Absalom was the third son of David. He was a very handsome man; there was none so beautiful as this man in Israel. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, there was no blemish in him. Sounds like the covering Cherub that fell? He also had long hair which he shaved off every year, the weight of which was a little more than two kilograms. Absalom must have held his head high indeed!

Satan came closer to David in Absalom.

Absalom started making his moves to win the trust of the people by showing himself more caring and more just than David. He started conspiring against his father. Absalom said to those who had grievances and were intending to approach the king that it would be better for them to have Absalom as Israel’s judge. Slowly and steadily he started gaining popularity by stealing their hearts.

When it was time for him to rebel against his father David, he took two hundred innocent men to Hebron and made himself king. He also brought Ahithophel, David’s trusted counsellor to his side. When this message about Absalom’s treason came to David, he immediately made plans of escaping from the sword of Absalom. He set out on foot with his men and went across the river Kidron to hide. Priests Abiathar and Zadok accompanied David taking with them the ark of the covenant of God. But David sent them back to Jerusalem saying, “If it pleased the Lord, he would bring me back”. David also planted one of his trusted friends Hushai among Absalom’s men so that he would get updates about Absalom through two of the priests’ sons.

Ahithophel gave Absalom very detestable advice of publicly abusing David’s concubines that were left behind in the palace as a mark of defiance which Absalom executed in a shameless manner. Without a shadow of a doubt, Absalom was the seed of Satan who came from the loins of David. The Old Serpent managed to hold the fort but could not retain it for long.

Absalom delayed sending an army to wipe out David in the nascent period of his escapade within which time David got wind of the planned attack by his own son against him. He despatched his men under three trusted captains. David’s men sent Absalom’s men crying for their lives. Absalom himself was “entangled” in a very weird accident. As he was fleeing for his life, his hair got caught in a branch of a tree while his mule kept running. The very element of pride for Abimelech became his death trap. Abner, one of the three captains thrust three darts into the heart of Absalom. Ten of his young men smote and slew him. A big pile of stone was heaped on his dead body indicating that he was a rebel and a criminal.

Satan failed again to put an end to the plan of God. Absalom, his tool found his end before Satan could attain his long-sought-after end.

With David getting old, Satan’s focus turned to the one who would occupy his throne. In his efforts to stop the advent of the Man Child, could he use his old strategy to trap this person as his victim – the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life? Would David’s successor be wise enough to stay open-eyed to the wiles of the enemy?