2 Samuel 17:1-14 – The Promises of God
Hushai’s advice is bad advice – for someone hoping to kill David. It’s deliberately designed to give David a chance to get a breather, and regroup. So why does Absalom ask him for advice in the first place? And why does he take it? It’s because of what we’re told at the end of verse 14: ‘For the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom.’ Hushai uses just enough cunning that Absalom goes with his plan, despite its apparently obvious flaws. For a start, Hushai simply says: ‘This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good’. If he tried to deny that Ahithophel was a good counsellor, no-one would have believed him. But the real genius of Hushai’s counsel is that he appeals to Absalom’s vanity. Absalom is a man who we were introduced to by being told that in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance. We’re told that he cut his hair at the end of every year – and weighed it. He is a vain man. The weakness of Ahithophel’s plan from Absalom’s perspective is that it’s about Ahithophel, not Absalom. Hushai knows how to stroke egos. And so his counsel, in verse 11, is that Absalom goes to battle in person. How spectacular would that be?! The image of Absalom leading out all Israel, like sand on the sea, is just too attractive for him to turn down. But it will be his downfall. He manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. All he had to do was listen to Ahithophel’s advice and say ‘Yes’. But the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel. Because God had made promises about David and his kingdom, and he was going to keep those promises.
God has made even greater promises about Jesus and his kingdom. And he is going to keep those promises too. He has promised, as he did in the days of Daniel, ‘that the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed…and it shall stand forever’. So as we look out at our world, with its seething sinfulness, with its rampant rejection of God, we don’t need to fear. Because the LORD has ordained that there is one King who will be victorious, and one kingdom which will be supreme.
Often it doesn’t look like God is doing very much. Is that not the same in this chapter? God doesn’t intervene in a big, spectacular way. All we see is a king asking two different counsellors for advice. There are no lightning strikes. But the Lord had ordained which advice that Absalom would listen to.
Question
- Why is Absalom’s vanity his downfall?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks that we can trust God’s promises.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.