Only in Christ

Tom Shrader walks through 2 Samuel 12–17, showing how the consequences of David's sin with Bathsheba unfold in family breakdown and Absalom's political coup. Drawing on John 10 and Romans 8, he demonstrates that the deep security, protection, and peace of mind every person craves can only be found in a personal relationship with Christ, not in circumstances, possessions, or people. David's willingness to surrender his throne and trust God's sovereignty serves as a model for submitting one's identity and agenda to the Lord.

“Nothing that exists can separate us from the love that God has for us — that's where we find security, protection, and peace of mind.”

— Tom Shrader

Series: So You Really Want a King?

Recorded: 2009 at East Valley Bible Church

Duration: 52 min

Themes: consequences of sin, security in christ, forgiveness, family breakdown, trust in god, surrender, peace of mind, identity, struggling with guilt, dealing with family conflict, parent, husband, feeling insecure, navigating consequences, midlife crisis, new believer

Scripture: 2 Samuel 12:10-14, 2 Samuel 12:15-18, 2 Samuel 12:26-31, 2 Samuel 13, 2 Samuel 14:21-33, 2 Samuel 15, 2 Samuel 16:1-23, 2 Samuel 17, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, John 3:16, John 3:36, John 5:24, John 6:47, John 10, Romans 8:1, Romans 8:31-39, Philippians 4, Luke 9:23-25, 1 Samuel 9

Theological Themes: hamartiology, sin and consequences, soteriology, union with christ, divine sovereignty, sanctification, sowing and reaping, repentance

Full Transcript

The Consequences of Sin in David's Household

Open your Bibles to Second Samuel. We are going to end up in chapter fifteen, but let's start in chapter twelve. If you don't have a Bible, raise your hand and one of the ushers will give you a copy of the Old and New Testament. David has sinned at the point where we pick up the story in chapter twelve. He sinned with Bathsheba and then killed her husband to cover it up. Then in chapter twelve, Nathan comes to David and exposes that sin. In verse thirteen, David admits that he sinned, but there are still consequences to that.

In Second Samuel chapter twelve, verse ten, Nathan says here are the consequences: "The sword will not depart from your house, there will be war all the time. And because you have despised me" — this is God speaking — "and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife, the Lord says, behold, I will raise up evil against you from within your own household. I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and this will be done in broad daylight." So there will be war, there will be strife within the household, and there will be a taking of David's wives by people within his own household. Then in verse fourteen: "And because you have given occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme Him, the child born of Bathsheba will die."

We began last week talking about and understanding that when we sin, we are forgiven. This is not a matter of forgiveness, but there are still consequences to sin. There is a principle of sowing and reaping, and that gets played out right away. By the time we are in chapter twelve, verse fifteen, the child is sick. By the time we get to verse eighteen, seven days later, the child has died.

David then begins to process that. He prays, he reminds us that God is in control, and he goes and comforts Bathsheba. They have another child who is named Solomon. In verses twenty-six through thirty-one, the heading in my Bible is simply "War Again." So that sword shall not depart from David.

The Failure Within David's Family

When we get to chapter thirteen, we begin to see the fulfillment of that prophecy within the family. David has two sons by two different women — Absalom and Amnon. Absalom has a sister, Tamar, and Amnon rapes her. He has affection for her, she pushes him away, he rapes her, then hates her and throws her out. The result of this, in verse twenty-one, is that David is angry. In verse twenty-two, Absalom does not speak to it.

We see David here at great moments and at lousy moments, at the top of his game and when things are not so great. And here we see him as a father absolutely fail. We can speculate humanly — he probably has a hard time coming down on the boys because he, David, has been guilty of basically everything he is charging these men with.

It Is Never Too Late to Parent

This brings us to a reminder that needs to stay right in front of you: as a mom or a dad, that job never ends, and it is never too late to begin to do it correctly. At East Valley Bible Church we have many people who join us somewhere along the way, not necessarily raised in an environment like this. Oftentimes they come from marginal church backgrounds or no church background at all, and oftentimes God gets hold of their life a little later.

