The Bible makes it clear God is sovereign over all things.
So what role, if any, do we play in the events of our own lives? We'll think through this today with Alistair Begg on Truth for Life as we follow the unfolding saga between King David and his renegade son, Absalom. Let me invite you to turn to 2 Samuel and to chapter 17, and to follow along as I read from here.
To Samuel 17 and verse 1. Moreover, Hithophel said to Absalom, Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. I will come upon him while he's weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king, and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband.
You seek the life of only one man and all the people will be at peace. And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel. Then Absalom said, Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say. And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, Thus has Ahithophel spoken, Shall we do as he says?
If not, you speak. Then Hushai said to Absalom, This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good. Hushai said, You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war.
He will not spend the night with the people. Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom. Then even the valiant men, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear. For all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and that those who are with him are valiant men. But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him not one will be left.
If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley until not even a pebble is to be found there. And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom. Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathru the priests, Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so have I counseled. Now therefore send quickly and tell David, Do not stay tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king and all the people who were with him be swallowed up.
Now Jonathan and Ahimez were waiting at Enrogal. A female servant was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they were not to be seen entering the city. But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down into it.
And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it. When Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house, they said, Where are Ahimez and Jonathan? And the woman said to them, They've gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. After they had gone, the men came up out of the well and went and told King David. They said to David, Arise and go quickly over the water, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you. Then David arose and all the people who were with him, and they crossed the Jordan. By daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan. When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city.
He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father. Then David came to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. Now Absalom had set Amaso over the army instead of Joab.
Amaso was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite, who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, the sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother. And Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead. When David came to Mahanaim, Shobai the son of Nahash, from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir the son of Amiel from Lobar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogalim, brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds, and sheep and cheese from the herd. For David and the people with him to eat, for they said, The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness. Amen. We thank God for his Word, and we seek constantly his help in our study of it. Father, as we turn to the Bible, what we know not, teach us. What we have not, give us.
What we are not, make us. For your Son's sake. Amen. Well, let me encourage you to follow along as we turn now to the seventeenth chapter, which as you will notice, follows along from the sixteenth. I mentioned that. Nothing like stating the obvious, but also to point out that there were no chapter breaks in the original manuscripts. And therefore, we always have to make sure that we don't allow ourselves to keep thinking that every time it moves, for example, from 16 to 17, that this must now be a new point of departure.
But rather, the counsel that is described in the closing verses of chapter 16, counsel that is given by Ahithophel to Absalom, is the counsel which then follows as we have it in the opening section of 17. Now I want to give you three numbers. It's not a quiz. I'll tell you what the numbers are. I don't think it's likely that anybody would attach any significance to them at all.
I certainly didn't until I made the discovery myself. But here are the numbers 42, 129, and 14. Forty-two is the number of Hebrew words in the plan of Ahithophel, which is recorded for us in verses 1–4. One hundred and twenty-nine is the number of Hebrew words contained in the plan that is provided by Hushai in verses 7–13. And fourteen words is the content of the second half of verse 14. And you will see there, in the second half of verse 14, "'For the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom.'"
Now, I'm going to in some ways spoil this story by beginning there. The way in which this story is told is, as we've noted, quite masterful—building suspense, holding things for a moment or two, until the reader finally discovers what's going on. But the more I read this chapter in the last ten days or so, the more I said to myself, I think I want to start with that second half of verse 14, with those fourteen words, because those fourteen words provide for us what we might refer to as the divine fulcrum. Fulcrum is a word from the physics lab for me in Scotland, about which I knew very little. But I think it is also fair to use fulcrum as that which plays a key part, a significant part, or, if you like, an essential part in an event or in a situation. And for that reason, the title of our study this morning is simply, then, The Divine Fulcrum. Because this does not only come at the midpoint of the chapter—virtually the very essence of the midpoint—but it also provides us with the key to understanding just exactly what is taking place, how it has taken place, and why it has taken place.
