sow discord.

You are exciting emotions. You are playing with people's minds. You are suddenly making accusations and charges and claims not because you care, but because you have something in you that you wanna see come to pass. And that is exactly what Absalom is doing. He's not loving people, he's using people.

And this kind of diabolical plot is usually entertained again when someone is offended and wants retaliation, wants payback or this is something that we don't consider because that makes sense. Right? People tend to bite back when they're bitten, hit back when they're hit. Right? But there's another side to this and the other side is this, that such a plot is employed when there is a goal in mind but there are obstacles in the way of that goal and usually those obstacles are people who are in authority or people who might be opponents to that drive that you have.

And that is exactly what we see here. The platform for kingdoms dividing and for church splits is really the same. It involves the implementation of deception and accusation to see it come to pass. That is the qualities of Absalom here. These are the characteristics of such a man.

I want you to just in a in a very brief moment see very quickly the characteristics of a sower of discord. Okay? Because it's not obvious all the time. And, you know, in preparation of this, I I was praying, Lord, my desire is not through this bible study for people to become cynical or for people to become overly suspicious. My encouragement to you is just to be discerning and prayerful and careful.

So look at these things here with me. The first thing about Absalom as already mentioned is that people who tend to give rise to disunity tend to project themselves in a certain way. And the way that they project themselves is positively, charmingly, with great attraction and trust. Why does he go about in a chariot with 50 men before him? What kind of image is he trying to portray of himself?

What's that? Of a leader, of a king. Right? He's not a king but he wants to make a seem like he is a king and he wants to condition the people to see him as a potential leader. He already has the looks, he has the luscious hair.

We're gonna see in a moment that he has the charisma and he knows how to he knows how to play politics and he knows how to be the the man's people. Right? The people's man. We see that here. But what's interesting is the tactic is no different for troublemakers today.

They try to portray themselves in a certain manner. And this this arm people from ever thinking to themselves that such a person is up to no good or such a person would never bring about harm. And so what you have with those who are swords of discord is that they tend to immediately and constantly seem spiritual, seem wise, compassionate, people loving, bible educated, servants of God. And they can do a lot of good things on the surface. But here's the reality, they're not glorifying Christ.

Again, it's just a means to another end, a selfish end. And to win people's trust and to win their allegiance and again, to try to discourage them from ever thinking them as a potential suspect to something that is brewing, something that's coming ahead. If you don't think that Absalom is this kind of man and that what you see is what you get, then just scroll down quickly to verse eight of this chapter. Look how he speaks to his father. For your servant vowed a vow while I lived in Geshur and Aram saying, if the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem then I will offer worship to the Lord.

Are you kidding me? Hey, dad. You know, while I was away in exile, I thought to myself, if I ever come back here, I wanna like fast and pray and just give give this wonderful dedication to the Lord. Would you let me go? It's a bold faced lie.

This is absolute dishonesty and it gets even weirder when you go to verse 12. Look at verse 12. And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices. So this guy is making these claims, he's making these vows apparently and he's even he's even participating in the sacrificial system all the while he is brewing a civil war in his heart. So the first thing to understand about a sower of discord is that they intentionally and strategically and deceivingly try to decorate themselves in a certain way to ultimately deceive people.

And the second observation, the second characteristic is very closely tied to the first one. People who sow discord heavily rely coming off as being loving and caring about the well-being of others. Look here again in verse three. Absalom would say to him, see your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you. And before that, he asked, from what city are you?

And when he said, your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel. So here's Absalom waking up very early going to the gate of the city knowing that people travel from all parts of Israel to come to the supreme court of their day to receive some kind of counsel, some kind of closure with particular grievances, and he would meet them from the beginning. He would position himself in a way where he would have contact with people. And while he would do this, he would ask, where are you from? Oh, no way.

You're from you're from okay. Issachar. Wow. You're from Zebulon came all from Zebulon. That's incredible.

Oh, where'd you where'd you study? Oh, what's your last name? I think I know your cousin. Yeah. Yeah.

And then add to that verse five. Look at verse five. It says here, and whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. And so when people would try to show him back, he would he would just like, no no don't do that. And he would embrace them and he would he would kiss them and he would just give this excessive show of affection.

