"Popular Religion"

We live in retail times.  Everything is for sale, including religion.  The 12th century Roman Catholic monk, Thomas Aquinas, taught that one's primary access to God was one's own senses - including, according to Thomas, one's own imagination!  How American!  "If you can dream it, you can make it reality!"  We might call this approach, "Popular Religion."   In these days of American jobs being shipped overseas, "popular religion" is one of the last things manufactured here in the states...and boy do we turn out the product!  The message of "popular religion?"  "Come just as I am and leave just as I am!"  No repentance, no confession, no acknowledgement, no baptism, no changed life...God just pats me on the head and tells me "you're o. k., you're not as evil as all those other people!"

The most "popular" church in America today is Joel Osteen's "Lakewood Church" in Houston, TX.  Lakewood boasts a membership of just north of 43,000 people![1]  Just how popular is Joel Osteen?  Popular enough to "put the show on the road!"  People are so wanting to hear Joel's "popular religion" of no change and no obligation that they are willing to pay big bucks just to hear it!  Here’s an advertisement on ticketsnow.com:

Charismatic Lakewood Church pastor and best selling author Joel Osteen is sharing his message with capacity crowds at arenas across the nation.  Fans drive in droves to see Joel Osteen and hear his popular sermons!  Join one of the most famous televangelists for a special night of encouragement, inspiration, and worship!  Buy your Joel Osteen tickets now!(2)

But...what does GOD think of "popular religion?"  Does He endorse it?  Does He accept it?  More importantly, will it SAVE you?  Paul says that "the things written aforetime were written for our learning."  (Romans 15:4)  One of those "aforetimes writings" takes place in I Kings 22 where we get an insight as to the validity of "popular religion" with God.

Due to an un-scriptural marriage (I Kings 8:18) between Judah's King Jehosophat's son, Jehoram, with the daughter, Athalia,  of the pagan queen of Israel, Queen Jezebel, and her lap-dog husband, King Ahab, Jehosophat found himself in a military pact with evil.  This obligated Jehosophat to militarily support whatever military adventure Ahab could dream up.  "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." (22:4b ESV)  Thus the two kings decided to attack the Syrians at Ramoth-Gilead.

King Jehosophat, being skeptical of that old fox Ahab, in 22:5; "Inquire first for the word of the Lord."  He wanted God's stamp of approval before he and Ahab started a war.  Ahab, being the pragmatist that he was, was actively seeking a way to fend off such pesky requests.

We think "opinion polls" are new but King Ahab knew all about them.  Not only that, he knew how to manipulate them!  (Imagine, politicians manipulating polling data?!)   In 22:6, the Bible says, that Ahab took an "opinion poll" of "about 400 men" who (here’s a shocker!) ALL told the king that he would succeed!  They universally proclaimed to the king, "Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king."

This is "popular religion" at it's best, or should we say, at it's worst!  We can almost hear the people say, "Tell the king what he wants to hear and all will go well with you!"  They claimed to be speaking for God (22:11) but Jehosophat was still skeptical!  "Is there not here another prophet of the LORD of whom we may inquire?"  Finally, the reluctant Ahab fesses up!  "There is yet on man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil." (22:8. emphasis mine - RM)  You reckon!?  No wonder Ahab did not include him in the first batch!  He knew what was the likely prophesy to come out of all of this!

As it turns out, the 400 "prophets" were wrong and the lone Micaiah was right!  The combined army of Ahab and Jehosophat was to be defeated by the Syrians.  Not only that, the evil Ahab was killed at Ramoth-Gilead and Jehosophat barely escaped with his life to rule over a devastated and ruined country.  "Popular religion" did not fly on that day nor will it in our day!   Every Sunday in Charlotte, 400 +/- denominational preachers tell their listeners to say the "sinners prayer and receive Christ as their personal savior."[3]  They tell people what they want to hear while entertaining them with instrumental music, art, dance and drama...all without a "word from the LORD!"  What was it that Paul told the Galatians?  "But though we or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8 (KJV)  "Popular Religion" IS "another gospel!"  It is accursed!

Yes, King Ahab died for his embrace of "popular religion" and will face God one day in judgment still clutching onto it.  WILL YOU?                    

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[1] According to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood_Church

[2] Upcoming Osteen event tickets for a November 4, 2011 event in Cincinnati are priced from $25.00 - $109.00 each!  Via: http://www.ticketsnow.com/joel-osteen-tickets/ 

[3] There is no such thing as the “sinner’s prayer” in Scripture.  For more Bible on this, go to: http://sinners-prayer.info

NOTE: Picture courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org

Let The Lower Lights Be Burning!

