2 Samuel 15 Is God Still God When the Walls Crash Down?

Title: Is God Still God When the Walls Crash Down?

Big Idea: Because God remains sovereign even when our world falls apart, we must respond to catastrophe with faithful trust rather than despair. Christ Focus: We can depend on God even in catastrophe because we know that the ultimate victory was already secured in Christ. Application: Determine before catastrophe comes that you will trust God’s sovereignty, submit to His will, and look for evidence of His faithful work.

Introduction

Image: The Enemy Within: The Betrayal of Tony Stark

In the 2008 film *Iron Man*, Tony Stark’s greatest enemy isn’t a foreign terrorist or a rival corporation — it’s Obadiah Stane, the man he trusted most. Obadiah had been his father’s business partner, Tony’s mentor, and the one person he believed was looking out for him. But behind the scenes, Obadiah had orchestrated Tony’s kidnapping because he wanted control of Stark Industries. The betrayal reaches its climax when Obadiah walks into Tony’s home, smiles, paralyzes him, rips the life-sustaining Arc Reactor from Tony’s chest, and leaves him to die. Tony wasn’t betrayed by an enemy; he was betrayed by someone he considered family.

As painful as that fictional betrayal is, David’s was even greater. He wasn’t betrayed by a rival king or a foreign nation. He was betrayed by his own son and by many of the very people he had spent years leading and serving. Sometimes the deepest wounds don’t come from our enemies — they come from those we trusted the most.

Preview: Today we’ll see three realities every believer must embrace:

- Betrayal is inevitable in a broken world. - Submission is the true test of faith. - Hope can still be found because God remains at work.

Setting the Stage:

David has already suffered the consequences of his own sin. His family has unraveled. Amnon is dead. Absalom has spent years cultivating popularity while David failed to deal decisively with the problems in his home. Now everything comes crashing down.

2 Samuel 15 begins with the phrase “In the course of time.” This phrase, used regularly throughout 2 Samuel, marks a temporal introduction, telling us that what we are about to read makes sense if we look at what comes before. In other words, the problems we will see in 2 Samuel 15 are all connected with the problems we have seen over the last several weeks.

The roots of Absalom’s rebellion run deep into David’s earlier failures as a father. When Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar, Absalom orchestrated his murder and fled to Geshur for three years — a crisis that exposed David’s inability to maintain order within his own household. Though David yearned for reconciliation, he struggled to forgive his son’s violent response. Rather than addressing the underlying dysfunction that plagued his family, David allowed the wound to fester.

• • what do we do when it all comes crashing down?**

Body

**Betrayal** — In a broken world, even those you trust may fail you (1-12).

Absalom stole the hearts and minds of the people (1–6).

Standing at the city gate, Absalom patiently won the people of Israel through flattery, empty promises, and carefully crafted appearances. Rather than serving the people, he manipulated them for his own advancement.

We have studied the Hebrew word לֵב (lēvav, “heart”) before, so I won’t spend much time here. Remember that in the Hebrew mind, the heart was more than the seat of emotion; it also represented the mind, the will, and the center of decision-making. When verse 6 says that, “Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel,” it means far more than winning their affection. He captured their thinking. He reshaped how they viewed David and convinced them that he was the better king.

This wasn't accidental. Absalom knew exactly what he was doing. Every step of his plan was deliberate.

First, he looked like a king. Verse 1 tells us that he acquired a chariot, horses, and fifty men to run before him. Long before he ever wore a crown, he wanted people to see him as royalty. Appearance often precedes influence.

Second, he undermined the king. Every morning he positioned himself at the city gate where legal disputes were heard. As people arrived seeking justice, Absalom sympathized with their frustrations and subtly suggested that David had failed them. Then he offered the solution: “If only I were judge in the land...” (v. 4). Without openly attacking David, he planted seeds of discontent until people began believing that David no longer cared.