And to the simple, this would seem genuine. This was in order to prepare them, in order to win them again so that when Absalom would make certain statements and certain claims and certain judgments, they're more likely to believe him and to even be on his side. This is what some troublemakers do. They so lavish people with compliments and attention that when it comes to an issue that they usually prepared in advance to cause, they are confident that people will side with the troublemaker more than the truth. And that is precisely what this man is doing.

It sounds awful. It sounds sick, but it is absolutely the reality. There are agitators who actively seek to draw people's affections, so that when something emerges, they'll be prepared to partner with the one who is in the wrong. Is this genuine? No.

It's manipulative preparation. That's what it is. And this is usually a tactic that is implemented before criticism and before accusation arises. And so he's priming them up. He's marinating their minds.

And now we come to the third characteristic of a sower of discord. Right? The first two might be difficult to decipher. You have somebody here who presents himself as spiritual, you have somebody here who heavily relies on just overwhelming people with their words and their actions and gifts and hospitality, you name it. But this is the most important thing that I can say about a sower of discord and it's it's this, and we must consider it.

They find liberty they find liberty to make consistent suggestive accusations. So we read it in verse three. Absalom would say to him, see your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you. Verse four. Then Absalom would say, oh, that I were a judge in the land.

Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me and I would give him justice. This is hear me carefully. This is not the same as identifying legitimate concerns and issues within a ministry or with a minister or anybody else for that matter. That is not what I'm talking about because those things can be issues that need to be dealt with verbally and need to be dealt with with genuine concern expressed. The goal of these kind of remarks, pay very close attention.

Now, the goal of these kind of remarks is to stir up dissatisfaction in the hearts of the people. That's the goal. To stir up dissatisfaction in people usually by saying something completely untrue or by potentially exaggerating things that are not worth becoming serious issues. We saw that in verse three. We saw that in verse four.

And what Absalom here is doing is that he is attempting to point people to the administration and say, they are inefficient and they are weak. They are inefficient and they are weak. Is it possible for many things to be imperfect, many things not being completely in line, many things not be developed, many things not be completely mature? Absolutely, we should strive about that. We should look to that.

We should say, yes, we need to move forward in that. But again, that is not the goal that Absalom has in mind. It is to completely destroy that which God tries to nurture and build up and to see life come through. And so this is what he is doing here. The question to ask ourselves with the closest context in mind is what Absalom saying true?

When Absalom said, there's no man designated by the king to hear you. Is that true? Think about our recent studies. Did the king have trouble hearing people's problems? Did he?

No. How do you know? Thank you very much. We see here in chapter 14 verse four. When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and paid homage and said, save me, oh king.

Okay. Obviously, the king was available to hear these people's problems and for them to bring their problems to him. So what is Absalom trying to convey here? An outright blatant lie. That's what he's essentially saying.

He he's he's creating a problem that's not really there. And close to that is to again magnify things that are minor, that are not sincere enough for severing to happen. Now, someone might object and say, well, are you suggesting that people who are in authority are immune to any kind of correction, any kind of suggestion, any kind of criticism. Absolutely not. Then you have another problem.

Then you got a dictatorship, you have tyranny, you have we have you have a whole different bible study to convey when you can identify those who who know how to abuse their positions of power. That is not what I'm trying to say. What I am trying to say that is though is that there are claims that we might all have in our hearts. There might be concerns that we all might have. And expressing those concerns do not make us divisive people.

That would that would be a terrible way of manipulating people and trying to keep their mouth shut and to just dismiss any kind of accountability from the leadership side. That's evil in itself. But at the same time, we have to understand that the way people express their concerns makes all the difference. They can either build things up or tear things down. You know what I would do if I, on one sunny afternoon during fellowship had Absalom come up to me and say the things that he said to me, see your claims are good and right but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.

You know, this is what I would say. This is what I imagined. If I was coming from the North and I need to meet with the king and Absalom is there with a crown of people and he stops me, he says, hey, I've never seen you before. And he begins to say these kind of things. I would say, oh, Absalom.

