Betrayal!

BETRAYAL!

a prayer to open

My Lord, my God, show me your heart. Ground me in your presence.

Draw me near and hold me close.

Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him. He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, . . . Absalom would say, “You’ve really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the king doesn’t have anyone to hear it. I wish I were the judge. Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment, and I would give them justice!”

When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them, . . . and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel.

After four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD and fulfill a vow I made to him. . . . I promised to sacrifice to the LORD in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem.”

“All right,” the king told him. “Go and fulfill your vow.”

While he was [in Hebron], he sent secret messengers to all the tribes of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. “As soon as you hear the ram’s horn,” his message read, “you are to say, ‘Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron.’” He took 200 men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions. While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors. . . . Soon many others also joined Absalom. . . .

A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”

“Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!” David urged his men. “Hurry! If we get out of the city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster.”

“We are with you,” his advisers replied. “Do what you think is best.”

So the king and all his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace.

Not long after David slept with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah, killed, David and his family began to suffer for his sin, just as Nathan had prophesied in 2 Samuel 12:10-12. David’s son Amnon raped David’s daughter, Tamar. When David failed to take any action, David’s son Absalom killed Amnon and was forced into exile. When Absalom finally returned three years later, David welcomed him back and Absalom began conspiring to take his father’s throne. So often we think our sin is merely personal and that no one will get hurt by the things we do in private, but as we see in David’s life, sin has a way of wreaking havoc in ways we never intended. Although God is faithful to forgive—and in Christ we are forgiven and freed from the ultimate consequences of sin—the earthly consequences can still be devastating.

• What did Absalom do to slowly gain followers and turn people against David?
• Have you ever had someone betray you? How did it make you feel? How did you respond to that person?
• Have you ever betrayed someone? What led you to do what you did? What consequences of that betrayal did you experience?

Father, thank you that you are trustworthy and that your promises are true. Help me reflect your faithfulness in the world and fulfill the promises I have made to the people in my life. For those I have betrayed in some way, please forgive me and give me the courage to seek their forgiveness. When I am betrayed, allow my heart to be filled with grace and the willingness to reconcile. Amen.