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"The Bitter End Of Bitterness" • 1.31.16 •
Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro
- In an effort to protect the people of
Jerusalem from a potential massacre, King David has chosen to flee from his son
Absalom, the crown prince, who is at the head of a growing uprising.
- Right next to Absalom is Ahithophel, David's
counselor, who has betrayed the King and advised the crown Prince. They are
each other's best hope for revenge.
- Both men are fueled by injustices that they
had witnessed and are companions in bitterness. They believe that they will now
exact a righteous finish to King David's reign.
- We'll pick it up where we left off, as David
journeys toward the wilderness, descending the Mount of Olives.
Text
• II Samuel
16:1,2 : "When David was a little past the top of
the mountain, there was Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth, who met him with a
couple of saddled donkeys, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred
clusters of raisins, one hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. And the
king said to Ziba, 'What do you mean to do with these?' So Ziba said, 'The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread
and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who are faint
in the wilderness to drink.'" : As he descends from the mount of olives, David is met by Ziba,
the appointed caretaker of Mephibosheth's estate.
- Mephibosheth was Saul's grandson who had
sustained a permanently disabling injury on the day of Saul's death. Most Kings
would have ruthlessly eliminated their competition.
- When David sought him out, he not only did
not kill him, but he invited him into his own home and fed him as if he was his
own son. Ziba's gift apart from Mephibosheth's presence was a concern.
• II Samuel
16:3,4 : "Then
the king said, 'And where is your master’s son?' And Ziba said to the king, 'Indeed he
is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore
the kingdom of my father to me.’
So the king said to Ziba, 'Here, all
that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.'
And Ziba said, 'I humbly bow before you, that I
may find favor in your sight, my lord, O king!'" : You can almost see Ziba feigning
embarrassment, as he reveals his information.
- "Mephibosheth believes that God will
restore Saul's Kingdom to him!"
- We'll discover later that this was a blatant
lie. Ziba, tired of playing the servant, wanted to secure something for himself
before David was thoroughly deposed.
- At the time, David just wondered if he had
been played for the fool! Without waiting to hear the other side of the story, David
sadly confers all of Mephibosheth's house to Ziba.
- Ziba bows before David who arguably absorbs
his deepest sorrow from his most beloved.
• II Samuel
16:5-8 : "Now when King David came to Bahurim, there was a man from the
family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera, coming from
there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came. And he threw stones at David and at
all the servants of King David. And all the people and all the mighty men were
on his right hand and on his left. Also Shimei said thus when he cursed: 'Come out! Come out! You
bloodthirsty man, you rogue! The Lord has brought upon you all the blood
of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the
hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you
are a bloodthirsty man!'" : Bahurim, meaning the
"Village Of The Young Men," is a village of Benjamin just a few miles
from Jerusalem. There was a least one loud mouth member of Saul's house present
- Shimei, the son of Gera, comes out to taunt
David, hurling out curses and stones at the procession, which included David's
servants and mighty men!
- He's some distance away, so the stones are
ineffective, but it's the words that stung.
- Shimei yelled out his accusation, calling
David a usurper, a man who had stolen Saul's Kingdom. Listen to the NLT's
rendering of verse 8.
• II Samuel
16:8 (NLT) : "The
Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s
clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given
it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for
you are a murderer!'" : What an indictment! What a
blasphemy! May I also add, what a falsehood! The fact that Shimei, a relative
of Saul is speaking to the King reflects a lack of bloodthirst!
- David hadn't stolen the Kingdom. God had
taken it from Saul and when David had the opportunity to kill Saul, he refused!
Shimei's accusation is baseless and ignorant of the facts.
- But that didn't keep him from being the most
vocal! How much more can David take? David's men would be happy to end Shimei's
rant for good. Verse 9.
• II
Samuel 16:9-14 : "Then
Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, 'Why should this dead dog curse my
lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!' But the king
said, 'What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse,
because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David.’ Who then shall say, ‘Why have
you done so?’' And David said to Abishai and all his servants, 'See how my son
who came from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite?
Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the Lord has ordered him. It may be
that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will
repay me with good for his cursing this day.' And as David and his
men went along the road, Shimei went along the hillside opposite him and cursed
as he went, threw stones at him and kicked up dust. Now the king and all the
people who were with him became weary; so they refreshed themselves there." : Abishai, David's older nephew, was always ready for violence.