It seems like you clearly have concerns about the way the kingdom operates. Have you brought it to the king? Wouldn't that be a good thing to say? Hey, did you bring it to your father David? Did you express these concerns to David?

And here here's the thing that I wanna say. Whenever an individual expresses grievance or frustration or even actual offense, whether it's perceived in a certain way or it's legitimate. If you bring up the proposition that they should go to the person who has offended or who is connected to this issue and they refuse to do so, that's very telling. That is very revealing. Actually, such a person is, in my estimation, not interested in a solution.

Now there might be hesitation because they're fearful of how that would go about. I don't know anybody that enjoys confrontation, me included. So sometimes there's hesitation because it's not easy to do that and I get it, but I'm not speaking about that. I'm speaking about a person who just will not open themselves up to the biblical model of how we should approach a brother or sister who is offended. When such a person is so headstrong and unwilling to do that, not only are they not interested in the solution, they are potentially in that very moment as they are expressing their thoughts starting to cause a new problem.

You're saying, brother, you're reading too much of it. No. If Jesus told you and I how to approach a brother or sister in the area of offense and we refuse to do that, is that not disobedience? Okay. Does disobedience produce good things?

No. Doesn't. And so I I look at Absalom and I think to myself, if I was in Israel at this time, I would look at him straight in the eye and say, hey, Absalom. Did you talk to your dad about this? I would have loved to seen his face.

I would love to see how he would have politicized his way out of it. But there is no such thing. People were just enamored. They were just captivated. One by his looks and then on top of that his words and the chariots and the sight of his importance and his extravagance and his eloquence.

Yeah. So there's deception at work here. There's accusation at work here. And now the sowing is taking place and it's so subtle. It's not outright.

It's not obvious. It's very subtle. Right? And you and I have to be careful. God has given us principles to protect the unity of the church.

He has given us instructions of how to close potential doors, lest Satan have a foothold and get in. And so you and I have to trust Jesus. As uncomfortable at his obedience is not always easy but as as uncomfortable as it is, we have to believe that the way the Lord prescribed relational rules is for the benefit and the longevity of our blessings towards one another and God's blessing over us. So deception is at work here. Accusation is now thrown into the pot.

Division begins in the heart of unholy men. Division utilizes deception and accusation. And lastly, division is strengthened by naive hearts. Division is strengthened by naive hearts. We see here in verse five and six, what?

Whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. Thus, Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. Who's here to blame? Is Absalom to blame?

Yes. Is he the only one to blame? Who would say yes? So he stole the hearts of the people. Sometimes things get stolen from us and it just catches us off guard.

No matter what kind of preventions we've made, it just happens. And sometimes things are stolen from us because we were irresponsible And we were not careful. And we were not alert. And we we give an opportunity where an opportunity could have been avoided. Correct?

And so we see here that the people I know you had your hand up. I'll come to you in a moment. We see here with the people that they have a part in all of this. Absalom is a he's a he's a salesman. He's presentable.

He's persuasive. He's powerful in appearance and with his presentation. But listen, Absalom would not have been as successful if he did not have so many customers. No matter how Absalom did his thing, if nobody believed them or if people were much more reserved and skeptical in a holy way, then he would not have been as successful. But unfortunately, as much as division begins in the heart of unholy men, it is solidified and strengthened by simple hearts.

By simple hearts. I'll pause here and ask you you had your hand up. Do you have a question or remark? Yes. His position in the family.

He's the son of the king. Yes. Right. So then you have the family element in this whole thing, which makes it even more complicated despite the fact that he was already strikingly beautiful and he had the popularity. The fact that there is the the blood relational component made it much more complex.

And I agree with you. There is a lot of ingredients to this that are unique but still noteworthy. Here's the thing that I wanna say. When there are sowers of discord and they enter into a place, what tends to happen is they prey on they prey on the unsuspecting. Right?

To your point. They prey on the unsuspecting and they prey on those who might be naive, innocent, More willing to believe than to test and to be careful to examine before making a judgment. But that's not the only thing that they do. Though that is that is one of their primary plans. At the same time, they will sniff out potential endorsements, partnerships.

