Absalom did not acknowledge that the king’s authority was given from above. He stirred a revolt to usurp David’s throne. King David was shocked that several of his aides stood on Absalom’s side, and he needed to get out of Jerusalem immediately if he was to survive. When his company passed through a certain area, a person called Shimei followed them, and kept hurling curses and throwing stones. The moment he judged that David’s authority ended, his true character (which was hidden until then) was revealed.

However, Absalom later died in vain, and David recovered his throne (2 Sam 19:1-43). David briefly suffered due to Absalom’s rebellion, and because of it, he thoroughly saw who was sincere and false among those who habitually said they loved the king established by God. This also became the opportunity to firmly lay the foundations for the kingdom, which later prospered.

When God’s Son came into hades to judge the devil, He came as a man with a weak body. If He did not briefly enter the world in a form lower than the angels, the devil would not have dared oppose Him (Heb 2:9), and it could not be proved that his opposition to the Angel of Jehovah was essentially a revolt against God.

The glory of the church is hidden from the world as a mystery. The church is sometimes disregarded, and the overseer is the particular focus of assault. But when the church and the overseer are hard pressed on every side, the saints’ love and faith for God will show. To some people, the church’s crisis will seem like an opportunity to elevate themselves, but to saints who are like ‘good soil’, it is a golden opportunity to prove their love for the Lord and prove their sincere faith for the authority He established (2 Tim 2:3).

Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim