Part-III
February 11, 1999

HOW the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion With a cloud in His anger! He has cast from heaven to earth The glory of Israel, And has not remembered His footstool In the day of His anger.
The Lord has swallowed up; He has not spared All the habitations of Jacob. In His wrath He has thrown down The strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has brought them down to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.
In fierce anger He has cut off All the strength of Israel; He has drawn back His right hand From before the enemy. And He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire Consuming round about.
He has bent His bow like an enemy; He has set His right hand like an adversary And slain all that were pleasant to the eye; In the tent of the daughter of Zion He has poured out His wrath like fire.
The Lord has become like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel; He has swallowed up all its palaces, He has destroyed its strongholds And multiplied in the daughter of Judah Mourning and moaning.
And He has violently treated His tabernacle like a garden booth; He has destroyed His appointed meeting place. The LORD has caused to be forgotten The appointed feast and Sabbath in Zion, And He has despised king and priest In the indignation of His anger.
The Lord has rejected His altar, He has abandoned His sanctuary; He has delivered into the hand of the enemy The walls of her palaces. They have made a noise in the house of the LORD As in the day of an appointed feast.
The LORD determined to destroy The wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line, He has not restrained His hand from destroying,
And He has caused rampart and wall to lament; They have languished together.
Her gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the nations; The law is no more. Also, her prophets find No vision from the LORD.
The elders of the daughter of Zion Sit on the ground, they are silent. They have thrown dust on their heads; They have girded themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem Have bowed their heads to the ground.
My eyes fail because of tears, My spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is poured out on the earth Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, When little ones and infants faint In the streets of the city.
They say to their mothers, «Where is grain and wine?» As they faint like a wounded man In the streets of the city, As their life is poured out On their mothers' bosom.
How shall I admonish you? To what shall I compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I liken you as I comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is as vast as the sea; Who can heal you?
Your prophets have seen for you False and foolish visions; And they have not exposed your iniquity So as to restore you from captivity, But they have seen for you false and misleading oracles.
All who pass along the way Clap their hands in derision at you; They hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem, «Is this the city of which they said, "The perfection of beauty, A joy to all the earth'?»
All your enemies Have opened their mouths wide against you; They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, «We have swallowed her up! Surely this is the day for which we waited; We have reached it, we have seen it.»
The LORD has done what He purposed; He has accomplished His word Which He commanded from days of old. He has thrown down without sparing, And He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the might of your adversaries.
Their heart cried out to the Lord, «O wall of the daughter of Zion, Let your tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let your eyes have no rest.
«Arise, cry aloud in the night At the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your little ones Who are faint because of hunger At the head of every street.»
See, O LORD, and look! With whom have You dealt thus? Should women eat their offspring, The little ones who were born healthy? Should priest and prophet be slain In the sanctuary of the Lord?
On the ground in the streets Lie young and old; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered, not sparing.
You called as in the day of an appointed feast My terrors on every side; And there was no one who escaped or survived In the day of the LORD'S anger. Those whom I bore and reared, My enemy annihilated them.

FOR behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread And the whole supply of water;
The mighty man and the warrior, The judge and the prophet, The diviner and the elder,
The captain of fifty and the honorable man, The counselor and the expert artisan, And the skillful enchanter.
And I will make mere lads their princes, And capricious children will rule over them,
And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will storm against the elder And the inferior against the honorable.
When a man lays hold of his brother in his father's house, saying, «You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler, And these ruins will be under your charge,»
He will protest on that day, saying, «I will not be your healer, For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak; You should not appoint me ruler of the people.»
For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen, Because their speech and their actions are against the LORD, To rebel against His glorious presence.
The expression of their faces bears witness against them, And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.
Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions.
Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him.
O My people! Their oppressors are children, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray And confuse the direction of your paths.
The LORD arises to contend, And stands to judge the people.
The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people, «It is you who have devoured the vineyard; The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
«What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the face of the poor?» Declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
Moreover, the LORD said, «Because the daughters of Zion are proud And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, And go along with mincing steps And tinkle the bangles on their feet,
Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs, And the LORD will make their foreheads bare.»
In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, finger rings, nose rings,
festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses,
hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans and veils.
Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction; Instead of a belt, a rope; Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp; Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty.
Your men will fall by the sword And your mighty ones in battle.
And her gates will lament and mourn, And deserted she will sit on the ground. 

Lovest thou Me?
Part V
February 14, 1999

[There is a passage missing here. Please forgive me as I misplaced it's reference.]