Finally, he weaponized affection. Instead of allowing people to bow before him as protocol demanded, Absalom reached out, embraced them, and kissed them. In the Ancient Near East, a kiss often carried political significance. It could symbolize loyalty, covenant, or royal favor. By initiating the kiss himself, Absalom created the illusion that he wasn’t an exalted ruler but an approachable friend. He acted like a humble servant while quietly presenting himself as the people’s true king.

It was political manipulation at its finest. For four years, Absalom carefully cultivated an image that won not only the people’s affection but also their allegiance.

Absalom used worship as a cover for rebellion (7–9).

Having won the people’s confidence, Absalom was ready for the next stage of his plan.

He approached David with what sounded like a deeply spiritual request. He claimed he needed to travel to Hebron to fulfill a vow he had made to the Lord. It sounded noble. It sounded humble. It sounded like worship.

It was none of those things.

Verse 7 tells us that Absalom patiently maintained this deception for four years. Just as he had waited two years before murdering Amnon, he was willing to wait years again until the timing was perfect. Like before, he even asked David’s permission to carry out his plan.

There is tremendous irony in David’s response: “Go in peace.” Peace was the very thing Absalom intended to destroy.

What is perhaps most disturbing is that Absalom had no hesitation about using God to advance his own agenda. He wrapped rebellion in the language of worship. He used a vow to the Lord as camouflage for treason.

That is the nature of a hardened heart. There are people who are so consumed by power, prestige, or profit that they will even use religion as a tool to accomplish their own purposes.

Image: Church CEO phishing scams

Every few months someone in our church receives an email that appears to come from me. The message usually says I’m in a meeting, need help immediately, and asks them to buy gift cards for someone on staff.

The scam isn’t just dishonest — it intentionally exploits trust. These scammers know that people want to help their pastor, so they use my name to manipulate others for financial gain. They have no concern for truth, integrity, or even the fact that they are invoking God’s church for their own profit.

Absalom did the same thing on a much larger scale. He used the language of worship to disguise rebellion.

Absalom declared himself king (10–12).

Once everything was in place, Absalom set his plan into motion.

Messengers were secretly stationed throughout Israel. At the sound of the trumpet they would all proclaim, “Absalom reigns in Hebron!”

To strengthen his position, Absalom invited two hundred respected men from Jerusalem. They came innocently, unaware of the conspiracy, yet their very presence gave legitimacy to his rebellion. From David’s perspective, they appeared to have sided with Absalom. From everyone else’s perspective, if these influential men were with Absalom, perhaps everyone else should be too.

Then came perhaps the greatest blow of all: Ahithophel, David’s trusted counselor, defected to Absalom’s side. What had begun as private deception had become national rebellion.

Notice how quickly evil spreads. Four years of quiet manipulation suddenly erupted into a full-scale crisis. The people found themselves following a man they never intended to crown.

That is often how deception works. Rarely does it announce itself. It grows slowly, patiently, almost imperceptibly, until one day people discover they have given their loyalty to someone utterly unworthy of it.

Action Step: Guard your heart — not by becoming cynical, but by anchoring your trust in the One who will never betray you.

The lesson is not that we should become suspicious of everyone around us.

The lesson is that we should never place ultimate confidence in people.

People will disappoint us. Leaders will fail. Friends may betray us. Even family members can break our hearts.

But human unfaithfulness should never cause us to doubt God’s faithfulness.

Guard your heart — not by becoming cynical, but by anchoring your trust in the One who will never betray you.

**Submission** — The true test of faith is how we respond when life falls apart (13-29).

David accepted that catastrophe had come (13–18).

Rather than clinging desperately to the throne and turning Jerusalem into a battlefield, David chose to flee, protecting both the city and its people.

The emphasis of verses 13-18 here is on the intentionality with which David acts. We can see several priorities in David’s actions.

First, David prioritizes the lives of those around him. David is less concerned with power and more concerned with the safety of those with whom he is associated. I want us to notice the significance of David’s actions here: power was not worth the lives of those for whom David bore responsibility.

Second, David prioritizes the safety of the city. David could have commanded his forces and the city to prepare for a siege and battle, but power was not worth the destruction of people and the city. Catastrophe had come, and David was willing to accept that catastrophe.