- It had been his idea to pin Saul
to the ground in the wilderness! It would be nothing for him to take his sword
and strike Shimei, this "dead dog," down. Can you relate to him? Of
course you can!
- The only difference between me
and Abishai on occasion is the actual verbalizing of the question, "Can I
kill him!?"
- There will always be men like
Abishai around, who are ready to take vengeance into their own hands. Jesus had
men like this as well. Their names were James and John, the sons of thunder!
- Is it likely that David felt the
same? Certainly. But he realizes first that there are bigger issues to deal
with. His own son was out to kill him! Save your fighting for the real enemy
Abishai!
- Second, David understood that God
was allowing, perhaps even inspiring this! If he endured this shame, perhaps
the Lord would return it to him for joy.
- There is great wisdom in David's
resolve to patiently endure Shimei's wicked taunts. Notice though that his
correct action didn't issue in Shimei's stopping.
- He kept on cursing and throwing
stones, even when the King wouldn't return the hatred. Don't do what is right
to stop what is wrong. Do what is right because it's pleasing in God's sight!
- Even in the midst of that, did
you see what David experirenced? He and the people having become weary, found
refreshment in the middle of the situation.
- God may not deal with the
Shimei's in the world immediately. He may not deliver you to another place. But
He will always let you experience His presence and be refreshed! Verse 15.
• II Samuel 16:15-19 : "Meanwhile Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to
Jerusalem; and Ahithophel was with him. And so it was, when Hushai the Archite,
David’s friend, came to Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom, 'Long live the
king! Long live the king!' So Absalom said to Hushai, 'Is this your loyalty to
your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?' And Hushai said to Absalom,
'No, but whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his I
will be, and with him I will remain. Furthermore, whom should I
serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your
father’s presence, so will I be in your presence.'" : Hushai walked boldly into the Lion's den and put on the show of
a lifetime!
-
"Long live the King" he roared, congratulating the men that he
secretly despised! Absalom is taken aback by Hushai's betrayal. Certainly he
would have gone with David.
-
When Hushai responded, it tickled Absalom's ears. Hushai was the servant of
whomever won the hearts of the people and held the throne. Beside, serving the
son was poetic!
- Men
like Absalom, people who require popularity and the force of personality to
lead, crave the approbation of men like Hushai! Every favorable person is a
"winning" story to celebrate!
• II Samuel 16:20-23 : "Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, 'Give advice as to what we
should do.' And 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 are
abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong.' So they
pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his
father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. Now the advice of Ahithophel, which
he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was
all the advice of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom." : Given the wording of verse 20,
it seems fairly obvious that Ahithophel had been using Absalom.
-
This is why Absalom asks him for direction. Absalom has no idea what he should
do! He just wants to kill David. It's Ahithophel who has some very dark designs
for his charge.
-
Ahithophel called upon Absalom to rape David's concubines out in the open,
which he did on the roof of his Father's house! If there had been a hope for reconciliation,
it was gone with this act.
- The
prophet Nathan's words recorded in II
Samuel 12:11,12 have come to pass. For all the bitterness that Ahithophel
had toward David, this advice certainly contradicts his righteous anger!
-
Ahithophel's bitterness has not produced anything godly and it won't begin now!
- On
the same roof where David first set eyes upon Bathsheba, Absalom commits a sin
that is 10 times the offense!
- Far
from exacting justice, he exposes these women to greater shame and degradation
than Bathsheba experienced! His bitterness required a 10 fold repayment and he
wasn't finished.
• II Samuel 17:1-4 : "Moreover Ahithophel said to
Absalom, 'Now let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue
David tonight. I
will come upon him while he is weary and weak, and make him afraid. And all the
people who are with him will flee, and I will strike only the king. Then I will bring back all the
people to you. When all return except the man whom you seek, all the people
will be at peace.' And the saying pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel." : Ahithophel's counsel is perfect as it pertains to his evil
intent. David is just miles from the palace. He is undermanned and not prepared
for a fight mentally.
-
Yet, not intending to compliment David, Ahithophel offers to personally command
a force that is 20 times the size of the King's! Listen to how he speaks and
tell me he hasn't dreamt of this!