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be   split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving   south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake    in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime--a day known to the LORD. When evening comes,   there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea,    in summer and in winter. The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name. The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem   will be raised up and remain in its place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner   Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure. This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh   will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot   in their mouths. On that day men will be stricken by the LORD with great panic. Each man will seize the hand of another,   and they will attack each other. Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected--great quantities   of gold and silver and clothing. A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those   camps. Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship   the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they   will have no rain. If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD will bring on them   the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the   Feast of Tabernacles. On that day HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in   the LORD's house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will   take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the   house of the LORD Almighty.

In the vision I got I read the following, substituting "David" with "God the Father".

David sent word to Tamar at the palace: "Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food  for him."      So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded  it, made the bread in his sight and baked it.      Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat. "Send everyone out of here,"  Amnon said. So everyone left him.      Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand." And  Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom.      But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, "Come to bed with me, my sister."      "Don't, my brother!" she said to him. "Don't force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do  this wicked thing.      What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of  the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you."      But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.      Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said  to her, "Get up and get out!"      "No!" she said to him. "Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to  me." But he refused to listen to her.      He called his personal servant and said, "Get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her."      So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing a richly ornamented  robe, for  this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore.      Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented  robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her  head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.      Her brother Absalom said to her, "Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister;  he is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart." And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a  desolate woman.      When King David heard all this, he was furious.      Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his  sister Tamar.      Two years later, when Absalom's sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited  all the king's sons to come there.      Absalom went to the king and said, "Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his officials  please join me?"      "No, my son," the king replied. "All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you." Although  Absalom urged him, he still refused to go, but gave him his blessing.      Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us." The king asked him, "Why should  he go with you?"      But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king's sons.      Absalom ordered his men, "Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you,  `Strike Amnon down,' then kill him. Don't be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong and brave."      So Absalom's men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king's sons got up, mounted  their mules and fled.      While they were on their way, the report came to David: "Absalom has struck down all the king's sons; not  one of them is left."      The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his servants stood by with their  clothes torn.      But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother, said, "My lord should not think that they killed all the  princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom's expressed intention ever since the day Amnon  raped his sister Tamar.      My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king's sons are dead. Only Amnon is  dead."      Meanwhile, Absalom had fled. Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road  west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, "I see men in the  direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill."       Jonadab said to the king, "See, the king's sons are here; it has happened just as your servant said."      As he finished speaking, the king's sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his servants wept  very bitterly.      Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned for his  son every day.      After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years.      And the spirit of the king  longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon's death. Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king's heart longed for Absalom.      So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, "Pretend you  are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don't use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has  spent many days grieving for the dead.      Then go to the king and speak these words to him." And Joab put the words in her mouth.      When the woman from Tekoa went  to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor,  and she said, "Help me, O king!"      The king asked her, "What is troubling you?" She said, "I am indeed a widow; my husband is dead.      I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to  separate them. One struck the other and killed him.      Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, `Hand over the one who struck his brother  down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the  heir as well.' They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor  descendant on the face of the earth."      The king said to the woman, "Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf."      But the woman from Tekoa said to him, "My lord the king, let the blame rest on me and on my father's  family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt."      The king replied, "If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he will not bother you again."      She said, "Then let the king invoke the LORD his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the  destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed." "As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "not one hair of  your son's head will fall to the ground."      Then the woman said, "Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king." "Speak," he replied.      The woman said, "Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king  says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son?      Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take  away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.      "And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your  servant thought, `I will speak to the king; perhaps he will do what his servant asks.      Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me  and my son from the inheritance God gave us.'      "And now your servant says, `May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is like  an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the LORD your God be with you.'"      Then the king said to the woman, "Do not keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you." "Let  my lord the king speak," the woman said.      The king asked, "Isn't the hand of Joab with you in all this?" The woman answered, "As surely as you live,  my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was  your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant.      Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of  God--he knows everything that happens in the land."      The king said to Joab, "Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom."      Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, "Today your  servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his  servant's request."      Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.      But the king said, "He must go to his own house; he must not see my face." So Absalom went to his own  house and did not see the face of the king.      In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top  of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him.      Whenever he cut the hair of his head--he used to cut his hair from time to time when it became too heavy  for him--he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels  by the royal standard.      Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. The daughter's name was Tamar, and she became a  beautiful woman.      Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king's face.      Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent  a second time, but he refused to come.      Then he said to his servants, "Look, Joab's field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on  fire." So Absalom's servants set the field on fire.      Then Joab did go to Absalom's house and he said to him, "Why have your servants set my field on fire?"      Absalom said to Joab, "Look, I sent word to you and said, `Come here so I can send you to the king to  ask, "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!"' Now then, I want to  see the king's face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death."      So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed  down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom. In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead  of him.      He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came  with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town  are you from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel."      Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of  the king to hear you."      And Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint  or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice."      Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand,  take hold of him and kiss him.      Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he  stole the hearts of the men of Israel.      At the end of four  years, Absalom said to the king, "Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the  LORD.      While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: `If the LORD takes me back to  Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron. '"      The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he went to Hebron.      Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the  sound of the trumpets, then say, `Absalom is king in Hebron.'"      Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went  quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter.      While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come  from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following kept on  increasing.      A messenger came and told David, "The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom."      Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will  escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin  upon us and put the city to the sword."      The king's officials answered him, "Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses."      The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the  palace.      So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place some distance away.      All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites  who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.      The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King  Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland.      You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I  am going? Go back, and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness be with you."      But Ittai replied to the king, "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 said to Ittai, "Go ahead, march on." So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families  that were with him.      The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley,  and all the people moved on toward the desert.      Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God.  They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices  until all the people had finished leaving  the city.      Then the king said to Zadok, "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.      But if he says, `I am not pleased with you,' then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him."      The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Aren't you a seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your son  Ahimaaz and Jonathan son of Abiathar. You and Abiathar take your two sons with you.      I will wait at the fords in the desert until word comes from you to inform me."      So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.      But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was  barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up.      Now David had been told, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." So David prayed, "O  LORD, turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness."      When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to  meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head.      David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be a burden to me.      But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, `I will be your servant, O king; I was your father's servant  in the past, but now I will be your servant,' then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel's advice.     Won't the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king's palace.      Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to  me with anything you hear."      So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city. When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth,  waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a  hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.      The king asked Ziba, "Why have you brought these?" Ziba answered, "The donkeys are for the king's  household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who  become exhausted in the desert."      The king then asked, "Where is your master's grandson?" Ziba said to him, "He is staying in Jerusalem,  because he thinks, `Today the house of Israel will give me back my grandfather's kingdom.'"      Then the king said to Ziba, "All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours." "I humbly bow," Ziba said.  "May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king."      As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul's family came out from there. His  name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out.      He pelted David and all the king's officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on  David's right and left.      As he cursed, Shimei said, "Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel!      The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have  reigned. The LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because  you are a man of blood!"      Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go  over and cut off his head."      But the king said, "What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the  LORD said to him, `Curse David,' who can ask, `Why do you do this?'"      David then said to Abishai and all his officials, "My son, who is of my own flesh, is trying to take my life.  How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.      It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."      So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him,  cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt.      The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.      Meanwhile, Absalom and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him.      Then Hushai the Arkite, David's friend, went to Absalom and said to him, "Long live the king! Long live the  king!"      Absalom asked Hushai, "Is this the love you show your friend? Why didn't you go with your friend?"      Hushai said to Absalom, "No, the one chosen by the LORD, by these people, and by all the men of  Israel--his I will be, and I will remain with him.      Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve the son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve  you."      Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give us your advice. What should we do?"      Ahithophel answered, "Lie with your father's concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all  Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench in your father's nostrils, and the hands of everyone  with you will be strengthened."      So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he lay with his father's concubines in the sight of all  Israel.      Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how  both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel's advice. Ahithophel said to Absalom, "I would  choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of  David.      I would  attack him while he is weary and weak. I would  strike him with terror, and then all the  people with him will flee. I would  strike down only the king      and bring all the people back to you. The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all; all the  people will be unharmed."      This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel.      But Absalom said, "Summon also Hushai the Arkite, so we can hear what he has to say."      When Hushai came to him, Absalom said, "Ahithophel has given this advice. Should we do what he says?  If not, give us your opinion."      Hushai replied to Absalom, "The advice Ahithophel has given is not good this time.      You know your father and his men; they are fighters, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs.  Besides, your father is an experienced fighter; he will not spend the night with the troops.      