2 Samuel 16:15-17:29

Conflicting Counselors

Big Idea: Even when you receive good counsel, it is crucial to ensure your goals align with God's will. For even good counsel will not stand when the goals are bad.

Intro

Good counsel may not always be good counsel.

Recount story of Paul on his way back to Jerusalem (Agabus)

Good counsel wrong end. Paul was not trying to save his life. God’s will for Paul was to be imprisoned so he could appeal to Caesar.

Absalom receives conflicting counsel: one is good counsel with a bad goal and one is bad counsel (for Absalom at least) and a good goal.

Even when you receive good counsel, it is crucial to ensure your goals align with God's will. For even good counsel will not stand when the goals are bad.

The Set-up (16:15-19)

Absalom enters Jerusalem with Ahithophel.

Hushai enters simultaneously and manages to convince Absalom he is a friendly.

Truthfully Absalom should be wary of both men. Why would either change their loyalty to David so easily for the Son?

But for David this is good news. Now he has a spy embedded inside.

Good Counsel bad goal (16:20-17:4)

Next Absalom demand Ahithophel give him counsel.

Which he does, but what kind?

For Absalom the counsel is good, but its not good for David and it doesn’t align with the will of God.

It’s good counsel with a bad goal. (which sort of cancels out).

First: take David’s wives and lie with them publicly.

Explain significance of this as fait accompli

But the narrator wants us to see that this connects with David’s sin with Bathsheba (rooftop) and God’s promised consequence:

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.” (2 Sa 12:11).

Absalom is eager to comply with this counsel and makes himself odious in the eyes of David (and God).

Chapter ends with Narrator wanting us to know how in the past Ahithophel’s counsel was trustworthy (23).

Ahithophel’s counsel doesn’t end there…

He encourages a swift attack on David before he has had time to plan, and to kill just the king.

Both Absalom and the Elders find the counsel of Ahithophel “right in their eyes.”

Bad counsel good goal (17:5-14).

But just in case, Hushai is called in to give His (conflicting) counsel.

As we shall see his counsel is designed to help David, which happens to align with the will of God.

So Hushai has good goals, but for Absalom the counsel is bad.

He directly contradicts the counsel of Ahithophel (which everyone found right).

Don’t attack suddenly, since David is warrior, he will be prepared and you won’t have success.

Rather wait and gather a large army and then take him.

David won’t be able to stand against the whole army, even if he hides in a city for protection.

Now on the surface there is some plausible truth to this.

David is a warrior, and he does have all the mightiest men with him.

But we know what Absalom doesn’t, that David isn’t prepared. He’s been so preoccupied with leaving that he has done little else.

So why would Absalom and the elders accept such counsel?

V. 14: “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 Sa 17:14).

The Result: David is warned and Ahithophel kills himself (17:15-29)

Accepting the counsel of Hushai buys David time.

With his spy network in place, David is able to receive instructions from Hushai through the sons of the priests.

They are almost caught in the act but manage to hide and then escape to bring David the news.

David received the news and hastily makes his way over the Jordan to a somewhat safer ground.

But things don’t go as well for Ahithophel.

“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 Sa 17:23).

Why would he do this?

I mean: a counselor whose counsel is not used…

But consider the parallel’s with another betrayer of the Lord’s anointed–judas.

Explain connection.

Jesus is a greater David.

Application

So what? Why is the story of conflicting counselors here?

Partly as a consequence of David’s sin, which we get to see unfold; and partly to show that God won’t allow Absalom to get away with treachery.

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.” (Pr 19:21).

For plans to succeed, they must be aligned with the will of God.

Let me give you an example:

A man who is offered a promotion but it will mean long hours and work on sabbath, but much better money.

Think what he could do for his family if they had more money.

He assumes making good money is a good goal.

If I were to counsel that man and say this sounds like a great opportunity to you to get ahead and prosper, from his perspective that would be good counsel.

But does it align with the will of God?

[add some caveats about this being a choice and a long-term prospect. (I don’t think there is anything wrong with working a lot to get established. Tell story of working to start landscaping.)]

If you are to make plans, you must make sure that the goal of your plans lines up with the will of God.

Absalom’s goal is to kill the LORD’s anointed and take His throne, no amount of good plans are ever going to align that goal with the will of God.

Whereas, we saw last week that David has committed his plans to the Lord.

He has made plans, including setting up a spy-ring, but he is still holding his plans loosely to see how the Lord will direct him.

How can we align our goals with the will of God?

It’s actually not as hard as you might think.

Take up His word and read, for he has given you his will concerning life and salvation.

I think God is telling me to divorce my wife? She’s not as submissive as I think she should be.

Ahh dude, that’s not God speaking to you, that’s Satan.

The will of God will never contradict His word.

So there is no way it’s his will for you to get a divorce.

Absalom showed some wisdom in listening to multiple counselors, that’s always a good idea.

“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” (Pr 11:14).

But he forgot to stop and ask if his end goal would align with the will of God.

Make plans, set goals, but make sure they align with the will of God.

Even when you receive good counsel, it is crucial to ensure your goals align with God's will. For even good counsel will not stand when the goals are bad.