May 29 - The Absalom Spirit
God has given authority to those over us. In the home, we are under the covering and authority of our parents; in the country, we are under the rule of the government; in the church, we are under the spiritual authority of the pastor. This is sometimes called the chain of command and that everyone is under someone else’s authority and none of us is above the law as to come under no one. When someone tells you that he is not under any authority, he is a dangerous person. But how should we look at those who have God-given authority over us?
Absalom began as a protector of his sister Tamar who was raped by her stepbrother, Amnon. When his father, David the king, even though he was angry about this, did not do anything about it, Absalom took the law into his own hands. He killed Amnon and fled to Geshur. When Joab intervened and brought him back, he was ignored by his father until Joab told a woman to speak to the king. In his mind, his father, his authority person, was inept. He did not right the wrong and when Absalom did it for him, he was not pleased. The rebellious spirit in Absalom grew more and more each day leading to the eventual rebellion.
When you are not satisfied with the leaders or those who have authority over you, it is very easy for the spirit of Absalom to come into you. Either criticizing them openly or in the heart, you begin to disrespect them and not give them their rightful authority. You may want to spread the offense to other people and have them follow you instead of the rightful authority figure. This happens a lot in churches, beginning with the dissatisfaction towards the pastor. When one criticizes the leadership, he is no longer under their covering. Very few see this as a spiritual danger.
When you remove the rightful authority, you have to seek for other forms of authority. All alternatives are counterfeits at best because God has not intended them to be so. The rebellion of Absalom began with some disagreement and dissatisfaction but ended in bloodshed and war. When there is a civil war, no one wins. The winner would become the loser because they are all your own people. There was no joy and jubilation when the triumphant army returned and victory became a defeat. When brothers fight one another, we all lose and the devil wins.
This is exactly the reason why Jesus prayed for the unity of the believers. The only thing that could hamper the cause of the Kingdom is usually the disunity of the believers. When all of us are under the rightful authority, God’s rule comes. Wherever there is rebellion and disrespect for authority, chaos and confusion will result. Have you ever harbor resentment towards your leaders and authority figures? Repent now, pray and bless them instead of criticizing them.
Ps 122:6-9 2 Sam 14:1-15:22 John 18:1-24 Prov 16:8-9