Gospel Reflections #1124: Seems Defeated

2 Samuel 16:15 ‘Absalom entered Jerusalem with the Israelite troops, and Ahithophel was with him.’

This passage depicts a historic turning point: Absalom, the son of King David, staged a coup and entered the capital, Jerusalem, without bloodshed.

Absalom, King David’s third son, rebelled against his father.

To avoid a bloody massacre in Jerusalem, David narrowly escaped the city with his loyal followers.

Verse 15 of Chapter 16 captures the moment when Absalom’s army proudly set foot in the holy city of Jerusalem, which had been left completely deserted.

As the phrase ‘all the people of Israel’ suggests, Absalom seized control of Jerusalem backed by the overwhelming support of the populace.

Furthermore, he had on his side Ahithophel, a brilliant strategist so feared at the time that ‘his counsel was regarded as a divine revelation’.

In Absalom’s eyes, his victory and the establishment of his new regime must have appeared flawless.

Until just moments before, David had been fleeing into the wilderness whilst being showered with abuse and pelted with stones.

At first glance, this scene appears to show Absalom at the height of his glory, whilst David—the king anointed by God—had been completely deposed.

However, when read within the context of the entire Bible, this 15th verse marks not only the ‘zenith’ of Absalom’s glory but also the beginning of the ‘countdown to his downfall’.

This is because, through David’s prayer, Hushai—a fervent follower of David—had been sent into Absalom’s camp under the guise of a ‘false surrender’.

The wisdom of the brilliant Ahithophel would later be thwarted by Hushai’s stratagem.

This passage teaches us that ‘success and power as seen by human eyes do not necessarily correspond to God’s will’.

Absalom entered the capital with overwhelming wisdom (Ahithophel) and power, yet there was no blessing from God there.

On the other hand, David, though cast into the depths of despair, did not abandon his absolute trust in God.

Behind all this lies ‘God’s sovereignty’—the truth that, no matter how perfect human wisdom or plans may appear, it is God who ultimately governs history and guides us to the right circumstances.

We too should aspire to have the kind of absolute trust in God that David possessed.

To achieve this, we must spend time with God in our ordinary daily lives and experience His love, forgiveness and mercy.

God is waiting for us to open our hearts to Him, so that we may experience these things at all times.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.