2026 2 Samuel 15, When God Humbles You, Remain in Humbleness
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2026-05-24 16:13
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When God Humbles You, Remain in Humbleness
2 Samuel 15
Absalom was an extreme man. As his relationship with his father, David, remained unresolved, his inner order collapsed, leading him to attempt a rebellion. He succeeded. David, on the other hand, failed, being stripped of his throne and driven out. However, success is not success, nor failure is not failure. David’s faith was revealed through his failure, whereas Absalom’s unbelief was revealed through his success.
Here is the difference between Absalom and David. Absalom decorates himself with justice, whereas David seeks God's grace while disclosing his own sins. His eldest brother, Amnon, committed an evil. His father let him go unpunished. This is wrong. Absalom was upset declaring, "I will establish justice." He murdered his brother and rebelled against his father. Absalom’s start would be justified. Such evil must be eradicated. However, the question is, “are revenge and rebellion justice?”
Look at verse 1. “In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him.” Absalom’s strategy was Image-making through outward greatness. He drove a gorgeous chariot and horses with body guards. He tried to show off and look impressive.
Absalom rose early in the morning and diligently communicated with people. He met anyone with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision and said, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then I would see that they receive justice.” His intention was to create resentment toward King David. Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, he would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. Verse 6 says, “He stole the hearts of the people of Israel.” To gain benefit, he stole man’s heart. This is evil.
Absalom used worship as a tool for rebellion. He asked King David to send him to Hebron to fulfill his vow and worship God. Hebron was where David's kingdom and throne started. Absalom's scheme was to shake David’s root. Then he sent spies to the twelve tribes, instructing them to shout simultaneously in all twelve places, "Absalom is king," when the trumpet would sound. He also invited 200 VIP from Jerusalem as his guests who did not know his conspiracy. Moreover he got Ahithophel, David’s counselor on his side. He had everything ready for successful rebellion. But he had no God and truth. His rebellion looked a success, but it ended in a devastating failure.
David stands a crisis of life and death before Absalom's rebellion. A son would spend four years meticulously plotting a rebellion to kill his father and snatch the throne... no one could have imagined it. It is a deeply shocking and disheartening event. However, David's faith is actually being restored through this crisis. Due to Absalom’s rebellion, David left the palace and went to the wilderness again. He suffered a lot. Yet, his end was good. He was revived in the wilderness.
First, humiliation
David was a general. His people were also valiant and well experienced soldiers. In war, David was superior to Absalom. But he left Jerusalem and ran away because he did not want to shed blood in the City of God. He fled because he did not want to fight against his son and his own people. He was a good shepherd. When God was disciplining and humbling him, he did not resist. Nor did he pretend that he was okay. No, he humbled himself thoroughly.
A father whips his son. His son cries saying, “Father, I did wrong." This is what parents want to hear from their children who do wrong. But what if children neither cry nor admit they are wrong though they are whipped? Then the parents' hearts truly ache. Parents just hope that their children admit their wrongdoings and do not repeat same mistakes. That is the purpose of discipline, isn’t it? Then the discipline ends.
Verse 30 says, “But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot.” This is David’s true repentance. David did neither blame Absalom nor war against him. Realizing his own sin of complacency and laziness, he only sought the Lord. Weeping, he went into the wilderness.
Here are two places, a royal palace and the wilderness. The royal palace is a splendid and comfortable place. However, spiritually, it is a place filled with worldly power and vanity. The wilderness is rough, but spiritually a place of grace and abundance. God calls His people to the wilderness and molds them anew. The wilderness is a place where our souls are revived upon hearing God's word and prayer.
We have nature and desire to sit at God’s place. Faith is to descend from that place back to the place of worship, prayer and obedience to God the Creator. Faith is to return to where I belong to. Where is your place? David realized that was a wilderness to honor God.
Second, rely only on God
Verse 24 says, “Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God.” When the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God's presence travels with him, it can become a force as mighty as an army of thousands. It is important because it demonstrates to the people that God is on David's side and is moving with him. Nevertheless, David makes a crucial decision. He orders the Ark of the Covenant to be brought back to Jerusalem. David did not try to decorate himself with the Ark of the Covenant. “I do not cover my sins and transgressions with the Ark of the Covenant. I do not want to draw the attention of people through the Ark of God.”
