2 Samuel 15:13 “And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.”

2 Samuel 15 tells the story of how a guy called Absalom turned Israel from following king David to following himself, as part of his ill fated attempt at his father’s throne.

In life, we all follow, we all have a king, and we all are following Jesus Christ or Satan. And this is pictorially illustrated in the story of David and Absalom.

Jesus said to forsake all and follow him. But most people are not following Christ… and, whether they realize it or not, most are following the devil.

To most people following Satan, to them it isn’t a conscious “I’m following Satan”… to them they can only see a good life that they’re pursuing, and a pretty good deal.

But perhaps the worst way to follow Satan is to follow him while thinking you’re following Jesus Christ. And this happens a lot.

Satan is a master of disguise, and in much the same way, Absalom was able to disguise his true nature and intentions to fool most of a nation into following him.

What people saw in Absalom was a successful, good looking young man. He came across as caring, intelligent, sensible… worthy “king” material! In reality, he was selfish, resentful, manipulative con man.

But in time, Israel turned from following David their king to following Absalom and his movement gained massive following and momentum…

… But the people had forgotten God’s word. Which is why it didn’t end well.

Because how can you know who to follow and who not to follow and see things for who and what they really are? Quite simply, the Holy Bible.

Back then, if you were torn between Absalom and David… and then leaning towards Absalom… the fact is that God’s word had installed David as the rightful king. And God’s word had not changed.

And so Israel could have known and need not have been fooled by Absalom for a second, much less into following him as “king”… if only they had just stuck to God’s word, which already told them who the right king to follow was.

And then after Absalom’s coup, we have a situation in this story where those in Israel who followed God’s word followed David, but those who didn’t follow God’s word followed Absalom.

And that’s how God’s word still divides between two categories of people and who they are following today. It’s just a matter of what side you fall on.

If you follow God’s word you will follow Jesus Christ, but if you do not follow God’s word, you will be following Satan.

There’s an incredibly prevalent idea in modern Christianity these days that you can somehow follow Jesus Christ without following the Bible.

… Which could not be more wrong. Because if you do not follow the Bible, you are not and cannot follow Jesus Christ… regardless of what you think.

The Holy Spirit always leads in accordance with the Bible, whereas Satan always leads people in violation to the Bible, like Absalom trying to claim David’s throne against God’s word.

… Yeah, sure, maybe faith in the old book isn’t interesting or relevant to you, but remember, all this happened because Israel had gotten a bit sick and tired and discontented with “old” David in the first place.

And you may want upgraded Christianity like Israel wanted an upgrade from David… hence the upgraded Bibles, upgraded music, upgraded worship, upgraded doctrine and upgraded Jesus in churches today…

But no matter what newer, “sexier” religious model you find like they found in Absalom, it’s still faith in the old book that follows Jesus Christ and keeps you clear of Satan’s age old tricks.

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