Wednesday Night Service 7PM - Absalom: The Conclusion - 2 Samuel 17-18

It's good to see you. I'm glad you can make it out. I hope you all have been staying warm. I want to welcome you all this evening and welcome everybody watching online. I invite you to stand with me. We'll pray. We'll get started. Father, we thank you for the day. Lord, we just thank you for another opportunity to be here, Lord, to serve you, Lord, and to spend some time in your word.

Lord, we ask your blessing upon this evening, Lord. Let's let the joyful noise to you and just give us hearts to receive the word that you prepared for us this evening. We love you and we praise you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Well, Lord God, we just thank you for what you've done for us, Lord. We thank you that in you, Lord, we have new life and we have hope. Lord, we thank you and we praise you. You guys can go ahead and have a seat if you like.

He is mine. He's been my fourth man in the frame. His spirit washed in his blood. What he did, Calvary, is more than any. I trust in God. My saved, my saved mission. My saved. I sought the Lord and he answered. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord and he answered. I sought the Lord. My saved. God, we just thank you for who you are.

We thank you for your faithfulness, Lord. We thank you that even when we do fail, you never will. We thank you that praise you.

My comfort. This gift of love. Righteousness. Scorned by the ones he can't. This is the power of Christ in me. To find, oh, Jesus commends my death.

Well, Lord God, again, we just thank you and we praise you, God, for just who you are and for what you've done for us. We thank you that in your power, Lord, there is, in your blood, Lord, there is salvation. Lord, in you there is hope. And there is freedom and newness of life, Lord. And as Pastor Ryan comes this evening, Lord, I just ask that you'd be with him. Overflow him with

your Holy Spirit. Give him the words to speak and give us ears to hear and softened hearts to receive it. Father, we love you. We praise you in Jesus name. Amen. Good evening. If you would open up in your Bibles to the book of Second Samuel. Chapter 17. Second Samuel, chapter 17. The last time that we were together, we had continued on in our study of Absalom, who had begun a rebellion against his father.

Absalom had allowed bitterness to develop because of some events that had happened within his family that his father had not dealt with. And so he began to position himself in this place of of winning the hearts of the people. And as he won the hearts of the people, sort of through stealth, kind of being that person in the gate saying, my father's a little too busy for you. But you know, if I were king, this is what I would do.

And he began to win the hearts of the people. And as he did so, he ultimately rebelled against his father, came in and took over the kingdom. And David, rather than fighting against his own son, fled into the wilderness with those that were loyal to him. And of course, there was that moment as he was fleeing to the wilderness where different individuals came along and sort of scorned David.

And he just dealt with it. It was a really broken place for David to be in. And so there was a counselor that was really important to David. His name was Ahithophel. And Ahithophel has an interesting history because Ahithophel was actually Bathsheba's grandfather. And because of that, Ahithophel defected from David and ended up going along with Absalom in this rebellion. And so the stage now is that David is in the wilderness having fled from Absalom. And

he's established himself in the palace as the king. And now it's time to decide what the next steps are. And so that's where we come tonight. And so ultimately, we see kind of the conclusion of this story of Absalom tonight. And so that's what I've entitled it, Absalom, the Conclusion. And so we pick up in chapter 17 as we see the counsel that's laid out for Absalom for what his

next steps are supposed to be. It says in chapter 17, verse 1,

Please let me choose 12,000 men that I may arise and pursue David tonight. I will come upon him while he is weary and exhausted and terrify him so that all the people who are with him will flee. Then I will strike down the king alone and I will bring back all the people to you. The return of everyone depends on the man you seek. Then all the people will be at peace.