Those who will come alongside them knowing very much what is about to happen and usually they're able to do this by looking for others and discovering if they have personal offense, or if they are harboring jealousy, or or if they are entertaining selfish ambition. And the same way you and I can can if if we're walking with the Lord, discern when somebody is a genuine believer walking with the Lord, I'm telling you sores of discord can find people like them. They can find people like them. And they actually magnetize to them. Isn't it amazing how gossipers attract gossipers?

Right? I heard of a brother where, he was hearing about all this stuff that was happening. This is in a different context, different place altogether many, many years ago. He was hearing about all these things that were happening, and he asked somebody else. He goes, why am I not hearing about this?

And that person who was updating him with certain things says, it's probably a good thing. It's probably a good thing that nobody feels safe to tell you things that are troubling and that have no value and that bring problems more than anything else. And that person left with a crown. He's like, that's a badge of honor to me. Nobody calls me or text me, hey.

Did you hear about whatever and whatever? Praise God. Not a lot of amens on that one, but amen. And so we see here that Absalom is doing two things at the same time. He is recruiting naive people by seducing him, and yet he is also searching out for others who because of their own position, their own reputation, their own resources, like you said, would only make their case more believable.

Right? Who do you think that person was for Absalom? Who do you think that person was? Good guess. Not Joab.

Yes. Bathsheba's granddaddy. Would you look at that? Did you hear the answer? Bathsheba's granddaddy.

What's his name? Ahi Theophel. I remember reading this today and I thought to myself, yeah, that is a common trait. Right? There's strength in numbers.

Did Absalom do this? And I and I kept reading and I realized there he is in verse 12. Look at verse 12 quickly. And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for who? Hithophel, the Gilonite, David's counselor from his city Hilo.

And the conspiracy grew strong and the people with Absalom kept increasing. Why do you think why do you think Absalom would fetch for Ahithophel? Did Ahithophel have bitterness? Let me ask you this way. Was Ahithophel hurt by David?

He was hurt by David. He was hurt by David. Right, Josh? Yeah. Do you have something else to say?

When David killed Uriah, at the at his son's soul, had a grudge against David. That's right. He did have a grudge against David because of what David did with his granddaughter and her husband. I would have loved to see what the conversation between Absalom and Ahithophel would be like or was like. How did he figure that out?

Was it common knowledge? Now, I began to just sit there this afternoon and think about what that might have looked like as Absalom was trying to figure out who it is that would partner with him. And I noticed that he was drawn to somebody who had his own history of pain from the same individual that he wanted to overthrow. Hey, how are you feel for? You know, I've been noticing something about my dad.

Things are kinda sketchy. Things are a little off. You happen to notice anything? I know you work with him closely and you see things. You're a very wise man.

You're a counselor. Oh, no way. You too? He did that to Bathsheba? Oh, what a scoundrel.

You know what? It makes sense, actually. You remember what happened to my sister, Tamar. Right? You see how we just let Ammon go?

I wonder if that had to play this guy's bad news, man. He's bad news. You know, I think we have to protect others from him. I think we have a duty. I think we need to we need to see this guy pay for his slip ups.

We need this guy to learn a lesson. You know, if hey, Philip. I gotta tell you something. If I were king, I wouldn't let things get away with that so easily. If I were king, I would not I would not allow family relations to get involved with how I execute God's law.

You might be thinking, brother, I think you're reading too much into it. And I would say no. Because look what look what he says here in verse four. Oh, that I were the judge in the land, that every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice. You hypocrite.

You have no right to speak about justice. Justice. I would give him justice. I wonder if he said that to Aethophel. I wonder if he he just swept him off his feet with this kind of speech.

And Aethophel agreed and a devilish team was born. A team that would unfortunately be very successful in making an impression on the weak minded. Now, we're gonna in the following weeks, we're gonna talk about just the absolute poison that bitterness is, and how it skews so much of our thinking, and what we allow, and what we absorb, and what we're willing to entertain. But for now, let's go back to that thought of the naive. Right?

