2 Samuel chapter 14, lessons from the life of David. There's outlines in the back if you need one. Lessons from the life of David. And we've been studying this lessons for quite some time now. And we've progressed quite a ways. But troubles, as we learned last week, are brewing all around us. David at this particular point in time in his life. Troubles on the left, troubles on the right. David himself is smarting under the chastening hand of God. We talked about God's chastisement a previous lesson. But David, I must say, has not handled himself well. He's not handled himself well. And his chastening, I believe, one of the reasons his chastening has continued is because of his failure to respond properly to God's chastening. So, in this period of time that we're studying now, there's no record in 2 Samuel that David sought the Lord. No record they sought the Lord. Now, I believe that David did seek the Lord during this period of time. I believe we see that evidence in the Psalms, but it's somewhat ominous. that in our study through 2 Samuel, it's absent. No evidence he sought the Lord. And he's also failed to exercise his God-given authority, his God-given authority in dealing with the sin within his own family. I believe that's another reason his chasing has continued for this prolonged length of time. And in fact, as we've studied last week and we're gonna study this week, David doesn't seem to be the same David that we've been studying in the past. I mean, David in the past was a man of action. He was a man who made decisions. He was a great military commander. He had rallied his troops. He had overcome great obstacles. And now there's this strange passiveness. about David. It seems like he's just laying low, so we don't hear a lot about David. The strange passiveness has crept over him, and it continues until his flight from Absalom that we'll look at in our next lesson. So the narrative in 2 Samuel is really quiet, silent about David himself, but we do read more about David and the Psalms, and we'll be looking at one Psalm in particular today. But David here, just by way of introduction, is seemingly paralyzed. by his consciousness of his past sins. And so David does nothing, does nothing. He did nothing when Ammon, his firstborn son, had raped his daughter Tamar. He was very wroth, scripture says, but he did nothing. He did nothing against Ammon. And then so his thirdborn son, Absalom, takes revenge against Ammon, and David could only weep. when Absalom murders Amnon. And then later, as Absalom flees for his life, David began to crave for Absalom's return, but he couldn't find any way to bring him back until Joab intervenes. David seemingly has no will of his own. He's like a tool in the hands of his powerful general who is able to mold and shape David and move him wherever he wants to be. No will of his own, and every step David seems to be dogged by this consciousness of his sins. Some suppose, and I believe actually this seems to be a reasonable explanation of David's, this strange apathy that David has or passiveness. And some have supposed that David fell to a protracted illness. during this time, something that laid him low during these years when Absalom's conspiracy is maturing and Absalom is rallying Israel to himself. It's not likely that David wrote many psalms during this time, but commentators suggest there are two, two psalms that David wrote that may shed some light on his condition at this time, Psalm 41, and in Psalm 55. And we're going to look just for a moment in our introduction at Psalm 41, but one of the things I've appreciated about studying the lessons from the life of David is the lessons I've learned as I've looked at David's Psalms in light of his history. So we've been going through David's history and In some cases, the Psalms are noted that he wrote this at a particular time. Other times, we're just guessing a little bit about when he might have written a particular Psalm. But Psalm 41, let's turn there for just a moment, and we'll only look briefly at it. But Psalm 41 is a Psalm that may have been written during this time of Absalom's rebellion and David's passivity. Psalm 41, as soon as I can find my way there. Okay, Psalm 41, and we'll just look at a few verses out of it. If you look at Psalm 41, verse three, David writes, the Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing, and thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. Again, talking about David's illness that may have been during this time. I said, verse four, Lord, be merciful unto me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee. Again, it sounds like a psalm that David could have written at this time. I have sinned against thee. And then verse seven, David writes, all that hate me, whisper together against me. Against me do they devise my hurt. An evil disease, they say. Again, suggesting David's been laid low by some illness. An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him. And now that he lieth, he shall rise up no more. Verse, and then continuing, verses nine, yea, he says, my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. Again, perhaps referring to Absalom. All that hate me whisper together against me. Imagine David, if he's, indeed, is lying in his sickbed, unable to respond as he had in the past to these dangers, this unrest within his own household. And David, he says, all my enemies are whispering against me. And again, indeed they were, as Absalom began to plot his conspiracy. Against me they devised my herd, an evil disease cleaveth fast unto