How many of you became Christians after age twenty-one? How about after age thirty? Those are the ones who had really messed up a whole bunch of stuff by then — I was thirty myself. And oftentimes, by thirty or somewhere in that range, you already have kids. So you come in with your own mess and bring it into parenting, and that is hard to deal with. The easiest time to begin parenting is when the children are young.

Last Friday, Tyler was sick and Haley was volunteering at the Crisis Pregnancy Center where she does scans. She called and said she didn't know what to do with the boys since she had three scans scheduled. So we just said to bring the boys over and we would figure something out. We spent four or five hours with them, and I was reminded that when they are small, that is the time when you can really have that impact. They dance, they play games, they sing. We were sitting at a red light and Brayden said, "What does that sign say?" We spelled out C-H-A-S-E together, and he said, "Chase." I said, "Yeah, it's a bank — Chase Bank." He said, "That's an odd name," and started laughing. You would never hear a teenager say something like that. That is the time when it is easiest to begin.

But there is never a point when it is too late. Some of you have blown it — let's just acknowledge that. For whatever reason, you have not been the best mom or dad you could be. That still does not relieve you of the responsibility to parent now. You go to your child and say, "I really messed this up, but here is where we are now. Here is where we start. Here is where we go." David never seems to get to that point, and Absalom never confronts it either.

Absalom Returns Without Repentance

God had told David that these things were going to happen — that there would be battles, civil conflict, strife among his children, and that a child would die. All of that was playing itself out. In verse 33 of chapter 14, we left off at what is an extraordinarily tender moment: the son returning, the father weeping, and it is not hard to conjure up what that scene must have looked like. The king called for Absalom, Absalom came, and prostrated himself with his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed him.

Yet there is one thing conspicuously missing from this reunion. There is no record whatsoever that Absalom is repentant for what he has done. He takes no responsibility for his side of this. David said come home, and Absalom came home — but his heart was not changed.

Absalom at the Gate

The very first verse of chapter 15 makes that clear immediately. "It came about after this that Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses and fifty men as runners before him." Absalom rose early and stood by the way of the gate, and whenever any man came who had a suit and was going to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, "From what city are you?" The man would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel." And Absalom would say to him, "See, your claims are good and right, but no man listens to you on the part of the king."

To understand what Absalom is doing here, it helps to know what the text tells us about him. In a parenthetical insert at verses 25 and 26, the narrator pauses to describe him: "Now in all Israel there was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no defect in him." He cut his hair only once a year because it was so heavy on him — it weighed between three and a half and four pounds. This was a striking, imposing man.

That description should bring someone to mind. Back in 1 Samuel chapter 9, the text says there was a man who had a son named Saul, "a choice and handsome man, and there was no more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people." Here again is a man who looks like a king.

The Look of a King

Every four years we go through the presidential campaign cycle, and candidates work hard to look presidential. They wear the navy suits, the white shirt, the red or blue striped tie. If they give a staged address, there are flags arranged just so. And almost without fail, after the first major appearance, commentators say, "They look so presidential." They did it with Bill Clinton, with George W. Bush, with Barack Obama. Of course they looked presidential — there is a seal that reads "President of the United States" and there is Air Force One behind them. Anyone looks presidential standing in front of that. Absalom has the look, and he wants to be king.

God had told David there would be an uprising and a rebellion within his own house, and Absalom is positioning himself to lead it. Standing at the gate, he tells every man with a grievance, "You've got a strong case — but that administration doesn't listen. I'm your man." Part of what the king was supposed to do was hear these cases and judge them, and Absalom is inserting himself into that role.

A Man of the People

In verse 4 Absalom says, "Oh that one would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has any suit or cause could come to me and I would give him justice." Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of verses 4 and 5 puts it this way: "Why doesn't someone make me a judge for this country? Anybody with a case could bring it to me and I'll settle things fair and square. Whenever somebody would treat him with special favors, he'd shrug them off and say, 'No, treat me like an equal'" — and he would make the person feel important.

