The Mars Hill staff is in a series of devotionals drawn from the book, A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards. We share highlights from the book each week, but we invite you to get a copy and read along with us. The drama is a multi-act play telling the stories of three kings. It is a portrait of submission and authority within the Kingdom of God; offering hope and healing to the spiritually wounded.
Chapters Eighteen and Nineteen
God made the transition of power from Saul to David in His perfect way and time. In our reading, it is now the time of David’s reign as King of Israel. Chapter 18 of our book turns our attentions from Saul and David to that of a new character, David’s 3rd son, Absalom. The majority of Absalom’s story is told in 2 Samuel 13-19.
Absalom had a strong influence in his father’s reign. This was due in part to Absalom’s ambition to become king after his father, and in part to some of David’s failures to rule his own house appropriately and address the transgressions within his family.
And of course, people of the court and kingdom played a role in Absalom’s rebellious ways because he was a very handsome and charismatic person and as history shows us time and again, mankind tends to judge by what they see on the outside. Only God knows the heart.
After reading and considering the lives of these men in today’s devotional, these are the points we come away with:
- We should all be able to identify with all the characters in our story. There is something of Saul, David, and Absalom in all of us.
- We give thanks that God interrupts the natural digressions of mankind, again and again. Otherwise, we would all take the wayward path, acting under our own strength, living by our outward strengths and talents.
- We remember that God uses the outer Sauls and Absaloms in our lives to burn off the Sauls and Absaloms within; so that like David, we might follow after God’s heart.
Additional Readings:
About Saul: https://gotquestions.org/life-Saul.html
About Absalom: https://gotquestions.org/who-was-Absalom.html
devos from the hill 