2 Samuel 16:20-23 – On being godly counselor

As surely as God has said to David through Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:11-12, it was now slowly but surely coming to pass. For his secret adultery with Bathsheba, God told him in no uncertain terms saying, “I will take your wives from you and give them to someone who is very close to you. He will have sexual relations with your wives, and everyone will know it! You had sexual relations with Bathsheba in secret, but I will punish you so that all the people of Israel can see it.”

So here in 2 Samuel 16:15-23, we see the circumstances working out to bring to pass what God had so assertively told David. We also see how right the deposed king was in his estimation of Ahithophel, his once closed confidante. That wicked counselor was quick to offer a piece of very evil advice to Absalom who approached him for counsel. Absalom was advised to make himself odious to his father. He was told to violate his father’s concubines who were left behind to take care of the house. The reasons Ahithophel gave to the rebelling son of David was three. Firstly, his act would consolidate his claim to the throne publicly. Secondly, it would indicate his intention to irrevocably continue with his revolt. Thirdly, he would gain the support and strengthen the people who were backing him in his rebellion.

Absalom accepted the wicked counsel of Ahithophel wholeheartedly and swung into action immediately. He had a tent pitched on the rooftop and there in the full view of the people of Israel, Absalom violated his father’s concubines. He humiliated his father as well as the concubines in his sickening act. Bent on getting even with David for his adultery with his granddaughter Bathsheba, Ahithophel gave counsel that was depleted of sound morals. Blind rage on Absalom’s part had made him an abusive leader and caused him to take leave from all logical reasoning. Even what he heard was illogical, it was palatable to him. The combination of such a wicked counselor and an abusive leader was a calamity in the making. 

A Counselor can play a very key role in ensuring a peaceful resolution. Why so? The words of a counselor had great weight. In fact, in verse 23 we get a glimpse of how people regarded counsel in those days. They regarded it as if it was on par with God’s word. Today, people still regard a counselor’s words with great importance. It is important that when we are helping people, we seek to give sound, safe, and moral advice. The consequence of a bad counsel can be devastating. Conversely, the result of good counsel is enriching and reconciling. Therefore it is important for us to be careful who we are seeking counsel from. Especially when we are upset with someone. And for those of us who give counsel to others, be sure to provide sound and godly advice. It can change the course of a person’s life!

2 Samuel 16:15-19 – Don’t be upended by our own blind spots.

Absalom stepped into Jerusalem unhindered. David left the palace in haste leaving behind some concubines to look after it. Could David have overcome Absalom and his men? Certainly. Why then was he in such a haste to depart the palace with his family and the 60o mighty men who followed him since his day in Gath? Here are three reasons. Firstly, he considered God’s words to him through Nathan and accepted what he was experiencing as part of the prescribed judgment of God. Secondly, he did not want to confront Absalom his son. Thirdly, he still had a deep love for Absalom despite his son’s rebellion. So Absalom with Ahithophel, who became his son’s chief counselor, entered and annexed Jerusalem.

Then in verse 16, Hushai, the Archite appeared before Absalom the rebel king. Originally, Hushai wanted to leave with the deposed king. But David persuaded him to remain in the palace to serve Absalom. He felt that Hushai would be more useful to him if he stayed with Absalom. He could help to negate the evil counsel of Ahithophel, as well as being his intelligence in the palace. So Hushai concurred and came before Absalom, greeting him saying “Long live the king! Long live the king!”. Taken by surprise, the rebel son of David asked, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?” He appeared to doubt Hushai’s sincerity. These were logical questions, but the counselor was too smart for him. He was able to convince Absalom saying that his allegiance was to God and would serve the current king and his force. he declared that just as he had served David, he was now prepared to serve Absalom. With that, he had outsmarted the young upstart.

Though Absalom could surmise from Hushai's action as being disloyal to David his father, he could not see his rebellion against his father a worse kind of disloyalty. Friends do disagree sometimes and may choose to part ways. But remember a father and son relationship can never change no matter what happens between them. No one has the option to choose one’s parentage. In many things, we do have a choice, but never who our father or mother should be. God ordains who our parents should be. For this reason, He has stipulated in the fifth commandment that we must honor our father and mother. So, let us obey God and honor our parents.  