him. These indeed are dreary days for David. That's the title I put for our outline, dreary days, David's dreary days. In fact, they're dreary years, dreary years. Some years have passed by. Three years, Absalom reminds that exile in Gershwer. There was two years between Ammon's death, sorry, Ammon's rape of his sister and his death when he was killed, murdered by Absalom. But then three years, Absalom flees to Gershwer. Absalom was a son of a Canaanite lady, a princess, Canaanite princess. So David sort of a political marriage that David had entered into, unwisely, and really against scripture, because he had married outside of the faith, again, one of his numerous wives. But three years Absalom spent back with his uncle in Gersher, and then four years passed after Absalom came back to Jerusalem and he built his rebellion. So a total of perhaps 10 years, dreary years that dragged on for David. We see first of all Job's subtle contrivance, point one in your outline, Job's subtle contrivance. We see his designs in 2 Samuel chapter 14. Verse one through three. It says, Now Joab, the son of Zariah, perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom. And Joab sent to Tekoa, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead. And come to the king, and speak on this matter unto him. So Joab put the words, in her mouth. Job here is a most astute politician, an astute politician. No doubt Job would do well in our day and age. He's an unprincipled man, first of all, and he's of great power and expediency. And Job knew how to play Both sides. He was looking out for himself, primarily. He knew how to play both sides. And Job, I believe, we don't know. OK, let me back up just a second. To be fair, we don't know Job's motives here. Job is conniving. He's scheming to get David, to manipulate David, so that he brings Absalom back to Israel. Why did Job do that? We don't know. We don't know. Okay, scripture doesn't tell us, but we can speculate a little bit about Joab. We know something about his character. We know he's an unprincipled man. We know he's expedient. We know he's looking out for himself. And we know that he knew how to play both sides. And here's Absalom. Absalom now is in line for the throne because Amnon is dead, murdered by Absalom. The second born son we have heard nothing about. So the assumption is that he died as a child. And now Absalom is number one. So he's in line for the throne. A job knows that. Job knows that. And so Job, I believe, I believe, this is my personal belief, that Job is anxious to play both sides. A curry favor from the king because now here's a chance to bring Absalom back. David is mourning over his son who's in exile. So here's a chance to manipulate David to get him to bring Absalom back and also a way to win some favor with Absalom. I mean, it's like a win-win for Joab. I mean, whichever way it goes, eventually Absalom will become king and Joab is sitting in a good position. So they are apparent. Joab, no doubt, as a politician, he perceived that David's obsession with Absalom's fall, Absalom's exile, David's ill perhaps, he's in mourning over Absalom again for years have passed. It was causing his kingdom, the kingdom of Israel, to totter a little bit. You know, there wasn't a steady hand at the wheel anymore. David was perhaps sick, perhaps not taking charge of leadership, and Joel perceived that too. You know, we've got to get David back in control. Job didn't want his position. I think he was happy where he was, but he wanted to stay as commander of the army. And there was a problem though. And the problem was one that David knew and Job perceived. How could mercy and justice be reconciled? How could mercy and justice? I mean, justice said that Absalom should die for murdering his brother. That was justice. But mercy said, well, can we find a way to bring him back? Well, we know that mercy and justice can be reconciled in our Lord Jesus Christ. But that wasn't the issue here. It was David and Absalom. How was mercy and justice going to be reconciled? Simply restoring Absalom would be to flaunt the law. But on the other hand, there are many in Israel who idolize Absalom. He had already won great favor with his good looks, his long flowing locks, and his personality. He had won favor of much of Israel already. And so in characteristic fashion, Joab, and this is just Joab's character, he fashions a lie and a deception, and he carefully wraps it up and makes it pretty. He puts a nice bow on it, but it's just a lie and deception. He's going to trick David into a response, an emotional response. Job is a clever and diabolical man. Job's methods here accomplish their task, but the methods are utterly devilish, utterly devilish. You know, we should not use the devil's methods to accomplish God's work. Amen. Don't use the devil's methods to accomplish God's work. That's what Job does. And the woman of Tekoa that he finds is said to be a wise woman, but her wisdom is entirely worldly, worldly wisdom. Her story is filled with half-lies, and it shows the source, the half-lies show the source of her wisdom. It was from below. Her deception, verse four, and when the woman of Tekoa spake to the king, she fell on her face, to the ground and did obeisance and said, help, O king. This is all a lie, of course, because there was no, this is all made up. This is a fictitious story entirely. And the king said unto her, what aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead. And thy handmaid had two sons, and they strove together in the field. And there was none