2 Samuel 15

Bible Passage:  2 Samuel 15

Absalom was really something, wasn’t he?

The more I read about this character, the more I marvel at the depth of his character – he seemed to be someone rather scheming and capable of much more….

Chapter after chapter, the things he does shock me.

He stole the hearts of the people

Today’s chapter started with an account of how Absalom won over the hearts of Israel. If we were to read and ponder deeper, it is interesting to see that many of the ‘tricks’ Absalom used are actually techniques we can learn from and use in our own personal evangelism!

A Bible commentator noted the following (among other things):

1. He carefully cultivated an exciting, enticing image (chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him)
2. He worked hard (Absalom would rise early)
3. He knew where to position himself (beside the way to the gate)
4. He looked for troubled people (anyone who had a lawsuit)
5. He reached out to troubled people (Absalom would call to him)
6. He took a personal interest in the troubled person (What city are you from?)
7. He sympathized with the person (your case is good and right)

I thought it might be good to draw some lessons about personal evangelism here since today happens to be a Sabbath Evangelistic Service.

In doing personal evangelism, our outward appearance does matter. Because first impression does count, dressing modestly and neatly would send off a good message to the receiver. Even more importantly is our reputation which others have known us to be. Are we known as he who goes to church faithfully every Friday night? Or she who always talks about Jesus? Or are we the one who gossip behind people’s back? Or the ones who play tricks in order to gain benefits?

Working hard is of course a given. Sometimes this means going out of our way to make sure a truth-seeker is comfortable in church. Or that, despite our own busyness, we still remember to send that reminder sms to encourage a friend to attend church. Even more importantly, we need to work hard with a willing heart. God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). If we are working hard grudgingly, we have just discounted all our hard work. They wouldn’t mean as much to God.

We need to know where to ‘position’ ourselves. Not only do we go out into the masses to distribute church tracts in order to reach more people, we should also consider ‘positioning’ ourselves in such a way that people can easily find us. Even if we have a good reputation as a Christian, people still cannot come to God through us if we are always hiding in a corner of the office during lunch or praying alone in one of the classrooms during breaks. In other words, we need to make ourselves available, positioned somewhere where we can be reached easily. Some suggestions would be to hang around church’s dining area during the lunchtime break, or occasionally coming online on MSN for those who do not have the habit to do so. You never know what surprises you might get.

When Jesus was on earth, He once said this, “Only the sick need a doctor” (Mark 2:17). He specifically went to sinners who had a need, and indeed most of the times, these are the ones who are willing to hear about Jesus. Are there any troubled souls around you? Perhaps it may be over exam stress, or over work fatigue, or over the real meaning of life. Start with these people!

In my opinion, for us to persist in evangelism work, it is really important that we develop an interest in people. We need to be interested in people! After all, every one of us is created by God. And every one of us is different, and special. Hopefully, this would motivate you to want to reach out to more souls to bring them back to Christ.

Most of us might have heard of this exhortation before: Be a friend first. When there are new faces in church, rather than bombarding them with our church doctrines all at one go, try to make friends first and hopefully through the friendship, there will be more chances for that person to know God. We could ask them more about themselves (most people would not mind talking about themselves, if they have a willing listener!), what they do, how did they come to know God, or what made them interested to step into church etc.

In personal evangelism, a very important skill to have is listening. And people can generally tell if you are a good listener, or if you have been sincerely listening, by the way you answer. Listen in such a way so that we may feel for the person. Maybe that person might be moved by your sincerity to want to know about the God whom you worship!

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Apparently, Absalom knew of these techniques to reach out to people and to win their hearts over. The only difference was that he did not do it out of a pure motive.

It is interesting to note that the word ‘stole’ was used, and this meaning was only made obvious to me in the Chinese translation (押 沙 龙 暗 中 得 了 以 色 列 人 的 心). He won the hearts of people over without them even knowing about it! It was secretive, like in the dark. At this juncture, perhaps we can ask ourselves if there have been anything that had secretly stolen our heart, without our knowledge!

As Christians today, we want to win hearts too, but we want to win hearts over for Jesus.

casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Techniques may help bridge that gap between us and the other party. However, only by the power of the Holy Spirit can one be fully convinced in the faith. Therefore, at times, perhaps we need not know anything else except Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and allow the power of God to be manifested (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).  🙂
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Some other thoughts that lingered:

What do you think about Ittai the Gittite’s decision to follow King David? Can we draw a parallel to the way we follow Christ today?

Hushai was called David’s friend (2 Samuel 15:37). Jesus also called us His friends (John 15:13-15). What are the conditions to be called as friends?