Thwarted Counsel
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Crossing the Delaware (from copilot)
On a frigid Christmas night in 1776, with morale low and enlistments about to expire, George Washington made a bold gamble that would become one of the most iconic moments of the American Revolution.
Washington and about 2,400 Continental Army troops crossed the ice-choked Delaware River from Pennsylvania into New Jersey under the cover of darkness. Their goal? A surprise attack on a Hessian garrison—German mercenaries hired by the British—stationed in Trenton1.
The crossing was treacherous. A brutal snowstorm slowed their progress, and two supporting columns failed to make it across the river. But Washington’s main force pressed on. By early morning on December 26, they marched nine miles to Trenton and launched a swift, coordinated assault3.
The result was a stunning victory. The Americans captured nearly 1,000 Hessians with minimal losses, reigniting hope for the revolutionary cause. Washington’s daring move didn’t just win a battle—it shifted the momentum of the war.
It’s one of those moments where grit, timing, and sheer audacity changed the course of history.
God had ordained for America to win the American Revolution. The Battle could easily have gone the other way, but that was not God’s will. There are countless cases of thwarted counsel and plans that might have gone one way but ended up going another.
We have to conclude that God is in charge of the outcome of human history. Tonight we are going to see another example of this very truth played out in David’s life.
15 Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.
16 And when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17 And Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?”
18 And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, for whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain.
19 And again, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? As I have served your father, so I will serve you.”
20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your counsel. What shall we do?”
21 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”
22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
23 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.
Pray
There are a couple of proverbs that speak to what is happening in these chapters.
Proverbs 16:33 says,
33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.
Also Proverbs 19:21 says,
21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
We can make all the plans we want and listen to all of the counselors in the world, and we should plan and listen to wise counsel, but God will accomplish what He sets out to do. His will will not be thwarted.
The story we are going to look at tonight is a story of how God still accomplishes His will no matter what man might do and how He protects those who are His.
David is on the run and he has some people who are remaining loyal to him and some who have followed his son Absalom who has instigated a coup.
David has sent some of his faithful servants back into the city to be a spy force and inform him of Absalom’s moves.
That is where we pick up tonight.
Hushai enters the city at the very moment that Absalom does.
1. The Question of Loyalty (16:15-23)
1. The Question of Loyalty (16:15-23)
Ahithophel’s counsel was highly revered
Ahithophel’s counsel was worldly and evil
He encouraged Absalom to commit sexual immorality with the concubines
This was an act of scorn towards his father, but it was also an act of scorn towards God. God never said He would establish someone’s throne by worldly means or sinful acts
Application
The counsel we receive can be godly or carnal and we must be able to tell the difference.
We are called to remain loyal to God no matter what the cost may be to us.
Hushai took his life in his own hands when he lied to Absalom.
Absalom could have killed Hushai if he suspected him of treason
Hushai claims that he will serve whomever the Lord has appointed (which is still David)
2. The Sovereign Deception (17:1-23)
2. The Sovereign Deception (17:1-23)
1 Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight.
2 I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king,
3 and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace.”
4 And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
5 Then Absalom said, “Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.”
6 And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Thus has Ahithophel spoken; shall we do as he says? If not, you speak.”
7 Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.”
8 Hushai said, “You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the people.
9 Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’
10 Then even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are valiant men.
11 But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person.
12 So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him not one will be left.
13 If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be found there.”
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.
15 Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so have I counseled.
16 Now therefore send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not stay tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.’ ”
17 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.
18 But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard. And they went down into it.
19 And the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it.
20 When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman said to them, “They have gone over the brook of water.” And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
21 After they had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. They said to David, “Arise, and go quickly over the water, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you.”
22 Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed the Jordan. By daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.
23 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.
Ahithophel and Hushai had reasonable counsel for Absalom. Both scenarios could be likely to happen.
When counsel seems to contradict and both might seem true, more prayer is needed.
Seeking God is the answer, but Absalom in all of his dealings never seeks God’s wisdom
He didn’t seek God when he killed his brother Amnon
He didn’t seek God when He was exiled from Jerusalem
He didn’t seek God to restore his relationship with David
He didn’t seek whether he was God’s anointed king
He won’t seek God here to determine what counsel to follow
In this case if he had followed Ahithophel’s counsel, he probably would have been victorious
God was the one who stirred Absalom’s heart to follow Hushai’s counsel and give David a chance to escape
Notice the similarities with this account and Joshua’s spies that Rahab hid.
God is drawing a parallel to these stories and showing that God protects and delivers those who are for Him.
3. The Divine Provision (vv.27-29)
3. The Divine Provision (vv.27-29)
27 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,
28 brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils,
29 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.”
While David is at his lowest, his needs are still being met by those that God brings.
What is interesting is the number of foreigners God uses to meet the needs of His king.
David is on the run, but God is still a very present help in time of trouble.
God has not forgotten David and He will not forget us as well.
Conclusion:
This is not a story about God always delivering us out of harm’s way. It is a story about the sovereign will of God being accomplished.
God did the same thing with His son Jesus. Jesus was handed over so that we could escape the penalty of sin and death.
God used the evil intentions of the wicked men of this world to do the very thing that He had already ordained to happen.
What are we to do with this story.
Recognize who is in control of your life
Submit to God’s plan for your life in obedience
Had David obeyed in the first place, he would never have been in this position. Even still God can show grace.
ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible: Notes Study Notes for 2 Samuel
Sin is never trivial, and grace is never cheap. But God never leaves or forsakes those who are truly his. These are key gospel truths vividly illustrated by the life of David.