Another issue in this passage is the way Hushai extricated himself from the sticky situation. He appeared to have been caught in a dilemma. What he did, seemed to border on deception. Was his action justifiable? Be sure that deception is morally unacceptable and reprehensible. And we are not here to justify deception. Suffice to say that Hushai was a loyal servant of David. Had he betrayed David and told Absalom what he was in the palace to do, he would be guilty of being disloyal. He was a man on a mission, and he must faithfully discharge his obligation to David. To do otherwise would constitute sabotage. Every one of us should always subject ourselves to a higher good. Always choose the better of two options or the lesser of two evils. Absalom in his rebellion could not see his own blind spot. In these verses, we are also made aware that there can also be blind spots in one’s life. Let us not be like Absalom, who could see that Hushai’s action constituted unfaithfulness, yet failed to recognize that his own rebellion against his father was a greater act of unfaithfulness. Two things to glean from this passage: live faithfully for God and don’t be upended by our own blind spots.       

2 Samuel 16:5-14 – Right perspective of life circumstances

Bahurim was a village located on the east of Mount Olives and David and his men on the run now came to this village. There Shimei, a Benjamite from Gera, came cursing and casting stones at the exiled king franked by his men. Since Shimei was a member of the tribe of Benjamin and the house of Saul, it was understandable for him to be a supporter of the dead king Saul. He was cursing and yelling at David with these words, “Get out, get out, you man of bloodshed, and worthless fellow! The LORD has returned upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. And behold, you are taken in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”

Shimei felt that the misfortune that had come upon David was his just desert from the LORD for what he had put the house of Saul through. Obviously, the stones that he used to pelt David and his men were probably small stones and did not really hurt. But what was more hurtful were the words he hurled at the deposed king.

Meanwhile Abishai, who was with David, could not bear the insults of Shimei. Being an impetuous man, he offered to confront Shimei to decapitate him. Abishai as we know was the brother of  Joab, a son of Zeruiah, the sister of David. Hence, Abishai would be David’s cousin. He and his brother Joab were men of war and their reaction to every provocation was to wield the sword. Now in the face of Shimei’s curse, Abishai again rashly wanted to rush out to take down his head. David however, stopped him,  for he felt that this was part of God’s judgment he had to endure. He reasoned that if he could not even prevent his own son from usurping the throne, what right had he got to take Shimei down. David accepted his situation as coming from God and would rather yield his life to Him.

Shimei’s insults suggested that David was responsible for Saul’s downfall. We all know that it was God who had ordained Saul’s outcome. The words that Shimei hurled at David were demeaning. Any person with the smallest modicum of self-respect would find those words difficult to stomach. How did David endure it? David’s key was revealed in Psalm 3 which he wrote during this period. In that Psalm, he gave his secret. It was his trust in God. In adversity, he learned to take his refuge in God, the glory and lifter of his head. As he did so, he was assured that he felt God’s protection. His confidence was not in sword but in the availability of his God. Like David, we must keep faith with God when we face our trials and difficulties. We too must learn to stay confident in the Lord. He is our refuge and we can be assured that He will hear our cry, and deliverance will come from the very presence of God. Be confident in God!

2 Samuel 16:1-4 – Don’t judge a book by its cover

Remember Mephibosheth, the crippled son of Jonathan? David had been gracious to him on learning that he was Jonathan’s son and the sole survival of Saul’s family. The king had shown kindness to him purely for the sake of his father. David gave him his grandfather’s estate and assigned Ziba, one of Saul’s servants to steward the land for Mephibosheth. The king also treated him like one of his own sons and had him brought to his table to dine with him regularly. 

In 2 Samuel 16:1-4, we see Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth’s property, meeting up with David a little beyond the peak of Mount Olivet. Knowing that the king was now on the run, he came with a couple of saddled donkeys loaded with foodstuff, consisting of two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine. Why did Ziba do this? He was a shrewd man and was seeking to endear himself to David and put himself in his good book. He probably had hope that the exiled king would return to his throne someday. And when that should happen, he would then be in a good place to be rewarded with a position of power.