And so the plan pleased Absalom and all the elders. of Israel. Now, Ahithophel has a specific reason why he wants to carry out the plan that he does. It's because ultimately he wants to bring revenge upon David. Remember, we talked about the fact a few weeks ago that he had lived with so much bitterness towards David all of those years because of ultimately the atrocity committed not only against Bathsheba, but the atrocity

committed against Uriah. And he'd held on to this bitterness all this time. And this was his moment. This was his opportunity to take revenge on David. Did you notice the number of times that that personal pronoun I was used there? He said, I will go. I will defeat. I will bring back the people because this was a plan that Ahithophel had been thinking about for a very long time. And strategically speaking, it was the plan that made the absolute most sense.

We were given a little commentary in the last chapter that the words of Ahithophel at this point in time were almost like they came directly from the mouth of God because he had so much wisdom. And if you were looking from a strictly military perspective, everything that Ahithophel said made sense, which is why in the moment that it was presented to Absalom, we're told that all of the elders of Israel and Absalom were pleased with the plan. But remember, David had a little ace in the hole. Hushai, who was one of David's other counselors, who was one of his other advisors, had said, David, I'm going to go with you. And David said, the best thing that you can do for me is that you can go back.

David said, David, I'm going to go with you. And David said, the best thing that you can do for me is that you can go back. David said, David, I'm going to go with you. And David said, the best thing that you can do for me is that you can go back. And you can try to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. And in that moment, when he sent Hushai back, David sort of just whispered a prayer to the Lord.

It was one of those, we call them arrow prayers, at least that's what I call them, where he just shot up a quick prayer to the Lord and he said, Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. And his one hope was that God would do that and that he would use Hushai to do that. Well, that's what we see take place next. So Absalom said, Now call Hushai, the Archite, also, and let us hear what he has to say.

And when Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom said to him, And so Hushai said to Absalom, This time, the advice that Ahithophel has given is not good. Moreover, Hushai said, You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and that they are fierce like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. And your father is an expert in warfare and will not spend the night with the people. Behold, he has now hidden himself in one of the caves or in another place.

And it will be when he falls on them at the first attack that whoever hears it will say, There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom. And even the one who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will completely lose heart. For all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men. But I counsel that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea in abundance, and that you personally go into battle.

So we shall come to him in one of the places where he can be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls on the ground. And of him, and of all the men who are with him, not one will be left. And if he withdraws into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it into the valley, and not even one small stone is found there. And then 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 thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that he might bring calamity on Absalom. Now, I want you to put yourself in the place of Hushai at this point in time. He gets called into the midst of Absalom, the enemy who he's trying to pretend that he's on the side of. He gets called into that council room, that war room, if you will.

And in that split moment, it is presented to him the plan that Ahithophel has given. And you know, in the back of his mind, he was like, darn, that's a good plan, right? Because that's exactly what he was probably thinking at that point. Because when you hear it, you're like, absolutely, a sneak attack without the opportunity to gather yourself and prepare yourself for war, is the absolute best thing.

And so I would imagine, we don't read about it, but I can't imagine that a man of God like Hushai wasn't like, oh, Lord, help, right? In just that moment, probably prayed just a quick little prayer, just like David had done. And God did help him. And so he says, no, no, I have a better idea. Ahithophel's counsel is not good this time. And you know, the whole room,

like all the air got sucked out of the room, right? Including Ahithophel, like he was like, and so he said, this is what you need to do. Now, I want you to pay attention to what he says, because what he does is he plays on Absalom's pride. Because Ahithophel's plan was full of, I will. Hushai's plan is, you will. Did you notice that? He said, you should go into battle with him,

but not now. Remember, David is a great man of war. He knows the wilderness, and he has men that are valiant warriors. Now, the story that Hushai tells, if it had been 20 years before, this is a true story. David was a mighty warrior. But by this point in time, remember, he's not the guy going out to battle all the time. He's the guy sending people out to battle all the time.

And so Hushai tells the story of David and his prime, even though that's not who David is now. He said, he's a man of war. You know he's not hiding with the other men. He, in fact, was hiding with the other men. You know that he's hidden himself in a cave. He, in fact, had not hidden himself in a cave. You know that he is ready to take out anyone that comes upon him.

