Sermon Series: 2 Samuel 17:1-29
Scripture: 2 Samuel: When God is Your King! – Sermon 17
A group of retired friends met every Saturday morning at a Salt Lake City deli but were growing tired of the same conversation. Sure, they were solving the world’s problems, but they wanted to share their wisdom beyond their group of seven. On a lark, they set up a table at a nearby farmers market and told people they were dispensing free advice. They had a large banner: “Old Coots Giving Advice—It’s Probably Bad Advice, But It’s Free” (picture).
To their surprise, people started coming sharing their problems. Lots of them. “Where can I find someone to love?” “Have I put in enough time at my new job to take a one-week vacation?” Each Saturday the “Old Coots” take on the issues of about 30 to 40 people who come by seeking their advice.
Where do you go for advice? Who’s your counseler? Hopefully, it’s not a bunch of old coots. Do you listen to some of the pop psychologists? Dr. Phil (picture)? Jordan Peterson (picture)?
Be very careful about taking someone’s advice without measuring it against the source of true wisdom, God’s Word. James 1:5 urges us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” The Bible is the only sure source of true wisdom.
God’s wisdom is far different from human counsel. Real wisdom isn’t about saying anything and everything that comes to mind. Wisdom comes from God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s work in us. The outcome of God’s counsel lived out is always a transformed life.
In 2 Samuel 17 King David is on the run from his son, Absalom, who staged a coup to overthrow David as king over Israel. One of David’s closest advisors, Ahithophel, betrays him and is giving counsel to Absalom. God had intervened and provided Hushai, another counselor and loyal friend of David. He returns to Jerusalem to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. This chapter focuses on their contrasting counsel, it’s A Tale of Two Counselors.
God is working. God is in the midst of this, even as “good” counsel is given that would have an evil outcome, the death of David, God’s anointed king.
Who’s really in control? Absalom is making the decisions. But “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will” (Proverbs 21:1). Absalom’s problem and often our problem is that human plans can sound right and be impressive. With the wisdom of hindsight, the foolishness of these plans may be clear. That doesn’t help those who believed that those plans were the best ones.
Like Absalom’s plans, the foolishness of human plans without God are always shown to be wrong. Verse 14 sums up what God is doing here: “For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom” (2 Samuel 17:14). As we work through chapter 17, if you’re taking notes…
1. The counsel of Ahithophel was masterful without mercy
Recently, I finished reading Mosby’s Rangers (picture).No single battalion was more feared during the Civil War than the 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry. As one contemporary writer said, “They had…all the glamour of Robin Hood…all the courage and bravery of the ancient crusaders.” They were an elite guerrilla unit that operated with stunning success in northern Virginia and Maryland from 1863 to the last days of the Civil War.
That’s what Ahithophel proposes, an elite strike force to take David out when he’s exhausted and discouraged. It’s a brilliant plan. Ahithophel is a military genius. “Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom” (2 Samuel 16:23).
Ahithophel’s plan would have received high marks in today’s military academies. It has the three hallmarks of classic military strategy and displayed his superior human wisdom. First, he proposed an overwhelming force of 12,000 that he would lead. There was no need to expose Absalom to the dangers of this night raid. David’s fleeing force probably wasn’t larger than a couple of thousand soldiers, all hastily roused for the retreat.
Second, Ahithophel would have the advantage of a lightning surprise assault that would virtually guarantee success. He was attacking on the same night of the day when David had fled. It was a dark plan so night fit as it did Judas’ plan when he led the soldiers to arrest Jesus.
Finally, his attack would be surgical. He’s only going to take out David. To attack David’s entire force would only anger them. Taking out David would immediately end the war. Maybe Ahithophel wanted to lead this attack because of his own vendetta against David for violating his granddaughter.
“So the plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel” (2 Samuel 17:4). Absalom and the leaders of Israel had degenerated so far in their rebellion that they saw the execution of God’s anointed king, David, as a good thing.
Ahithophel may have been a genius but he’s a fool when it comes to how God works. He should know that no matter how smart he is, attempting to do away with God’s anointed king won’t end well. He’s fighting God’s plan and God will ultimately destroy his well-laid plans.
Who are you serving? Ahithophel uses his abilities to serve the wrong king. It’s a temptation we all face. The most tempting one is to serve self. Even when we do the right thing, do we have the right motives?
2. The counsel of Hushai appealed to Absalom’s dark side
Do you love a good spy story? In the last few years, I’ve been hooked on books by Daniel Silva (picture) and his novels about Gabriel Allon, an Israeli spy and assassin. I can hardly get enough of Jack Ryan (picture) or Jason Bourne (picture). Spy thrillers get my heart pumping.