to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him. And behold, the whole family has risen against thine handmaid, and they said, deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother, whom he slew, and we will destroy the heir also. And so they shall quench my cold, which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth. And the king said unto the woman, go to thy house, and I will give charge. concerning thee. And that was a wise decision on verse eight that David made. He doesn't stick to it. He says, I'm going to think about this. I'm going to pray about that. That's what we ought to do when we have a difficult matter, is to take some time to pray about it. But her lie, her story, let's look at her story for a moment. It was all lies or half truths. A half truth is half a lie. Half truth is half a lie, and half a lie is A lie. It's just a lie. Absalom, see, in the real life story, Absalom had not acted in a sudden fit of anger. That's what it says here. There's two of them and the one rose up and smoked the other. Sudden fit of anger. But that was not Absalom. Absalom spent two years. plotting how he's going to kill his brother, two years when he was consumed by revenge. So it was deliberate malice on Absalom's part. Our court recognizes that. Premeditated murder is a worse crime than a crime of passion of the moment in our courts. So Absalom, so the story, first of all, is a half-truth because Absalom had plotted this, deliberate malice. Secondly, Absalom had not murdered his brother in the field, that is, far away from anyone else. He had murdered his brother in public. In fact, he had his assassins, his trained guards, murder Absalom, murder Amnon in the presence of all the king's brothers, of all his half-brothers. In other words, Absalom wanted to send a message to everyone that, hey, you know, look out for me. You better take care. I murdered Amnon. I could kill any one of you as well in a public arena in the presence of his brothers. Thirdly, Absalom had not been persecuted. by those who coveted his inheritance. Absalom, after all, was under God's death sentence. It wasn't men who were persecuting Absalom. It was God himself not persecuting him, but God had his justice demanded that Absalom would die for his sins. And finally, Absalom is not the only heir. In her story, the woman only had two sons, and one killed the other, and now they're going to kill the only remaining Arab. There's plenty of other sons to take David's throne. So it's a whole bunch of lies. Job knew how to work on David's weakness. Job was a subtle man, and David falls for it. David falls for it. David acts according to the dictates of his natural affections without any regard for the honor of God. The woman goes on to press him. The king said, go to thine house. And the woman of Tekoa, that's why she's called a wise woman, she had a mission that Joab had given her. It wasn't just enough to present the story and let David make a decision. No, she was trying to manipulate and maneuver David's heart. The woman of Tekoa said unto the king, verse nine, my lord, O king, the inequity be on me and on my father's house and the king and his throne be guiltless. And the king said, whoever saith aught unto thee, bring him to thee. He shall not touch thee anymore. The woman says, hey, they're trying to get me, too. Then she said, I pray thee, let the king remember the Lord thy God. that thou wouldst not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, as the Lord liveth, this is David's rash decision, now, as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. David's rash decision, he gave a verdict. in favor of this criminal depicted in the story, acting according to the dictates of his natural affections. David's declaration, he gives his oath in verse 11, and the woman goes on to apply this very same case then to David. She says, the woman said, let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord, the king. And he said, David said, say on, verse 13, and the woman said, wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? For the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished. For we must needs die, and as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again, neither doth God respect any person, yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him. Now therefore, that I am come to speak of this thing unto my Lord the King, it is because the people have made me afraid. Thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the King, and maybe that the King will perform the request of his handmaid. For the king will hear to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. Then thine handmaid said, the word of my Lord, the king, shall now be comfortable. For as an angel, get this, verse 17, for as an angel of God, so is my Lord, the king, to discern good and bad. Therefore, the Lord thy God be with thee. Wow, this woman is manipulating David, manipulating. David concludes willingly that his oath to this fictitious story somehow obliged him to return Amnon, Absalom from exile. And God had given no command to restore Absalom. And therefore God's blessings did not accomplish, did not accompany David's decision, his declaration. And David paid dearly for his foolish pity, which is for our record, may we add. Oh, that Absalom would have simply remained in exile. exile, or that Absalom would simply have remained in exile. We see here, David here, let's move on to David's sad compromise. I'll cover a few other things. What a strange set of affairs takes place here. Previously, David had