![\"0.png\"](\"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0-nA9Xm0LGeiWN.png\")
<\/a> <\/p>This whole mess starts with Absalom.<\/p>\n
This Absalom guy had quite a few tricks up his sleeve. First, he got himself a chariot and horses, and had fifty men running ahead of him. He sure knew how to put on a show.<\/p>\n
Then, every morning, he got up early and went to stand by the city gate.<\/p>\n
Back then, if people had a dispute or felt they had been wronged, they would go to King David to have the matter judged.<\/p>\n
Whenever Absalom saw someone coming, he would walk right up and start talking:<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, brother, where are you from?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man would answer:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m from one of the tribes of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Absalom would immediately say:<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, you\u2019ve got a good case! I can see that right away. Too bad the king hasn\u2019t appointed anyone to hear your case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that\u2019s a pretty slick thing to say.<\/p>\n
Then he\u2019d go on:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf only I were appointed judge in this land! Then anyone with a dispute or complaint could come to me, and I\u2019d make sure you got justice!\u201d<\/p>\n
When someone came to bow to him, Absalom wouldn\u2019t even let them. He\u2019d grab them, pull them up, and give them a kiss.<\/p>\n
Talk about looking like a man of the people!<\/p>\n
After a while, quite a few people in Israel were won over by him.<\/p>\n
On the outside, Absalom looked like he really cared about the people. But deep down, he was already thinking:<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I can get that throne for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later, Absalom said to King David:<\/p>\n
\u201cFather, I\u2019d like to go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. When I was living in Geshur in Aram, I made a vow that if the LORD brought me safely back to Jerusalem, I would serve Him.\u201d<\/p>\n
King David said:<\/p>\n
\u201cSure. Go in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
But that wasn\u2019t what Absalom had in mind at all.<\/p>\n
When Absalom got to Hebron, he immediately sent messengers throughout Israel with this message:<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as you hear the trumpet, shout, \u2018Absalom is king in Hebron!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, that changed everything.<\/p>\n
He also took two hundred men with him from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
They were honest people who had no idea what Absalom was really planning. They simply went along, not knowing what was coming.<\/p>\n
To make matters worse, Ahithophel, one of David\u2019s trusted advisers, joined Absalom.<\/p>\n
That made Absalom\u2019s movement grow fast.<\/p>\n
More and more people started following him.<\/p>\n
Soon, someone came running to tell David:<\/p>\n
\u201cMy king, this is bad! The hearts of the people of Israel have turned to Absalom!\u201d<\/p>\n
David\u2019s heart sank when he heard it.<\/p>\n
He knew this was no joke.<\/p>\n
So he quickly told his servants:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d better get out of here! If Absalom attacks, none of us will escape. And it won\u2019t just be me\u2014the people in Jerusalem could be killed too.\u201d<\/p>\n
His servants answered:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever you decide, my lord the king, your servants will follow.\u201d<\/p>\n
So David left Jerusalem with his household.<\/p>\n
The people went with him too.<\/p>\n
It was a heartbreaking sight.<\/p>\n
The king himself was being driven out of his palace by his own son, forced to flee for his life.<\/p>\n
Then there was a man named Ittai, who had come from Gath.<\/p>\n
David said to him:<\/p>\n
\u201cBrother, don\u2019t come with me and suffer because of this. You just arrived. Go back. I don\u2019t even know where I\u2019m going next. Why should you wander around with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
David even blessed him:<\/p>\n
\u201cMay the LORD show you steadfast love and faithfulness.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Ittai answered:<\/p>\n
\u201cAs surely as the LORD lives, and as surely as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, your servant will be there!\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s about as loyal as it gets.<\/p>\n
In other words:<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t try to talk me out of it. Whatever happens, I\u2019m going with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
David saw that Ittai had made up his mind, so he stopped arguing.<\/p>\n
So Ittai and his men went with David.<\/p>\n
Along the way, the people cried, and David cried too.<\/p>\n
They crossed the Kidron Valley and headed toward the wilderness.<\/p>\n
Then Zadok the priest arrived.<\/p>\n
He had brought the ark of God with him.<\/p>\n
But David quickly said:<\/p>\n
\u201cTake the ark of God back to Jerusalem.\u201d<\/p>\n
David understood something important:<\/p>\n
Whether he returned to Jerusalem would not be decided by whether the ark followed him. It would be decided by whether the LORD chose to bring him back.<\/p>\n
He said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I find favor in the LORD\u2019s sight, He will bring me back so I can see the ark and His dwelling place again.<\/p>\n
But if He says, \u2018I am not pleased with you,\u2019 then I accept it.<\/p>\n
Here I am. Let Him do to me whatever seems good to Him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though David was in a terrible situation, he understood something important:<\/p>\n
You can\u2019t hold on to a throne just because you want to. In the end, God\u2019s will is what matters.<\/p>\n
Later, David covered his head, went barefoot, and walked along crying.<\/p>\n
The people with him covered their heads and cried too.<\/p>\n
There wasn\u2019t much royal dignity left in that scene.<\/p>\n
And then came another piece of bad news:<\/p>\n
\u201cMy king, Ahithophel has joined Absalom too!\u201d<\/p>\n
David knew that made things even more serious.<\/p>\n
Ahithophel was known for giving very wise counsel.<\/p>\n
So David prayed directly to God:<\/p>\n
\u201cLORD, please turn Ahithophel\u2019s counsel into foolishness!\u201d<\/p>\n
Just then, David\u2019s friend Hushai arrived.<\/p>\n
His clothes were torn and his head was covered with dust. He had come to mourn and suffer alongside David.<\/p>\n
But David told him:<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t come with me. Go back to Jerusalem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hushai was probably thinking:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? Go back?\u201d<\/p>\n
David said:<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Go back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can pretend to serve Absalom and tell him, \u2018My king, I will be your servant. Just as I served your father, I will now serve you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat way, you can help me defeat Ahithophel\u2019s plans from inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Basically, the plan was:<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t run away with me. Go back and work undercover.\u201d<\/p>\n
So Hushai went back into Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
And Absalom entered Jerusalem too.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s how it happened:<\/p>\n
Absalom, the son, took Jerusalem, while David, his father and king, was forced to flee into the wilderness.<\/p>\n
The battle for the throne had officially begun.<\/p>\n
David looked like he was losing ground fast.<\/p>\n
But he did not give up on God.<\/p>\n
He knew:<\/p>\n
People can scheme, people can rebel, and people can fight for a throne\u2014but in the end, the LORD is still the One who is truly in control.<\/p>\n
That is the story of 2 Samuel 15.<\/p>\n
A son betrayed his own father for the throne;
\nand a father, while fleeing for his life, placed himself back into God\u2019s hands.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sarah This whole mess starts with Absalom. This Absalom guy had quite a few tricks up his sleeve. First, he got himself a chariot and horses, and had fifty men running ahead of him. He sure knew how to put on a show. Then, every morning, he got up early and went to stand by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-reflection"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10395,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10394\/revisions\/10395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}