He was on a listening tour. He was holding town hall meetings. He wanted the people to set aside the fact that he came from wealth and position and believe he was simply one of them, a man of the people. And in the same manner, verse 6 tells us, Absalom dealt with all of Israel who came to the king for judgment.

my own son. It's time to give up, it's time to trust God, it's time to wait and see what God will do. And I think that's a very important principle. There is a time to fight and there is a time to step back, trust God, and wait.

Absalom's Coup and David's Flight

There's a shift in public opinion. Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel. If you've been with us through our study, you have seen how the nation of Israel rallied to David. God gives them King Saul, but then God takes His Spirit away from Saul, and God's man is David. Saul knows it, David knows it, Jonathan knows it, everybody knows it.

David fights Goliath and wins. David leads the army in battles and he is victorious, really beyond almost anything they can imagine. So much so that the people were singing in the streets, "Saul slays a thousand, but David slays ten thousand." David is their man. But now, after a period of time, public opinion is fickle.

Public Opinion and the Pattern of Fickleness

Does that make you think of a New Testament figure at all? Does it make you think of Jesus? As He comes into the city for His triumphal entry and they cry, "Hallelujah, hosanna, hosanna." "You're the king, you lead us, you're the man. We want change and hope, you're the one." And just a few days later, what do they say? "Crucify." People are fickle, oftentimes based on perceived need.

This is how people have always been. We are very vulnerable. When things are not going well, we become susceptible to whoever comes along and says we need change and hope. I am all for change and hope — put me down for yes on change and hope. But the point is simply this: people in moments of frustration and vulnerability are easily swayed, and public opinion turns quickly.

The Nation Turns to Absalom

Absalom sends spies ahead and says, "As soon as you hear the trumpet, start proclaiming that Absalom is king in Hebron." Hebron, by the way, is where David went to be crowned king. Absalom's desire is to throw David out, and he succeeds. And then a messenger comes to David in verse 13 and says that the hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom. That has to break David's heart.

So what does he do? One response would be to fight. He still has his mighty army. This is unjust, this is unfair — let's stand and fight. But that is not what David does. David says to all his servants who are with him in Jerusalem, "Arise and let us flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. He will overtake us quickly and bring down calamity on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword." His servants reply in verse 15, "We are ready to do whatever you say." So the king goes out with all his household, leaves ten concubines behind, and away they go. David goes into exile.

A Time to Give Up

I was at a funeral perhaps six to eight months ago, and the man doing the service read from Ecclesiastes 3 in the NIV. There was a phrase in there that caught my attention. Ecclesiastes 3 begins in verse one:

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the sun: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain."

Then verse six: "A time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."

That phrase jumped out at me: a time to give up. I am not saying it necessarily means throwing in the towel. But David has a very interesting reaction here. His reaction seems to be based on this: I know God, I know who He is, and I do not have to get into some sort of guerrilla war with my own son. It is time to give up, it is time to trust God, it is time to wait and see what God will do. There is a time to fight, and there is a time to step back, trust God, and wait.

Finding Identity and Security

David has finally come to grips with who he is and who God is. His identity is not tied up with being king. Whether he is king or not is not the issue — he wants to be and do what God wants him to be and to do. There is even a moment in exile where they bring the ark to him and David says, take the ark back. The ark represents the presence of the Lord, and David says he does not need a symbol — he needs the Spirit of God, and he has that Spirit of God in him.

The Problem of Stolen Identity

In moments of challenge and difficulty, in the hard moments of life, where do we find our identity? I came across a product called Life Lock. My assumption is you pay ten dollars a month, give them your social security number and all your information, and they secure your accounts with creditors and put alerts on if somebody tries to steal your identity.

I pulled a couple of testimonies from their website. Here is one from a former chief of police of a major city: "I knew identity theft was a fifty-billion-dollar-a-year business and a prime focus of organized crime, but they got me anyway. Even though I was a senior law enforcement official, it took weeks to clear my name, and I decided never again." Here is another from a young man: "My identity was stolen when I was seven, but I didn't find out until ten years later when I was denied a student loan and a job due to poor credit. That's when I discovered I was forty thousand dollars in debt because someone purchased a houseboat in my name. It took ten years to clear my name." And one more — a woman named Kim: "When I first learned about a company called Life Lock that protects families from identity theft, my husband was skeptical. I signed up anyway and forgot about it. A couple of months later, on a family vacation, my husband received a phone call asking if he was applying for a new credit card. Someone was trying to steal his identity. Life Lock stopped the thief cold. We continued on with our vacation, knowing we were safe."