He, in fact, was not ready to take out anyone that came upon him. He was in the most broken place he'd ever been in his life. But Hushai said, he'll be ready for you. We will go in. Again, playing on that pride of Absalom. We will go in. We will defeat him. And we will bring him back. And if that doesn't happen, if he tries to hide in the city, we will tear the city down and bring him back.

And then you will always be the king. And everybody said, Hushai's counsel is better. Now, Hushai's counsel was not better. Because stopping to take time, stopping to gather a large army, stopping to give David, time to prepare, would be the exact opposite of wisdom at this point in time. And if it weren't for God's intervention, David would have been defeated.

But if you're a person who likes to underline things, you might underline the second half of verse 14, where the italics begin. It says, For the Lord had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring calamity on Absalom. There's two things I'd like to point out to you about this. Number one is that God answers prayers. Even small little arrow prayers.

We think, Oh, in order for God to answer my prayer, it has to be this long, lengthy, properly worded, perhaps occasionally in King James form, sort of prayer that I pray to the Lord, right? It has to be all of the right words and all of the right meaning. And it's got to be a long prayer for God to really answer, because that's what real prayer looks like. David prayed a prayer that didn't even take up an entire verse.

Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel, into foolishness. And that's exactly what God did because God answers prayers. And I tell us this because I don't think we're always a people that prays. I don't think that we as human beings, as believers in Jesus Christ are always a people who prays. Sometimes we say I'll pray about that and then we never do. We say I should give that to the Lord and then we never do.

And sometimes we lack the power of God because we never take part in prayers to God and God always answers them. And that's what God does for David right here. See, he answers that prayer. But the second thing that I want to point out to you is this, that God was still at work, even though it looked like things were falling apart. As far as David was concerned,

his entire world had just collapsed around him. Everything from all outward appearances would seem as though God had abandoned him and everything had fallen apart. But in the hardest, time of his life, and I do think this was probably one of the hardest times of David's life. In the hardest time of his life, God was still at work. In the aftermath of terrible sin,

in the aftermath of the guilt that he dealt with, in the aftermath of realizing maybe he wasn't the parent he should have been to his children, clearly, since one of his kids had raped a stepsister in the or a half sister and the other one had murdered his brother and now has tried to take over the kingdom starts to make you question your parenting skills at that point in time. Can we all? I'm in that right? And he's going, Oh, no.

Has God abandoned me? And God says, No, I've been here the whole time and I'm still at work because that's what my grace does. And brothers and sisters, I think it's super important for us to remember that that's what God's grace does because grace is not dependent upon me and that's what makes it grace. That's what makes it his goodness and unmerited gift is that?

It's not. It's not dependent on how good I am. It's not dependent on whether or not I'm doing everything right. It's not dependent on whether or not I use the right word again. My prayers. It's just simply dependent upon God's grace. And that's what he does in the life of David here. I don't know. I don't know what's going on in your world right now. I don't know if it feels like everything's going perfect right now or if everything's falling apart right now.

But I want you to know that whatever's going on in your world right now, you can still rest in the fact that God's always at work because God continues to fight for those who are not. He continues to fight for those who belong to him. And that's what he does. So he defeats this council of Ahithophel. Well, now, Hushai's got to get the warning to David, right?

So he's got to move quick. So we pick up in verse 15 and it says, Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priest, This is what Ahithophel has counseled Absalom and the elders of Israel. And this is what I have counseled. Now, therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, Don't spend the night in the fords of the wilderness, but by all means, cross over or else the king and all the people who are with him will be destroyed.

Now, Jonathan and Ahimeaz were staying at Enrogel. And a maid servant would go and tell them and they would go and tell King David, for they could not be seen entering the city. But Elad did see them and told Absalom. So the two of them departed quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard and they went down into it. And the woman took a covering and spread it over the well's mouth

and scattered grain on it so that nothing was known. And then Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house and said, Where are Ahimeaz and Jonathan? And the woman said to them, They've crossed over the brook of water. And when they searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. And it came about after they had departed that they came up out of the well and went and told David.

And they said, Arise and cross over the water quickly, for thus Ahithophel has counseled against you. Then David and all the men who were with him arose and crossed the Jordan. And by dawn not one remained who had not crossed the Jordan. So he sends his messengers and the messengers run into trouble. They had gone back and forth sort of stealthily up to this point in time.

But this particular time someone saw them and reported it to Absalom. They said, Hey, listen, there's messengers going to David. So he sent men and praise God that in the process of so many who had turned against David, there were some who remained loyal to the king. And so they were able to hide them. Can you imagine this moment? Again, how we've never made a movie about the entire life of David,

I'll never understand. Because this feels like something that you would watch on like the latest series that comes out, right? The latest binge-worthy series that you've seen. And so these guys have to hide themselves in a well, cover it over with a tarp and some grain. And they come by and she's like, I don't know what you're talking about. I think they went that way.

Run, right? And so they're able to escape and they go and warn David and David flees over to the other side. Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem. Now, when Ahithophel verse 23 saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and arose and went to his home to his city. They set his house in order. He strangled himself. Thus he died and was buried in the grave of his father.

It's an interesting moment that takes place, an interesting commentary that were given on this man Ahithophel. And I think that there's a couple of really important reasons why this is included and a couple of really important reasons. Why this is how he ended it. I don't think he was having a pity party at this point in time. I don't think he was like, fine,

then I'm going to take my donkey and ride off and hang myself. No, I don't think he felt really bad that his advice wasn't taken. He knew that his advice was the only advice that was going to work. And he knew that the moment that the advice, the counsel of Hushai was followed, the battle was over because they were going to lose. Because again, he had wisdom directly from God.

And isn't it amazing that, even though he had defected to the enemy and the enemy of God, that wisdom still remains kind of fascinating, isn't it? And yet God allowed him to still have that gift. And so he knew, this is the first reason why I think he did this. He knew that when Absalom was defeated, this is what was next for him. Because this is what happens to traitors is they're put to death.

And rather than someone else doing this to him, he decided to handle it himself. But I actually think that there's a deeper reason why Ahithophel ends, his life here. While yes, I think that he knew he did not want to face the embarrassment of having to be put to death by the king. He had one reason and one reason only for defecting from David and going to Absalom.

And it wasn't because he thought Absalom was such a great leader. Because you may have noticed, he didn't want Absalom to get any glory in the victory. He used that personal pronoun, I, and all of those things, right? He said, I will do these things. And it's because he had one goal and one goal only, and that was revenge. Because there was one thing that drove,

his life for these past, if I remember correctly, about 20 years. And that was his bitterness against David. Because his bitterness against David had driven him. His bitterness against David had empowered him. His bitterness against David was the one reason he woke up every morning, plotting and planning and seeking a moment for when he could have his revenge.

And when he knew he couldn't have his revenge, the one thing he had lived for was now gone. And bitterness led him to death. I'd bring this up again because these things slip into our lives very easily. That bitterness overtakes our lives. It's like a poison. I believe in Proverbs, it says it's like a poison that infiltrates us. And so because of that, he said,

I have no more reason to live because I can't seek the revenge that I wanted to seek. And I want to remind you of something. You see, the New Testament speaks, an incredible amount about this. It speaks an incredible amount about forgiveness. It speaks an incredible amount about letting go of things and not holding on to bitterness. And there's a wonderful scripture.

And I don't think I had him put this one up there, but in the margin of your Bible, next to the fact that Ahithophel put himself to death, hung himself, you might just write in the margin, Ephesians 4.32, because that is the cure for bitterness. And it says, be kind to one another. Tenderhearted and forgiving of each other, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. See, there is one thing that can help you overcome bitterness.

And it's not a ten-step program. It's a one-step program. And that's to forgive those that have hurt you. It's not the easiest thing in the world to do. It's kind of a painful thing to do. And it will only be done in the power of the Holy Spirit. But it is the only way you will ever overcome bitterness in your life. It's by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's by ultimately forgiving what others have done to you.