So, in other words, the key to really understanding the narrative of this section is in those fourteen words. Now, we know that a great deal has been happening, and it's been happening in very short order. Since David fled from Jerusalem back in the fourteenth verse of chapter 15, only about a day has elapsed.
That will not be immediately obvious to us, but when we think about it, it may be two days, but it certainly can't be more than that. We know that David has discovered the defection of his trusted counselor—again, that is in the fifteenth chapter. We know, too, that he has prayed to God, asking him to defeat the counsel of his now-defected trusted counselor. And we know, too, that while he is very clear in the necessity of prayer, he also launches, if you like, his own plan by dispatching Hushai as a kind of secret agent into Jerusalem, the Jerusalem to which Absalom has now returned. And Absalom has arrived in Jerusalem, has received the counsel of Ahithophel, and by engaging in his rooftop activities, if we might put it that way, has publicly declared two things. One, his rebellion against David as the king.
He has become a stench in the nostrils of the king, and he has thereby made it very clear to those who want to follow him in the rebellion that he is absolutely serious about this rebellion, and his plan is to make sure that he overturns the king. He has, as you can see there at the end of 16, followed Ahithophel's counsel. And as we come to the first verse of our chapter 17, then the question before us is, I wonder, will he follow the counsel that Ahithophel gives him in this section? Now, to that we will return in a moment, but I want us to pause purposefully before we return to the storyline and acknowledge that what we have here in this divine fulcrum is one of the great illustrations of the interplay between the sovereignty of God and the human responsibility of man.
It is important that we understand what the Bible says—and this would be a series all of its own, a series in systematic theology with this as part of it—but let me just give it to you in this short order, as might be helpful. When we talk about the sovereignty of God as it unfolds in Scripture, we are affirming what the Bible says—namely, that God rules the world. God rules the world. It is a world that is distinct from God as Creator.
He has not made the world out of himself. Not only is the world distinct from him, but the world is entirely dependent upon him. It is his will, his purpose, God's, that is the final cause of all things that unfolds throughout all of history. That involves human government. That involves the salvation of his people. That involves the sufferings of Christ. That involves the sufferings of the followers of Christ.
It involves the smallest of details, for he is aware when even two sparrows fall to the ground. And it involves the vastness of the end of the universe and our eternal destiny. Now, when we affirm these things, we are affirming the fact that the sovereignty of God means that nothing is beyond his control.
When we affirm the fact of our human responsibility, we are affirming the fact that we are genuinely accountable for all of our individual decisions, for all of our individual actions. And the interplay between them means simply this—that God is at work within the acts of personal freedom. He's at work within our own personal decisions, choices, and actions. If you did your reading from this morning with McShane, you would have had a wonderful illustration of the extent of God's overruling providence in the story in 2 Kings 5 of Naaman. And as you read that, and how this magnificent beginning, and the king of Syria had this man Naaman, who was a man of great favor, because God had granted him favor in the victories in army. He was a mighty man of valor, but he had leprosy. And as you read this, you say, I wonder what is going to happen next. And all of a sudden, you come on the phrase, and it says, A little girl from the land of Israel… Well, what possible significance could there be for this girl snatched up from Israel, a servant to this mighty man's wife in the house? Well, she was brave enough to say, You know, if my master would go to the man of God, he would be cured of his leprosy.
The intervention that took place was by the sovereign purpose of God in and through the acts, the actions, the conversations of a little girl from Israel. Now, when I do Q&A, this question all comes up—always comes up. Well, how could it possibly be that if God then is sovereign over all of these affairs, that anything I do or anything I say—and not least of all, for example, in the realm of prayer—could ever even matter? You know I'm not that bright. Some of you are particularly clever.
If I had a hat, I'd take it off. But none of us can know the mind of God. So our inability to grasp how this can be is beyond the point.
It's beyond the point. Because we are confronted by our inability to grasp how this can be. It's enough for us to know that this is the case and to rest in the fact that all the events of our world—big ones, small ones, events which appear absurd, meaningless, unthinkably painful—are under God's sovereign control. Now, that—those fourteen words, that divine fulcrum—needs to be understood as we return now to the storyline. That's why I began with it.