S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, 1958 - 1975[1]

10 November 1975 was a dark, cold and stormy night on Lake Superior just off Cleveland.  As sometimes is the case, 80 mile per hour winds and 30 foot waves sprung up without warning.  The now iconic ship S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sunk just short of reaching harbor.  All 29 crew were lost without a trace with the cause of the wreck unknown until this day.  She lies in 530 feet of water just 15 nautical miles from the safety of Whitefish Bay.  In her day she was the largest ship ever to sail the Great Lakes. The maritime tragedy, is memorialized by Gordon Lightfoot in his moving 1976 ballad, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.[2]  Such losses of men and ships are nothing new off Whitefish Point.  In fact, from 1816 until 1975 some 240 ships perished![3]  One such loss in the middle of the 19^th century moved song writer and missionary singer, Philip Bliss (1838 – 1876) to write a moving hymn; Let the Lower Lights be Burning.  While in Chicago, Bliss heard a preacher tell of a similar tragedy that took place on Whitefish Bay off Cleveland more than a 100 years before.  The preacher told of a ship in a violent storm one stormy night trying to make Cleveland. 

As he drew near, (the captain) shouted to the lighthouse keeper, “Is this Cleveland?”  The lighthouse keeper shouted back, “Quite true, sir!”  The captain asked, “Where are the lower lights?”  The lighthouse keeper said, “They have gone out.  Can you make the harbor?”  The captain replied, “We must, or we will perish!”  With that he sailed his ship into the harbor, passed the lighthouse, missed the channel, and was dashed against the rocks.  It was a terrible tragedy.  Many people were killed.  The preacher brought the story home with these words; “Brothers and sisters, the Master will take care of the lighthouse.  Let US keep the lower lights burning!”[4]    

The prospect of a shipwreck due to extreme weather and darkness is clearly revealed to us in Acts 27:39 – 44.  Life knows few terrors more desperate than a shipwreck in the dark of night.  We can easily visualize such trauma by remembering the opening scenes of the Disney classic Swiss Family Robinson.  The Edmund Fitzgerald had radar and she knew her heading but the storm was just too great to overcome. In years past, before the advent of radar and sonar, ships had to rely on lighthouses at the harbor entries for direction.  These lighthouses had both upper and lower lights.  The upper light is what we normally think of when we think about lighthouses.  It is that light up top of the large brick structure that shines several miles out to sea.  It gave general direction to ships seeking harbor.  However, the upper lights by themselves became useless when the ships drew close.  They would be blind without the “lower lights burning.”

Just what are the “lower lights?”  The “lower lights are those lights in those buildings surrounding the harbor illuminating the narrow channel and entrance to the safety of the harbor, where the wind and the waves subside, eliminating the terror and danger of the open sea.  Without the “lower lights burning,” the helmsman is blind and in grave danger.  “Light” is biblically linked to safety and salvation.  It is the singular most visible attribute of God Himself!  It is our duty and privilege as Christians to carry the light of God’s saving gospel to a lost and dying world, much like those who bravely man the “lower lights along the shore.”  As the upper light and the lower lights strive together to bring the lost and stranded sailor to the safety of the harbor, so it is with God and His children.

In Scripture, the primary Hebrew word for “light” is or which means “illumination in every sense including lightning, happiness, bright, clear, day, morning, sun.” [5] [See Exodus 10:23, Psalms 27:1 et. al.]

The primary Greek word for “light” is phos which means to “shine or make clear by rays, fire or light.”[6]  [See I john 1:5, John 8:12, Matthew 5:14 et. al.]

Metaphorically speaking, God provides the “upper light” of salvation which we then carry to a lost and dying world as His “lower lights.”  The essence of these thoughts are all covered by Paul’s wonderful words in II Corinthians 4:4 – 7 where Paul uses “light” to describe both the glory and the Word of God, God Himself and the Light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ, light that is then distributed by jars of clay!  My friend, you and I are “lower lights” housed in “jars of clay” lining the harbor of God’s salvation!

Jesus Christ, the (upper) Light of the World, gives us the His gospel through the light of the knowledge of His Word & then gives us (lower lights) “…all authority to speak, exhort, rebuke and to be disregarded by no one!”  (Titus 2:15 (ESV)  “Let the lower lights be burning, send a gleam across the wave.  Some poor fainting, struggling seaman, you may rescue, you may save!”                          