Third, David made sure that things were taken care of. David was fleeing but not abandoning, and so David left ten women, his concubines, to care for the palace. Here too, we can see David’s focus on protecting life. These women could not be mistaken by Absalom as an elite palace guard; these were merely caretakers. “Jerusalem was to be a city of peace (cf. Ps 122:6–9), so only individuals excluded from active participation in military conflict would be permitted to preserve David’s interests in the city.”[^fn1]

There is something important for us to see here. Catastrophe has a way of exposing what we truly value. David valued people more than power. When everything was falling apart, he wasn’t asking, “How do I keep my throne?” He was asking, “How do I protect the people God has entrusted to me?”

David refused to make everything about himself (19–22).

We see David’s heart even more clearly in his conversation with Ittai the Gittite.

Ittai was a foreigner who had only recently joined David. Humanly speaking, David needed every soldier he could get. Yet instead of demanding loyalty, David offered him an honorable way out.

“Why should you come with us? Go back...”

David wasn’t interested in building the largest army possible. Once again, he placed the well-being of another person ahead of his own interests.

I love this moment because pressure reveals character.

David is losing nearly everything — his throne, his home, even the loyalty of many of his people. Yet he isn’t grasping for control. He isn’t manipulating people into staying with him. Instead, he is thinking about what is best for someone else.

That kind of leadership inspires loyalty.

Listen to Ittai’s response: > ”As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”

David’s character under pressure produced devotion in those around him.

David entrusted himself to God’s will (23–29).

The clearest picture of David’s submission comes when the priests arrive carrying the Ark of the Covenant.

If David had wanted to manipulate God, this was his opportunity.

The ark represented God’s presence among His people. Earlier in Israel’s history, people had treated it like a lucky charm, assuming that simply possessing the ark guaranteed victory. Think back to Eli’s sons, who carried the ark into battle against the Philistines as though they could force God to fight for them.

David refuses to make the same mistake.

Instead, he tells Zadok: > ”25 Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”

This is one of the clearest moments of spiritual maturity in David’s life.

Notice what he is not saying.

He is not saying, “Whatever happens, happens.”

He is not throwing up his hands in despair.

He recognizes that these events may very well be God’s discipline for his own sin, and he willingly places himself under God’s authority.

David lays out two possibilities. If God chooses to restore him, then David will return and worship before the ark once again. If God chooses not to restore him, then David will accept God’s decision.

That isn’t defeat.

That is surrender.

David stops trying to control the outcome and entrusts himself completely to the Lord.

But don’t mistake submission for passivity.

David sends Zadok and Abiathar back into Jerusalem, where they can gather information about Absalom’s movements. David does everything wisdom requires while leaving the results entirely in God’s hands.

That is biblical submission.

It is doing everything God has called you to do while trusting Him with everything you cannot control.

Image: The song “Praise you In this Storm”

Casting Crowns became close to a ten-year-old girl named Erin Browning after learning that she had performed one of their songs at school. Soon afterward, Erin was diagnosed with bone cancer. As the band watched Erin and her family walk through months of suffering, they witnessed something that deeply challenged their own faith.

After Erin passed away, lead singer Mark Hall reflected that watching her mother worship God through unimaginable loss exposed how conditional his own worship often was. He realized it was easy to praise God when life was good. The real test came when the storm refused to end. That experience inspired these words:

> I was sure by now God, You would have reached down And wiped our tears away Stepped in and saved the day And once again I say, “A-men” and it's still rainin’ But as the thunder rolls I barely hear Your whisper through the rain “I’m with you” And as Your mercy falls I’ll raise my hands and praise the God who gives And takes away And I’ll praise You in this storm And I will lift my hands For You are who You are No matter where I am And every tear I’ve cried You hold in Your hand You never left my side And though my heart is torn I will praise You in this storm

That is exactly what David is learning.

He doesn’t know whether he will ever sit on the throne again.

He doesn’t know whether he will ever see Jerusalem again.

He only knows that God is still God.

And that is enough.

