2 SAMUEL 16-17 PURSE GODS HEART FOR GOOD ADVICE2018 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Samuel 16-17 Purse Gods Heart For Good Advice

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2018. Well, this evening as we begin here in 2 Samuel, we're going to be finishing up the chapter of chapter 16. And so let's start by reading verses 20 through 23, and then we'll dive into what the Lord has for us this evening.

2 Samuel 16, verse 20 says,

So they pitched a tent for Absalom on top of the house, and Absalom went into his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. Verse 23. 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.

Here as we finish up chapter 16, we continue to just kind of focus on David in this time where he is on the run from his son Absalom, who has decided he's going to take over the kingdom. He's turned the hearts of Israel against David. David has fled from Jerusalem for his life with his servants and those who are with him. It was a

few in number compared to all of Israel that had sided with Absalom in this turning against David.

Now as Absalom comes into Jerusalem, he starts to get established and he relies upon his counselor Ahithophel, who was once David's counselor, but has switched camps, has betrayed David and sided with Absalom in this whole ordeal. And we've seen a few times that this perhaps is related to Ahithophel's relationship to Bathsheba in that he was the grandfather of Uriah, her husband, and

And so what David did to Bathsheba and then killing Uriah was something that was unforgivable as far as Ahithophel was concerned. And so he has turned against David, perhaps for that reason, or maybe there's many others we're not aware of. And he's turned against David and sided with Ahithophel.

And he is the great advisor. He is here to give advice. And so as we talk about advice this evening, I've titled the message, Pursue God's Heart for Good Advice. You know, we all get advice probably several times a day. Every day of our lives, we get advice. And we get advice from God.

We get people sharing opinions with us, their opinions of what we should do, how we should do it. Sometimes that advice is unsolicited, right? You're not asking for advice. You don't even care what they think about your situation or what you should do. But, you know, people do like to share their opinions. And so they tell you what they think and what their perspective is and what they think you should do. And sometimes we seek out advice. There's a decision before us.

There is, you know, things that need to be done. There is perhaps, you know, two choices or three or four choices. And we're trying to figure out which is the best route to go. And sometimes we seek out counsel. We seek out advice. And we maybe invite someone who is experienced or someone who has, you know, been down that road before or, you know, has some insight that they might be able to provide. And we ask them, what do you think? And what direction would you go in this journey?

situation. And so advice is something that we deal with on an ongoing, on a regular basis, all kinds of opinions all the time about what we should do and the directions that we should go.

But this evening, as we look at this passage here in chapter 16 and 17, I want to encourage you to pursue God's heart for good advice. Not that we don't take in the counsel that people provide, but that we then take that counsel to the Lord and give God an opportunity to share his thoughts and ideas and perspective on the advice that we are given.

Advice is counsel or recommendations or guidance or encouragement. It's wisdom for us in taking action. You could perhaps define good advice as advice that works, right? If it's advice that doesn't work, it's not very good advice. But good advice is advice that works, that will bring about the desired result. And yet at the same time, there is advice that works, right?

But that really isn't in line with the heart of God. And that's what we're looking at here as we look at the advice of Ahithophel. And then we're also going to look at the advice of Hushai. There's two advisors here that Absalom has. One of them is Ahithophel. He is the guy who was with David, David's counselor who turned against him. And then there's the guy Hushai.

Now, Hushai was loyal to David. When David was leaving back in 2 Samuel 15, he wanted to go with David. And David said, no, it's better for you to stay in Jerusalem, and you're going to be there to work against the counsel of Ahithophel. It's 2 Samuel 15, verse 34, where David sends him back and says, look, here's your job.

You're to be a secret agent, essentially. They're in the midst of Absalom's court. And you're to try to contradict and defeat the counsel, the advice that Ahithophel is going to give. And so here, Absalom is going to receive advice from both of these guys. And it gives us an opportunity to evaluate their advice and to see how we can pursue God's heart in the midst of it.

Now there's something that I'd like us to consider as we get started and as we work our way through these verses. It's the prayer of David in 2 Samuel 15, verse 31. And I would ask you to consider, did God answer this prayer? In verse 31 of chapter 15, it says, then someone told David saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, oh Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel away

into foolishness. We're going to see a couple examples of Ahithophel's counsel, his advice. And so let's consider. Was it foolishness? Did God answer the prayer of David here in turning his counsel into foolishness? Well, there's three things we'll look at this evening, three words of advice that we'll get to evaluate and consider. Is it good advice?

advice. And that's what we'll need to do as we look at these. And so the first one is found here in chapter 16, verses 20 through 23. Here's point number one. Good advice works out godliness.

