King David had a son named Absalom who was very good-looking. He had very thick hair which he cut just once a year. He was so proud of it that he weighed the hair that was cut off.
King David had many problems, but he was a man who trusted God, even when he was a teenager and killed Goliath with a stone from his sling. He believed and listened to God who made heaven and earth. That’s why he said, “I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me” (Psalm 23:44Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)). Many times the Bible says about David, “The Lord was with him.”
But Absalom did not want the company of his father who trusted God. He wanted his own way.
The city of Jerusalem had a gate that was a busy place. Absalom decided to meet the townspeople there and greet them warmly with handshakes and kisses. He told them that the king didn’t have anybody to listen to their needs and that he would listen and solve their problems. And so Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel with his lies and false promises. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I the Lord search the heart” (Jeremiah 17:9-109The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17:9‑10)).
Most of the people of Israel believed what Absalom had told them and wanted him to be their king. Of course, this led to a revolt against King David. King David had to flee from Jerusalem with his faithful friends, and Absalom took over the place of power. Absalom asked advice of his friends and then set out to lead an army against King David, his father.
But Absalom’s army did not have the Lord with them. They were scattered all over the country and many of them were lost in the woods. Riding on a mule, Absalom himself rode under a big oak tree where his head got caught in the thick branches. The mule he was riding kept right on going and left him caught in the tree. There he hung, between heaven and earth, and the Lord was not with him. An officer in King David’s army came and put him to death with three spears through his heart.
Is this the end of Absalom’s story? Yes, as far as his time on earth goes, but he still has eternity to face. He did not want God while he was here, and he will spend eternity without Him. It will be an eternity without light or love or happiness.
Is there any hope for a thief to go to heaven? Read on.
Perhaps you have heard of another thief who hung between heaven and earth. He hung on a cross beside the Lord Jesus, and he died there when his legs were broken. This thief wanted to be with the Lord Jesus, and he got more and better than he asked for. He is with Jesus right now in heaven, because Jesus forgave his sins, including stealing, and he will be in that happy place forever.
Absalom did not keep his promises, but God always keeps His, whether they are for blessing or for punishment. Whose promises are you trusting, right now?
ML-07/23/2017