Turn very quickly as we close our Bible study very soon in Romans chapter 16. I want you to see what Paul says about this subject because it's not an old testament thing. It's a new testament reality. In Romans 16, look here at verse 17. I appeal to you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught.

Avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ or our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. Doesn't that go back to point number one? That divisions begin in the heart of unholy men. Men who don't serve Christ, men who are serving their own appetites.

And your appetites can be any ambition that conflicts with humility and trusting in God's providence in his dealing in your life. But they serve their own appetites and by here it is, this is point number two. By smooth talk and flattery. So right there we covered two points, a New Testament commentary on our Old Testament study. Number one, divisions begin in the heart of unholy men.

Number two, divisions utilize deception and accusation. And number three, divisions are strengthened by naive hearts. What does Paul end with? In flattery, they deceive the hearts of who? The naive.

So right there, isn't that isn't that wonderful that in our Old Testament study, we have New Testament confirmation. The Old Testament is the best illustration book for New Testament truth. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive. Hello, Absalom. What Paul is saying here, spirit, is that dividers don't succeed over everyone.

Not everyone is influenced by sower of discord, but there are some. And the category of the sum are the simple. Proverbs fourteen fifteen says that the simple believes everything. The simple believes everything, but the prudent give thoughts to his steps. The prudent gives thoughts to his steps.

In other words, he doesn't jump to conclusions. He doesn't rush into a door. He waits and thinks and calculates before any kind of judgment is made. That is not the simple. And the truth of the matter is that in the church, the beautiful, glorious, blood bought church of Jesus Christ, you have those within who are more simple than others and who are much more willing to think with their feelings, who are inexperienced and because of their inexperience are more vulnerable.

Just like the Christians in Rome, this is what Paul is saying. And here's the thing that we have to ask ourselves, is that a fate that is inescapable for some? Meaning, if you have some in the church who are simple, does that mean that they're just sitting ducks ready to be devoured at any time? And the answer thankfully is no. No, that that doesn't have to be the future of any poor soul.

Now after healing all this, again this is not the most uplifting bible study on a Friday night after a long work week, but it is important. And here's the encouraging part as we land this bible study. There is something that you and I can do to limit the damage that a person who is determined to bring discord can do. And I think what we see here in Romans 16 gives us the blueprint and one of the things that you and I are called to do, if the naive are the target of such individuals who are in God's sight an abomination. We are called to watch over our brothers and sisters who might be naive.

Who might be young in the faith. Right? Who might be just have a different upbringing, a different discipleship, different kind of experience growing up and so they just view the world with a different lens. Such individuals are called to be watched over by primarily the under shepherds. Leaders of the church are called to have a watchful eye on how people are responding to certain things and and and where they're being pulled and where they're being pushed.

And when there is danger and alarm, it is the under shepherds who are called to with discernment to come in and to warn and to rescue and to pull away. But it's not just the pastors because the pastors are not omniscient and omnipresent. No. We have a mutual responsibility to watch each other's back and to ensure that if there are people who might again be more impressed by certain things that can lead to danger then then you and I have to be able to step in and say, hey man look I've noticed Are you doing here? Are you sure you you you're you're you're thinking rightly about this?

Listen, that is the bare minimum that you and I can do. Right? But there's something higher than that. There's something greater than that. If Paul here is warning that they deceive the hearts of the naive, then I say that there is a charge and an exhortation for the naive not just for the people who are related to the naive.

And it is this, escape your simplicity. Grow. Let God stretch you. Proverbs tells us in the first chapter, oh how long will you love being simple? In other words, the naive here is not just limited to people who are innocent because they're inexperienced or because they haven't seen enough or because years haven't been added to them so they lack experiential wisdom.

That is not the case. There comes a point where being naive is a choice. It's a choice that you consciously make or you don't care to think about and just allow yourself to coast through life. And the Bible says, oh how long will you love being simple? In other words, it's time to grow.

It's time to see God do something in the way you perceive things that will protect you and protect your family, protect your finances, and protect your church protect your church. If you don't believe that that is the case, well, Proverbs eight five says, oh simple ones learn prudence. Proverbs eight five, oh simple ones learn prudence. That encourages me. If somebody is simple, they don't have to stay simple.

