WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.140 Ethan: Welcome to Immerse: the daily bible reading experience. 00:00:03.257 --> 00:00:04.377 Day 200 and 4 00:00:04.612 --> 00:00:08.762 now Absalom was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. 00:00:09.362 --> 00:00:11.662 He was flawless from head to foot. 00:00:12.172 --> 00:00:16.362 He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was so heavy. 00:00:16.832 --> 00:00:19.852 When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds. 00:00:20.552 --> 00:00:22.662 He had three sons and one daughter. 00:00:23.222 --> 00:00:26.752 His daughter's name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful. 00:00:28.022 --> 00:00:32.552 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never got to see the king. 00:00:33.667 --> 00:00:37.117 Then Absalom sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for him. 00:00:37.547 --> 00:00:39.257 But Joab refused to come. 00:00:40.447 --> 00:00:45.097 Absalom sent for him a second time, but again Joab refused to come. 00:00:45.977 --> 00:00:50.847 So Absalom said to his servants, Go and set fire to Joab's barley 00:00:50.847 --> 00:00:53.137 field, the field next to mine. 00:00:54.377 --> 00:00:57.777 So they set his field on fire as Absalom had commanded. 00:00:59.017 --> 00:01:03.587 Then Joab came to Absalom at his house and demanded, Why did your 00:01:03.587 --> 00:01:05.737 servants set my field on fire? 00:01:06.612 --> 00:01:11.632 And Absalom replied, Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back 00:01:11.632 --> 00:01:13.982 from Gesher if he didn't intend to see me. 00:01:14.602 --> 00:01:16.182 I might as well have stayed there. 00:01:17.002 --> 00:01:18.112 Let me see the king. 00:01:18.532 --> 00:01:21.772 If he finds me guilty of anything, then let him kill me. 00:01:23.022 --> 00:01:25.572 So Joab told the king what Absalom had said. 00:01:26.502 --> 00:01:32.092 Then at last, David summoned Absalom, who came and bowed low before the king. 00:01:32.762 --> 00:01:34.092 And the king kissed him. 00:01:35.832 --> 00:01:40.702 After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty 00:01:40.702 --> 00:01:42.242 bodyguards to run ahead of him. 00:01:42.772 --> 00:01:45.982 He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. 00:01:46.832 --> 00:01:50.262 When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would 00:01:50.272 --> 00:01:54.072 ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him their tribe. 00:01:54.812 --> 00:01:58.702 Then Absalom would say, You've really got a strong case here. 00:01:59.142 --> 00:02:01.702 It's too bad the king doesn't have anyone to hear it. 00:02:02.232 --> 00:02:03.582 I wish I were the judge. 00:02:03.852 --> 00:02:07.062 Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment and 00:02:07.062 --> 00:02:08.322 I would give them justice. 00:02:09.302 --> 00:02:12.882 When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn't let them. 00:02:13.482 --> 00:02:16.452 Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them. 00:02:17.532 --> 00:02:21.272 Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment. 00:02:21.912 --> 00:02:25.032 And so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel. 00:02:26.182 --> 00:02:31.117 After four years, Absalom said to the king, Let me go to Hebron 00:02:31.127 --> 00:02:34.937 to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and fulfill a vow I made to him. 00:02:35.477 --> 00:02:39.377 For while your servant was at Gesher in Aram, I promised to 00:02:39.377 --> 00:02:43.477 sacrifice to the Lord in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem. 00:02:44.637 --> 00:02:48.487 All right, the king told him, go and fulfill your vow. 00:02:49.587 --> 00:02:51.377 So Absalom went to Hebron. 00:02:52.617 --> 00:02:57.512 But while he was there, He sent secret messengers to all the tribes of Israel 00:02:57.522 --> 00:02:59.742 to stir up a rebellion against the king. 00:03:00.912 --> 00:03:05.922 As soon as you hear the ram's horn, his message read, you are to say, 00:03:06.602 --> 00:03:09.492 Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron. 00:03:10.662 --> 00:03:13.952 He took two hundred men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but 00:03:13.952 --> 00:03:15.672 they knew nothing of his intentions. 00:03:16.792 --> 00:03:19.172 While Absalom was offering the sacrifices. 00:03:19.607 --> 00:03:23.677 He sent for Ahithophel, one of David's counselors who lived in Gilo. 00:03:24.517 --> 00:03:29.637 Soon, many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum. 00:03:31.217 --> 00:03:36.197 A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, All Israel has joined 00:03:36.207 --> 00:03:38.517 Absalom in a conspiracy against you. 00:03:39.617 --> 00:03:42.677 Then we must flee at once or it will be too late. 00:03:43.047 --> 00:03:45.297 David urged his men, Hurry! 00:03:45.697 --> 00:03:49.847 If we get out of this city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of 00:03:49.847 --> 00:03:51.997 Jerusalem will be spared from disaster. 00:03:53.107 --> 00:03:55.767 We are with you, his advisors replied. 00:03:56.297 --> 00:03:57.807 Do what you think is best. 00:03:58.947 --> 00:04:02.417 So the king and all his household set out at once. 00:04:02.917 --> 00:04:07.477 He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace. 00:04:08.217 --> 00:04:12.917 The king and all his people set out on foot, pausing at the last house to let all 00:04:12.917 --> 00:04:15.157 the king's men move past to lead the way. 00:04:16.177 --> 00:04:19.087 There were six hundred men from Gath who had come with David, 00:04:19.497 --> 00:04:21.177 along with the king's bodyguard. 