David has learned painfully that God's Ark cannot be moved according to human needs. He realized that merely possessing the Ark of the Covenant did not automatically guarantee God's victory. He understood that he was not to carry the Ark for protection and victory but that he would return to where the Ark of the Covenant was. This was a correct confession of faith. He did not use the Ark like a talisman, an object—like an inscribed ring, stone, or pendant—believed to hold magical or spiritual properties that attract good luck, bring positive energy, or empower the wearer.
Does putting a Bible under your pillow keep you from having nightmares? Does hanging a cross on a car prevent car accidents? Does wearing a cross necklace ensure man’s holiness or health and protection from the devil? Today, there are people who use the cross and the Bible like talismans. Rather than believing in Jesus and obeying Him, they just carry a cross or Bible thinking that these things would make them holy and protect and bless them. No. We must not treat God's Ark as a talisman. We are to come to God with worship, prayer and devotion. Do not try to pull God to your side for the sake of your comfort or success. As creatures, we simply worship, love, obey, glorify God, and pray for His grace. David made this clear.
Look at verse 25. Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again.” He relied on God only.
Third, distinguish between enemies and friends.
The royal palace is a bustling place that everyone wants to visit. You never know who is an enemy and who is a friend. There are people who look gentle and kind, but inside, they are wicked seeking their own self-interest. There are some who look tough, yet possess faithfulness and loyalty.
Enemies and friends are mixed together in the royal palace. You cannot find the true thing there. The wilderness is a place of destitute, suffering and no popularity. When you go there, you will meet the true and royal friends.
When you go to the wilderness, you meet a person as "I and you." "Ah, that is the person who was by my side when I was at my lowest point. This is the person who crossed the line between life and death with me. He and I ran together for the glory of God and mission.” In the wilderness, David met true friends and coworkers.
There, he met two priests who stood on his side. And 600 soldiers came to David and pledged their loyalty. God sends true friends and comrades to David in a time of crisis.
Here is a conversation between two persons. Look at verses 19-21. The king said to Ittai, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. Go back, and take your people with you. May the LORD show you kindness and faithfulness.” But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”
David must have been deeply moved. His own son had rebelled against him, yet the Palestinians, who were not even his own people, swore allegiance to him. In a time of crisis, we know who the true friends are. Afterward, David's kingdom became stronger and more stable.
Are you feeling anxious because there are no people around you? Look only to God. Then some whom you do not expect will appear as true friends and stay with you to the end. David did not know who was who, but in the wilderness, he met true friends. Then his kingdom became more powerful. The wilderness is a place where the real and the fake are distinguished. I pray that you may meet the real in the wilderness.
Fourth, prayer is restored.
Verse 30 says, “But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot.” Weeping, covering his head and barefoot. He did not try to hide his failure, humiliation and wounded heart. He confessed, “I have failed. I have been disciplined by God. It is God who humiliates me and makes me wretched.” David did not cover his transgressions with royal robes and a gorgeous stallion. He did not mask himself as a righteous man.
People strive to hide their failures and weaknesses. They pretend they are okay. But are we okay? Like David, we need to pour out all our failure, shame or wounded emotions to God. “God, I fail. I am sad and powerless. I am in pain.” When life is difficult, we can pour out our emotions to God. “God, what should I do? Please have mercy on me.” If you weep before God in this way, your painful and wounded emotions are washed away and you are revived. The person who weeps before God is revived.
David heard the shocking news that Ahithophel had sided with Absalom. Ahithophel was Israel's greatest strategist and a mentor whom David relied on and sought wisdom from throughout his life, second only to God. To think that such a person would betray him and side with the rebels, Absalom... "How could that man betray me?" David must have felt shaken and dizzy for a moment. He may have instantly thought that reversing the situation would be difficult, even impossible.
But he looked to God and he remained unshaken. He became cool. He did not become anxious about the coming and going of people. In this situation, David prayed. "" LORD, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.” His prayer is short and powerful. Consequently, Ahithophel's keen counsel was not accepted by Absalom, and he committed suicide immediately afterward.
