Conspiracy
I’ve heard of many conspiracy theories that were really not much more than theory. Conspiracy is to agree together, especially secretly, to do something wrong, evil, or illegal; all working toward the same goal. There are many conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. I don’t necessarily dismiss a conspiracy theory because I’ve seen first hand how people can conspire secretly and then act openly as if they hardly know one another.
King David’s son, Absalom wasn’t super secretive about his desire to become king in place of his dad. He stood at the city gates for 4 years “shaking hands and kissing babies” like a modern day politician. He then went to Hebron and took a bunch of people with him. He had stolen the hearts of many of the people. It’s really sad to see such dysfunction inside David’s family.
David and his advisors fled the city of Jerusalem because they predicted that Absalom would come to Jerusalem to kill the king and his advisors and then set himself up as king. David and his entourage left and were broken hearted at what was happening. Check this out….
30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David had been told, ‘Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.’ So David prayed, ‘Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.’ (2 Samuel 15:30-31 NIV)
This is a very dark time in King David’s life. He was heart broken yet also trying to survive a coop from his own son. He was still seeking the Lord to help in this mess. I do be this behavior from inside his family can be traced back to the consequences of his sin with Bathsheba.
I really hate seeing families in disarray over power. Absalom was obviously greedy for power and significance. He didn’t earn the power; he conspired and swayed the hearts of the common people and obviously some leaders to get the power he longed for. “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” – John Dalberg Acton.
In God’s economy power comes through surrender. This is directly opposed to how most of our world operates. A powerful person who is humble is almost an oxymoron. In God’s Kingdom that is the norm. As David is praying for God to turn Absalom’s counsel to foolishness, He is recognizing where his power came from in the first place. Power should be handled very delicately and purposefully – not to abuse, but to serve with strength. Conspiracy often comes from the desire for power and control and is usually very self-serving. I would be wise to flee from conspiracy.
Pressing On!
Dwayne