This is not an endorsement of Life Lock, nor is it a criticism of Life Lock. The point is this: in their television ad, there is a woman who talks about how traumatic this experience was for her, and she says that Life Lock gave her — and I quote — "security, protection, and peace of mind."

Where True Security Is Found

That is exactly what you and I need: security, protection, and peace of mind. But Life Lock, or anything else of that kind, is only going to provide it circumstantially. By nature we are insecure, afraid, and nervous, and we tend to try to find our security, protection, and peace of mind in a person, place, or thing. We place our protection in our 401k or our assets or whatever they may be, and then when we experience asset erosion, we experience a loss of that security and peace of mind.

We are so wired this way that, especially in this country where we have had resources, we try to take all of the pain out of life. I live over in the Islands, and the other day there were about five kids getting ready to go on a bike ride. Three of them had bikes and two had skateboards, and these kids looked like gladiators — elbow pads, helmets, knee pads, gloves, all of it. I am not advocating being careless, but it is like we are trying to be so protective that we are missing life. And what it expresses is what we all want: where can I find security and protection and peace of mind?

The answer is only in a relationship with Christ. Jesus says this — from the Gospel of John: "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Jesus continues in John 3:36: "He who believes in the Son has" — present tense — "eternal life."

What It Means to Believe

When He uses the word "believes," or speaks of the one who trusts in Him, what is meant is biblical Christianity. It is someone who has come to a point in their life where they understand that their sin has separated them from God, that they are at war with God, and that the way to make that right is not through any church. Joining East Valley Bible Church does not accomplish it. Every time we do a connect class, someone asks about membership at East Valley Bible Church — there is a class for that — but membership in a church is not the means of making peace with God.

Salvation and Security in Christ

Joining East Valley Bible Church is not going to save you. There is nothing you can do to save yourself. I got a note from a guy the other day, and he said, "This may be my first original thought. Here's my bumper sticker idea: Outsource your salvation." Pretty good. I can't do it. You can't do it. It's not religion.

But when we believe and trust in Jesus Christ, then what Jesus says becomes our reality. If you believe in Him, you have eternal life — and that is present tense. John 5:24: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My words and believes in Me has eternal life." John 6:47: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life." He says it all the way through.

The Security Jesus Promises

Probably no passage I return to more frequently in this whole discussion is John 10. What happens in John 10 is the Jews come to Jesus and say, "If You are the Messiah, if You are the Christ, tell us plainly." And He says, "I did — but you don't get it." Why don't they get it? This is what He said: "My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me and I give them eternal life."

Now, if you want to talk about security and protection and peace of mind, here is what Jesus said: "I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. And no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." There is your security, your protection, and your peace of mind.

No Condemnation, No Separation

The same idea is picked up in Romans 8. Paul begins in verse one: "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." That same phrase — in Christ Jesus, believe in Christ — runs throughout. Then he asks an amazing question: "If God is for us, who can be against us? And what can separate us from the love of Christ?"

Now, there is an important distinction there. What can separate us from the love that Christ has for us? Not our love for Him. A donut can separate me from my love for Him — I am up and down like a yo-yo. There are times when I tingle head to toe, and other times I have nothing. This is not about my love for Him. It is about His love for me. What can separate me from the love He has for me?

Then comes that very familiar passage: tribulation, persecution — no. And then the list: "I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing" — and anything other than God is a created thing — "shall be able to separate us from the love of God." That is where I find security, protection, and peace of mind.

Peace With God and the Peace of God

Paul says, "Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God." And if I have peace with God, I begin to experience the peace of God. Paul says in Philippians 4 that the answer is to pray about everything, and "the peace of God that passes all understanding" will guard your heart and mind.

We are not able to become bubble boy or bubble girl and get through life without any hardship. David had all sorts of problems and issues in his life — we cannot escape them. But you can find security, not circumstantially, but relationally.