In the wilderness, David again restored the place of prayer. Sitting in the place of prayer is important. He was a man who always looked to God with prayer. Facing Goliath, he did not look at Goliath. He fought against Goliath in the name of the LORD Almighty and defeated Goliath. He was a man of prayer. However, in the royal palace, he became intoxicated with power and pleasures. He lost prayer. Power (from money, career or social position) changes man.
Jesus teaches us to walk not the path of power but the path of the cross. “Walk the narrow path, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me every day.”
In the royal palace, David became a politician without even realizing it. He was only angry at Amnon. At that painful family disaster, he did not pray. He turned a blind eye to the troubles and pains of his children. Where is father David? What about Tamar's wound? How would Tamar's wound be healed and her honor be restored?" Absalom killed Amnon. Still, David was angry but didn’t do anything. When Absalom returned, David did not want to see his face. As he stopped praying, he degenerated into a fallen politician and an irresponsible father. When he turned a blind eye to the pain of his children, how could he possibly know God's love and heart?
God brought David back to the place of prayer through such ordeal of his son Absalom's rebellion. David finally humbled himself and began to pray to the Lord. " LORD, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.” God answered his prayer immediately. Look at verse 32. “When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head.” David immediately realized that God answered his prayer. Through Hushai, God thwarted Ahithophel’s counsel and brought victory to David.
David was revived through his son's rebellion. He returned to be a man of wilderness from a man of the royal palace. Folks, I pray that you may step down from the royal palace. If the place you are currently in is the place of comfort or laziness with no prayer but human ambition and pleasures, know that it is the royal palace. You must walk down on your own accord. If you do not come down from a place of pride and complacency, God will bring you down. David began to realize that the wilderness was the place he must stay and he began to restore his first love toward God.
There is power in the prayer of saints. "God, make that man helpless. Let that evil force be overthrown." David restored prayer in the wilderness. We are all full of faults. However, we can pray in the wilderness and experience God's power and comfort. May God bless you to meet true friends and restore power of prayer while you are in the wilderness.
2 Samuel 15
Absalom was an extreme man. As his relationship with his father, David, remained unresolved, his inner order collapsed, leading him to attempt a rebellion. He succeeded. David, on the other hand, failed, being stripped of his throne and driven out. However, success is not success, nor failure is not failure. David’s faith was revealed through his failure, whereas Absalom’s unbelief was revealed through his success.
Here is the difference between Absalom and David. Absalom decorates himself with justice, whereas David seeks God's grace while disclosing his own sins. His eldest brother, Amnon, committed an evil. His father let him go unpunished. This is wrong. Absalom was upset declaring, "I will establish justice." He murdered his brother and rebelled against his father. Absalom’s start would be justified. Such evil must be eradicated. However, the question is, “are revenge and rebellion justice?”
Look at verse 1. “In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him.” Absalom’s strategy was Image-making through outward greatness. He drove a gorgeous chariot and horses with body guards. He tried to show off and look impressive.
Absalom rose early in the morning and diligently communicated with people. He met anyone with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision and said, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then I would see that they receive justice.” His intention was to create resentment toward King David. Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, he would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. Verse 6 says, “He stole the hearts of the people of Israel.” To gain benefit, he stole man’s heart. This is evil.
Absalom used worship as a tool for rebellion. He asked King David to send him to Hebron to fulfill his vow and worship God. Hebron was where David's kingdom and throne started. Absalom's scheme was to shake David’s root. Then he sent spies to the twelve tribes, instructing them to shout simultaneously in all twelve places, "Absalom is king," when the trumpet would sound. He also invited 200 VIP from Jerusalem as his guests who did not know his conspiracy. Moreover he got Ahithophel, David’s counselor on his side. He had everything ready for successful rebellion. But he had no God and truth. His rebellion looked a success, but it ended in a devastating failure.