As we receive advice, as people are giving us counsel, they're giving us their opinions, sometimes requested, sometimes they just offer it, whether we want it or not. How do we evaluate that? Well, here is the first way to evaluate advice that is given to us. If it's good advice, it's going to work out godliness. Now, we start here in verse 20 with Absalom instructing Ahithophel, give advice as to what we should do.

And so this advice that we're looking at is Absalom seeking out advice. Here he is, a young man, brand new king, right? So he is wise in that sense in asking for advice. The Proverbs tells us, Proverbs chapter 1 verse 5, a wise man will hear and increase learning and a man of understanding will attain knowledge.

Wise counsel. We'll ask for, we'll get wise counsel. It is throughout the scriptures given as a mark of wisdom to seek out counsel. It's a wise thing to do. It's a good thing to do. And so here, Absalom does something that is noteworthy and good in that sense. He's inviting Ahithophel to speak forth wisdom, to give advice as to what they should do.

Many other Proverbs deal with this as well. Not only is Absalom asking for advice, which is a good thing, but he's asking for advice from a good source. If you look again at verse 23, it says, "...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."

Ahithophel was not just, you know, some random guy that nobody's ever heard of before and Absalom sought his opinion. He's not some young guy that Absalom grew up with and like, hey buddy, you know, what do you think I should do? And just, you know, his best friend telling him what he wants to hear.

We see this happen a little bit later with David's grandson, right? Rehoboam, remember? He is given an opportunity to hear counsel from the older guys who counseled his father Solomon. And he hears their counsel. He doesn't like it that much. And so he goes to his friends and he seeks out their counsel. Hey, friends, what do you guys think I should do in this situation? And he follows the counsel of his friends and divides the whole nation as a result. But

But here, Absalom is not seeking counsel in that kind of thing. He's not just asking his friends. He's asking Ahithophel. This guy is known. He's served with David throughout his time as king. And he is known for, wow, when he speaks, it's like God is speaking. Not in the prophetic sense, as a prophet would say, thus says the Lord, but the wisdom that he has, it's like the wisdom of God.

The strategies that he comes up with, the techniques that he suggests, the direction that he says, boy, it's just consistent that it's always something that is like a word from the Lord with its wisdom, with the way that it works out. And so from the get-go, as we just get started here without, you know,

pulling in all that we know about Absalom and the whole situation. I mean, there's some good things that are going on here. He's seeking out counsel from a reputable source, from someone who is known to give good wisdom, as good wisdom, you know, as God gives. And that's important to consider.

It's one thing to seek out counsel from just whoever you might find on the street or your best friend or someone, but to seek out someone who's known for, they hear from the Lord. They know what the Lord wants. They have insight that is very valuable. And so he does that. That's good. But then verse 21 says,

Here's Ahithophel's counsel. Ahithophel said to Absalom, go into 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 into his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. So here's Absalom doing a good thing, asking for advice from a reputable source, a man of great wisdom,

And his advice is engage in sexual immorality. Now, this was a common practice for kings in those days. The king that conquered the previous king would engage

take in the harem, the concubines of the previous king, as an indication, as a declaration of their authority. Now they are the king. They are the one in charge. And that demonstrated their power and their position.

And so it wasn't an unheard of thing. It was not typical for sons who took their father's place to do this, but it was typical for kings who were conquering to go on, you know, this type, go into this type of practice. And so it was commonplace. It was normal in that sense, but was it good advice? Here's a man who is known as the oracle of God because he has such great wisdom.

Did he give good advice? How would you evaluate this advice? Now, in one sense, you could say this was good advice in the sense that it accomplishes what Ahithophel says it will accomplish. You see, if the objective is to make sure that all of Israel knows that Absalom is now on the throne of David and in a position of completely being against David, this act accomplishes that.

If the objective is to shore up the dividing lines and to make sure there's not going to be any reconciliation, to make sure that there is no restoring of David and Absalom together, that

The men of Absalom need to be encouraged. This is for sure going to happen. I mentioned this a few weeks back as we touched on these verses briefly about escalating the conflict. I should have looked it up this time, but I didn't last time either, so I forget. There was the guy who, when they got to the New World, they burned the ships so that his men would be committed to establishing themselves there and not running away. This was that kind of act. In that sense, this was good advice.

