Ethan: Welcome to Immerse: the daily bible reading experience.
Day 200 and 4
now Absalom was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel.
He was flawless from head to foot.
He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was so heavy.
When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds.
He had three sons and one daughter.
His daughter's name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful.
Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never got to see the king.
Then Absalom sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for him.
But Joab refused to come.
Absalom sent for him a second time, but again Joab refused to come.
So Absalom said to his servants, Go and set fire to Joab's barley
field, the field next to mine.
So they set his field on fire as Absalom had commanded.
Then Joab came to Absalom at his house and demanded, Why did your
servants set my field on fire?
And Absalom replied, Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back
from Gesher if he didn't intend to see me.
I might as well have stayed there.
Let me see the king.
If he finds me guilty of anything, then let him kill me.
So Joab told the king what Absalom had said.
Then at last, David summoned Absalom, who came and bowed low before the king.
And the king kissed him.
After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty
bodyguards to run ahead of him.
He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city.
When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would
ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him their tribe.
Then Absalom would say, You've really got a strong case here.
It's too bad the king doesn't have anyone to hear it.
I wish I were the judge.
Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment and
I would give them justice.
When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn't let them.
Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them.
Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment.
And so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel.
After four years, Absalom said to the king, Let me go to Hebron
to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and fulfill a vow I made to him.
For while your servant was at Gesher in Aram, I promised to
sacrifice to the Lord in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem.
All right, the king told him, go and fulfill your vow.
So Absalom went to Hebron.
But while he was there, He sent secret messengers to all the tribes of Israel
to stir up a rebellion against the king.
As soon as you hear the ram's horn, his message read, you are to say,
Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron.
He took two hundred men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but
they knew nothing of his intentions.
While Absalom was offering the sacrifices.
He sent for Ahithophel, one of David's counselors who lived in Gilo.
Soon, many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum.
A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, All Israel has joined
Absalom in a conspiracy against you.
Then we must flee at once or it will be too late.
David urged his men, Hurry!
If we get out of this city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of
Jerusalem will be spared from disaster.
We are with you, his advisors replied.
Do what you think is best.
So the king and all his household set out at once.
He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace.
The king and all his people set out on foot, pausing at the last house to let all
the king's men move past to lead the way.
There were six hundred men from Gath who had come with David,
along with the king's bodyguard.
Then the king turned and said to Ittai, a leader of the men from
Gath, Why are you coming with us?
Go on back to King Absalom, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile.
You arrived only recently, and should I force you today to wander with us?
I don't even know where we will go.
Go on back and take your kinsmen with you, and may the Lord show you
His unfailing love and faithfulness.
But Ittai said to the king, I vow by the Lord and by my own life
that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens.
Whether it means life or death, David replied, All right, come with us.
So Ittai and all his men and their families went along.
Everyone cried loudly as the king and his followers passed by.
They crossed the Kidron Valley and then went out toward the wilderness.
Zadok and all the Levites also came along, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God.
They set down the Ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until
everyone had passed out of the city.
Then the king instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city.
If the Lord sees fit, David said.
He will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again.
But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him.
The king also told Zadok the priest, Look, here is my plan.
You and Abiathar should return quietly to the city with your son
Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan.
I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River and wait
there for a report from you.
So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to the city and stayed there.
David walked up the road to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went.
His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning.
And the people who were with him covered their heads and
wept as they climbed the hill.
When someone told David that his advisor Ahithophel was now backing
Absalom, David prayed, O Lord, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice.
When David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives where
people worshipped God, Hushai the Archite was waiting there for him.
Hushai had torn his clothing and put dirt on his head as a sign of mourning.
But David told him, If you go with me, you will only be a burden.
Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, I will now be your advisor, O king, just as
I was your father's advisor in the past.
Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel's advice.
Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there.
Tell them about the plans being made in the king's palace and they
will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what is going on.
So David's friend Hushai returned to Jerusalem, getting
there just as Absalom arrived.
When David had gone a little beyond the summit of the Mount of Olives,
Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, was waiting there for him.
He had two donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of
raisins, one hundred bunches of summer fruit, and a wineskin full of wine.
What are these for?
the king asked Ziba.
Ziba replied, The donkeys are for the king's people to ride on,
and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat.
The wine is for those who become exhausted in the wilderness.
And where is Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, the king asked him.
He stayed in Jerusalem, Ziba replied.
He said, Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul.
In that case, the king told Ziba, I give you everything Mephibosheth owns.
I bow before you, Saiba replied.
May I always be pleasing to you, my lord the king.
This concludes today's Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.