But what if they haven't asked for forgiveness? I can't give forgiveness to someone who hasn't asked for it. Then you better offer it anyway. Then you better offer it anyway. Because forgiveness is not something that someone else needs to live. Forgiveness is something that you need to live. Because when you hold on to bitterness, it doesn't damage the other person.

When you hold on to bitterness, it damages you. Because ultimately, it will lead to death. Whether it be the death of your faith. Whether it be the death of your witness. Or in some cases, sometimes just death. Because ultimately, people die of bitterness. I know this because of my job. I've done funerals before where I have talked to families and I said, so what happened?

And I'm not making this up. They've said, you know what I think ultimately took him? Bitterness. Because he was just angry. And I think ultimately that's what took him. And those are hard to do. I'm here to tell you right now. You got to deal with it. One of the things that I just did a service yesterday. This is fresh on my mind. That was not the case with the service yesterday.

But I share something at funerals. There's a place in the book of Ecclesiastes. And it says it's better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of dancing. Because the living will take note and are purified. And I like to share that at services. Because I tell them, ultimately life is made up of relationships. The relationship that you have with your creator.

And the relationship that you have with your fellow man. And life is too short for bad relationships. Life is too short for a bad relationship with your creator. Because you'll find that if you don't get that one right, death comes a lot quicker than you thought it was going to. And eternity is a really long time. But life is also too short for a bad relationship with your creator.

Life is also too short for bad relationships with each other. Because you do not want a life to end without having shared what needs to be shared. Without having offered the forgiveness and love that needs to be offered to each other. You don't want to carry that with you. So deal with that if that's something that you have in your life. Because ultimately that was the problem with Ahithophel.

And so we go on from there. It says, verse 24. Then David came to Mahanaim and Absalom crossed the Jordan. And all the men of Israel with him. And Absalom set Amasa over the army in place of Joab. And Amasa, the son of a man whose name was Ithra the Israelite, who went into Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother. And all Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

So Absalom sets up his army and he's ready. And then verses 27 through 29 are an interesting little parenthetical statement here about a moment of rest. It says, David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, Machir the son of Amiel from Lodabar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogallim, brought beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, parched grains, beans, lentils, and parched seeds, honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of the herd for David and for the people who were with him to eat. For they said, The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.

Now I find this a very interesting little parenthetical statement that's given to us here of just a moment of rest that David and his men have. While they're fleeing for their lives and trying to establish some form of defense for themselves, undoubtedly unable to take with them all of the supplies that they need and none of the comforts of home, in this moment there are three men who decide that the best thing that they can do is offer some comfort to David and his friends. Interestingly enough, these three men are Gentiles that ultimately find themselves offering comfort and a little bit of rest to David and his men. And they bring beds and food, something to drink, and probably a whole lot of encouragement because David was reminded of not alone.

And in this moment, he finds a little bit of rest in the middle of a great storm. And there's, again, a couple of points I would like to make for us right now. God knows what we need, and God knows exactly when we need it. And he's so good at doing that. I don't know if you've ever found yourself in the midst of a really big storm of your life, but in the midst of that storm, I bet if you were honest with yourself,

you could sit back and go, Yep, I've had those moments. I've had those moments where God gave me exactly what I needed, where God provided just a little bit of rest so that I could sustain the rest of the battle. You know what it made me think of? And this is the second point that I want to make. It made me think of Psalm 23, verse 5. I did have them put that up there, I think.

You might just, in the margin of your Bible, write Psalm 23, 5. Do you know what Psalm 23, 5 says? It says, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Now, we don't know when David wrote Psalm 23, but this particular moment made me wonder if this was maybe part of the time when God was laying that psalm on his heart. Because I believe he wrote it later in life,

after he'd been through a lot of things. After all, one of the great lines in that is, He restores my soul. And perhaps, as David was thinking back on his life, and thinking about all the things that God had done for him as this good shepherd, that David, this old sheep who had been through so many hard things in his life, finally finds himself in a place where he can reflect on those things, and he says, Man, it's like sometimes God would just prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. And God's so good at doing that for us.