In the sense that this act accomplishes the very things that Ahithophel says it will accomplish. It strengthens the men against David. It sides them with Absalom in that way. And it accomplishes that purpose. It seems wise, perhaps. But is it good advice? It's effective. That is true. But is it good advice?

advice. F.B. Meyer puts it this way. He says, "...beware of any advice which complies with and gratifies the impulses of your own lower nature. He who begins by counseling you to do what is morally wrong can never be trusted as an advisor."

As we think about good advice and as we receive advice from multiple sources every day, you know, again, whether it's advice that we're asking for and looking for or it's just being offered to us, here is something important for us to evaluate. Is this good advice, does it work out godliness?

Now again, this was perhaps the custom of the day, but does that make it okay? Does that mean that it lines up with the actions, the morality that God desires and that God requires? Now there's a great temptation here because, well, it is hard for us sometimes to be objective when we're given advice that

that we really want to follow. And sometimes we're asking for advice, not because we're actually seeking out what does God want or what is God's will, but because we're looking for someone to kind of excuse us in the behavior that we want to participate in anyways. And here's Absalom, eager to carry out the lust of his flesh. No problem with it. And so this advice doesn't ring any bells.

or doesn't raise any red flags for him, he goes on, he fulfills. He carries out the advice that Ahithophel gives here. He says, oh, that's good advice. It appeals to his flesh, but it doesn't help him to be godly. It doesn't help him to be more like God. It doesn't help him to walk with God. And we need to be careful. There is many times wisdom that is presented to

And it's presented in a way that is incredibly convincing, perhaps appeals to our minds, and makes sense strategically. Again, in that sense, Ahithophel's counsel is good in that it's effective at doing what he said it was going to do. But that doesn't make it good advice. There's a lot of marriage advice that maybe is effective to accomplish what the promise is, you know, that it will accomplish. But

Doesn't make it good advice. It doesn't make it the thing that God would have you to do. Does it work out godliness in your life? There's a lot of career advice that maybe is effective. There's a lot of, you know, conflict advice that maybe is effective. It accomplishes maybe a short-term goal, but does it work out godliness in your life? I think the best advice

definition and description of good advice is found in the book of James chapter 3 verse 17. Here's what James says, the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. James there in chapter 3 is contrasting and he before this gives some examples of wisdom that is not from above.

wisdom like what Ahithophel offers. It might be strategically sound. It might be effective. It might make sense. It might be appealing. It doesn't have to be, you know, go hit yourself with a hammer kind of advice. You know, it could be, you know, wow, this really makes a lot of sense. And that's what Ahithophel offers here. But the way that we need to evaluate advice is

According to what James tells us here, here's how you can evaluate wisdom to see if, is this from above? Is this wisdom from God? And here's the first landmark, the first hallmark, the first sign that wisdom is from above. First and foremost, James says it's pure. And already, if you try to filter Ahithophel's advice through this, it fails because immorality is not pure. We need to learn that.

to receive advice. And sometimes that in itself is a challenge for us to be willing and open to receive counsel and receive advice and seek out advice. But we also need to learn to not just accept advice. Now, Ahithophel was a reputable source. And this is important as well, that even when we're seeking out counsel from a reputable source, well, we can trust Pastor George. You know, I go ask him what advice

I should do in this situation. It's Pastor George. He's not going to lead me astray. He's not going to take me down the wrong path. And hopefully, intentionally, he won't. But even then, it's our responsibility to take advice and not just follow it because, well, we know the source, but to then filter it, to ask the question, does it work out godliness? Is this godly behavior that is being...

advised or instruction that is being given here? Is it, first of all, pure? And then you can evaluate, well, is it peaceable? Does this help bring peace? Now, again, Ahithophel's advice fails on this one also. It escalates the conflict between David and Absalom. It doesn't help. It doesn't seek to bring peace. Wisdom that's from above is gentle. Ahithophel's counsel is not gentle.

