Conspiracy: A Biblical View, by Gary North - EntreWave

THE PEOPLE'S WILLTHE PEOPLE'S WILLAnd Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David'scounsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while heoffered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for thepeople increased continually with Absalom. And therecame a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of themen of Israel are after Absalom (11 Samuel 15:12-13).David was the lawful king of Israel. He had been anointed by Samuel,called by his people, and victorious on the battlefield. He hadconsistently refused to take up the sword against Saul, even afterSamuel had anointed David. He was content to wait for God todemonstrate through historical circumstances that David was thelawful king. He had never been involved in a premature grabbing ofthe robes of political authority. God eventually delivered the kingdominto his hand.David had at least eight wives and many sons. The line of successionto the throne was in doubt. This did not please Absalom. Like allrevolutionaries, he was impatient to wear the robes of authority. Hehad already had his equally evil brother Amnon murdered (II Samuel13:28-29). Now he plotted a conspiracy to overthrow David, capturethe throne, and eliminate his family rivals. He pretended to be a friendof the people and a friend of righteous judgment (II Samuel 15:2-6).The Bible records, "so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel(v. 6). The people's hearts were easily stolen. Things have notchanged. Absalom's rebellion led to civil war. He came very close toachieving his goal.The Bible calls this action of Absalom and the people a conspiracy.The Hebrew word can also be translated as "treason." What thisteaches us is that the people are not sovereign. God is sovereign, andHis law is sovereign. The Bible does not teach "vox populi, vox dei"(the voice of the people is the voice of God). When the people of asociety accept the idea that the people's will is absolutely sovereign,they thereby condemn themselves to a life of manipulation by corruptelites that will seek to rule "in the name of the People." They havehttp://freebooks.commentary.net/freebooks/docs/html/gnco/html/2.htm (1 of 10) [5/26/2000 1:48:04 PM]