Paradoxical beauty

II Samuel 14 vs. 25, 26, 28 (NKJV)

²⁵ Now in all Israel there was no one who was praised as much as Absalom for his good looks. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. ²⁶ And when he cut the hair of his head—at the end of every year he cut it because it was heavy on him—when he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels according to the king’s standard. ²⁸ And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, but did not see the king’s face.

“Now in all Israel there was no one who was praised as much as Absalom for his good looks. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him”

Absalom had a kind of beauty that was irresistible, he was excellent in beauty and a ‘Prince charming’. His body had no blemish, wrinkles, acnes nor burns. Whenever he is sighted, both men and women are brought into admiration; for this he earned the praise of men.

But Absalom was deceitful and lacked good character. His garment of righteousness (which represents true beauty) was defiled, filled with spots and wrinkles. His hands were unclean and stained with blood. Absalom lacked the fear of God and was content in his princely position and brilliant beauty.

The bible says Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman (man) that fears the LORD, she (he) shall be praised.

All Israel praised Absalom for his beauty: when we are being praised by men; we need to pause, think and reflect on our lives. We need to see if our lives are upright before God. The praise accorded Absalom made him feel he was alright and lacked nothing.

Like Absalom was in physical appearance so does God wants us to be in our spiritual appearance. He wants our spiritual garment to be without spot, blemish, wrinkle or any such thing (Ephesians 5 vs 27).

“And when he cut the hair of his head—at the end of every year he cut it because it was heavy on him”

Absalom cuts his hair every year because it was heavy on him. Physically, this man got it right. He knows how to shed excess weight off his head. However, he was dying of excess weight (i.e. sin) spiritually. No man could help him cut down the excess weight of sin he carried about.

Absalom needed a yearly cut of his hair, but Jesus Christ died for us once and for all.

Matthew 11 vs. 28 says Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Are you under the excess weight of sin? Come to Jesus today and find rest unto your soul.

“And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem but did not see the king’s face”.

Absalom had no communion, fellowship nor interaction with the King for two years. He received no counsel from the King but lived life all by himself for two good years. He must have been limited and must have made many serious mistakes these two years. He must have made some foolish decisions which could have been averted with the King’s wisdom.

How long has it been since you last sought/saw the King’s (King of kings) face?

Perhaps for the past two years, you have made serious life decisions without seeking/seeing the face of the King of kings for counsel or direction.

Are you currently in a partnership, relationship, association or business without guidance or permission from the King of kings?

It’s time to seek the face of the king. Why not get to your knees to seek Him so that you can see Him.

Are you out of town? Are you involved in one serious assignment or the other? Have you dissociated yourself from God’s people for a while? When last did you seek the King? How long has it been since you last saw the King’s face?

Please do not be another Absalom. Do not make excuses with time and activities. Seek the King’s face today and you will see Him.

by Ndubuisi Paul Okafor

Photo by Lucas Lenzi on Unsplash.com

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