Because I might have run out of time to get to it under normal circumstances. Okay. First of all, then, the forty-two words from Ahithophel. The forty-two words from Ahithophel. The counsel of Ahithophel at the end of 16 was esteemed. It was esteemed both by Absalom and by David.
This Ahithophel fellow was quite remarkable. And the plan that he provides to Absalom is a plan which, as you read it, marked by brevity. It's succinct, it's clear, it's understandable. It's the kind of thing that many a person at work would like to be able to present before their boss, who asked for an outline of a strategy for something, and the boss said, Well, this is quite wonderful.
You've done a terrific job. Now, when we read it, we might imagine that it is motivated by a desire to protect David. Or it might actually have something of Ahithophel's desire to promote himself. Or it may actually be tied in a way that we have only given passing thought to to the very personal dimension that is contained in the fact that if Ahithophel is, as we have suggested, the grandfather of Bathsheba, what he's actually doing here in this plan is creating it in such a way that it will be possible for him to settle a matter of great personal significance—something that we've suggested has probably led to his defection, something that has eaten away at him day after day and year after year. Whatever his motivation, the plan is straightforward. Notice how Ahithophel-centered it is. Let me choose.
Let me choose. Notice, he is going to assemble the army. Also, he's going to do it tonight. We said, didn't we, a couple of weeks ago that Ahithophel is a kind of precursor to another dreadful traitor, namely Judas Iscariot? Remember it was said of Judas that he went out, and it was night?
There's a reason why people do things under the cover of darkness. Let's do this, he said, and we'll do it tonight. Notice the I-I-I. I will arise, I will come, I will strike. That's right there in verse 2, isn't it?
That's why I say he may actually be somewhat of a self-promoter in this. What we're going to do is catch him while he's off-guard, while he's weary and discouraged. And we know that they had been weary and discouraged. Because back in chapter 15, they had crossed the brook Kidron, and all the people had passed on toward the wilderness.
And in verse 30, he went up, weeping as he went, barefoot with his head covered, and all the people with him covered their heads, and they went weeping as they went. And Ahithophel says, That's the time to strike. Catch them while they're off-guard. That way we'll be able to create panic, and if we create panic, it will cause the people to flee, and we will have the victory. Notice also, he's very clear, I will strike down only the king.
We will isolate him, and we'll take him out, and if we do that successfully, which he plans on doing, then that will give me the opportunity to bring all of his followers into your camp, and then finally, in seeking the life of only one man, then all the people will be at peace. It's quite tidy, isn't it? It's got a kind of, and we're all going to live happily ever after.
That's the layout. You're listening to Alistair Begg on Truth for Life. We'll hear more about the Divine Fulcrum on Monday. Today we want to recommend to you a book that will be a great help if you're trying to be more consistent in reading through the Bible this year. The book is called The Daily Devotional New Testament.
It's an ESV edition of the New Testament presented in a daily reading format. It's designed to facilitate a regular pattern of learning from God's Word by providing you with two New Testament passages to read each day, one from Matthew through the book of Acts, and one from Romans through Revelation. You'll also enjoy a few related verses from the Psalms, followed by a reflection that helps you think about key takeaways from what you've read. Each reading then concludes with some thoughts to consider as you pray. This daily devotional New Testament comes highly recommended from Alistair. In fact, this is the book he makes available to everyone who visits his home church, Parkside. Alistair wrote in the foreword, There are all kinds of devotional aids for which we have reason to be thankful.
However, nothing can or should take the place of the regular systematic reading of the Bible, which contains everything necessary for salvation. So let me commend this volume as a vital help in learning and living as a Christian. Request the daily devotional New Testament when you donate to Truth for Life today. You can use the mobile app or donate online at truthforlife.org slash donate or call us at 888-588-7884. I'm Bob Lapine. Thanks for studying the Bible with us this week. We hope you have a great weekend and are able to worship with your local church. On Monday, we'll learn where we can find security when our world feels increasingly uncertain. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.
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