God's, if we will allow ourselves to see it, God's so good at preparing a little table before us in the most difficult of times to prepare us for what the rest of the battle looks like. To prepare us for what the rest of the storm is going to be. That little moment of grace that we need to say, Now I can make it through the rest. Now I can continue on. And that's what God does for David here.

Now, I want to ask you a question. Number one, have you taken note of that in your own life? Maybe you have. But the question I really have to ask you is this. Can you be that for someone else? These were three individuals who really had no reason to do this for David. As a matter of fact, one of them, I think it's the first guy, Shobi the son of Nahash, of the sons of Ammon,

it was his brother, who David had tried to offer a little bit of comfort to, and then he shaved off the heads and cut off the cloaks at the buttocks of all of his men, and David ultimately defeated his brother. And yet this guy, a Gentile, who David had defeated his brother's armies, decides, I'm going to show a little bit of peace. I'm going to show a little bit of grace. One of them was over 80 years old, and he probably at some point in time would have said, You know what?

I'm too old to go hauling cheese and beds out in the middle of the wilderness. That's not what he said, though. He said, I want to be that person who helps prepare a table in the presence of my enemies. Do you know God wants to use us for things like that? I'm here to tell you right now, when God starts laying something on your heart to do for somebody, don't fight against it, just do it.

It may not make sense to you. You may be like, why would God have me do this now for this person? I don't even really like him that much. But God's going to use you to do something more powerful than you can ever imagine, because that person will then come to you and say, You have no idea how much I needed that. You have no idea how important that was to me,

because that gave me everything I needed to just keep going. Be that for someone else. Be the one who sets the table in the presence of their enemies. Amen? And so, now everything's set. Now it's time for David to prepare for battle, and it's time for the battle. Oh, there we go. Perfect. Then David numbered the people who were with him, and he set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.

And David sent the people out, one-third under the command of Joab, one-third under the command of Abishai, son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one-third under the command of Ittai, the Gittite. The king said to the people, I myself will surely go out with you also. The people said, You should not go out. For if we indeed flee, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't care about us.

But you, you're worth 10,000 of us. Therefore, it's better that you be ready to help us from the city. And then the king said to them, Whatever seems best to you, I will do. So the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and thousands. It's kind of cool to watch David the commander kick back into gear, right? Because it's been a while since he's been in battle.

It's been a while since he's led his men like this, but the old guy could still do it. And so, so he starts, there's a sports broadcast. I listen to all the time as he's calling games. And he always says, it's, he talks about a point guard. He says, it's time to get the, get the puppies in order, right? And that's kind of what David does. It's time to get the puppies in order.

And so, so he, he lays them out. He says, these are my men. These are their, these are their companies. And he, he says, we're out three groups of men. Joab, Abishai, and Itzai the Gittite. You guys are going to be in charge of these three companies. And I'll go out into battle with you. Why do you think David wanted to go into battle with them? Well, I'll tell you what.

The last time there was an opportunity to go into battle and David didn't go, do you remember what happened? Well, we're kind of here talking about it now, right? Bathsheba. And David said, I'm not making that mistake again. When it's time to go to battle, I'm going to battle. And there's nothing like learning from your mistakes. There's nothing like saying, that is not going to happen to me again.

But this particular time, it's not his decision to not go into battle. His men are like, no, you are not going with us. I know you're a field general. I know you're a field commander. I know you're a warrior. But the safest place for you and the safest place for us is for you to stay back home. To stay in the camp. Because there's one person they're coming after and it ain't us.

There's one person they're coming after and it's you. You stay back. And David surrenders and says, okay, if that's what you guys want me to do, that's what I'll do. But I'm still willing to go to battle. And they said, that's what we want you to do. So David stays behind. And everyone else goes into battle. But before they go into battle, he gives them a really important command.

