The Seeds of Revolution

The Seeds of Revolution
Words of Faith 2-28-25
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2025
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL  
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Our apologies that this did not post last Friday.

2 Samuel 15:1-12
[1] In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. [2] He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel." [3] Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." [4] And Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice." [5] Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. [6] Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel. [7] At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, "Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. [8] While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: 'If the LORD takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.'" [9] The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he went to Hebron. [10] Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron.'" [11] Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. [12] While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following kept on increasing.

      The next few chapters detail a sad period in David's life and family-- a time of conflict and rebellion by Absalom. Absalom resented being ignored by his father and also resented his brother Amnon going unpunished for raping Tamar, Absalom's full sister. He may have suspected that he would never become king with the way things were, so he set out to usurp power and overthrow David. Revenge against David would repay the humiliation and rage he had harbored for so long.
     Absalom's first move was to position himself outside of town and make himself conveniently available to people coming and going. He used the weapons of rumor and innuendo, positioning himself by the side of the road leading to the city gate. There, he listened to the citizens' complaints. It is interesting how sometimes just giving an audience to complaints, criticism, and negativity can undermine leadership and authority.
     Absalom cleverly insinuated that the king was too busy to hear the needs of those passing by and that David had not even provided lesser judges to adjudicate their cases. He then suggested that if only he were chief judge, he would listen to one and all and deal impartially with each matter.
     Absalom was a handsome man and a "people-pleaser." He showed the people great affection by kissing them when they came to bow before him, gradually gaining the support of the masses.
     The next step was quite simple. Feeling that his popular support was overwhelming, Absalom asked permission from the king to go to Hebron, allegedly to pay a vow to the Lord. But for four years, Absalom had been wooing the people away from David and preparing for his moment. When Absalom reached Hebron, the center of the Davidic dynasty, where David had begun his reign, he announced his intention to usurp the place of the king. The 200 men who accompanied him from Jerusalem were ignorant of his plans but were quickly won over.
     What do we make of this?  
     First of all, we must realize that all this could be traced back to the sins of David and his personal rebellion against God. The sin that had started as a "private matter" between two adults was reaching a generation later, as evidenced by terrible sin and the bitter rebellion of a son against a father.
    We also want to notice that while there are times when revolution is principled and rooted in a just cause, there are also times when revolution, dissent, and factions are purely selfish acts of a sinful nature. A just revolution develops very slowly as the last resort among principled men. A self-centered revolution is stirred up and strategized through the manipulation of weak-minded people.
    The Apostle Paul wrote that the acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like (Galatians 5:19-21). It is striking that discord, dissensions, factions and envy are so prominent.
    What do we gain from this? Sometimes, we must realize that revolutionary thoughts are about something entirely different, like the unresolved conflict between David and Absalom. It is also essential to recognize the signs of dissent and discord that are evidence of the sinful nature at work. Should we find that we are becoming a magnet for dissension, complaint, criticism or gossip, it would be wise to take a look and see why we are attracting such activity that is clearly marked as an act of the sinful nature.
   Most of all we want to pray for peace and reconciliation in the Body of Christ. The stirring up of dissent and factions is always the work of the Enemy seeking to divide the Body of Christ. Jesus prayed that we might be one as He and the Father are One. That is a big prayer. We need to pray it.

   Heavenly Father, show me the way of peace and reconciliation. Show me how I can be part of the revolution of the heart but also support unity in the Body of Christ. Help me to quickly recognize when I am becoming a magnet for gossip and dissent. In Jesus' Name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2025
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2025 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.