WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JULY 30, 2024
TOPIC: PEOPLE WILL USE WHAT YOU LIKE OR WANT TO DECEIVE YOU
BY T. O. BANSO
“Now it came to pass after forty years that Absalom said to the king, ‘Please, let me go to Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord. For your servant took a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’’ And the king said to him, ‘Go in peace.’ So he arose and went to Hebron” (2 Samuel 15:7-9 New King James Version).
What you consider your strength can also become your weakness. Deceitful people sometimes use what their victims like or want to deceive them. For example, they can tell them what they want to hear, knowing they will likely believe them. Their victims are deceived by their lies. What do you like? Is it prayer, praise, power, or any other thing? Be careful; deceitful people will try to use it against you. They will hide under it to deceive you. Satan often tempts people with what he knows they love and will hardly resist.
David had a heart for God. His son, Absalom, who was plotting a rebellion, knew his father well. Therefore, he deceived him by giving him the impression that he also loved God! Four years after he had returned to Jerusalem from exile after killing his half-brother, the eldest of David’s son, Jonadab, he lied to his father to execute his plan to dethrone him.
2 Samuel 15:7-9 says, “Now it came to pass after forty years that Absalom said to the king, ‘Please, let me go to Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord. For your servant took a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’’ And the king said to him, ‘Go in peace.’ So he arose and went to Hebron” (2 Samuel 15:7-9 New King James Version).
Absalom was born in Hebron (2 Samuel 3:2). His father started his reign in Hebron, ruling over Judah for seven years and six months (2 Samuel 5:5a). Absalom knew that David, a lover of God, would permit him to travel if he gave the redemption of a vow he had made as the reason for going to Hebron. He, therefore, lied to him that he wanted to go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD in fulfilment of a vow he made to Him that he would sacrifice to Him in Hebron if he would bring him back to Jerusalem. There is no record that Absalom made such a vow or later fulfilled it in Hebron. It was part of his plan to revolt against his father.
2 Samuel 15:10-13 says, “Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, ‘As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’ And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything. Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city—from Giloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom continually increased in number. Now a messenger came to David, saying, ‘The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom’” (New King James Version).
The revolt succeeded. He seized power from his father. David and his loyalists had to flee Jerusalem. Absalom was in charge for a period until his rebellion was put down and he was killed in the process.
Absalom deceived his father. He knew his father’s heart for God and told him what he would want to hear. He knew David would not joke about paying his vow. He knew David would go to pay his vow if he were in his shoes.
In Psalm 56, which David is believed to have written regarding the time the Philistines seized him in Gath, he said in verses 12-13, “Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, for You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God in the light of the living?” (New King James Version). Earlier in Psalm 22:25, he said, “My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him” (New King James Version).
Absalom knew David would be comfortable with his reason for going to Hebron. David also would have had a sentimental attachment to Hebron. As I said, David had been king in Hebron over the house of Judah for seven years and six months (2 Samuel 2:11). That was before he became the king of the entire nation of Israel, captured Jerusalem, and made it his capital (1 Chronicles 11:4-9). He would also remember that Absalom was born in Hebron.
Deceivers will seek to manipulate or take advantage of you, using what you like or want, or are emotionally attached to. Some children, employees, neighbours, and even friends do this. There have been cases of children getting permission from their Christian parents to go for a vigil in church but, instead, went to a night party. They knew their parents would not object to going for a vigil so they lied to them. A lady confessed that she was always going to sleep in her boyfriend’s house every Friday, deceiving her parents that she was going to church for a vigil. At a young age, she had had an abortion multiple times.
People can use what you love as a cover and deceive you. Be careful. Don’t be deceived. Listen to what they’ve said and what they’ve not said. They may have a hidden agenda or an ulterior motive. Read between the lines, and listen to the Holy Spirit.
Beware! Isaac was deceived because of his love for meat from the field. He had suspected foul play because the meat was brought to him earlier than normal (Genesis 27:20). “Isaac said to Jacob, ‘Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.’ So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, ‘The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau’” (verses 21-22).
He knew something was wrong and still asked him if he was really his son, Esau. Despite these doubts, he still went ahead to bless the deceiver, Jacob, because of the meat he had brought for him to eat.
Be careful! Don’t let your enemies use your strength or love against you. Don’t let your strength become your weakness! Beware, deceivers will tell you what you like to hear!
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, expose every deceit around me. Let not the enemy succeed in using what I like or I am emotionally attached to, to catch me. Grant me spiritual sensitivity to detect the enemy’s deceit.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