These ladies who are involved would not describe it as gentle, right? This is not gentle. This is not from above. Willing to yield, that's a tough one for our flesh. Wisdom from above, well, leaves the open opportunity for us to submit to the plan of God, to submit to something perhaps that we don't even want. But it's wisdom from God, perhaps, and maybe there is the need for us to yield. Full of mercy, right?

full of good fruits, and without partiality, without, you know, on and on, we can, these are good things for us to look at and evaluate with the counsel that we are given. Good advice works out godliness. It's wise to ask for advice, and we do need to ask for advice. That is a mark of wisdom, and we need to seek out advice from reliable sources, but we should never

Even under those circumstances, just accept what we're told and do it without giving God an opportunity to show us whether or not this produces godliness in our lives. A good reputation doesn't mean that you don't ask God for a second opinion. We need to stop and think, does this work out godliness?

Well, moving on into chapter 17 now, let's look at verses one through four for point number two, and that is good advice does not work against God's plans. Verse one says, Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, Now let me choose 12,000 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. So after the first piece of advice is received and followed, now Ahithophel offers a second piece of advice. Here's the second piece of counsel. Absalom, send me with 12,000 men to go and take out David, to catch up with him and

Now I would ask you to stop and consider, was this good advice? Think about the particulars of what Ahithophel is suggesting here. First he says, send in the special forces. Let me choose 12,000 men, he says in verse 1. 12,000 choice men. It's the best of the best. The guys who are ready and on hand. Let me grab those guys and send them.

Secondly, think about the timing. Let me pursue him tonight. Now again, this is all happening while David is on the way out of Jerusalem. This is the same day that this has happened. It's not, you know, days or weeks later. This is essential, you know, to as far as timing, like this is happening right now. David is still on the run. He hasn't even crossed the Jordan River yet. Ahithophel says, let me catch up with him.

This is a good timing. I will catch up with him in verse 2. He says, while he's weary and weak and make him afraid. He hasn't even had a time to process this emotionally. Absalom, you've been planning this for, you know, several years. You've been prepared. You've known this day was coming. And here's David taken off guard, betrayed by his son, kicked out of Jerusalem. He's not in a state of

to be able to handle this situation and defend himself. He's going to be weary and weak if I go and catch up to him right now. And so taking the special forces right away. And look at the focus of this attack. It's like sending in the sniper, Ahithophelus, I'm just going to kill David. We're not going to have an all-out war with the people with David. No, we're going to surprise them. They're going to scatter. The only person we're going to get is we're going to kill David.

In verse 2, he says, I shall only strike the king. That's it. We're just going to take out the king. It's just going to be one simple maneuver, one simple swoop, and I'm going to come in there and take out David and David alone.

And then I'm going to bring back everybody else. Then this whole thing will die down. In verse 3, he says, I'll bring back all the people to you except for David. And there will be peace. We're going to resolve this split, this civil war, with just one moment, with just one night, with just one attack where we kill David only. Was this good advice? Was it good counsel?

There's a lot of strategy involved in this counsel. And from what we can read into the text and how the Lord describes this, it seems like this attack would have worked and would have been effective. The strategies that he describes here, the techniques and the tactics that he's talking about, this all appears to be very good advice in that sense. Pastor Dave Guzik puts it this way.

Ahithophel's plan was smart. It was bold and had a high probability or high probably of success. And it would spare Israel a protracted civil war between the supporters of David and the supporters of Absalom. Cusick says, this is a smart plan. Strategically, this is a sound plan. Now check this out. Even God calls it good advice.

Check out verse 14. We're going to jump down there. We'll get to it later also. But in verse 14, it says, Is that what it says? No. The Lord had purpose to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel to the intent that the Lord might bring disaster on Absalom.

God talking about Ahithophel's advice describes it as good advice. That was good strategy. This would have been effective. This would have worked. Now we see there that Absalom ultimately is not going to follow this advice. He followed Ahithophel's first piece of advice, but this time he's not going to. We'll get to that in just a moment. But it was good advice in the sense that strategically it would have worked. Strategically it made a lot of sense. It would have accomplished a

What Ahithophel said, it would accomplish. But the bottom line is it was not good advice because the objective that Ahithophel sought wasn't God's objective. God did not want to kill David. That wasn't God's objective. He didn't want to do that. That wasn't part of God's plan. And so although strategically it sounds good, it seems sound, it looks like it would have worked, it's never good advice because

if it's not what God wants. And this is something that we need to use as a filter as we are receiving, as we are listening to, as we are gathering advice. Now again, it's important, it's good for us to get counsel, to seek out counsel, to allow others to speak into our lives, but we also need to evaluate that counsel and consider,