Surprized by what he did, David inquired about his master Mephibosheth. Ziba then knowingly libeled and maligned his master. He told the exiled king that Mephibosheth remained in Jerusalem with the hope that in the political upheaval, the kingdom of Saul would be returned to him. David appeared to have believed what was told to him wholesale. Whether Ziba told the truth or not will be revealed in 2 Samuel 19. Meanwhile, unquestioningly David, in haste, ordered all of Mephibosheth’s possessions to be given to Ziba, who then became the new owner of all that his master once owned. Was David too impulsive? Shouldn’t he find out more before he jumped into any conclusion? He did not know Ziba too well, so his impulsiveness was uncalled for. But in his present condition, he neither had the liberty nor the time to find out more. So his reaction was understandable.

So what can we learn from this account? From all outward appearances, Ziba seemed to be a discreet and considerate person, but he did it to promote himself and to prosper at Mephibosheth’s expense. It is difficult to tell people’s motives. We need to be careful about who we run with. We also need to be careful with what we hear, and from whom we hear. Like David, we too have the tendency to jump to conclusions. Discretion will tell us all that glitters is not gold. It will do us well not to jump to any conclusion without checking what we have heard or seen. Wisely, do take a counsel from this maxim – do not judge a book by its cover. There is often more than what meets our eyes.  

2 Samuel 15:30-37 – There is no co-incidence in prayer

With his entourage, David, now a fugitive was making his way up the ascent of Mount Olive in great sorrow. With his head covered and walking barefooted they were weeping all the way. The problem with bad news is that they don’t in trickles. When one is down, problems seem to pour like a torrent. As if what was distressing David was not enough for him, someone had to tell him that Ahithophel had joined Absalom in the revolution. From David’s immediate response we can tell that this evil counselor was a great concern to him. So he urgent shot up a quick prayer requesting God to thwart Ahithophel’s evil counsel.  Though in great sorrow, David remained connected with God and made God his first option. This is something worth emulating. No matter how trying our lives may be, don’t lose touch with our Lord. We can and bring our burdens to Him. Yes, we have a great friend in Jesus, and we can bring our burden to Him in prayer.   

David meeting Hushai the Arcite was not a coincidence. He was God’s immediate response to his prayer. Hushai was another sympathizer and counselor of the king.  With his coat torn and dust on his head, he met David near the summit of Olivet, all ready to join the king in his tough journey.  But David wisely sent him back to Absalom. For he felt that he would be of better service to him near his renegade son. He could frustrate the evil counsel of Ahithophel, and he could also be his intelligence in the palace. David told Hushai to convey whatever had transpired in the palace to Zadok and Abiathar. The information would then be communicated to the king through Ahimaaz and Jonathan, the sons of Zadok and Abiathar respectively.

The power of prayer is one key lesson we can glean from these verses. David’s immediate response to an adverse situation was prayer. He knew God could be trusted and be counted upon to deal with his foreboding. And God responded immediately through the provision of Hushai. For us Christian, there is no coincidence. God works all things out for good to them that love Him and are called according to HIs purpose. This we can be deeply assured. We can’t help but remember what God had promised in James 5:16 saying, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” God wants to collaborate with us and we can do so through prayer.  One other lesson for us is found in how David deployed Hushai. The gifted counselor was more fitted for a role that he was made for. So David sent him to where he was most gifted and needed. We can be at our best in the role that we are gifted and where we are most needed. Be sure to discover your gifting and be where God wants you to be.  

2 Samuel 15:24-29 – Yielding to God absolutely

David had military personnel like Ittai who would gladly follow him but also faithful priests like Zadok and Abiathar, who would do likewise. This passage describes the chief priests Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites bearing the Ark of the covenant, all ready to accompany him in his fugitive life. The Ark was just a piece of furniture that represented God’s presence with His people. And the chief priests were responsible to administer it, while the Levites were responsible for transporting it. Both Zadok and Abiathar reckoned that David would like to have the Ark with him as he took leave from Jerusalem. Apparently, David was more sensible. He did not want to needlessly move the Ark with him in his uncertainty. He would rather leave the Ark in  Jerusalem. So he asked them to bring it back with them.

