Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Confession and Forgiveness^[a]

Absalom Plans Rebellion

15 After this, Absalom provided a chariot and horses for himself, and an escort of fifty men. ² He would get up early and go and stand by the road at the city gate. Whenever someone came there with a dispute that he wanted the king to settle, Absalom would call him over and ask him where he was from. And after the man had told him what tribe he was from, ³ Absalom would say, “Look, the law is on your side, but there is no representative of the king to hear your case.” ⁴ And he would add, “How I wish I were a judge! Then anyone who had a dispute or a claim could come to me, and I would give him justice.” ⁵ When the man would approach Absalom to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out, take hold of him, and kiss him. ⁶ Absalom did this with every Israelite who came to the king for judgment, and so he won their loyalty.

⁷ After four^[a] years Absalom said to King David, “Sir, let me go to Hebron and keep a promise I made to the Lord. ⁸ While I was living in Geshur in Syria, I promised the Lord that if he would take me back to Jerusalem, I would worship him in Hebron.”^[b]

⁹ “Go in peace,” the king said. So Absalom went to Hebron. ¹⁰ But he sent messengers to all the tribes of Israel to say, “When you hear the sound of trumpets, shout, ‘Absalom has become king at Hebron!’” ¹¹ There were two hundred men who at Absalom's invitation had gone from Jerusalem with him; they knew nothing of the plot and went in all good faith. ¹² And while he was offering sacrifices, Absalom also sent to the town of Gilo for Ahithophel, who was one of King David's advisers. The plot against the king gained strength, and Absalom's followers grew in number.

God's Mercy on Israel

11 ^(A)I ask, then: Did God reject his own people? Certainly not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected his people, whom he chose from the beginning. You know what the scripture says in the passage where Elijah pleads with God against Israel: ^3 (B)“Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me.” ^4 (C)What answer did God give him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not worshiped the false god Baal.” ⁵ It is the same way now: there is a small number left of those whom God has chosen because of his grace. ⁶ His choice is based on his grace, not on what they have done. For if God's choice were based on what people do, then his grace would not be real grace.

⁷ What then? The people of Israel did not find what they were looking for. It was only the small group that God chose who found it; the rest grew deaf to God's call. ^8 (D)As the scripture says, “God made their minds and hearts dull; to this very day they cannot see or hear.” ^9 (E)And David says,