Is this what God desires? And sometimes there's some ulterior motives. Now again, Ahithophel, he says, let me lead the battle, lead the charge of these 12,000 men. Now that's a little bit unusual. Ahithophel wasn't a general. He wasn't a commander. He was an advisor, but he wants to lead the charge. And again, it kind of lends credence to that idea that there's a personal vendetta going on here. Ahithophel is out to pay David back for what he did to his grandson and

granddaughter-in-law. But there's this bitterness that

is being demonstrated by Ahithophel. Let me go, and we're just going to kill David. That's all we care about. We just want to take David out. This was all just part of his plan to get David back. And so Ahithophel is offering this advice. It's strategically sound, but the motives are not. He's not pursuing God's heart. Ahithophel's not. Absalom's not. Nobody is here except for Hushai, which we'll get to in a second.

So there isn't the pursuit of God's heart. They don't care what God's plan is. But you and I, as those who desire to be men and women who pursue God's heart, we need to care what God's plan is. And we need to evaluate advice not just by strategically is that effective? Does that work? Does it make sense? We need to evaluate advice by does it work with God's plan? Does it go in line with what God says? I've always appreciated...

The account that's given to us in Exodus chapter 18. And I'd like to take a moment to take you there and just kind of take us, you know, on a little detour, but it's worth it. In Exodus chapter 18, if you would turn there, we have here Moses with the children of Israel out in the wilderness. And Moses is...

being the judge of the people that all the people with issues are bringing their cases before Moses and he's deciding but there's such a huge multitude that they're it's taking all day and every day all day that's what they do all day Moses stands there and decides on all these disputes and cases and civil battles and all of these things that are going on and Moses's father-in-law Jethro sees what is happening and he offers some advice and

He gives some counsel. Exodus chapter 18 verse 19 says this, Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel and God will be with you. Stand before God for the people so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.

Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, and let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge."

So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. Jethro sees the situation. He says, look, you're wearing yourself out all day, every day. The people are going to get wearied because their cases are never going to get heard. You're going to be wearied because you can't just do that all day, every day. There's other responsibilities that you have. Moses, here's what you need to do.

Set up leaders over thousands and hundreds and let them handle all of these little cases, all of these smaller issues that you don't have to decide on every single case. You can delegate that authority and that responsibility.

And so the person who is over 100, you know, he hears the case, and if he can't handle it, then he takes it to the guy who's up over him, you know, over 1,000. Okay, and if they can't decide, then let them bring it to you. And so it'll filter out a lot of those little cases, those things that you don't have to decide on, and the other things that, well, then you can seek the Lord on that, and you can go before the Lord and hear from the Lord, and then let the people know what the Lord says, and

And so he lays out this structure for Moses. But then the key is in verse 23 here of Exodus chapter 18. He says, Jethro says, Jethro says,

He builds into his counsel the opportunity for Moses to check in with God and say, God, is this what you command? Here's the advice that I'm given. Does this go against what you desire or is it in line with what you desire?

And it gives Moses the opportunity to seek the Lord, to find out what does God desire in this situation. I think this is really important for us. Now, it's really important for you if you're one of those who is often giving advice. It would be wise for you to include this opportunity for the people that you're advising, that you would say, hey, this is what I think you should do, but don't just take my word for it. Check in with God. What does God want you to do?

That it wouldn't be given in such a way as to think that I'm the authority, you just do what I say, you know, you don't have to understand why. That's not our role and our position. Now, you know, maybe for you as parents, you have a little bit slightly different angle on that and you have a little bit more freedom, but generally speaking for us in relating to one another and the adults around us,

God hasn't given us that kind of authority in each other's lives that you should just do what I say. You should just do what I advise. You should just do what I counsel. No, never. You should take my advice and check in with God. What does God say about this? Our advice should always be given with this kind of heart.

If you do this thing and God commands it, then you'll be blessed. Just because it's strategically sound, just because it makes sense, just because it appeals to you or you like the advice, doesn't mean that it's good advice. It's only good advice if it doesn't work against what God wants to do. And sometimes things that sound really great and that make a lot of sense have nothing to do with what God wants to do.

Because God's ways are different than our ways, as high as the heavens are above the earth. We mentioned that a few weeks ago in Isaiah chapter 55. It's radically different, the way that God works and what he wants to do, what he likes to do. And so we can't just rely upon reasoning in that sense. Not that we throw out reasoning, but that we give God opportunity to weigh in. This makes a lot of sense. I like this direction. I think this makes sense. Does this work against what you're doing?

