2 Samuel 15:1 - Meaning and Application

Absalom had hardly been brought back to his place at court before he began reaching for the throne. He had not been humbled by his troubles, so when they ended, he became more proud than ever. He was not satisfied with being the king’s son and likely successor. He wanted to be king right away.

His mother was a king’s daughter, and that may have fed his pride. He may have looked down on David, who was only the son of Jesse. She was also the daughter of a heathen king, a non-Israelite ruler, and that may have made Absalom care less about Israel’s peace. David suffered later from this unhappy marriage, because he had joined himself unequally with an unbeliever.

If Absalom had any gratitude after being restored to the king’s favor, he would have looked for ways to help his father and make life easier for him. Instead, he began plotting to weaken him by stealing the people’s loyalty. Two things win popular admiration: outward greatness and real goodness. Absalom tried to gain both, but only for evil ends.

He made himself look impressive, as in 2 Samuel 15:1. He had learned from the king of Geshur, what was not allowed among the kings of Israel, to keep many horses. That made him look grand, while David, riding on a mule, seemed plain by comparison. The people had wanted a king like the nations around them, and Absalom was happy to seem like that kind of king, with a display of wealth and splendor greater than anything seen in Jerusalem.

Samuel had already warned Israel that this is what kings would do: they would have chariots, horsemen, and men running before them (1 Samuel 8:11). Absalom now followed that same pattern. Fifty footmen, probably in rich uniforms, ran before him to announce his arrival. That fed his pride and also pleased the people’s foolish taste for show. David likely thought this parade was only meant to honor his court, so he allowed it. Parents do not understand what they are doing when they feed pride in their children, for pride ruins many young people.

Absalom also tried to seem very good, but with a very bad purpose. If he had truly been a good son and a faithful subject, and had worked for his father’s good, he would have been doing his present duty and proving himself fit for future honor after David’s death. A person who knows how to obey well will know how to rule well. But Absalom was only pretending to be fit for higher office. Real goodness is being faithful in your own place, not boasting about how good you would be in someone else’s place.

His first ambition was this, “Oh, that I were a judge in Israel!” (2 Samuel 15:4). He already had all the show and comfort he could want. He lived as grandly and as easily as any man could, yet he still wanted power. The man who should have been sentenced to death for murder had the boldness to want to judge others. Scripture gives no sign that Absalom had wisdom, virtue, or legal learning, or even any real love for justice. In fact, his life showed the opposite. Yet he wanted to be a judge. Those who are least fit for high office are often the ones who want it most. The best-qualified people are usually the most modest and unsure of themselves.

He also took a very bad path to reach his goal. If he had humbly asked his father to give him work in public judgment, and had prepared himself for it, he likely would have received the next opening that came. But that was too small a place for his proud spirit. He would not serve under anyone, even under his father the king. He wanted either the highest place or nothing at all. He wanted to be such a judge that every person with a case would have to come to him. He did not think about how exhausting that would be. Even Moses could not bear such a load.

To get the power he wanted, Absalom first worked to make people distrust the present government. He gathered around him anyone who came with a legal complaint and asked what their case was. After only a shallow hearing, he would say, “Your matters are right.” He was hardly fit to judge, since he would give an opinion after hearing only one side. But a bad case can often make itself sound fair when the person telling the story is the one benefiting from it.

He also told them there was no use going to the king. He said there was no one appointed by the king to hear their case. He spoke as if the king were too old for business, or too taken up with religion to care about public affairs. He also hinted that the king’s sons were so caught up in pleasure that they neglected the work given to them. In effect, he said the whole country was in danger unless he himself took charge. But this was false. The kind of words David once used honestly in Saul’s time, Absalom now used deceitfully: “The land and all who live in it are dissolved” (Psalm 75:3). He was trying to make every person who came with a complaint believe that justice would never come unless Absalom became governor or chief judge. That is the habit of restless, faction-making men. They speak against the authorities over them, as if they alone could fix everything (2 Peter 2:10). Even David, the best of kings, could not escape their harsh criticism. Those who want to seize power loudly complain of grievances, while pretending they only want to correct them, just as Absalom did here.

At the same time, Absalom tried to make people think well of him as a ruler. He wanted them to say, “Oh, that Absalom were a judge!” The people were already inclined to want change, so he shaped himself to win them. He did this by acting very diligent. He got up early and stood by the road near the gate, where the courts sat, as though he cared deeply about justice and public business. He also acted very curious and attentive, asking where each man was from so he could seem informed about the whole kingdom and its condition (2 Samuel 15:2).

He was also very warm and friendly in public. If anyone bowed to him, he would take that person and embrace him like a friend. No one could have seemed more humble. Yet his heart was as proud as Lucifer’s. Ambitious plans are often carried out with a show of humility (Colossians 2:23). Absalom knew that a pleasant, easy manner adds charm to greatness and wins ordinary people. If he had truly meant it, this would have been a good quality. But to flatter the people in order to betray them was wicked hypocrisy.

He crouches low and makes himself seem humble, so he can pull them into his trap (Psalm 10:9-10).