- He
wants to come against the King while he was exhausted and feeble. His hope is
to make him afraid, meaning to cause to tremble. Ahithophel wants him to
experience terror.
-
Ahithophel is a perfect type of the enemy, who never wants a fair fight and
always wants to inspire fear!
- Ahithophel
imagines that once David is dead, by his own hand, that all the people will
flee and turn to Absalom. "We'll all live happily ever after!"
-
Absalom and all of the elders of Israel present stood back and applauded
Ahithophel's counsel. You'd think that this case was closed, but something
didn't sit right with Absalom.
•
II Samuel 17:5-7 : "Then Absalom said, 'Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let us
hear what he says too.' And when Hushai came to Absalom,
Absalom spoke to him, saying, 'Ahithophel has spoken in this manner. Shall we
do as he says? If not, speak up.' So Hushai said to Absalom: 'The advice that
Ahithophel has given is not good at this time." :
What possessed Absalom to ask for a second opinion? Was there something in
Ahithophel's counsel that seemed self serving?
-
Ahithophel kept using the word "I." "I will hunt for David. I
will kill him. I will bring him back to you." There's a whole lot of
Ahithophel in Ahithophel's counsel for Absalom's taste!
-
I wonder if he even thought of Hushai as a God send to advise him in this moment?
-
When Hushai was told of Ahithophel's advice, you can almost see Hushai's face
change as he shook his head. "Ahithophel's advice is not good at this
time!"
-
He hedges his bets with the phrase, "At this time." It was good, but
just premature!
-
Can you hear the collective gasp!? Someone actually disagreed with some part of
Ahithophel's advice? This was unheard of! Hushai continues.
• II Samuel 17:8-13 : "'For,' said Hushai, 'you know your father
and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are enraged in their minds,
like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field; and your father is a man of war,
and will not camp with the people. Surely by now he is hidden in some pit, or
in some other place. And it will be, when some of them are overthrown at the
first, that whoever hears it will say, ‘There is a slaughter among the people
who follow Absalom.’ And even he who is valiant, whose heart is like
the heart of a lion, will melt completely. For all Israel knows that your
father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I
advise that all Israel be fully gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, like
the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person.
So we will come upon him in some place where he may be found, and we will fall
on him as the dew falls on the ground. And of him and all the men who are with
him there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he has withdrawn into
a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city; and we will pull it
into the river, until there is not one small stone found there.'" : Hushai's preys upon Absalom's insecurity.
"You know your Father and his men! They're crazy!"
- He asserts
that their minds are caught in the throes of bitterness like a bear whose been
robbed of her cubs. Is that the impression that you were left with?
- David is the
shoeless King, caught in the depths of despair, weeping as he went! Hushai
paints the picture of Rambo leading a group of crazed Rambos!
- You can see
Absalom taking a deep breath as Hushai tells him that a raid at this time would
only ensure a quick defeat and bring a quiet end to Absalom's rebellion.
- With so much
at stake, Absalom cannot afford a misstep. One defeat meant certain death.
- Wouldn't it
be better to gather all of Israel to contend with David? Ahithophel wants a
force that is 20 times larger than David. Hushai is calling for a hundred times
that!
- Ahithophel
wants to strike the death blow. Hushai thinks that Absalom should lead the
charge and that each of the men of Israel rally around him until there isn't
one of David's men left!
- Whatever city
he hides in, Absalom will raze to the ground until there isn't a place to hide
anymore. You can almost see Absalom's inspired face as he stands to talk.
• II
Samuel 17:14 : "So Absalom and all
the men of Israel said, 'The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than the
advice of Ahithophel.' For the Lord had purposed to defeat the good advice of
Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring disaster on Absalom." : Absalom saw Hushai's advice as having made
more sense and ruled in his favor!
- Part of it had to do with Absalom's desire to
go with the plan that put him in the best possible light. He was an egomaniac!
- On the other hand, it was God who caused his
eyes to see it this way because He was seeking to defeat Ahithophel's good
advice!
- Why? Because David had prayed for that to be
the case! David is running and hiding. He has no control of the situation, but
God hasn't left the throne nor has he abdicated His sovereignty!