said, had mourned for his son. Now that his son is brought back, orders are given that he not see him again. The king said, verse 19, that are in the earth. Here's David's even rasher statement. The king said, unto Joab, behold now, I have done this thing, go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again. I noticed one thing that this woman in Tekoa does. Twice, she lavishes some praise upon David. She says in verse 17, as an angel of God, so is my Lord the king to discern good and bad. Gee, it's plain, David. And then verse 20, she says, my Lord is wise according to the wisdom of an angel of God to know all things are in the earth. You know, salespeople use this. So you need to beware. And now a salesperson could be saying something that's honest and it just is your thoughts or they could be trying to cinch the sail. Most likely they're trying to cinch the sail. I had a lady years back, I was in New York, and I needed a water softener because we had a well and we determined we had pretty hard water. So I needed a water softener. I had some company. I called up on the phone. They didn't have internet back then. So I called up on the phone, got some people to come out and give me quotes. And they looked at things. And the person I hired, this one lady or company, I was talking with her. I took her down the basement to show where the water softener was going to go. And she was looking around the basement. And she says, my, you're quite the handyman. You're quite the handyman, you know. Well, it got me. I mean, I'm thinking, yeah. She admired a couple of the things I had down in the basement that I had constructed. I mean, quite the handyman. Now, she may, to be fair, that could have been a completely honest response. But you never know. with a salesman or sales lady. You never know. I mean, quite the handyman. I hired her, all right? That's a person that we hired to do the water softener. Anyway, so take it with a grain of salt, all right? This woman, Toccoa, does the same thing. My king is so wise, and there's an angel of God. David, she's playing. Now, clearly, this woman is playing David here. There's no question about that. And David goes hook, line, sinker. He takes the bait. Wow. David takes the bait. Absalom is brought back. David gives orders to Joab. Joab fell to the ground, verse 22, and bowed himself and thanked the king. Joab said, today thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant. So Joab arose and went to Gershwer and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. You know, there's an earlier story. Let me clarify one thing. Remember, Nathan the prophet had brought a story to David similar Slightly fictitious story, but it had all the elements of truth in it. It was a story about the traveler coming by, the rich man, the poor man, and whose lamb was gonna be sacrificed for the meal. And that was a story inspired of God. That was a divinely inspired story. This story here has similarities, but this is a devilish inspired story. You know, the devil copies. That's what he does. That's the only thing he does is copy. And I'm not saying that Satan is not smart. He's very bright, and he's a very good copier. And he copies the things of God that have worked. It worked for David when Nathan gave that story. He copies it and twists it in his own way and tries to reuse it. It's never as good as the original. It's a bunch of lies. But it still worked, didn't it? The devil takes what God has given and twists it and makes it into something that he can use. And now that Absalom is brought back, the king said, verse 24, let him turn to his own house and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house and saw not the king's face. These were compromises David made. I call it David's sad compromise. It's perhaps compromises, because David made a number of compromises, expedients to save face. You see, there's a show of mercy in bringing Absalom back to Jerusalem, a show of mercy. but a show of justice. David's trying to balance things here. A show of justice, he brings Absalom back for mercy, but a show of justice, he says, Absalom, you can't, no access to the palace. Palace is off limits. You can't see the king. No access to the king's court. Like many compromises, Neither side was satisfactory. Neither part of the compromise was, you know, it was kind of like, okay, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I'm not saying compromise, compromise is probably a part of our lives, and there are lots of things we need to compromise on, but it's always like you don't get everything you wanted, all right? You get part of it. In this case, neither side was really satisfactory, and Absalom ultimately resorts to further lawlessness. Note was taken earlier of Absalom's handsome features. Further evidence, I might add, of the low spiritual state of the nation. Israel had sunk to another low, I hear, in their adoration of Absalom. It's clear from a number of times that Israel is still wanting a king like all the other nations. That's what they had wanted when they got Saul. They wanted a king for all the other nations. Everyone acclaimed Saul, because he stood head and shoulders above all the rest. He was tall, rugged. I mean, Saul was their man. But after Saul, we had David. David, all right. David was good too. David fought all the battles. David won the victories. But now David seems to be somewhat absent. I mean, where is David? We haven't seen a lot of him. He hasn't been doing much. Maybe he's on his sickbed. We don't know. But Absalom, He looks very keenly, looks