Everybody Wants to Be Loved

I was talking about priority living the other day, and I was struck watching the faces of the people. It was 12:40 on a Thursday, and these people — many of them business people — had other things to do. I was making one singular point at that moment: everybody wants to be loved. That is what the fear of man is about. We are afraid to fail. Why? Because we want to be accepted. We do not want people to think less of us. We want to be loved. We do all sorts of things because we want to be loved.

And humanly, that love is going to fail. I love Susan more than any other person on this earth. And yet that love vacillates. It is imperfect. She had to have her arm rebandaged last night, and I was determined to do it in a gracious, loving way. But it was complicated — there was styrofoam, we did not have the right tape, the styrofoam would not sit right, there were tingles in her hand. And so I was sighing. She finally said, "Well, I'll just do it myself." I said, "No, I don't mind doing it." She said, "Well, you're sighing like this is a burden."

I consciously made an effort to joyfully exhibit how much I loved her — to patiently put that wrap on her hand, which is not my style. But she let me know, without quite saying it in so many words, that I was not doing well as a caregiver. And it really made me sad, because I was genuinely determined to do it well. Every person will let you down — and that is not a shot at mankind, that is just acknowledging that everybody is human. Everything you trust will ultimately fail you.

A Visit to Hospice

I got a request to visit a man at his home — he was dying. Every once in a while, because the church has gotten a little bigger, people wonder whether they will have a personal relationship with the pastor. And I tell people: if you are in the hospital and I come to visit you, it is not a good day. If your doctor has told you that you are fine and I show up, he lied to you. Pick out the color of the casket while you are still coherent.

Before I could get there, they told me he had been moved to hospice. Now, from my experience, hospice is one of the great organizations on the planet.

Everything Will Fail You

I had never been to this hospice before — it was a new one, right by the Mayo Clinic. I went to visit a man who would likely be dead within a week. He was the kind of guy who always wore the navy blazer and the striped tie, the cool guy. His tennis partner was there beside him. That is everybody's future.

If you are trusting in looking good or having a lot, it doesn't matter — everything will fail you. Nothing can provide the deep security, protection, and peace of mind you want other than a personal relationship with Christ. Everything else will crop in there and want to steal your affection. Everything else will want you to love it. Only Christ and that relationship will give you security, protection, and peace of mind — and that doesn't mean circumstances are going to be good.

That is why John Calvin says our heart is an idol factory. We create idols. If your life is built around something that can fail, it always will fail you. David gets it. Only Christ will give you what you are truly looking for.

The Loyal Men Who Left with David

David decides to leave town, and beginning in verse 18 and 19, there are a whole group of men who leave the city with him. They are all good guys. None of them are men of Israel.

There is a man in verse 18 named Ittai, and he is leaving with David. David says to him, "Will you also go with us? Go back to the city, remain with the king." In verse 20, David essentially tells him: you only joined us yesterday, you just came on board, go back where it is safe, don't put yourself through this.

And Ittai responds: "As the Lord lives, and as my Lord the king lives, surely wherever my Lord the king may be, whether in death or life, even there also will your servant be." Wherever you go, I will go too.

A Pagan Man's Unconditional Loyalty

Now, Ittai is not a man raised in the nation of Israel. He is actually from Gath — and remember Gath? That is where Goliath played his home games. Gath was a Philistine city, a pagan area. David tells him he does not need to go through all of this, and Ittai says: wherever you go, I will go too.

He has no illusions. Do you see it in verse 21? It could be death, it could be life. It could be the palace, it could be a tent. He has the whole thing figured out, and it doesn't matter to him. His relationship with David is not based on circumstances. He is not following David because it is easy or smooth — he is following him because David is the king.

Taking Up the Cross Daily

We turn around and understand the same thing applied to Christ. Jesus is speaking, and Luke records these words in Luke chapter nine, verse twenty-three: "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Every day — not once and for all, but every day — we are submitting our agenda to His.

"Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." And here is a great question posed by Jesus Himself: "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?" That is a good question, isn't it?