- David has no idea. He doesn't know what is
taking place. He doesn't know that God is working for him in a grand way!
• II
Samuel 17:15,16 : "Then Hushai said
to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, 'Thus and so Ahithophel advised Absalom and
the elders of Israel, and thus and so I have advised. Now therefore,
send quickly and tell David, saying, ‘Do not spend this night in the plains of
the wilderness, but speedily cross over, lest the king and all the people who
are with him be swallowed up.’"
: Hushai puts the priests to their real work, sending them to deliver his
message through their sons.
- They would need to cross over the Jordan
river as soon as possible to buy time.
•
II Samuel 17:17-20 : "Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed at En Rogel,
for they dared not be seen coming into the city; so a female servant would come
and tell them, and they would go and tell King David. Nevertheless a lad saw
them, and told Absalom. But both of them went away quickly and came to a man’s
house in Bahurim, who had a well in his court; and they went down into it. Then
the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground
grain on it; and the thing was not known. And when Absalom’s
servants came to the woman at the house, they said, 'Where are Ahimaaz and
Jonathan?' So the woman said to them, 'They have gone over the water brook.' And
when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem." : Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been staying in a
border town between Judah and Benjamin.
- They waited for a servant girl to convey
Hushai's news and would then relay that to David, but a little snitch saw them
first!
- When they sought for cover, they ended up in
Bahurim. That's the city that Shimei had come from! You might think that this
wasn't the city for David's spies to end up in!
- Yet again, in the sovereignty of God, the
spies are led to a sympathetic man who had a well in his courtyard, which was
level with the ground and easily camoflauged.
- When Absalom's servants came to investigate,
the woman of the house sent them out in another direction which led them home
empty.
• II
Samuel 17:21,22 : "Now it came to
pass, after they had departed, that they came up out of the well and went and
told King David, and said to David, 'Arise and cross over the water quickly.
For thus has Ahithophel advised against you.' So David and all
the people who were with him arose and crossed over the Jordan. By morning
light not one of them was left who had not gone over the Jordan." : When David received the news, he immediately
crossed the river and made for the wilderness. His plan had worked! God was
working on his side.
- When Absalom did come, David would now have
the tactical advantage, though because of God's favor, he would not need it.
• II
Samuel 17:23 : "Now when
Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose
and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order,
and hanged himself, and died; and he was buried in his father’s tomb." : Man, talk about a poor sport! The writing
was on the wall. Ahithophel's advice meant certain victory. Hushai's advice
meant certain defeat!
- It was now only a matter of time before
Absalom's rebellion was crushed along with all of the lives of his
co-conspirators.
- Ahithophel's great gifting and excellent
strategizing was fool proof, except that it wasn't!
- Ahithophel was coming to grips with the
singular lesson that had plagued him: God had favored David and there was
nothing on Earth that he could do about it!
- Note his deliberation. He saddled his donkey
and put his house in order. What a wise thing to do and yet, foregoing all
wisdom, he gave into his bitterness and hung himself!
- Ahithophel could not live with the fact that
David would not pay at his hands. He had committed himself toward this end and
when it didn't happen, he took his own life by hanging.
- As we noted last week, you can see such an
incredible symmetry, a near perfect prefiguring of the sufferings of Christ in
David's experience.
- David's betrayer didn't just commit suicide,
but he hung himself, just as Judas hung himself after realizing that he had
betrayed innocent blood!
- Both men realized far too late that God was
not going to honor their bitter or greedy plans! He would return both men to
their previous glory because that was His promise to do so!
Conclusion
- Ahithophel had
the best candidate and the best conditions to run David into the ground from a
human standpoint, but his bitterness blinded him to God's favor.
-
Bitterness is a poor weapon and an even poorer Master. He will leave you
disappointed and spent without any satisfaction, perhaps even to the point of
hopeless despair.
-
On the other hand, in the face of repeated betrayal and hateful treatment,
David walked silently away, entrusting his case to the Lord's vindication.
-
Later, the greater David Jesus Christ, would walk silently like a lamb to the
slaughter, entrusting God to vindicate Him. Both saw the day when God took
their shame away!
-
May we trust our Lord in the same way, looking for Him to lift us from our
mirey clay!
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