Or does it work along with what you're doing? And so moving on now to point number three, back in 2 Samuel chapter 17, point number three is good advice works with God's plans. Very, very simple invert of point number two, right? Good advice works

does not work against God's plans, and good advice works with God's plans, helps to fulfill and accomplish. And so if you do this thing and God commands, this is what God wants, this is in line with his plans, then it's good advice. But it's not good advice, even if it's strategic or rational or it makes a lot of sense or is your favorite advice you've ever heard in your life. It's not good advice if it doesn't work in line with what God wants to do.

And so let's continue now in 2 Samuel 17, looking at verses 5 through 7 to start. It says, So Hushai said to Absalom, the advice that Ahithophel has given is not good at this time.

Now Absalom is going to get a second opinion from Hushai. Now Hushai, again, he is planted by David. He's loyal to David. He's seeking the good of David and for David. He wants the best for David. And so he is there to try to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. But Absalom doesn't know that. And so here's Absalom saying,

Again, in some ways you could say, hey, there's some wisdom here. First of all, he sought counsel. He asked Ahithophel, what should we do? He sought counsel from a reputable source. Ahithophel was known as one who gives the oracles of God. And now he seeks a second opinion. It's also a good thing to do. Proverbs 11, verse 14 tells us, where there's no counsel, the people fall. But in a multitude of counselors, there is safety. When there is...

Counsel coming in, that's not just from one questionable source. There's some safety. You get that same counsel from a few different people and there's a little bit of safety there. It's a little bit of security there.

Now, sometimes people take the multitude of counselors kind of too far and say, well, I'm going to ask you what you think, and then I'm going to ask you what you think, and then I'm going to ask you what you think, I'm going to ask you what you think, I'm going to ask you, you know, until I find sometimes it works out like I'm just asking people incessantly until I find the person who agrees with me and tells me to do what I already wanted to do from the get-go. And sometimes the multitude of counselors is taken with that idea and

Sometimes we take this too far. I think the picture here of the multitude of counselors is sitting down with a group of counselors, talking through a decision together, and then making the decision. And that's what is happening here. Hushai is being brought in. The whole people are present, right? Here's what has been shared thus far. Here's the suggestion. And now what do you think? Just because a multitude...

agrees doesn't always make it right. Remember the 10 spies came back, you know, from the promised land and they said, we can't do it. God's not going to save us. We should run away. So the multitude doesn't necessarily make it right. But in the presence of a multitude, and that is, you know, you're talking together. There's a group of wise people having a discussion. There's a bit of safety there. It's a good thing to do.

It still doesn't mean that we just accept, you know, if they all agree without giving God opportunity to speak and redirect. But again, here Absalom is asking advice from several people. It's a good thing to do. Absalom says, hey, that's pretty good advice to hit the fell, but let's see what Hushai has to say. So here comes Hushai. Working for David, he says, you know, that advice is not very good. Why does he say that? Well, not because the strategy doesn't work. It doesn't make sense.

but because he is going to present an alternate strategy that, well, in his perspective, is going to be better for David, not necessarily for Absalom.

And so he explains why in verses 8 through 10. He builds his case for why it's not good advice. In verse 8, he says,

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. Hushai says, that's not good advice. Here, let me tell you why.

He uses some vivid imagery. You know David and his men, they're mighty men. They're called the mighty men for a reason because they're mighty men. And right now they're really upset. And he uses this picture of a bear robbed of her cubs. That's, you know, not...

anything, any of us want to come in contact with, right? That is the classic picture of, well, you don't mess with that, right? He says, look, that's David and his men right now. They are so upset. They're like a bear robbed of their cubs. You don't want to go messing with that. You need to let them calm down a little bit when it's not so fresh, when it's not so raw, and let them kind of settle down in their anger. And if the attack fails, right?