Let us consider some possible reasons why David did not want the Ark to be with him in his wandering. Firstly, it was because he was being considerate. He knew the people needed it to remind them of the Lord’s presence more than him. Secondly, he was a fugitive and would rather have less than more to consider. Besides, there were stringent regulations on how the Ark ought to be transported. All these considered, having the Ark with him would certainly slow down his movement. Thirdly, it took a fair bit of time before the Ark was finally returned and settled in Jerusalem, so he did not want to subject it to needless wandering again. Fourthly, he believed that in God’s dealing with him, there could be a possibility that he would return to Jerusalem again. However, the real reason why David did not want the Ark to travel with Him was that he was subjecting himself totally to God’s plan. He knew that the reason why he was experiencing all these trials of life was a part of God’s dealing. David would rather move in tandem with God’s will for him than against His will. What he needed was not so much the Ark of God but the God of the Ark.

In submitting to God’s will, David also knew that Zadok, who was also a seer would be of tremendous help. So he instructed him, his son Ahimaaz and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar to return to Jerusalem peacefully. He made them the sources of information for all that would transpire in Jerusalem. David also set the fords of the wilderness where he would be waiting for information from them. With that, Zadok and Abiathar returned the Ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.     

These verses show David’s absolute submission to God. Most people can trust God’s plan for their lives when the circumstances of their lives are good and peaceful. But when the storms of life assail, it seems difficult for them to continue to trust Him. But not so for David. He trusted God and submitted to Him even in the most trying circumstance of life. He did not need the Ark to remind him of God’s presence. He would submit unreservedly to the Sovereign God with or without the Ark. David gave God the right to freely move in his life to bring about His will and purpose, regardless of whether his  circumstance be congenial or non-congenial. He was confident that God would be there with him. Like David, let us totally submit to God regardless of what life may dish out to us. We must yield to God willingly, regardless.    

1 Samuel 15:19-23 – Being loyal and faithfulness

It makes perfect sense for one to follow a person who is winning but not when a person is on the losing end. Yet we see Ittai the Gittite, who joined David recently, preferring to join him in his fugitive life. From 2 Samuel 15:20, we learned that this Ittai with his family had joined David recently and the king felt that he was not obliged to follow him in a life of uncertainty. So he told Ittai to take his brothers with him and go and serve Absalom, the de facto king. A lesser person would have seized the opportunity but not this Ittai. See how resolutely and assertedly he responded to the king in verse 21. He said, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be.” He resolved to remain with David despite the latter’s serious disadvantage. On seeing his commitment and resolution, the king then permitted him, his men, and their families to depart Jerusalem with him. It was a sad sight as David and those who followed him made their way to the brook at Kidron heading toward the wilderness. The whole country was weeping as they watched the king depart.

The lesson we learn comes from Ittai the Gittite, who made a pledge of absolute loyalty to David. What we know about him makes his action amazing. Firstly, he decided to follow David and it was made willingly even though he knew the journey would be an arduous one, that could even mean death. Secondly, he was a foreigner, a Philistine to be precise and not an Israelite, and has no obligation to be committed. Thirdly, he was a mercenary who had just joined David recently. So what made him do what he did? The answer - loyalty and integrity. How he had responded to David in verse 21 also shows us that God was first in his life. He seemed convinced that David’s experience was allowed by God. So he was committed to walking with him even if it would mean death. That is the quality of faithfulness.

Emulating Ittai in his loyalty and faithfulness, let us pledge ours to King Jesus. As we do be mindful that Jesus has said, “Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Following Jesus may also be an arduous journey as well. And we are expected to take up our cross, deny ourselves and follow in His footsteps. We need the spirit and attitude of “Ittai.” Let us commit to our King Jesus with tenacity, loyalty, and faithfulness!