[The gospel of Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15) is the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, that He was buried, that He rose on the 3rd day and appeared to over 500 witnesses.  The free gift of God's salvation through Jesus Christ is available to all who HEAR the Word of God (Romans 10:17), who BELIEVE that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (John 8:24), who REPENT of all sin (Luke 13:3, Acts 2:38), who CONFESS that Jesus is the Son of God before witnesses (Matthew 10:32), who are BAPTIZIED in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38) and who LIVE FAITHFULLY from that point forward until death (I John 1:7).]

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[1] Photo from the Minnesota Historical Society via: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald

[2]For an excellent video regarding the ship, the crew and the song, go to: http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=the%20edmund%20fitzgerald&tnr=21&vid=1053208806682&l=593&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D1053208806682%26id%3D792e2355d1fa81a9b9841ff09b5d0083%26bid%3DB2FgpX5pcmYdJw%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.dailymotion.com%252fvideo%252fxif69_wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald_music&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymotion.com%2Fvideo%2Fxif69_wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald_music&sigr=12bcu5h38&newfp=1&tit=wreck+of+the+edmund+fitzgerald

[3] Op. cit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald

[4] http://ussboston.org/shore.html

[5] According to Strong’s via http://e-sword.com

[6] Ibid.

"End Times" or the "End of Time?" - Part II

The Temple Mount as seen across the Kidron Valley from the Mount of Olives (1)

A Continuing Exposition of Matthew 24 & Luke 21

It is morbidly interesting to see what the "God is the Temple / The Temple is God" mentality led to.  After the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem by the Romans, the remaining Jewish fighters fled to the mountain top fortress in the wilderness, Masada.  It was thought that no army could ever defeat it.  The Romans, however, never got the message and built a siege ramp and entered the fortress.  Sadly they discovered the Jews there had all committed suicide.  Why?  Suicide had always been looked upon with distain by God's people.  The reason is that with the Temple destroyed, there could be only one conclusion.  There is no God, there is no afterlife, life is meaningless.  Suicide was the only answer to their now atheistic minds.  Had they only listened to Jesus!  He had (and STILL has!) the words of life!

In vs. 4, Jesus began to answer the disciples first question; "Tell us, when will these things be?"  He clearly states that before "one stone is not left upon another," deceivers will arise and attempt to draw away the disciples.  One of the keys to understanding this passage is to observe the almost redundant use of the personal pronouns of "you" and "your" by Jesus referring exclusively to the disciples.  The text tells us that the "disciples came to Him privately."  There was no one there but Jesus and His disciples when he answered their two questions.  He is not speaking to someone in the distant future, He is speaking to His disciples in the flesh and in their own time.

Throughout this discourse, Christ will give many detailed clues as to when and under what circumstances the destruction of the Temple will take place.  His instructions were so precise that the disciples were able to warn the Christians in Jerusalem at that time to the extent that there is no record of even a single Christian perishing in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.!  We will detail these very clear signs.

As noted, the first sign Christ tells the disciples of the Temples destruction is that there will be an attempt to "lead YOU astray."  Not people in the future but the disciples in their lifetime.  Vs. 5 gives four vivid predictions that begin the signs of the coming destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in which it is located.  (1) The deceivers will be "many."  (2) They will come in the Name of Christ.  (3) They will claim to be the Christ.  (4) They will lead many astray.  These are warning signs that are spiritual in nature but very observable.  There were also physical warnings that would be very observable to the disciples as well.

Jesus begins to detail these physical warnings in vs. 6.  He says that YOU (the disciples) will "hear of wars and rumors of wars."  Many today fret that the end of time is approaching because we continually hear of "wars and rumors of wars."  Really?  Name a time in history since Cain slew his brother Abel that there has NOT been "wars and rumors of wars?"  War is a constant in the ongoing saga of fallen and sinful man.  Jesus was speaking "privately" to His disciples answering two very distinct questions, the first of which he answered with multiple signs and the latter which He answered with absolutely no sign whatsoever.  Jesus here is referring to specific wars and rumors of wars..."The War of the Jews" as Josephus puts it.  In 66 A.D., after years of protest, violence, civil disobedience and several small but open revolts, the Jewish nation rose up en masse in open rebellion against the hated Romans.  The Romans, in the process of establishing their pax romano (The Roman Peace), were determined to once and for all stamp out all Jewish resistance in a most complete and dramatic way.  The result was so profound that the entire empire took note and complied to Roman rule for the next 300 years.  The destruction was as Christ said it would be; "...great tribulation, such as not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be."  TO BE CONTINUED

[1] Photo Courtesy of: http://www.photos8.com/the_old_city_of_jerusalem-wallpapers.html  The extant “Dome of the Rock” is the approx. location of the Herodian Temple.

