5 Smooth Stones

Proverbs 18:16 says “A man's gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.” I often say your gifting will get you in the room, but what you fi ll the room with is character. Absalom lacked the character, and was willing to substitute his own manipulation through his personal gifts and impatience for proper advancement through the authority of the king. People fall into this through a number of di ff erent pitfalls, pride, impatience, wounds, feelings of being ignored or slighted, fear of being overlooked and many other fl eshly in fl uences and justi fi cations. Absalom brought war to the united kingdom of Israel and drew many of the people and of David’s friends and trusted leaders away after him. It cost the kingdom plenty and almost cost David and those loyal to him their lives and freedom. Likewise, when we encounter this dangerous test in ministry or business it can be no less costly and many ministries and businesses have had a di ffi cult time recovering if they recovered at all. In the end Absalom died as he a tt empted to retreat - ge tt ing caught in the fork of the branches of a tree and then being speared while he hung there. Like Ahithophel before him* Absalom also died hanging from a tree, while the circumstances are slightly di ff erent, Judas also died from hanging. But it is worth noting that the redeemer of all mankind (including traitors who repent), also died while hanging on a tree. *2 Sam 17:23: “Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died; and he was buried in his father's tomb.” David was not perfect as a father, as a king or as a man. Jesus was perfect, and yet Judas still was able to justify betraying him. Neither you nor I are perfect, and there will always be opportunity for our imperfections to justify to someone their fl eshly desire for betrayal or hostile take-over. This is common with any position of authority, you witness it in government, business, in churches. Pastors are vulnerable, and just as prophets will need to be aware of the Jezebel test, apostles must be ready to identify and overcome the Absalom test, as should anyone in a position of authority. Solomon is known for his wisdom, and wisdom is able to learn from the experiences of others so as not to have to learn every mistake fi rst hand. Having real wisdom Solomon, as king, was confronted with the same situation that his father David was with betrayal in the ranks, he was able to circumvent the threat to his kingdom before it matured. 158