Action Step: Don’t wait until catastrophe comes to decide whether you will trust God.

Settle that question today.

Determine now that no matter what happens — whether God gives or whether He takes away — you will submit to His wisdom, worship His goodness, and trust that His purposes are always better than your own.

**Hope** — Even in catastrophe, God is still quietly accomplishing His purposes (30-37).

David’s grief was real (30–31).

It is possible to read this chapter like a history book — simply tracing the events without ever feeling the weight of what David is experiencing.

But the author won’t let us do that.

David isn’t simply leaving Jerusalem; he is leaving behind everything he has spent decades building. He has been betrayed by his own son, a son with whom he has shown remarkable patience. His kingdom is collapsing, his family is in ruins, and the prophecy Nathan delivered years earlier in 2 Samuel 12 is now unfolding before his eyes.

So David climbs the Mount of Olives weeping.

He goes barefoot.

His head is covered.

These aren’t random details. They are the visible expressions of profound grief. David isn’t pretending everything is fine. He isn’t suppressing his emotions. He is mourning because what is happening is genuinely heartbreaking.

Sometimes we imagine that trusting God means pretending the pain doesn’t exist.

It doesn’t.

Faith does not eliminate grief.

Faith gives us somewhere to take our grief.

But notice this: David’s grief is real, but it is not the end of the story.

God’s providence began appearing in small ways (32–37).

Just as David reaches the summit of the mountain, someone appears.

His name is Hushai.

At first glance, it seems like an insignificant detail. One loyal friend arrives wearing torn clothes and dust on his head, mourning alongside David.

But this is far more than a chance encounter.

God is already providing exactly what David needs before David even knows he needs it.

David immediately realizes Hushai can serve a greater purpose by returning to Jerusalem. There he will quietly counter the counsel of Ahithophel, work alongside Zadok and Abiathar, and become part of the network God will use to preserve David’s kingdom.

It isn’t flashy.

There are no miracles.

No fire falls from heaven.

No army of angels appears.

Instead, God works through faithful people making wise decisions at exactly the right time.

That is often how God’s providence works.

When we are in the middle of catastrophe, we long for dramatic interventions.

Instead, God frequently provides quiet mercies.

A timely phone call.

A faithful friend.

An encouraging word.

An unexpected opportunity.

A door that quietly opens.

We often recognize God’s hand only when we look back and realize He had been working all along.

Verse 37 ends with a small but significant ray of hope.

David is still in exile.

Absalom is still in Jerusalem.

Nothing has been resolved.

But God has not stopped working.

Ultimate hope rests in the Lord (John 14:25-28).

That same truth belongs to us today.

Jesus never promised His followers a life free from storms.

In fact, on the night before His own betrayal, Jesus told His disciples:

> “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you... Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Notice that Jesus didn’t promise the absence of trouble.

He promised His presence in the middle of it.

Because Christ died, rose again, ascended to the Father, and sent the Holy Spirit, we are never abandoned in our suffering.

The Spirit dwells within us.

Christ intercedes for us.

The Father sovereignly governs every circumstance.

Even when the walls come crashing down, we are never outside God’s care.

Action Step: Determine now that when catastrophe strikes you will look for hope.

When catastrophe comes, don’t spend all your energy asking, “Why is this happening?”

Instead, begin looking for the quiet evidence that God is still at work.

His providence is often found not in spectacular miracles but in ordinary mercies.

The God who met David on the Mount of Olives is the same God who walks with His people today.

Conclusion

When the walls come crashing down, we discover what we truly believe about God.

David lost his throne, his home, his reputation, and even the loyalty of his own son. Yet he learned that God’s reign had not been threatened.

Centuries later another King would also leave Jerusalem, cross the Kidron Valley, ascend the Mount of Olives, and be betrayed by someone close to Him. Unlike David, Jesus’ suffering was not the result of His own sin but of ours. Through His willing submission to the Father’s will, He secured a hope that no catastrophe can ever destroy.

The question is not whether tragedy will come. It will.

The question is whether, when it does, we will continue to believe that God is still God.

[^fn1]: Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 403.