They can excel and they can mature and they can know the graces and the blessings and the treasures that come from wisdom. So when I look at a simple person, if I know a simple person, if I know an innocent vulnerable person, I don't just see them as a responsibility. I see them as a potential advocate for truth and someone who can know discernment that doesn't require constant supervision. And that is what these people needed. Unfortunately, this this group of Israelites were a gullible folk, and they just ate whatever was presented to them at the hand of a gorgeous man named Absalom.

And so these kind of people had a choice to graduate from their infancy and to develop skills and to grow in their character and all of us have that decision to make. How do you go from simple to prudence? And do you know what prudence means? Does anybody know what the word prudence means? Anybody know what prudence means?

It means to exercise judgment in a way where you limit risks and dangers. So you develop a discernment and a discipline to explore and to examine a certain thing and to find the best option out of them all, to prevent so much harm that could have been avoided. That's what we all need. Simple people need to learn prudence. And we can spend the next thirty minutes talking about how simple person can become wise.

But I would just say this, that if there's something you can constantly do and assure results, as James one five, if any of you lack wisdom, what is he supposed to do? Let him ask God. Let him ask God. You know what that tells me that God can directly deposit a a set and a wiring in your being, where no matter what your upbringing was, no matter what your lack of experience was, you can prevent risks and dangers in your life because heaven is on your side. And God's work is in you.

And something is there constantly and has been developed that even when you were surprised by instances or by people or by situations, you are ready. I'll be transferring with you. One of the things that I pray for for myself every single day is discernment. Every single day. God, give me discernment.

Help me not trust in my senses alone. You have put the Holy Spirit in me. You have given the word of God before me. Lord, I pray that as I indulge in your word and walk in the spirit, that you allow me to live this life and navigate through it in a way where I limit unnecessary harm self or others. And God has been faithful.

James one five is true. He's willing to help us. And not just people in leadership positions where their example or decisions can affect much more than just their own lives, but anybody who desires it. Anybody who desires it. How do div divisions occur?

They begin in the hearts of unholy men. Divisions utilize deception and accusation, and divisions are strengthened by the hearts of the naive. May God protect this church. May God protect your marriage. May God protect your ministry.

He is faithful and just. And He is good. And in the coming weeks, even men after God's heart can experience betrayal. And when something as painful like that happens, what should our response be? Well, stay tuned to find out.

Lord, we do thank you for this Bible study. There may be some here who know what it's like to be in a situation where division took place and it left scars. It put a sour taste in their mouths. Lord, we hate what you hate. What breaks your heart breaks our heart.

We just ask Lord that you would give us discernment. We also ask God that you would not make us overly suspecting or suspicious, fearful. Protect us from not having hope or not putting trust and faith in potential awesome relationships. Help us be quick to forgive when we do get in the flesh. Help us to identify our own selfishness and to crucify it when it tries to get off the cross.

Lord, we just pray that you would protect the purity and the love of this place. And Lord, if it is true that jealousy and selfish ambition is the cause for every kind of disorder and vile practice, then let there be humility and a God glorifying mandate pumping in every single heart of those who represent this church and those who represent their own churches. Oh, Lord, if it is true that in humility and in seeking the greater goal of the gospel being proclaimed and loved and cherished and believed on by those outside of this place, then, oh, God, help us be people who live in such a way. Lord, we wanna worship you tonight because your word is ex is just amazing and profound to us. And we pray, oh Lord, that we would trust in your instructions and your blueprint when offense does arise in our hearts and when things do happen, that we would not allow ourselves to be a foothold for Satan to work like Ahithophel was, who was who was calm and collected until an opportunity came.

Oh, Lord, we wonder what would have become of him if he sought forgiveness. If he's if he confronted David one to one and expressed his pain. We wonder if if Absalom's attempts would have been weakened. And so Lord, we don't wanna be footholds for the enemy to use us unknowingly. We wanna be free, and we wanna be your servants, and we wanna glorify you in every aspect of life.

Lord, we worship you tonight and give you all honor and praise and recognition for your goodness even with a study like this. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Shall we stand?

Let's worship God together.