keenly. I mean, they're looking at appearance. He's tall, he's handsome, he's got this big head of hair that he shaves off every now and then. All his weaknesses are ignored, but the person is admired. Again, describes our politics. His pride, his self-conceit are in full display here. We see Absalom's revenge, not just his return, but his revenge. Verse 25, but in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom. For his beauty, from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head, there's no blemish in him. And when he pulled his head, for it's at every year's end that he pulled it, because the hair was very heavy on him, therefore he pulled it. He weighed the hair of his head at 200 shekels after the king's weight. And unto Absalom there were born three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a woman of a fair countenance. So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face. Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king, but he would not come to him. Joab would not come to Absalom. And when he sent again, the second time he would not come. Absalom, he said unto his servants, see Job's field is near mine. He hath barley there. Go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire. Absalom's revenge here. Apparently, Absalom is under some degree of confinement in Jerusalem. because maybe he's on house arrest. We don't know exactly. But he had to send messengers to Joab to try to get Joab to come to him. Joab refuses. Two years have passed, and Absalom is sort of chafing under this liberty, limited liberty that he has. He wants full liberty. He wants to be released. Joab refuses, and so Absalom sets fire to Job's fields to get his attention, showing what a powerful and a dangerous character Absalom was becoming. He dares defy the king's general. Job was a man of no small power, but Absalom sets his fields on fire. Wow, because didn't he fear any wrath from Joab? Apparently not. He dared to challenge David's chief general. Instead of being grateful to Joab for helping to get him back, Absalom dares to openly challenge Joab. And Joab, after being insulted and injured through the loss of his crop, now he comes to see Absalom, Joab himself comes to see Absalom and agrees to mediate for the king. A shrewd politician Joab is, I do not like Joab, all right. I don't like Joab one bit. But a shrewd politician Joab is, he knew when he had been bested, and indeed he had here, he's likely a little fearful of further crossing Absalom's will. So he comes to Job, he comes to Absalom, and Job does, and he agrees to mediate. But this may also explain why in a few years or a few months, I'm not quite sure what it is, but shortly Job is ready to murder Absalom. In fact, he does when he's caught up in a tree. It may explain Job's murdering of Absalom. It was murder. I mean, I know it's warfare, but when your enemy is down and he's incapacitated and you kill him, that's murder. All right, so Joab murdered Absalom. And no doubt, that was Joab's revenge on Absalom. Absalom's justification to Joab is haughty and arrogant. Verse 32, Absalom answered Joab, behold, I sent unto thee, saying, come thither, that I may send thee to the king. Wherefore am I come from Gersher? It had been good for me to have been there still. Now therefore, let me see the king's face. If there be any inequity in me, let him kill me. Let him, let the king kill me. I dare, dare the king to kill me if there be an iniquity. Haughty, arrogant response. Absalom is shown no respect for Joab's kindness in bringing him back. He totally denies his own crimes. I'm innocent. I didn't do anything. I mean, I may have killed my brother. But that's not, that was justified. That was because David, didn't take action. So I was only executing. You know how you can rationalize things in your own mind? Even murderers do this. It wasn't my fault. It was David. David. It's David's fault that I had to murder Well, kill. We'll get rid of the word murder. Anyway, wow, Absalom, totally arrogant, haughty. He denies his own crimes. He insinuates, in fact, that he was the one who was wronged. I'm the one who had to flee, after all. I'm the one who's been under house arrest. He defies the king's justice. If there be any inequity in me, Let him kill me, his false reconciliation, verse 33. So Job came to the king and told him, and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king. He bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king and the king kissed Absalom. Now David's better judgment here has been blinded. blinded by his affection for his son. So King David, at Joab's request, invites Absalom to the palace. Notwithstanding his insulting rudeness toward Joab, his conniving way to get an audience with the king, Absalom is still able to prevail over David. Job, first of all, is able to prevail, and then Absalom is able to prevail and get him to yield. Absalom prostrates himself. This is feigned submission. This is totally fake. It's just show. Show when Absalom falls on his face. His heart already is set upon claiming the throne for himself. It's not enough to wait. for David, his father, to die. I'm going to take the throne now. David's inordinate tenderness toward Absalom has paved the way for Absalom's open rebellion. We see Absalom's scheming calculations, point three in your outline, his scheming calculations. First of all, his appearance. It came to pass, verse chapter 15, after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses and 50 men to run before him. And Absalom rose up early, stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so that when any man had a controversy, came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him and said, of what city art thou? And he said, thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said unto him, see, thy matters are good and right, but there is no man deputed of the king. to hear the Absalom's appearance. His good looks, his handsome features have already been noted by the people. Israel, you see, had always desired a king like all the nations, a king like all the nations, you know, and the pomp, the magnificence. I mean, it's all about looks, all right? It's all about show, and that's what Israel had desired. Absalom knew how to work and cater to their base and carnal desires. He didn't gain the heart's note of Israel by eminent service or by wise conduct. There was an easier way, a far easier way. He set himself up to look good, look the part, his dress, his apparel, to look like the heir to the crown. Emphasizing, employing chariots and horses. They're not of much value around Jerusalem, by the way. It's a too hilly and rocky country. So these chariots, I guess you could ride them up and down the streets. It was just all show. Fifty men running in front of him. You know, that reminds me of the dictator of North Korea. We saw him on display in one of his rare, maybe his only, appearance outside of North Korea when he met Donald Trump years back. I saw pictures of him in the paper. He was in his car, this dictator of North Korea, and running beside the car was his security man. They're running outside. The car's going, putt, putt, putt, putt, putt, putt, putt. And these guys, I mean, they were all chunky-looking, beefy-looking men, security guards. And they're just like Absalom was doing. They're running in front of him on all sides. Can you imagine Absalom coming? The people should have seen through this. I mean, people are so blind. They're like sheep being led along. They're all going, Absalom, Absalom, Absalom. And here he comes by with his chariot and his 50 men running beside him. What a ridiculous show. Set himself up to look great. Wow, a magnificent stallion he's riding. I mean, his father, David, was riding a mule. Now, there's nothing wrong with a mule, except the name sounds like really bad. It's a cross between a donkey and a horse. It's actually much tamer than a horse, a stallion. A stallion can go rear up, throw you off, do other stuff like that. But David's riding the mule, excellence on the stallion. Shifting from force. Absalom is very clever. Force, he burned Job's fields. Now he's shifting to craftiness, craftiness. Those are the devil's leading characteristics, craftiness and force. His appeal, Absalom states himself as an important corner, a center in Jerusalem, the place of judgment. Regardless of the cause, regardless of the case, Absalom's response was the same. Thy matters are good and just, good and just, good and just. Let's hear the case, good and just, good and just. I mean, hey, hello, everything is not good and just, right? But with Absalom, it was, because he was telling the people what they wanted to hear. His response was a dastardly attempt to create prejudice against David. And sadly, it worked. It worked. Absalom is no longer content with prompt, he must have power also. And so he imposed on the people a desire to prefer a worthless character over the wise, righteous, and pious king. As simply stated, Absalom's appeal can be very simply stated. He appealed to the lusts of the flesh. with his beauty, the fullness of his hair. He appealed to the lust of the eyes with his chariots and his horses and his entourage. He appealed to the pride of life with his promise to favorably resolve all controversies and grievances. Oh, if there's only someone appointed of the king to hear thy case. So our great adversary seeks to seduce the subject to Christ in the same way the devil knows he's never going to find he falls with the person of Jesus Christ. So endeavors to create some dissatisfaction with his government. I mean, that's what Absalom's doing. The government is no good. The government won't hear a case. There's injustice. Crime is on the increase. Wow. Create dissatisfaction with the government. That's what the devil endeavors to do. There's no man deputed of the king to hear thee. The devil tries to get us to murmur and gripe. but the Lord's providences in our life. Why did God allow this? Why did God allow that? He can't find any fault in the Lord Jesus Christ, so he'll find some fault with his government. Why did God allow this? Boy, there's lots of devil activity today. Where was David? Well, as I mentioned at the beginning, these things were not hidden from him. Surely David knew riding his chariot with his 50 men and sitting at the, where was David? Why was he doing something? Why the strange passiveness? And again, we're just left to wondering, was David laid low, perhaps by a protracted illness? Perhaps. Psalm 55, that we'll look at next week, talks about this same time period when David is, Absalom, I should say, is maturing his rebellion and building his forces, and David is doing nothing. Psalm 55 will talk about that, and perhaps shed some more light on these questions of why David did nothing. That lesson will be in two weeks. Next week is our revival. We're really starting on Wednesday. It's our revival and recharge meetings, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So Sunday school will be part of the revival. So in two weeks, we'll continue with our lessons from the life of David.