What if you win? You are Bill Gates. You are the leader in your industry. You win the election, you win the contest, you win the game, you win the ring, you win the cup — you win everything. What good is it if you win everything but you lose your soul? You forfeit your soul. Jesus is saying: count the cost.

Five Elements of Discipleship

There is a book — it is about twenty-five or thirty years old now — by an author named James Boice, B-O-I-C-E, called *Christ's Call to Discipleship*. I first read it sometime around 1983, 1984, 1985, and then it went out of print. I believe it is back in print now, and I love this book.

There is a section in it where Boice identifies five elements of discipleship, and he nails them. The first is obedience. The gospel is not just a message — it is a lifestyle. Jesus says, "Follow Me." That is an imperative, a command. "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."

The second is repentance. It means to change your mind or change your direction. It can be real or it can be false. The third is submission — to line up under. It is what Jesus is talking about here: I submit my agenda to His.

Commitment, Perseverance, and the Cost of Following Christ

My will to His will. I put myself under His authority. It means commitment, and it means perseverance. It means moving a long time in the same direction. Commitment and perseverance say to me that there is going to be suffering and hardship and difficulty. Life is not necessarily going to be easy. Coming to Christ in repentance and faith does not mean things will be smooth.

Remember what we saw last week — James Brown, not that James Brown, but the CBS James Brown. James Brown is interviewing Michael Vick, and he says most people who are in trouble claim to find God. Here is what I know: only people who are in trouble claim to find God. Oftentimes there is a crisis that brings you to that point.

I started watching an interview this week with David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam. I am about halfway through — it is six parts, and I think I am through the third one. This is a bad guy. He killed people. Yet God has saved him, or at least that is his testimony. He has a ministry, he has a website, he has all sorts of things going on. He was in real trouble, and only people in real trouble will find God.

That does not mean, by the way, that finding God will get you out of the trouble. It does not mean He will change the circumstances. Maybe you come to Him because you have a relationship problem — a child who has bolted, or a spouse who has bolted — or maybe you are in the midst of a financial crisis and you say you really need to get right and get back with God. That is fine. Whatever God uses is fine. But that does not mean He will change those circumstances.

James Boice ends the section this way: to be a Christian is no light matter. It is a call to a transformed life, to perseverance through whatever troubles may arise. It may be the hardest thing anyone can do, but anyone can do it because God supplies the necessary strength.

David's Sorrow and the People Around Him

That is what happens to David here. David is in the midst of real hardship and real pain. It is the living out of that prophecy that said, "I will even take your wives, I will raise up evil in your household." David's son is throwing him out of the city.

As you work your way through the text, starting in verse twenty-two and going down, you are introduced to all sorts of people — some good, some not. There are those who want to follow and be with David, and David gives them different bits of instruction. Ultimately, in verse thirty, David ascends to the Mount of Olives and he weeps as he goes. His head is covered, he is barefoot, and the people with him cover their heads. He is in this moment of sorrow and grief.

In the midst of this, three men come on the scene. There are others, but we are going to look at three specifically. Hushai appears in verse thirty-one, Ahithophel in verse thirty-two, and Ziba in chapter sixteen verse one. Hushai is a good guy. The other two are bad guys.

Hushai, Ahithophel, and the Underground Network

Hushai is a friend of David's. Ahithophel comes to David, but he is really an ally of Absalom — a counselor of Absalom's. When news of him comes to David, David prays in verse thirty-one that his counsel would be foolishness. Hushai then comes and says he will go with David. He is a good guy.

David says to him in verse thirty-three, "If you pass with me, you will be a burden to me." We do not know exactly what kind of burden that means — it may simply be that he is too old, or something else entirely. But David does have a plan for him. He tells Hushai to go back to Absalom.

Dropping down to chapter sixteen verse sixteen, Hushai returns to Absalom and presents himself as one of Absalom's men. Absalom asks whether he was not a friend of David, and Hushai says no — Absalom is the king. What David has arranged is this: Hushai will approach Absalom, Absalom will take him in and perhaps listen to him, and Hushai will have an inside position on what is happening. He will then get that information back to David.