It says, the king charged Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom. And all the people heard when the king charged all the commanders concerning Absalom. And can we just be really honest and say this is probably the other reason why David should not go into battle? Is because he was way too close to the city. He was way too close to the situation.

He was way too close to the commanding general on the other side. And he found that he would probably have a tendency to show mercy rather than justice at this point in time. And so he looks at the three generals with everybody else listening and he gives this command. He says, be gentle with Absalom. Now, he doesn't give the right command, but he does give a command.

Because this is probably part of the problem with David right now. Is that he's sometimes a little bit too easy on his kids. Because if he allows Absalom to live, that spirit of rebellion will continue. But everyone heard and everyone knew the command. Everyone knew the directive. And so now it's time to go into battle. It says, then the people went into the field against Israel and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.

And the people were defeated there before the servants of David and the slaughter that day was great. 20,000 men. For the battle there was spread over the whole countryside and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword. Now, I think that this is another one of those instances where God fought on behalf of David. Where God intervened. It was a densely populated forest apparently.

A difficult place to battle. It's interesting. I don't have it in front of me so I'm not going to try to quote it. But it's interesting to read some Jewish tradition on this. Because some Jewish tradition on this. Talks about like the arms of the trees coming out and swallowing the men. And kind of goes into some detail about that. Tradition only of course.

But I do believe that this is one of those instances where God intervened on behalf of David. So that the forest would devour more than even his men were able to conquer. And so the battle is absolutely going David's way. Absalom's men are being defeated. And then we come to verse 9. And it says, now Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. For Absalom was riding on his mule.

And the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. And his head caught fast in the oak. So he was left hanging between heaven and earth. While the mule that was under him kept going. And when a certain man saw it he told Joab and said, Behold I saw Absalom hanging in an oak. And Joab said to the man who had told him, Now behold you saw him. Why then did you not strike him there to the ground?

I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt. The man said to Joab, Even if I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand. I would not put out my hand against the king's son. For in our hearing the king charged you and Abishai and Ittai saying, Protect from me the young man Absalom. If I had dealt treacherously against his life. There's nothing hidden from the king.

You yourself would have stood aloof. In other words you yourself would have testified against me. And then Joab said, I will not waste time with you here. So he took three spears in his hand. And he thrust them through his heart towards midsection. And while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. And ten young men who carried Joab's armor. Gathered around and struck Absalom and killed him.

And then Joab blew the trumpet. And the people returned from pursuing Israel. For Joab restrained the people. They took Absalom and they cast him into a deep pit in the forest. And erected over him a very great heap of stones. And all Israel fled each to his tent. Now Absalom in his lifetime. Had taken and set up for himself a pillar which is in the king's valley.

For he said I have no son to preserve my name. So he named the pillar after his own name. And it is called Absalom's monument to this day. So the battle is raging. And there's Absalom riding on his mule. And he, again it's a dense, real dense forest that he's going through. And his head gets caught. In the branches of a thick oak tree. Now if you remember our little commentary that we were given a couple of chapters ago.

We were told that Absalom had the most beautiful hair. So this is always going to make me laugh. It's wrong. I shouldn't laugh about this. But it's kind of funny when you're a bald man. He had the most beautiful head of hair. And every year he would cut his hair. And it weighed somewhere between three and five pounds. His neck had to have just not existed. Right?

To hold up that kind of hair. And it was his glory. Because remember Absalom was beautiful. Right? I mean just a beautiful man with thick flowing man hair. Right? And it was just, everyone was like oh Absalom. Right? I picture Fabio only maybe a little more stylish. Right? And so there he is. And as he's riding through just hair tossing in the wind. In all seriousness it does not actually say that it was his hair that got caught.