He's all, first of all, it's not going to be easy to get David. He's not going to be just like, you know, in the center of the camp with the light on and everybody's looking at him. He's going to be hidden in some pit. David knows how to hide. He hid from Saul in the wilderness, you know, for many years. He's not going to just be out in the open. It's not going to be as easy as Ahithophel thinks. And so the attack is going to fail. And then, you know, what's going to happen is people are going to give up. It's not going to be as easy as they thought. And so even the valiant ones whose heart is like the heart of a lion, you know,

They've made it down the brick road all the way to the Wizard of Oz and they have lion's hearts. But now they're going to melt. They're going to be weak. Oh no, we tried to defeat David and it didn't work. And now they're just, they're not going to be strong. They're going to give up. So Ahithophel's advice is not good. Instead, he offers an alternate course in verses 11 through 13. Here's what it says. Therefore, I advise that all Israel be fully gathered to you.

Verse 1.

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 advice is very different than Ahithophel's. Ahithophel says, let's just take in a sniper. We'll just take out David all by himself. He'll be the only one. Hushai comes in and says, okay, let's not do that.

Take a small forest, you know, to go in. Let's gather all of Israel. He says, from Dan to Beersheba. That is from the very far north of Israel to the very far south of Israel. Let's get all Israel, the whole nation, the full army. Let's gather them all. And again, he continues on with the imagery. The number will be like the sand that is by the sea for the multitude that is there. Let's gather the massive army of Israel.

And then we'll go and we'll fall on David like the dew on the ground. How does the dew fall on the ground? It covers it completely. Let's not give opportunity for David to escape that one sniper. And what if he misses? You know, it's not going to work. So no, no, no. Let's fall on him completely like the dew on the ground. And all of his men, we're going to fall on them. There's not even going to be one person left. And even if they go and hide in a city,

No problem. We'll pull down that city brick by brick. We'll pull it into the river. We will destroy them completely. Not a small targeted attack, full attack, full destruction. That's what Hushai advises. Was it good advice? Is it good strategy? What Hushai is describing? Using these vivid pictures of this army as numerous as the sand falling on the dew. It's very convincing. It appeals to Absalom's pride. He's like, Absalom, picture this.

We gather together the full army and you lead the charge. You know, you personally go into battle and you lead this massive army. We'll tear down that city brick by brick. Very appealing to Absalom. Was it good advice? Well, there's lots of discussion that could be had about that. It is strategic. It is smart in many ways and could be effective. But the thing that we know about Hushai is that he was looking out for David.

And ultimately, his plan here is aimed at giving David time because taking the 12,000 men who are there and ready to go, that's easy. That can happen right now. Ahithophel can go catch up with David and kill him. But Hushai says, let's take some time. Let's gather all of Israel and let's put you in harm's way, Absalom. That's a good idea. Put you in harm's way. You lead the charge. You go into the battlefield. And he's setting the stage for Absalom to,

to be able to be put to death, to die in the midst of battle. And so it seems, well, strategy-wise, it seems like actually a good strategy. There's some good merits there, but ultimately it's good advice because, well, it fits in line with what God is desiring to do. Verse 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. So we could argue the merits of his strategy. We could argue, you know, the different sides of whether or not this would work or this was a, you know, a good idea. But ultimately, we find it is good advice because

God says, this is what I want to do. The intent of the Lord was to bring disaster on Absalom. And as they carry out the advice of Hushai, you know what happens? Disaster is brought on Absalom. It's good advice. It lines up with what God wants to do. And so from Absalom's perspective, maybe he wouldn't call it good advice if he, you know, hindsight looking back saw this. But from our perspective, what's really important? That a plan works? What's really important?

That our advice is effective or that what we wanted to accomplish, we accomplished? Is that what's most important? Or is God's will and God's plan most important? If we're going to be those who pursue God's heart, it has to be God's plan that's most important. Not our success, not our victory, not our, you know, accomplishing what we want to accomplish, but accomplishing what God wants.

wants to accomplish. Pastor David Guzik says this. He says, God did not forsake David during this time of chastening. He was there for David at this time also. He was not out to destroy David, but to correct him. Absalom was out to destroy David.

And although God was using this situation as part of the chastening and the fulfillment of what Nathan told him back in 2 Samuel chapter 12, there was some direct things that were happening. The whole thing with Absalom on the top of the palace with the concubines, I mean, that was foretold by Nathan. That was part of what God said would take place. This is all part of

the aftermath of David's sin and the correction that God is bringing. But God was not out to destroy David. He's still with David. There was limits and there was boundaries that God had established for this trial in this time. But that's not what Absalom was seeking to accomplish. It's not what Ahithophel was seeking to accomplish. But it's what God was seeking to accomplish. And this is the most important thing about good advice.