One of the most effective ways to gather information about an enemy is to infiltrate their ranks. Counter-intelligence operatives also feed false information to the enemy. Espionage isn’t just today. It occurred in ancient times as well with Hushai. He’s one of the original spies and double agents.
Unlike Ahithophel’s straightforward counsel, Hushai employed every manipulative and deceptive trick at his disposal. His speech uses flattery and flowery language to distract Absalom from the genius of Ahithophel.
John Woodhouse (picture) writes, “Ahithophel’s plan was brilliant; Hushai’s speech was brilliant.” Hushai’s first word to Absalom is you. It’s emphatic in Hebrew. Ahithophel’s counsel began “let me” and refers to Absalom in a passive role. Which one appeals more to an egotistical ruler?
It was a risk to disagree with Ahithophel, given his unrivaled reputation. But Hushai claims Ahithophel’s plan was wrong. It got everyone’s attention. Then he softened the blow a bit. Ahithophel is wrong…just this one time. Everybody gets something wrong occasionally. Most likely, Ahithophel was out of the room when Hushai began picking apart his plan.
Hushai manipulates Absalom with fear. Hushai tells Absalom that, “Since David killed Goliath, nobody has outwitted or overpowered your father. Imagine what would happen if word got out that David’s men were slaughtering your army. Everyone would flee. The bravest men would become cowards. Your rebellion would be over, and you’d be alone.”
Your father and his men will not be weary and worn out. They’ll be angry like a mother bear with a stolen cub. (Hushai is the master of the metaphor). Do you want to face your father’s soldiers when they’re in a rage? Is that a good idea? Hushai’s speech did not use facts, it used fear.
It was a nightmare Absalom couldn’t handle. He’s a coward. He killed defenseless people at the dinner table, not on the battlefield. He was more concerned about his hair than acting like a battle-hardened soldier. It all played on Absalom’s fears, manipulating his emotions.
Fear is powerful, but it’s often irrational. It opens us up to being manipulated. Absalom is afraid of losing the war and looking bad. What are you afraid of? Are you being manipulated by fear?
Hushai manipulates Absalom with pride. Carly Simon’s (picture) song, You’re So Vain is about a self-absorbed lover. The identity of the subject has been a topic of speculation for some 50 years. It could easily have been written about Absalom, as Hushai now appeals to his ego.
According to Hushai, the problem with Ahithophel’s plan was that it didn’t give Absalom his proper place of importance. There should be ticker tape parades with Absalom at the center. Make this a grand adventure. Absalom, not Ahithophel, must lead the army. The victory must be in Absalom’s name so his name would be in all the history books.
Hushai suggests that the army in Ahithophel’s plan is too small. Absalom should take the time and draft all the nation’s men so David would be overwhelmed by their power, from Dan to Beersheba. Dan was the northernmost city in Israel and Beersheba the southernmost. It’d be like saying from Los Angeles to New York City. It referred to the entire country.
Hushai knows he’s dealing with a murderer, a thug who burned the fields of those who don’t return his phone calls. Ahithophel’s quick surgical strike would only kill David. That didn’t appeal to Absalom. He loved blood. He loved the idea of a grand war with himself as the hero and killing all his enemies. Encouraging Absalom to take time to build a military operation large enough to destroy David and his entire army played into his bloodlust.
Hushai pictured David trying to hide in a city. If David did that, they’d decimate the city. No one would know the city had ever existed. It appealed to Absalom’s ego.
Hushai had another agenda. He’s buying David time to regroup. “And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, ‘The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.’ For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom” (2 Samuel 17:14).
As these events were happening, none of them knew the truth of the final sentence in 17:14. They were operating as though their actions were affecting the outcome of the situations they’re involved in, just like we do. Yet, we never know—no one does, not them or us—just what God may be doing at any given moment. We do know God is doing something and must factor that into our understanding of all that we experience day to day.
It needs to be factored in politically, when we feel like the wheels are coming off the government of our nation and the ones of our world. We need to factor it in socially, when we feel like all reason has been lost about what’s true, what’s important in life, about how we understand ourselves, and how we relate to one another as human beings. We need to factor it in theologically as we seek to understand our world and engage with it as responsible believers who know, love and proclaim Jesus daily.
The most deceptive sin is pride. It’s so subtle. Pride probably sends more to hell than any other sin. Pride in Christ-followers limits God’s blessing on our lives and church. We see it so clearly in others, yet it’s hard to spot in ourselves. Pride made angels into demons. No other sin attacks us more consistently, entices us more subtly than pride.
In his book, From Pride to Humility, Biblical counselor, Stuart Scott (picture) writes this of pride: “Just a few manifestations of it: complaining; a lack of gratitude; anger; seeing yourself better than others; perfectionism; talking too much; being sarcastic; being defensive when corrected; failure to admit you are wrong; being impatient; an unwillingness to seek advice.”