David stands a crisis of life and death before Absalom's rebellion. A son would spend four years meticulously plotting a rebellion to kill his father and snatch the throne... no one could have imagined it. It is a deeply shocking and disheartening event. However, David's faith is actually being restored through this crisis. Due to Absalom’s rebellion, David left the palace and went to the wilderness again. He suffered a lot. Yet, his end was good. He was revived in the wilderness.
First, humiliation
David was a general. His people were also valiant and well experienced soldiers. In war, David was superior to Absalom. But he left Jerusalem and ran away because he did not want to shed blood in the City of God. He fled because he did not want to fight against his son and his own people. He was a good shepherd. When God was disciplining and humbling him, he did not resist. Nor did he pretend that he was okay. No, he humbled himself thoroughly.
A father whips his son. His son cries saying, “Father, I did wrong." This is what parents want to hear from their children who do wrong. But what if children neither cry nor admit they are wrong though they are whipped? Then the parents' hearts truly ache. Parents just hope that their children admit their wrongdoings and do not repeat same mistakes. That is the purpose of discipline, isn’t it? Then the discipline ends.
Verse 30 says, “But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot.” This is David’s true repentance. David did neither blame Absalom nor war against him. Realizing his own sin of complacency and laziness, he only sought the Lord. Weeping, he went into the wilderness.
Here are two places, a royal palace and the wilderness. The royal palace is a splendid and comfortable place. However, spiritually, it is a place filled with worldly power and vanity. The wilderness is rough, but spiritually a place of grace and abundance. God calls His people to the wilderness and molds them anew. The wilderness is a place where our souls are revived upon hearing God's word and prayer.
We have nature and desire to sit at God’s place. Faith is to descend from that place back to the place of worship, prayer and obedience to God the Creator. Faith is to return to where I belong to. Where is your place? David realized that was a wilderness to honor God.
Second, rely only on God
Verse 24 says, “Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God.” When the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God's presence travels with him, it can become a force as mighty as an army of thousands. It is important because it demonstrates to the people that God is on David's side and is moving with him. Nevertheless, David makes a crucial decision. He orders the Ark of the Covenant to be brought back to Jerusalem. David did not try to decorate himself with the Ark of the Covenant. “I do not cover my sins and transgressions with the Ark of the Covenant. I do not want to draw the attention of people through the Ark of God.”
David has learned painfully that God's Ark cannot be moved according to human needs. He realized that merely possessing the Ark of the Covenant did not automatically guarantee God's victory. He understood that he was not to carry the Ark for protection and victory but that he would return to where the Ark of the Covenant was. This was a correct confession of faith. He did not use the Ark like a talisman, an object—like an inscribed ring, stone, or pendant—believed to hold magical or spiritual properties that attract good luck, bring positive energy, or empower the wearer.
Does putting a Bible under your pillow keep you from having nightmares? Does hanging a cross on a car prevent car accidents? Does wearing a cross necklace ensure man’s holiness or health and protection from the devil? Today, there are people who use the cross and the Bible like talismans. Rather than believing in Jesus and obeying Him, they just carry a cross or Bible thinking that these things would make them holy and protect and bless them. No. We must not treat God's Ark as a talisman. We are to come to God with worship, prayer and devotion. Do not try to pull God to your side for the sake of your comfort or success. As creatures, we simply worship, love, obey, glorify God, and pray for His grace. David made this clear.
Look at verse 25. Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again.” He relied on God only.
Third, distinguish between enemies and friends.
The royal palace is a bustling place that everyone wants to visit. You never know who is an enemy and who is a friend. There are people who look gentle and kind, but inside, they are wicked seeking their own self-interest. There are some who look tough, yet possess faithfulness and loyalty.
Enemies and friends are mixed together in the royal palace. You cannot find the true thing there. The wilderness is a place of destitute, suffering and no popularity. When you go there, you will meet the true and royal friends.
When you go to the wilderness, you meet a person as "I and you." "Ah, that is the person who was by my side when I was at my lowest point. This is the person who crossed the line between life and death with me. He and I ran together for the glory of God and mission.” In the wilderness, David met true friends and coworkers.
There, he met two priests who stood on his side. And 600 soldiers came to David and pledged their loyalty. God sends true friends and comrades to David in a time of crisis.
