5 Smooth Stones

no one who was praised as much as Absalom for his good looks. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. 26 And when he cut the hair of his head — at the end of every year he cut it because it was heavy on him — when he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels according to the king's standard.” 2 Samuel 15:1: “After this it happened that Absalom provided himself with chariots and horses, and fi fty men to run before him. 2 Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a lawsuit came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, "What city are you from?" And he would say, "Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel." 3 Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your case is good and right; but there is no deputy of the king to hear you." 4 Moreover Absalom would say, "Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice." 5 And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and kiss him. 6 In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” Absalom was clearly a charismatic and gifted man with leadership abilities. He de fi nitely had a high opinion of himself, and had a fl air in how he presented himself to the people. He was not lazy, he would rise early. He also understood authority because he would sit in the gate. The gate is where the elders would gather to discuss things and Absalom would be there early. He would listen to the people and to their problems and grievances. He was subtle in how he methodically won over the hearts of the people to himself. Throughout scripture we see the bond servant as one who has the trust of the master, who can be trusted with the household or business of the master. While it is not always clear in the English translation from Hebrew or Greek, the bond-servant or bond-slave is not just an ordinary slave, but one who had faithfully served his or her time commitment under the master and was free to go (ful fi lled all obligation). But, when the servant pledges to stay and serve the master willingly not through constraint but out of love and faithfulness, then that servant will be bonded or marked as a bond-servant. Deuteronomy 15:12 “If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; 14 you shall supply him liberally from your fl ock, from your threshing fl oor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord has blessed 156