2 Samuel 15:7-9 And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said to the king, I pray you, let me go and pay my vow… David and his ministers must have been singularly blind and negligent to have allowed Absalom so far to have prepared the way for the revolution he contemplated as he must have done before asking permission to go to Hebron. Nor does the permission itself show less blindness. David should have known his son better than to have so readily believed that he was likely to have made a pious vow, and to be burdened in conscience by its long non-fulfilment, especially as he had allowed four years (ver. 7, not "forty") to elapse before taking steps for its fulfilment. But David's foolish fondness prepared him to be easily imposed upon by favourite children. The purport of the pretended vow appears from what follows. It was to hold solemn sacrificial services at Hebron in thanksgiving for his return to his home and reconciliation with his father. Hebron was chosen because it was the place of his birth and early life, where he would have many friends; and the first capital of the kingdom, where many may have been still disaffected to David on account of his transfer of the court to Jerusalem. Sacrificial services were chosen as furnishing a plausible pretext for a large gathering of leading men who either were already disaffected, or, if going to the festival (like the two hundred from Jerusalem, ver. 11) "in their simplicity," knowing nothing, might be won over by Absalom's representations. In his representations to his father we have a glaring instance of - I. HYPOCRITICAL PRETENCES IN RELIGION. 1. Their nature. They are imitations of real piety; and the closer the imitation the more likely are they to deceive and be successful in their object. Hypocrites are actors of a part, and the more skilful the actor the stronger the impression of reality. What more natural than the vow Absalom said he had made, and the language in which he describes it? A good Hebrew prince, banished from home and kingdom, and with his prospects for the future darkened thereby, might well have longed to return, prayed to God to restore him, and vowed that, if his prayer were answered, he would make some singular demonstration of his gratitude. Absalom most likely lied when he said he had so vowed, as well as offered the sacrifices only as a cloak of wickedness. The counterfeit, however, illustrates the genuine; and in this case suggests that in great trouble we should seek relief and deliverance from God; that earnest prayer may be accompanied by promises of special acts of thanksgiving, and that, when deliverance comes, we should scrupulously perform the vows we have uttered (see Psalm 66:13, et seq.). 2. The motives frets which they proceed. These are as various as the objects which men pursue, and the attainment of which they think may be furthered by the appearance of piety. In Absalom the ultimate aim was the throne; the intermediate were the concealment from David of his purposes, the obtaining of leave of absence from Jerusalem, and opportunity for assembling his partisans and others around him, and maturing his plans with them, before striking the decisive blow. Hypocrites sometimes pretend to piety in order to conceal their wickedness and practise it without suspicion; sometimes with a view to gain (Matthew 23:14); sometimes to obtain credit for virtues they do not possess (Acts 5:1-8), and secure praise from men (Matthew 6:2). In times of persecution the object may be to avoid penalties; and any measure of favour shown to the professors of a particular creed, or of disability imposed on others, is a direct incentive to hypocrisy. How much do they promote hypocrisy amongst the poor who administer their charity in the form of "doles" given away after public worship, or carefully limited to those who attend particular religious services! Again, the hypocrite may pretend to a religion he does not possess, in order to obtain customers in his business from religious people, or to ingratiate himself with his piously disposed fellow citizens, in order to obtain a seat in the town council, or in parliament, or other position in public life. How many large girls to churches and chapels might be thus accounted for! Or the motive may be to secure the favour of parents, uncles, or aunts, with a view to a good place in their wills. Or, again, the forms of religion may be kept up because it is the habit of respectable society, without any real attachment to religion. Nor must we omit another motive. Piety may be seen to be necessary to secure deliverance from hell and admission to heaven; and, in total ignorance of the nature of piety, its forms may be adopted with that view. But this is rather formalism than deliberate hypocrisy. The two run into each other. It follows that hypocrisy is a sin most likely to be committed where real religion is prevalent and honoured. Absalom would not have pretended to piety if his father had not been religious; and when and where religion is disregarded, no one would think of professing it from unworthy motives. Though, to be sure, the general prevalence of formal religion may present the same temptation as that of real godliness. When, however, ungodliness and vice prevail in the neighbourhood or the circle in which a man moves, he may pretend to be worse than he is from motives similar to those which induce others to pretend to be better than they are. II. THEIR ENORMOUS WICKEDNESS AND SURE DOOM. 1. They evince such knowledge of the nature, grounds, and obligations of piety as enhances the guilt of their impiety. 2. They insult God. By offering him what is worthless as if it were precious; and treating him as if he were unable to distinguish between the real and the unreal, or did not care, so long as his creatures pay homage to him, whether it be with the heart or not. 3. They deceive and defraud men. Imposing upon them with a mere appearance of goodness; inducing them to honour what is detestable and reward the unworthy; and diverting from genuine goodness its due notice and reward. 4. They seriously injure those who are guilty of them. They eat like a canker into the moral nature. A single act of hypocrisy affects injuriously the whole character, and throws suspicion on all that looks good. Habitual hypocrisy tends to destroy the possibility of sincere goodness, and to render salvation impossible. 5. They deserve and ensure "the greater damnation" (Matthew 23:14). It is impossible that the imposition can last or ultimately be successful. It will be exploded, exposed, and punished in the great day of revelation and judgment (1 Corinthians 4:5). - G.W. Parallel Verses KJV: And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the LORD, in Hebron. |
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