Here is a conversation between two persons. Look at verses 19-21. The king said to Ittai, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. Go back, and take your people with you. May the LORD show you kindness and faithfulness.” But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”
David must have been deeply moved. His own son had rebelled against him, yet the Palestinians, who were not even his own people, swore allegiance to him. In a time of crisis, we know who the true friends are. Afterward, David's kingdom became stronger and more stable.
Are you feeling anxious because there are no people around you? Look only to God. Then some whom you do not expect will appear as true friends and stay with you to the end. David did not know who was who, but in the wilderness, he met true friends. Then his kingdom became more powerful. The wilderness is a place where the real and the fake are distinguished. I pray that you may meet the real in the wilderness.
Fourth, prayer is restored.
Verse 30 says, “But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot.” Weeping, covering his head and barefoot. He did not try to hide his failure, humiliation and wounded heart. He confessed, “I have failed. I have been disciplined by God. It is God who humiliates me and makes me wretched.” David did not cover his transgressions with royal robes and a gorgeous stallion. He did not mask himself as a righteous man.
People strive to hide their failures and weaknesses. They pretend they are okay. But are we okay? Like David, we need to pour out all our failure, shame or wounded emotions to God. “God, I fail. I am sad and powerless. I am in pain.” When life is difficult, we can pour out our emotions to God. “God, what should I do? Please have mercy on me.” If you weep before God in this way, your painful and wounded emotions are washed away and you are revived. The person who weeps before God is revived.
David heard the shocking news that Ahithophel had sided with Absalom. Ahithophel was Israel's greatest strategist and a mentor whom David relied on and sought wisdom from throughout his life, second only to God. To think that such a person would betray him and side with the rebels, Absalom... "How could that man betray me?" David must have felt shaken and dizzy for a moment. He may have instantly thought that reversing the situation would be difficult, even impossible.
But he looked to God and he remained unshaken. He became cool. He did not become anxious about the coming and going of people. In this situation, David prayed. "" LORD, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.” His prayer is short and powerful. Consequently, Ahithophel's keen counsel was not accepted by Absalom, and he committed suicide immediately afterward.
In the wilderness, David again restored the place of prayer. Sitting in the place of prayer is important. He was a man who always looked to God with prayer. Facing Goliath, he did not look at Goliath. He fought against Goliath in the name of the LORD Almighty and defeated Goliath. He was a man of prayer. However, in the royal palace, he became intoxicated with power and pleasures. He lost prayer. Power (from money, career or social position) changes man.
Jesus teaches us to walk not the path of power but the path of the cross. “Walk the narrow path, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me every day.”
In the royal palace, David became a politician without even realizing it. He was only angry at Amnon. At that painful family disaster, he did not pray. He turned a blind eye to the troubles and pains of his children. Where is father David? What about Tamar's wound? How would Tamar's wound be healed and her honor be restored?" Absalom killed Amnon. Still, David was angry but didn’t do anything. When Absalom returned, David did not want to see his face. As he stopped praying, he degenerated into a fallen politician and an irresponsible father. When he turned a blind eye to the pain of his children, how could he possibly know God's love and heart?
God brought David back to the place of prayer through such ordeal of his son Absalom's rebellion. David finally humbled himself and began to pray to the Lord. " LORD, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.” God answered his prayer immediately. Look at verse 32. “When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head.” David immediately realized that God answered his prayer. Through Hushai, God thwarted Ahithophel’s counsel and brought victory to David.
David was revived through his son's rebellion. He returned to be a man of wilderness from a man of the royal palace. Folks, I pray that you may step down from the royal palace. If the place you are currently in is the place of comfort or laziness with no prayer but human ambition and pleasures, know that it is the royal palace. You must walk down on your own accord. If you do not come down from a place of pride and complacency, God will bring you down. David began to realize that the wilderness was the place he must stay and he began to restore his first love toward God.
There is power in the prayer of saints. "God, make that man helpless. Let that evil force be overthrown." David restored prayer in the wilderness. We are all full of faults. However, we can pray in the wilderness and experience God's power and comfort. May God bless you to meet true friends and restore power of prayer while you are in the wilderness.