Even now, he is hidden in a cave or some other place. If he should attack your troops first,  whoever  hears about it will say, `There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.'      Then even the bravest soldier, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will melt with fear, for all Israel knows  that your father is a fighter and that those with him are brave.      "So I advise you: Let all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba--as numerous as the sand on the seashore--be  gathered to you, with you yourself leading them into battle.      Then we will attack him wherever he may be found, and we will fall on him as dew settles on the ground.  Neither he nor any of his men will be left alive.      If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley  until not even a piece of it can be found."      Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel."  For the LORD had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on  Absalom.      Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, "Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel to  do such and such, but I have advised them to do so and so.      Now send a message immediately and tell David, `Do not spend the night at the fords in the desert; cross  over without fail, or the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.'"      Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En Rogel. A servant girl was to go and inform them, and they were  to go and tell King David, for they could not risk being seen entering the city.      But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So the two of them left quickly and went to the house of a  man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it.      His wife took a covering and spread it out over the opening of the well and scattered grain over it. No one  knew anything about it.      When Absalom's men came to the woman at the house, they asked, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?"  The woman answered them, "They crossed over the brook."  The men searched but found no one, so  they returned to Jerusalem.      After the men had gone, the two climbed out of the well and went to inform King David. They said to him,  "Set out and cross the river at once; Ahithophel has advised such and such against you."      So David and all the people with him set out and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, no one was left who  had not crossed the Jordan.      When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his  house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried in  his father's tomb.      David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.      Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named  Jether,  an Israelite  who had married Abigail,  the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the  mother of Joab.      The Israelites and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.      When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Makir son of  Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim      brought bedding and bowls and articles of pottery. They also brought wheat and barley, flour and roasted  grain, beans and lentils,       honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from cows' milk for David and his people to eat. For they said, "The  people have become hungry and tired and thirsty in the desert."  David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and  commanders of hundreds.      David sent the troops out--a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab's brother Abishai son of  Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, "I myself will surely march out with  you."      But the men said, "You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won't care about us. Even if half of us  die, they won't care; but you are worth ten thousand of us.  It would be better now for you to give us  support from the city."      The king answered, "I will do whatever seems best to you." So the king stood beside the gate while all the  men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands.      The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, "Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake." And  all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.      The army marched into the field to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.      There the army of Israel was defeated by David's men, and the casualties that day were great--twenty  thousand men.      The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the  sword.      Now Absalom happened to meet David's men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the  thick branches of a large oak, Absalom's head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while  the mule he was riding kept on going.      When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, "I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree."      Joab said to the man who had told him this, "What! You saw him? Why didn't you strike him to the ground  right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels  of silver and a warrior's belt."      But the man replied, "Even if a thousand shekels  were weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my  hand against the king's son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, `Protect the  young man Absalom for my sake. '      And if I had put my life in jeopardy --and nothing is hidden from the king--you would have kept your  distance from me."      Joab said, "I'm not going to wait like this for you." So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them  into Absalom's heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree.      And ten of Joab's armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.      Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them.      They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over him.  Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.      During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King's Valley as a monument to himself,  for he thought, "I have no son to carry on the memory of my name." He named the pillar after himself, and it  is called Absalom's Monument to this day.      Now Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, "Let me run and take the news to the king that the LORD has delivered  him from the hand of his enemies."      "You are not the one to take the news today," Joab told him. "You may take the news another time, but  you must not do so today, because the king's son is dead."      Then Joab said to a Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." The Cushite bowed down before Joab  and ran off.      Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, "Come what may, please let me run behind the Cushite." But  Joab replied, "My son, why do you want to go? You don't have any news that will bring you a reward."      He said, "Come what may, I want to run." So Joab said, "Run!" Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain   and outran the Cushite.      While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman went up to the roof of the  gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a man running alone.      The watchman called out to the king and reported it. The king said, "If he is alone, he must have good  news." And the man came closer and closer.      Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called down to the gatekeeper, "Look, another man  running alone!" The king said, "He must be bringing good news, too."      The watchman said, "It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok." "He's a good man,"  the king said. "He comes with good news."      Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, "All is well!" He bowed down before the king with his face to the  ground and said, "Praise be to the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who lifted their hands  against my lord the king."      The king asked, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" Ahimaaz answered, "I saw great confusion just as Joab  was about to send the king's servant and me, your servant, but I don't know what it was."      The king said, "Stand aside and wait here." So he stepped aside and stood there.      Then the Cushite arrived and said, "My lord the king, hear the good news! The LORD has delivered you  today from all who rose up against you."      The king asked the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of  my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man."      The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son  Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you--O Absalom, my son, my son!"

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May peace prevail and give honor to whom it is due. Gd the Father is greater than all. Don't forget that! Don't mistake his Love for weakness. Hope we learn from past experiences and history does not repeat itself in the Family of Gd. Do not be deceived. Make a right judgement. The Father loves us in the same measure He loves our brother Jesus Christ. Indeed this was the prayer of Jesus Christ Himself (John 17:26).

Have I Caleb Suresh Motupalli,  usurped power from you Oh Lord standing at the gateway? Forgive me Oh Lord.
Did I become a stench to your nostrils Oh Lord by taking for myself what rightfully belongs to you? Forgive me Oh Lord.
Have I errected a monument after my own name Oh Lord? Forgive me Oh Lord.

• Lovest thou Me? :Part 1
• Lovest thou Me? - II
• Lovest thou Me?: Part 6 Altar of God
• Lovest thou Me?: Part 7 Baptism of Fire