Life Of David: Part 6 Series

Everyone of us has found ourselves in situations where it feels as if the world is crashing down on us. The worst of these, though, is when we know we are the reason why it all started. If only we hadn’t done THAT. Then none of this would’ve been happening.

Isn’t that one of the most helpless feelings in the world? Knowing that you are the central cause for all this pain you, and maybe even others, are going through? It can feel as if the very breath has been ripped from your chest and you’ve been pinned under an unbearable load.

As David made his way up the Mount of Olives, tears streamed down his face, probably feeling very many of the emotions we just described. He wept, having been forced from his home because his own son sought to steal away his throne. And yet, it wasn’t just his own son that had betrayed him. A servant lied to him. A relative of Saul’s lied to him, cursed him, and threw stones at him. A trusted advisor left him for the enemy. And many of his own people now paid fealty to the imposter king.

Yet, none of these could’ve compared with the pain of knowing that he had caused this. If David had simply followed the Word of the Lord, if he had taken but one wife for himself, none of this would’ve happened. Amnon, his son, would never have violated his own half-sister Tamar. Tamar’s brother, Absalom, would never have sought vengeance and murdered Amnon. Absalom then would never have had to flee, nor would he have grown filled with resentment and jealousy for his father. The rebellion itself would’ve never taken place, and the hearts of the people would never have been lost. If only he would’ve never lay with Bathsheba, then perhaps her grandfather, David’s advisor Ahithophel, would’ve never had to leave his services for the enemy. If only.

The past, though, had happened. And because of what he had done, David now was on the run for his life. Yet, to whom did he turn? Not to himself, or to his men, but to his God. It was during this time that he wrote Psalm 3, LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! 2 Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” 3 But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. 4 I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain. 5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. 6 I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side. 7 Arise, LORD! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. 8 From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.

This hope that David placed in the Lord was well founded. The Lord had saved him many times before, and the present time would be no different. Just the previous day, a man by the name of Ittai and his 600 men had come into the service of David. Ittai was an exile, having fled from Gath. And if the city name of Gath sounds familiar, that’s because it should. It was the hometown of Goliath, David’s old foe. Think about just how impossible this situation was, and yet it unfolded just so. A man from Gath, a man from the land of bitter enemies arrives just a day before David was forced to flee. With 600 men, nonetheless! You can’t tell me that there is no God!

There was more, though. One of the most feared enemies David now faced was that of his former advisor Ahithophel, Bathsheba’s grandfather. The man was well known for his wisdom and cunning. David knew that he needed the Lord here. So, as he marched up the Mount of Olives he prayed, “LORD, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.” This prayer was neither flowery nor lengthy, but by the time he had reached the summit of that mount, who was there to meet him but God’s answer to the prayer: Hushai. Now Hushai was a faithful man, but he was an old man. He would only have slowed David down if he would’ve fled with him. So, David instead asked Hushai to stay behind and serve as one of Absalom’s advisors in order to frustrate the advice of Ahithophel, Bathsheba’s grandfather. And Hushai, along with other faithful men, stayed.

Not long after Hushai joined Absalom’s advisers, it came time for Absalom to need advice. Ahithophel was ready with it: “I would choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David. 2 I would attack him while he is weary and weak. I would strike him with terror, and then all the people with him will flee. I would strike down only the king 3 and bring all the people back to you. The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all; all the people will be unharmed.” This advice was sound. It was the obvious choice. Yet, because God was in charge, Absalom decided to call upon another advisor for his input. And which advisor did he choose, but that of Hushai, the man of David. Hushai’s advice was the very opposite of Ahithophel. He called on patience, and played into the hand of Absalom’s arrogance. He advised Absalom to wait for a larger force of men to gather. After all, what man wouldn’t want to lead such a strong and glorious force of men? And with God in control, whose advice did Absalom follow? Hushai’s of course. Which in turn allowed David and his followers to escape and regroup.