"End Times" or the "End of Time?" - Part I

                             Jerusalem as seen from the Mount of Olives[1]

An Exposition of Matthew 24 & Luke 21 - First of a Series

A burning question, it seems, for our times.  Do we live in the “end times” or the “end of time?”  Do we live in the days of Christ’s judgmental return or are we simply living during the last spiritual age?  Despite the denominational rhetoric to the contrary, the Bible answer is the latter, God has truly initiated the very last spiritual age in the history of the world – the Christian Age.  It began with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ whose will was read on the Day of Pentecost, fifty days following the crucifixion of Christ.  These “last days” will linger until the “last trumpet” has sounded.  How long will these “last days” extend?  No one knows.  We do know, however, what Christ told his disciples about how they (and by extension you and me) should view these questions and how to set their priorities accordingly.   

Matthew 24 is very clear about two things; the absolute predictability of the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. and the absolute un-certainty of the timing of the judgmental return of Christ – the very last day.  This passages clarity, however, has been clouded by many overlays of preconceived falsehoods in recent years by those who would distort the very words of Christ.  It is our purpose to reexamine the text for what it says, not what many would like it to say.

Matthew 24 begins with the awe the disciples had for the magnificence of the Herodian Temple.  It was one of the most beautiful structures in all the 1^st century world.  They were so enthralled with its stunning beauty that they made an overt effort to point it out to Jesus.  How Jesus responded must have shocked the disciples to the core.  He told them that this “wonder of the world” would be destroyed to such an extent that literally “not one stone would be left upon another!” They left the Temple, walked down into the Kidron Valley and walked up the slope of the Mount of Olives.  Looking back, one could clearly see Mount Zion and the Temple which set atop it.  It must have been quite the scene. 

The shock of the disciples at Jesus’ reply was so profound that the disciples did not speak about it again until the end of the journey from the top of Mt. Zion to the top of the Mount of Olives.  Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives and the disciples, still stunned, came to Him with two questions; “When will these things be?” and “What will be the signs of Your coming and the end of the world?”  Jesus will give them two very different answers, one complete with every detail and the other with absolutely no detail at all.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to fully appreciate what the Temple meant to the 1^st century Jew.  It not only was the place of national worship and the very presence of the Spirit of God, it was literally part and parcel of their spiritual and national identity as a people.  Without the Temple, there would be no nation.  Without the Temple, there would be no sacrificial system.  Without the Temple they would no longer be a people.  In their minds, without the Temple there would be no God!  Any loss of the Temple would be like…the end of the world itself.  Without the Temple, how could life go on?  That is why the two questions were linked in their mind for “if” there was no Temple there would be no place for the Spirit of God to reside.  “If” God’s Spirit was no longer on earth, how could earth itself survive?  If the Temple were to be destroyed, how could life continue?  Over time, sadly, the faith of the Jewish people had moved…without notice…from faith in God to faith in God’s residence.  One is reminded of that old song by Leslie Gore; “…don’t they know it’s the end of the world?  It ended when I lost your love.” – TO BE CONTINUED                                                                           

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[1] Photo Courtesy of: http://www.photos8.com/the_old_city_of_jerusalem-wallpapers.html  The extant “Dome of the Rock” is the approx. location of the Herodian Temple.

Eternal Dust or Just Broken Temporarily?

True repentance is the most difficult thing to accept in this life.  Repentance is a complete, and permanent, change of direction.  It means that each one who repents turns around from pursuing Satan to pursuing God.  It means forsaking everything we cherish and hold dear, up to and including family and friends.  It means surrendering "ownership" of what we have accumulated.  It means to give up all self love, self indulgence and self importance.  It means gathering up our entire "essence," throwing it all on God's altar and burning it up.  It means we no longer live for self but live for Christ.  It means selling ourselves into literal and figurative slavery.  It means accepting the redemption of Christ who buys us from our former slave master, Satan, and gladly, happily to willingly serve our new master, Christ Jesus.

