JUST BE YOU – Part 2 – Simply. Honestly. Emily.

…and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel. – 2 Samuel 15:6

Back in November we had a painter come in and refinish our cabinets. They were all the color of birch wood that you see on the photo on the left. We had them painted white and grey. We loved how they turned out. It literally changed the look of the kitchen. We knew we wanted to do something with the refrigerator but didn’t want it white. Instead, we decided to sand it and refinish it with chalkboard paint so we could draw on it. When the project was complete I was so happy with the result. To this day it still makes me smile when I look at it.

Even though our kitchen has a brand new, updated look, it’s still the same. It’s still the same cabinets we had when we bought the house three years ago. In fact it’s still the same 20 year old refrigerator with the rusted shelf that cost us a good chunk of money to repair a few years ago. It may look new or different, but underneath the coats of paint is the same refrigerator that runs the same as it did before the paint was applied.

Sometimes the same can be said about you and me. There are times in our lives when we want to talk ourselves up or make us look “better” than we were before. We want people to look up to us. To treat us “better” because of something we can do. We want to be someone that we aren’t.

There is a story in 2 Samuel where Absalom falls into that trap. He wants to build himself up to be something he wasn’t before. He wants the people to fall at his feet. He wants to be like a king. Unfortunately it becomes a source of destruction instead of good.

The same can happen to us when we try to be someone we aren’t. Our actions can become a source of destruction to the world around us. We may begin hurting others or cause others to act different.

We need to remember that God created us in his image. God created who we are. We need to remember that God loves us exactly the way we are. He doesn’t love us for the things we do but instead he loves us because of who we are! We belong to him and always will. Nothing we can do here on earth to ourselves will make that image “better”. Just like our newly painted refrigerator, it may look different with a new coat of paint but it’s still the same old 20 year old appliance!

Read 2 Samuel 15 today as a reminder of how destructive it can be to try and be someone that you are not. If you have time in the next few days, read a few chapters before and after 15, to get a good look at the story of Absalom and David. No matter what, take a moment to thank God for the perfect you that you are. These next few days focus on just being you! You are beautiful as you are!

STUDY – 2 Samuel 15:1-37 – NIV

Absalom’s Conspiracy

¹In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. ²He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” ³Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” ⁴And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”

⁵Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. ⁶Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.

⁷At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. ⁸While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.’ “

⁹The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron.

¹⁰Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’ “ ¹¹Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. ¹²While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.

David Flees

¹³A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”

¹⁴Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”

¹⁵The king’s officials answered him, “your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.”

¹⁶The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. ¹⁷So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city. ¹⁸All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.

¹⁹The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. ²⁰You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”

²¹But 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.”

²²David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.

²³The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.

²⁴Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.

²⁵Then 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. ²⁶But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”

²⁷The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar’s son Jonathan. You and Abiathar return with your two sons. ²⁸I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹So Zadok and Abathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.

³⁰But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. ³¹Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”

³²When 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. ³³David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. ³⁴But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel’s advice. ³⁵Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king’s palace. ³⁶Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.”