It must line up with what God wants to accomplish. It's good advice, even if we don't like it. It's good advice, even if we don't like the results, and it's not what we want, and it's not what we had ever asked for. It's good advice if it's part of God's plan and part of what God desires to do. Hushai's advice wasn't for Absalom's benefit, but he sure made it sound appealing. He sure painted some good pictures, and everybody got caught up in it. Yes, that's good advice.

Strategically, whether or not Ahithophel's was better, you know, we could argue over that. But they were persuaded. They're convinced. And they're not pursuing God's heart. They don't care. Is this part of God's plan? Does this go against what God wants? Does this develop us in godliness? They're just thinking, is this going to accomplish what we want to accomplish? And they're convinced that it will. We need to learn from their example.

and instead pursue God's heart for good advice. That doesn't mean that we don't get counsel. It doesn't mean we don't seek out advice. There's great wisdom in seeking out advice, but that we don't just take it and accept it and do it, even if it's from a reputable source, but that we take some time to pursue God's heart. Lord, what do you want? Does this help accomplish your desires and your purposes?

We tend to think that the advice that we agree with is the best advice. Now, there's some really good irony there. Stop and think about that. We think the best advice is the advice that we agree with. We go like, yeah, oh yeah, that is good advice. Really good, yes, good points, let's go, yes, great, that's great advice. But we need to stop and consider what advice does God agree with? Here's Absalom and all his guys, yes.

Hushai's advice, that is good advice. I like that. I agree with that. That must be the best advice. But if that's our method of determining whether or not it's good advice, boy, we're in trouble. Does God agree with it? We need to make sure we pursue God's heart.

Wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. That's even without our own partiality, what we prefer. That is, Lord, what do you want? What do you desire? Pursue God's heart for good advice. I want to just finish up with the thought I started with

In 2 Samuel 15, verse 31, someone told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Did God answer David's prayer? Strategically, the advice we read from Ahithophel here, strategically, it's sound. It makes sense. It would have been effective. Did God turn it to foolishness? He did, but probably not in the way that David intended.

perhaps anticipated. Not in the way that I would have expected reading this and thinking about God answering that. It wasn't foolish in the strategic sense. It wasn't foolish in the, you know, rationale department. It was foolish in the spiritual realm. The fool says in his heart, there is no God. And here Ahithophel has changed. Although he's renowned for his wisdom, he's become a fool.

Because he is now actively working against the plan of God and trying to take out the Lord's anointed. And that's not what God wants. And so Ahithophel's counsel is turned to foolishness. Even if Absalom had followed it and it had been successful, it was still foolish because it's foolish to disobey God, to ignore God, to fight against the plan of God. We need to pursue God's heart or we'll always be pursuing foolishness. Checking in with God.

for good advice. The things I'm hearing, the things I'm being told, does it work out godliness? Does it work against the plans of God? Does it work with the plans of God? This is what needs to be important as I evaluate the things that I'm hearing, the things that I'm receiving, the counsel that I'm given. And so let's take some time this evening to pursue God's heart. Maybe there's some advice that you've been contemplating. Maybe there's a decision that you've been working on in your mind and hearing from different sources. And

We have a good opportunity now. We can take those things before the Lord. Noah's gonna come up and lead us in a closing song. And as he does, I would encourage you to pursue God's heart. Give God an opportunity to show you whether or not this helps you become more godly. Give God an opportunity to show you, does this work out godliness in your life? Does it bring forth purity and peace and mercy and good fruits? Does it have those characteristics of God? Let God show you, does it work against God's plans?

Maybe it would be successful. Maybe it would be effective, but that would go against what I want to accomplish in your life, the Lord might say. And sometimes we have to be weak in order to become strong. Sometimes we have to fail in order to succeed. That is the way that God works many times in our lives.

So does it work against God's plans? Let the Lord show you, and let the Lord show you this works with my plans. When something agrees with what he wants to do, he can bring that confirmation and speak to you about the work that he wants to do, that you would go forth in that confidence and that boldness from God. And so let's pursue God's heart as we worship him together. As always, we give you the opportunity. Maybe you do need to seek some counsel.

Maybe you need to go and ask someone for prayer and maybe you need to pray for someone and encourage them and offer some unsolicited counsel. Let the Lord prompt you and lead you. Don't just offer it because you want to. But take this opportunity to minister to one another as the Lord leads and moves upon your heart. Let's worship the Lord together and pursue His heart.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.