This network is set up across the last part of chapter fifteen and into chapter sixteen — a kind of underground intelligence operation. Ahithophel is the bad counselor, Hushai is the good one, and they end up together in the same court. One insider working against David, and one insider working for him.

Ziba's Self-Serving Agenda

Ziba appears in chapter sixteen verse one. He is a man who used to work for Jonathan. Jonathan is dead, and Mephibosheth is now Ziba's responsibility — he is supposed to be taking care of him. Ziba comes to David with all sorts of supplies and goods. His entire purpose is to ingratiate himself to David, not out of genuine loyalty, but out of his own agenda.

David asks him why he is not back taking care of Mephibosheth. Ziba tells him that Mephibosheth is with Absalom now — that he has turned against David. So David says to him in verse four, "Behold, all the belongings of Mephibosheth are yours."

This is an important sub-point. David spent no time trying to verify this.

The Danger of Acting on Unverified Information

When we hear something, especially if it is bad, and begin to pass it on without ever verifying it, we set ourselves up for poor decisions. David doesn't take the time to find out whether Ziba's report is actually true. In fact, it wasn't. But David responds anyway.

Shimei's Cursing and David's Response

David continues his journey in chapter sixteen, verse five, where we meet one last character: Shimei. Shimei walks along, continually cursing David and, as verse six tells us, throwing rocks at him. At least with Shimei you know where he stands. The others are a little more sinister — Ziba is playing a political game — but Shimei is open about his hostility.

David's men respond in verse nine, and there is something almost refreshing about their directness: "Why should this dead dog curse you?" One of them volunteers to go and cut off Shimei's head, presenting it as a straightforward solution. But David refuses. In verse twelve he says, "Perhaps the Lord will look on my affliction and return good for me instead of my cursing."

Shimei's accusation is that David shed the blood of Saul's family, which is a false charge. David had gone out of his way to protect Saul. Yet David also understands that he is guilty of the shedding of innocent blood in another matter, and it is possible that this awareness plays some role in his remarkable restraint and compassion at this moment.

Absalom's Counselors and the Battle of Advice

All of this leads to the pivotal scene beginning in verse fifteen. Absalom gathers his counselors, and both Ahithophel and Hushai are present. In verse twenty, Absalom asks Ahithophel directly: what is your advice? Ahithophel offers two recommendations. First, in verse twenty-one, take David's concubines as your own. Second, pursue David with an army and take him.

Absalom does not simply take the concubines quietly. He pitches a tent on top of the palace, as verse twenty-two records, and this act is a public declaration. He is not only claiming the concubines — he is making clear that the breach between himself and David is irreconcilable. There is no going back.

Then Hushai speaks up in verse seven. He tells Absalom that while Ahithophel has been a fine counselor, this time he is wrong. This is exactly what David had prayed for back in chapter fifteen, verse thirty-one — that God would make Ahithophel's counsel foolish. And as we will see next time, God does precisely that.

Security, Protection, and Peace Found Only in Christ

All of this is to say that God continues to work in your life and in David's life, in spite of what the circumstances may appear to say. That does not necessarily mean a relief from pressure, but it does mean something profound: the security, protection, and peace of mind that we find in a relationship with Christ and in Him alone.

One of the things that stands out about David at this point in his life is that he has become a man of deep prayer who has seen the power of prayer firsthand. For us as a church, we too understand the importance of prayer — not just your personal prayer life, but sometimes simply having someone to pray alongside you. That is why, at the end of every service in the chapel over the conference center, members of our pastoral staff are present and ready to pray with you. It may be a praise for what God has done, or it may be a request for what He needs to do. We want you to know we are here.

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Father, thank You for these amazing truths. Thank You that, like David, You will not leave us — Your people — or desert us. We may not always understand all that You do or why You do what You do, but we do understand this: You are in control. We understand that we find security, protection, and peace of mind nowhere and in no one else other than in a relationship with You. God, I can look at David and become enthralled in his life, but that is not the point here. What are You doing in our lives? Will You help us guard our hearts against the idols and the false places of refuge where we run, trying to find that security, protection, and peace of mind? Let us find it in You and You alone. We pray to You in Christ's name. Amen.