Absalom will quickly discover the reality of Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Hushai shows what a single courageous Christian can accomplish if he/she is willing to take a risk. The Huguenots of Le Cambon, France, heroically protected hundreds of Jews under the nose of the Nazis during World War II.
Some of you are here this morning because a believer took a risk and reached out to you with the gospel or invited you to church. As our world grows darker, it will take more courage to stand for Christ. The Lord Jesus is looking for more men and women like Hushai. Will you be one?
3. God answered David’s prayer
Remember when David fled Jerusalem and learned that Ahithophel was with the conspirators he’d prayed: “O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness” (2 Samuel 15:31). A foolish statement that’s often made in the church is, “I’m not good at praying. I don’t know how to word it right.” David’s prayer teaches us that prayers don’t have to be long or elaborate to make a difference. His prayer is about as simple as a prayer can be. It’s one of the shortest prayers in Scripture. The only prayer that may be shorter is the one uttered by Peter as he was sinking under the water in the Sea of Galilee: “Lord, save me” (Matthew 14:30). Brevity is at a premium when you’re about to drown.
David is surrounded by chaos. Everyone is fleeing. People are coming and going. Everybody wants something. In a moment of clarity, he turns to the Lord and asks for help. help that God gave before the afternoon was over.
What’s on your heart? What are you struggling with? Are you praying?
4. God’s servants are found in the darkest places
The hidden purpose of Hushai’s speech now becomes plain. It buys David time. The arrangement for getting information to David had been carefully put together, as the narrator explains: “Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel. A female servant was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they were not to be seen entering the city” (2 Samuel 17:17). David’s spy network goes into operation.
God’s hand is behind the scenes, caring for David. The camera shifts from the palace to someplace in the city. At this point, Hushai didn’t know if his advice would be accepted. Just as Ahithophel presented his advice and left for Absalom and his counselors to consider it, Hushai presented his advice, and left for Absalom and his counselors to consider it as well.
Not knowing which way Absalom would decide. Hushai sends a message to David, so he’d be ready in case Ahithophel, and his soldiers attacked. He used the spy network David set up to move information to him in his retreat.
David’s friends are courageous and take risks. Serving the Lord is not safe. Zadok and Abiathar, the two priests, were part of this spy network. David was 20 miles away at the Jordan River. The two priests had their sons waiting just outside the city for news from their fathers.
En-Rogel was the name of the well. It’s located a little south of the city. Fittingly, in Hebrew, it means the well of the spy. They arranged for a servant to get water from the well to avoid arousing suspicions, then she’d pass information to the two young men who’d then run and carry it to David. These guys were on the Jerusalem Cross Country Team, but it didn’t go according to plan. A young man saw them and told Absalom.
Suddenly, Hushai’s plan to warn David is in jeopardy. If the boys were captured, the spy network would be blown, and the boys executed. Their fathers would be killed and Hushai’s cover blown. Worst of all, they’d learn the location of David and attack that night. Everything was on the line.
Bahurim was 1.5 miles outside of Jerusalem. The boys ran as fast as they could, but Absalom’s men were close behind. They came to the home of someone they knew and asked for a place to hide. The man of the house quickly let them down a well. The woman of the house threw a covering over the well and spread grain on it to make it look like it was left drying all day.
Shortly afterwards, the soldiers pursuing them arrive. The boys, still out of breath, are at the bottom of the well. The woman of the house misdirected the soldiers. The trail on the boys went cold and the soldiers went home. They then went and warned David.
Do you see God at work behind the scenes? Yes, they were chased, but the boys came to the right house at the right time to be hidden. God ordered that to save them. But we still need to make courageous choices. They all risked their lives to save David. If anyone in the network had chosen not to be involved, David might have been killed.
If God hadn’t intervened, their cover would have been blown. God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility work together. Some think that since God is sovereign over everything, it doesn’t matter what we do…God has everything decided. It’s the opposite. Since God is sovereign, when we get involved and even risk our lives for God’s will, we know that God will get involved in hidden ways bringing what we know is His will to success.
Ahithophel’s Exit Plan. “When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father” (2 Samuel 17:23). This is the second of four suicides in the Bible. Ahithophel may have been a wise man, but this is total foolishness. He’s only thinking of himself. Suicide is extreme selfishness.
Ahithophel represents the best of human wisdom. Absalom sought the best human wisdom he could find to determine the course of his life. It’s a huge contrast to his father David. At every crux of his life, David sought God’s wisdom found in the word of the Lord and the will of God.
Is it just because his advice wasn’t accepted, he kills himself? Probably not. More likely he saw the handwriting on the wall. Ahithophel knew Absalom’s coup was over. David would win. The rebel-king would be captured and executed along with the other traitors including himself.