Jesus characterizes and contrasts the cost of repentance...and...the cost for failure to repent in Luke 20:18; "Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall be ground to powder."  What is Jesus saying?  He is, as God always does, giving us two simple choices.  We are reminded of that old Fram Filter (C) ad of some years back; "Pay me now or pay me later!"  Either we die to self now and live eternally or live for self now and die eternally.  This is the same essential message of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.  While God has different requirements in each of the three dispensations, the necessity of true repentance is present in all three.

Jesus Christ is the "stone which the builders rejected that has now become the chief cornerstone" of God's house.  The builders (The Jews and their leaders) rejected that chief cornerstone and suffered destruction in 70 a.d. at the hands of Titus the Roman.  Christ uses the metaphor to contrast the choices we have in the Christian age, what the Bible calls the "last days."  We can either cast ourselves on the stone of Christ and be broken (true and total repentance) thus ending our lives to self while claiming eternal life or we can refuse to repent and suffer the penalty.  What is that penalty?  It is being crushed into "dust" by the stone resulting in total and eternal destruction, a destruction not unlike what happened to the Herodian Temple where "not one stone was left upon another."  That temple, and those people, were crushed as it were, into dust.  The "dust bin" of eternity is Satan's hell where all the "non-broken" people reside forever, many of whom were "good" people while on this earth.  They just refused to be "broken on the stone."

Repentance, true repentance, requires a response to God's grace, mercy and His free gift of salvation.  We must, as Peter said in Acts 2:38, be "baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins."  One cannot "repent" while refusing baptism for this is the time and place of God's work - the removal of our sins much like circumcision of the old covenant.  (Colossians 2:11-12)  Repentance AND baptism constitute one's "falling upon that stone."  "Repentance" without baptism is like announcing that you are going to cast yourself down upon the stone of Christ but then refusing to do so.  Submission to God's will in baptism completes the process for that is when we join Christ in His death.  (Romans 6:3)  We become "broken upon the stone" in the watery grave where God meets us as we meet the blood of His dear son, blood that was "shed for the remission of sins."

What then shall it be for us?  Will we be broken or will we be crushed by the stone of Christ into eternal dust?  The "Rock of Ages" can save us or destroy us!  Which will it be?

Faith In The Valley

       We often think of faith as a "mountain top experience." Such a statement is only half true for if one is to find the mountaintop one must begin the journey in the valley. The mountaintop is possible ONLY if faith is found in the valley first!

       King David found his faith in the valley of Kidron before ascending to the Mount of Olives in II Samuel 15:13 - 37. He entered the valley upon hearing that his rebellious son, Absalom, "had stolen the hearts of the men of Israel." [15:13] He entered the valley because he listened to men instead of inquiring of God. His faith was replaced by fear...fear of "being overtaken," fear of being "brought down to ruin" and fear of having "Jerusalem put to the sword." [15:14] Though no attack was imminent, no army was approaching and no confirmation of the strength of the enemy was received...David fled Zion and headed to the valley. As so often is the case with us as well, David did not descend into the valley alone, he took others with him. In fact "all his household (went) after him." [15:16]

       When David and his household descended into the deepest part of the valley something amazing happened. Though his own family, many of his top advisors and apparently most of all Israel had deserted him he found out who his TRUE friends were! David was accompanied, protected and loved by real friends who were not even of the House of Israel! His BEST FRIENDS turned out to be a wild and tough bunch of Philistines! Who stood between David and Absalom? The Cherethites, the Pelethites and the Gittites from Gath! Chief among them was a fugitive from Gath, Ittai. Having come over to David just ONE DAY BEFORE, he was a true friend of the king! Ittai told the suffering king; "As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for LIFE or DEATH, there also will your servant be." [15:21] Before faith returned to David, God showed him who his real friends were. Drawing close to God often means first drawing close to one another. We see the "face of Jesus" in our real and true friends when we are in the valley of doubt and fear.

       As with us, when David got to the bottom of the valley, he encountered God who was already there. God lives in the valley so He can meet us there, take our hand and lead us home. Some other true friends, Abiathar, Zadok and ALL the Levites were there bearing the Ark of the Covenant - the very presence of God Almighty! When David met God in the valley, everything began to change! Faith began to return! He gained strength to climb the Mount of Olives where his restoration to the throne began! There was, of course, a great temptation to take the Ark along with them to "ensure" God's protection against their enemies. David, though, refused. He ordered the Ark back to Zion in a great act of returning faith. He, right then and there in the deepest part of the valley, put his faith in God and not in the Ark. His faith had returned and he then began to act out this new found faith in focus, courage and determination.