00:04:22.347 --> 00:04:26.477 Then the king turned and said to Ittai, a leader of the men from 00:04:26.477 --> 00:04:29.147 Gath, Why are you coming with us? 00:04:29.697 --> 00:04:34.877 Go on back to King Absalom, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile. 00:04:35.457 --> 00:04:39.687 You arrived only recently, and should I force you today to wander with us? 00:04:40.312 --> 00:04:42.012 I don't even know where we will go. 00:04:42.612 --> 00:04:46.572 Go on back and take your kinsmen with you, and may the Lord show you 00:04:46.572 --> 00:04:48.772 His unfailing love and faithfulness. 00:04:50.002 --> 00:04:55.312 But Ittai said to the king, I vow by the Lord and by my own life 00:04:55.672 --> 00:04:59.642 that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens. 00:05:00.147 --> 00:05:06.707 Whether it means life or death, David replied, All right, come with us. 00:05:07.607 --> 00:05:10.997 So Ittai and all his men and their families went along. 00:05:11.957 --> 00:05:15.727 Everyone cried loudly as the king and his followers passed by. 00:05:16.657 --> 00:05:20.157 They crossed the Kidron Valley and then went out toward the wilderness. 00:05:21.097 --> 00:05:26.347 Zadok and all the Levites also came along, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. 00:05:27.187 --> 00:05:31.737 They set down the Ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until 00:05:31.757 --> 00:05:33.557 everyone had passed out of the city. 00:05:34.712 --> 00:05:39.062 Then the king instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. 00:05:40.082 --> 00:05:42.502 If the Lord sees fit, David said. 00:05:43.147 --> 00:05:46.437 He will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. 00:05:47.247 --> 00:05:51.327 But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him. 00:05:52.577 --> 00:05:57.077 The king also told Zadok the priest, Look, here is my plan. 00:05:57.967 --> 00:06:01.867 You and Abiathar should return quietly to the city with your son 00:06:01.907 --> 00:06:04.987 Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. 00:06:05.977 --> 00:06:08.827 I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River and wait 00:06:08.837 --> 00:06:10.347 there for a report from you. 00:06:11.357 --> 00:06:15.757 So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to the city and stayed there. 00:06:16.962 --> 00:06:20.872 David walked up the road to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. 00:06:21.552 --> 00:06:25.112 His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. 00:06:25.862 --> 00:06:28.382 And the people who were with him covered their heads and 00:06:28.382 --> 00:06:30.292 wept as they climbed the hill. 00:06:31.192 --> 00:06:34.872 When someone told David that his advisor Ahithophel was now backing 00:06:34.892 --> 00:06:41.802 Absalom, David prayed, O Lord, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice. 00:06:43.097 --> 00:06:45.787 When David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives where 00:06:45.787 --> 00:06:50.187 people worshipped God, Hushai the Archite was waiting there for him. 00:06:51.787 --> 00:06:55.967 Hushai had torn his clothing and put dirt on his head as a sign of mourning. 00:06:56.717 --> 00:07:01.887 But David told him, If you go with me, you will only be a burden. 00:07:02.737 --> 00:07:08.567 Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, I will now be your advisor, O king, just as 00:07:08.567 --> 00:07:10.827 I was your father's advisor in the past. 00:07:11.937 --> 00:07:15.277 Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel's advice. 00:07:15.807 --> 00:07:18.657 Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there. 00:07:19.187 --> 00:07:22.517 Tell them about the plans being made in the king's palace and they 00:07:22.517 --> 00:07:26.787 will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what is going on. 00:07:28.157 --> 00:07:31.687 So David's friend Hushai returned to Jerusalem, getting 00:07:31.687 --> 00:07:33.557 there just as Absalom arrived. 00:07:35.047 --> 00:07:38.377 When David had gone a little beyond the summit of the Mount of Olives, 00:07:38.747 --> 00:07:42.507 Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, was waiting there for him. 00:07:43.417 --> 00:07:48.127 He had two donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of 00:07:48.127 --> 00:07:53.167 raisins, one hundred bunches of summer fruit, and a wineskin full of wine. 00:07:54.377 --> 00:07:55.497 What are these for? 00:07:55.637 --> 00:07:56.927 the king asked Ziba. 00:07:58.117 --> 00:08:02.467 Ziba replied, The donkeys are for the king's people to ride on, 00:08:03.077 --> 00:08:05.887 and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. 00:08:06.577 --> 00:08:09.447 The wine is for those who become exhausted in the wilderness. 00:08:10.817 --> 00:08:14.847 And where is Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, the king asked him. 00:08:16.037 --> 00:08:18.707 He stayed in Jerusalem, Ziba replied. 00:08:19.547 --> 00:08:24.347 He said, Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul. 00:08:25.697 --> 00:08:31.397 In that case, the king told Ziba, I give you everything Mephibosheth owns. 00:08:32.537 --> 00:08:34.997 I bow before you, Saiba replied. 00:08:35.537 --> 00:08:38.857 May I always be pleasing to you, my lord the king. 00:08:40.457 --> 00:08:43.307 This concludes today's Immerse Reading Experience. 00:08:43.437 --> 00:08:44.647 Thank you for joining us.