Ahithophel betrayed David because David first betrayed him. Bathsheba, the woman David committed adultery with was his granddaughter. He betrays David in bitterness. Bitterness always poisons your soul.
How do we defeat bitterness? Deal with problems biblically. Don’t let them fester. Ephesians 4:26-27, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” We must practice forgiveness. Refuse to dwell on the offense. Dwell on God’s forgiveness and rest in His sovereignty. All that enters life is by His approval for our good.
Ahithophel is the Judas Iscariot of the Old Testament. As Judas betrayed Jesus, so Ahithophel betrayed David. Both men die the same way, Matthew 27:5, “And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he [Judas] departed, and he went and hanged himself.”
Dale Ralph Davis (picture) observes, “This is the man who lifted up his hand against Yahweh’s appointed king. His end is a sign of what will happen to all the enemies of that King and kingdom. You cannot attack the kingdom of God without—sooner or later—being crushed by the power of God.”
And it’s here that we see Jesus. The greater Son of David was also betrayed by a close friend. Like David, Jesus crossed the brook Kidron the night He was arrested. Jesus knows all about betrayal, but Judas isn’t the only betrayer. You and I have committed cosmic treason against God. We’ve rebelled against His rule. We need to be reconciled to God – forgiven of our crimes. The forgiveness we need is only found in Christ’s cross.
David’s friends are compassionate and sacrificial. “When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness” (2 Samuel 17:27-29). David and his party ford the river and came to Mahanaim (map), the former capital of the ten tribes when Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth was king. It was at Mahanaim where Jacob saw the army of angels that God has sent to protect him, but David had no such vision.
However, God often uses human “angels” to help his servants. One is a pagan (Shobi). One is a former Saul loyalist (Machir) and another a godly senior citizen (Barzillai). They’re God’s servants standing with God’s anointed king. They do so at some risk. Absalom hasn’t been defeated. It might cost them. Yet, they brought provisions for the king and his people, and saw that they were cared for. God literally prepared a table for David in the presence of his enemies.
When you’re discouraged, tired, beat-up – it’s when you really need a friend and that’s when our friends come through. You don’t even have to ask. David’s friends came through for him when he’s in need. They know he needs them, and they come. It’s a rubber meets the road Christianity. I want to be that kind of friend, don’t you?
Conclusion
The book of Proverbs warns that if we refuse good counsel, we’ll see our plans fail. If we take good counsel, we’ll see them succeed. Or, to put it another way: “Heed wise counsel or watch your hopes be cancelled.” This happened in a situation that riveted our country.
In January of 1985 Roger Boisjoly (picture), an engineer for Morton Thiokol, noticed that under unusually cold conditions, the O-ring seals on the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket booster would fail. Further tests were done and in July of 1985 Boisjoly wrote a memo to the Vice President of Engineering which said: “It is my honest and very real fear that if we do not take immediate action to dedicate a team to solve the problem…then we stand in jeopardy of losing a [space shuttle] flight.”
Even in the hours leading up to the launch of the Challenger, Boisjoly and other engineers were stating their belief that it wasn’t safe to launch the shuttle. Despite their concerns a general manager for Morton Thikol said, “We have to make a management decision” and they decided to launch.
Do you remember the tragic end of that story? On January 28th, 1986, seventy-three seconds after the launch, the Challenger exploded (picture), killing all seven crew members. The O-rings had failed. All of the Challenger crew (picture), the first teacher-in-Space Christa McAuliffe; Gregory Jarvis; Judith Resnik, Commander Dick Scobee; Ronald McNair, Mike Smith, and Ellison Onizuka died in a fiery flame.
God’s Word teaches that if we refuse good advice, blow off God’s counsel, we’ll watch our plans explode. Yet if we heed good counsel, we’ll watch them succeed. There’s no need to fear the decisions of life when you know Christ and live out His Word. So, what are the Take Home Truths for us?
The Bible teaches that…He counsels us through His Word. “Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors” (Psalm 119:24). There’s no need for the Christian to “learn the hard way” by suffering the consequences of sin. We can learn from God’s Word, avoid sin, and be wiser for it.
He counsels us through His Spirit. “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:2). The Holy Spirit instructs us from the Word of God. He teaches us in the everyday experiences of life as He speaks to us and directs us.
He counsels us through the circumstances of life. Sometimes the Lord uses circumstances to give us counsel and direction. In Psalm 32:8 God said, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”
God tells us the truth because He loves us. He knows what’s best for us.
William Bradford (picture), governor of the Plymouth Colony said, “Those who believe in the Holy Scriptures are bound to observe its teachings. Those who do not are to be bound by its consequences.”
God’s counsel is the wisest because God is wisdom personified. Are you listening to Him? Are you letting Him speak and counsel you through His Word? Are you reading and spending time in His Word so that He will counsel you?