“Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause MIGHT COME TO ME, and I WOULD DO HIM JUSTICE” (2 Samuel 15:4).
Like a politician running for office Absalom made some grandiose campaign promises to all who would listen to him as he built a conspiracy against his very own father. These were promises he failed to deliver on - but he did a good job of impressing people.
I have had people come to me who insisted they be appointed as an elder, pastor, board member, or whatever. Acting like a candidate for office, they jockeyed for position in a most revealing way – self-serving. When they realized they were not going to get their way they started behaving like Absalom – plotting an overthrow and making promises to every malcontent who they could gather.
For the record – Absalom can never deliver on his campaign promises. Here are three fundamental reasons why:
1. Absalom doesn’t really care about you – only himself. He will use you to achieve his own ambitions. He needs you (and other pre-packaged followers) to validate himself and his cause because he is insecure. He lacks real faith in God to elevate him into the position he seeks – so he uses you. Should he get the position he seeks, he will soon forget about you and the promises he has made.
2. Absalom simply does not have the goods. Whatever he has promised, he cannot deliver on. He may promise you deeper life, deeper teaching, an open-door policy to hear your concerns, to do you justice, better church policy, or true revelation – but he cannot deliver on it. Know why? He doesn’t have the goods himself. If he did, it would be apparent to all. Instead what you will see and hear from him are promises – not results. He attempts to climb his way to the top by discrediting others. If he were truly chosen and gifted by God, those gifts would propel him into office. Instead, he clings to the coat-tail of another.
3. Absalom is doomed to failure. Any group birthed from the dishonest workings of Absalom will suffer failure. This is God's law of sowing and reaping.
It should be noted that ABSALOM’S END came to him in a most REVEALING WAY. When he was running from the battle on the back of a mule, his HEAD got caught in a forked limb of an oak tree and he was left dangling there until he was executed.
In the Bible, the word “HEAD” stands for AUTHORITY and LEADERSHIP, (i.e., Jesus is the “head” church, the husband is the “head” of the wife, etc). Absalom rebelled against his father David (his lawful head) and set himself up as the head of Israel, and BY HIS HEAD HE WAS JUDGED! (2 Samuel 18:9-18).
If you know anyone who has fallen under the spell of Absalom's spirit but has now had enough, tell them you know a place where healing occurs.