Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1896-08-19
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
International t-esssn for August ~. is9e-
Ahssiom's ksasslion 50 samuel isi
Ills.
tArranged 'froB rclouset. Notcsl

Ass'oms 0sp8<uon - samuel tot
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tArranged fy0& reioucets Notesl
GOLDEN TENT.-lcnor thy father and
thy mother; that thy days may be Ions
upon the land which the Lord thy God
giveth thee.-Exodus col2
THE SECTION includes Chaps. IL 20 &c.
He who would understand the story OF
Ahsalom's rebellion. says Lyman Abbott.
must read II with Psalms a. and ~. Psalm
4 and Psalm ). Let him read them I'm that
order. They tell the whole story of David'S
battle and his victory. Also Psalms 50.
TIME.-Absaiom's rebellion occurred II.
Z. lo12 and ICES. IL or IL years after our last
lesson. The calculation IL made thus:
Amnon's crime. probably within a year or
Two after David's sin; Amnon slain two
years after his crime q Sam. 1929: Alb
salon In exile for three years after Staying
Amnon O3.Ss). and two years in Jerusalem
before he saw his father u1:sS), and four
years In plotting his rebellion ,see under
v.
LESSON NOTES.
i. The Steps Which Led Absalom 20
Rebellion.-The first step was his own
crime. Not long after David's sin be-
came known, perhaps before his bitter
repentance had been made public. his
eldest son, Amnon, possibly influenced
by his fathers example, committed a
sister, lamar. David was angry. but
took no steps TO punish his son and heir.
How could he, remembering his own
recent experience? Then Absalom, Ta-
mars own brother. after waiting two
years, made himself the avenger of
blood, and at feast he gave TO the
kings sons slew Amnon. Absalom's
revenge may have been encouraged by
the hope that il Amnon was out of the
way he himself might become Davii's
successor. Another step was certain
sense OF injustice and antagonism. AS
an exile for three years in the heather
country of his grandfather, and out of
favor for two more in Jerusalem, he
would naturally come into state of
antagonism with his father. lie felt
the injustice of his position. for he had
done only what he felt that his father
had wrongfully neglected TO do in
avenging his sisters wrong. More than
probably, too. he was in antaronism to
his fathers religion, being himself half
heathenish and wholly worldly. The
life of his father. who. rs n whole. was
wise, devoted, unselfish, religious man.
one who trusted and obcyed God, was
direct reproof of Absalom in all re.
CARDS. Another step was his growing
envy of the young Solomon. Absalom
would regard himself as the rightful
heir to his fathers throne. being the
Oldest son living. He saw that the in
huence of Bathsheba was paramount.
and that Solomon was the favorite son.
There were at least two conditions
which would seem TO make the success
or rebellion possible. First, there
was n growing dissatisfaction with the
king. The business of the low courts.
over which the king himself presided.
bad become too vast TO be attended to
by one man. Appeals from inferior
Judges and cases brought directly be.
fore the king could not all receive fair
hearing. UnquestioDably the loose adj
ministr'Ition of justice, the weakest part
OF David's government formed n real
grievance. Geike and others think that
the numbering of the people and the
consequent plague took place during
this period. 1t was political blundcr.
The enrolment was for either stricter
military service or to raise extra taxes
demanded by the growing expenses of
the monarchy, even while David had i'm
mense treasures laid up for religious
purposes.
III. The Plot.-Ns. 1-6. After the np-
porent reconciliation of Absalom TO his
father, he set up a carriage and horses,
and 90 men were runners before him.
This was to attract the attention of the
people by display of princely pomp,such
n "a n Fia al 10, -
placed himself at an early hour near the
gate where the king was accustomed to
sit and hear the complaints of the peo-
pie. AS the men of Israel came with
their suits. Absalom artfully battered
each by pronouncing favorable decis-
ion on his case. If the man lost his
cause, after this hattering opinion de-
livered by Absalom, of course he would
set IT down rs gross injustice. and be
incensed against David accordingly.
The Rebeilion.-Vs. TIP. -Four years
this passed away. The forty" in
verse seven is thought TO he n tran
scribcT's error for four, a mistake easily
made when numbers were designated
by letters often very similar. Then
AbsalCm went to Hebron, avowedly to
otter sacrifice. Before the secret EN-
issaries had been sent out, before he
went TO Hebron, TO prepare all the
disaffected ones for revolt, Glorious
believes Absalom arranged n success
sion OF trumpeters at proper stations
from north to south, so that IL could
be proclaimed by telegraph of sound,
on the same day through all the land:
"Absalom rcigneth i'm Hebron" Tho
first news the people would have OF
the rebellion would he that IL was al
ready an accomplished success. This
impression would aid the success in
the highest degree.
Two hundred prominent men OF
Jerusalem were invited 20 the sacri-
fetal feast, and though these knew
nothing of the plot. they would natur-
ally he regarded as accomplices in the
conspiracy. Absalom hoped that many
OF them, finding themselves thus com
promised, would decide 90 Join him.
The rebellion proved popular, and Alb
salon moved swiftly 90 Jerusalem. The
story of David's fight, with it's touch
ing incident, IL reserved for the next
lesson.