       Though we, too, may find faith in the valley...much sorrow remains as we walk up towards the mountaintop. David himself said that what God desires is a "broken and contrite heart" before Him. [Psalms 51:17] We see a broken and contrite David - leading a band of broken and contrite followers - up the Mount of Olives. Repentance is a tearful walk but is part and parcel of any return to faith as we leave the valley of doubt and despair. "But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went." [15:30]

       As David approached the summit, God gave him a great blessing and comforter in a special friend - Hushai. Though the text refers to David's Philistine friends as "servants" [15:18], Hushai is specifically called "friend" in 15:37. Like his other friends, Hushai is NOT a Jew! He is a Canaanite, an Archite from the border of Ephriam and Benjamin. He is, however, a believer! He is servant of the God Most High who approached the summit of the Mount of Olives - "where God was worshipped" - with his "coat torn and dirt on his head" [15:32], Hushai, the "friend" of David, returned to Jerusalem, risking his life, as a spy for the king. As he did with David, God gives us "friends" who risk everything to bring us back to the summit "where God is worshipped!"

       David reached mountaintop of faith because he met God in the valley first! In these times of doubt and despair - so can we!

Join us for worship next Lord's Day at 10 a.m. at the Archdale church of Christ, 2525 Archdale Drive, Charlotte, NC 28210!  "Jesus Will Meet You There!"

Whose Heart Are We After?

This is not a Tale of Two Cities, but a “tale of two hearts.” King David was a “man after God’s own heart,” while his would-be-king son, Absalom, was a “man after man’s own heart.” He was the antithesis of his father. We must look into the mirror of God’s Word and ask ourselves the same question; “after whose heart are we after?”

Looking into the dross that was the heart of Absalom in II Samuel 15:1 – 12, we see a man at his worst. He was a fraud, a liar, a manipulator, a usurper and ultimately a traitor to both his father and to his nation. He was a man obsessed with symbolism and disdainful of substance. In this passage we see not a single positive trait, he was devoid of any spiritual quality. What we do see in Absalom is a man who was pragmatically driven to succeed politically. He was a man who embraced the satanic lie that the “ends justify the means.” He epitomizes today’s existential nonsense that man can “create his own future” by “deconstructing the past.” He wanted to create his own “brave new world,” (to borrow a phrase from Huxley). Absalom aggressively adopted radical “outcome based” thinking in a twisted kind of “continuous improvement” mindset.

Specifically, Absalom rolled out a six-point plan to make himself king of Israel. It was methodically plotted and took a number of years to implement. He either was ignorant of the fact that “it is not in man to direct his own steps,” or he imagined himself being exempt from it due to his political genius, his personal popularity and his manipulative prowess. This was his plan:

1. He procured a chariot and runners to advertise his presence in Jerusalem. [15:1]

2. He established himself as a judge of the people by “rising up early to stand before the way of the gate.” [15:2]

3. He intercepted every complainant before he could reach the king for judgment. [15:2]

4. He agreed with and promoted every man’s complaint regardless of rightness, wrongness or merit. [15:2]

5. He publically complained of his father’s “absence” at the gate of judgment. [15:3 – 4]

6. Finally, he blatantly patronized every complainant by “putting out his hand and kissing every man” approaching the gate for judgment. [15:5]

Collectively, these things allowed Absalom to “steal the hearts of the men of Israel.” Once these hearts were stolen, Absalom graduated to using “religion” in order to fool his loving and forgiving father and ultimately to enter into revolt, rebellion and treason against “the Lord’s Anointed.” This was all made possible because Absalom saw himself as a man unshackled by the “faith of his father.” He saw himself as a man of “spontaneous action,” unlike his father, a man “trapped” by his convictions. He thought he could “free himself” from the chains of “morality.” By so doing he would “deconstruct the old” and “construct the new” on the ruins of his fathers’ kingdom – dancing, as it were, on his fathers would be grave.

Absalom, however, neglected to consider God in all of this. He, first and foremost, neglected to repent of his past sins – especially the murder of his brother Amnon. He neglected to pray for God’s Will and Direction. He neglected to seek counsel of any prophet or the Priests of God. He neglected to research the Word of God for wisdom. His neglect closed his soul, his mind, his ears and his eyes to the consequences of his pragmatic plans, best laid as they were. He would soon die in dishonor and shame.

We end as we began – are we “men after God’s own heart,” or “men after man’s own heart?” “Whose heart are we after?” How we answer that question will bring either reward or disaster when life’s door closes!