It says his head. We only ascertain that because of the fact that his hair was such a big part of who he was. Actually I think Josephus is the one who promoted that that's how he got caught there. But it makes a great story doesn't it? And so he gets caught there with his hair. But it does make us think of something. Right? Sometimes our greatest glory will be our biggest downfall.

Sometimes the thing that we find to be our greatest glory in life is actually our biggest weakness. Because it's the thing that we take the most pride in. After all pride goes before destruction. Usually we quote that wrong. Right? We say pride goes before a fall. But it actually says pride goes before destruction. A haughty spirit before a fall. I think that's important for us to pay attention to because pride is one of the most dominant sins in the life of humanity.

And yet it is the most excused sin in the life of humanity. After all we all want to be proud of something. Right? And there's a difference between being proud of your kids for doing something or being proud of an accomplishment. In other words I feel good about something that I did and finding pride in it. That boastful pride. But sometimes our pride will be the thing that will actually ultimately bring us down.

Our greatest glory can be our greatest weakness. And so there he is suspended. I was just wondering with this picture. I picture him riding through this thing. Right? Horse. No. Mule keeps going and he's just hanging there. Suspended between heaven and earth. I love the way that that's put. Right? He's just hanging there. Okay. So what now? And he's like darn hair I should have shaved my head.

Listen. Again. I'm just here to tell you right now. Fellas if you want to be really safe. That's never going to happen to me. Right? I will never have that issue. So. So he's just hanging there. And one of Joab's men sees him and he goes and tells Joab. Hey Absalom is over there. He's stuck in a tree. What do you mean he's stuck in a tree? Well he's like it's.

I think it's like a hair thing. Like he's stuck in the tree. Well okay. Well did you kill him? No. You heard what the king said. And I'm not going to disobey the king. After all. If I disobey the king. And he'll find out about it. You'll be one of the ones that testifies against me. I love what Joab says. He says. I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt.

Right? Now we hear that in today's culture. And we're like. I don't need a new belt. Right? I can run over to Penny's and get one of those. Actually I think they're closing all the Penny's. I can run over to Costco and get one of those. Right? I don't. I don't need a belt. No. That's not the kind of belt he's talking about. I mean this is almost like a WWE style belt he's talking about.

Right? It means a belt of a commanding colonel. That's the idea of the belt. In other words. I would have made you a commander in the army. And this guy's going. I don't care about position. And I don't care about money. I care about obeying the king. And I think that that's a pretty good attitude for him to have. I think that's a pretty good attitude for us to have.

I don't care about money. And I don't care about position. I just want to obey the king. And Joab says. I don't have time for you. So he grabs three spears. I think some of your translations may say three daggers. Or maybe three darts. Runs them through. It says his heart. But really it means his midsection here. So probably a gut shot that he took. At this point in time.

Because he did not die from it. You think if you got three spears. Straight in the old ticker. Right. That's going to kill you. But it doesn't kill him. As a matter of fact. Ten of Joab's armor bearers. Are the ones who ultimately fall on him. And kill him. Now that's kind of an interesting number. Because if you remember correctly. And I think I'm quoting this correctly.

There were ten of David's concubines. That Absalom lay with. Kind of interesting how God does that sort of thing. Right. And so ultimately. Absalom. Is put to death. And Joab at this point in time. Becomes someone. Who is actually more of a liability. Than an asset. Because while David's command. Was not correct. Because ultimately he should have. Absalom should have been dealt with.

It was also wrong. For Joab to not follow his command. Because at this point in time. Joab has decided he knows better. Than the king. That he knows better than anyone else. Because the fact of the matter is. If Joab hadn't dealt with Absalom. God would have. And Joab was not trusting in God's ability. To ultimately deal with those things. And so Joab puts him to death.

And now. They bury him under this pile of rocks. This pile of stones. And it's kind of interesting. Because we're given this contrast between a pile of stones. That he's buried by. Which by the way. Do you know how if a son was rebellious against his father. He wouldn't live in the old covenant. Because I would not have survived junior high or high school. If a son was rebellious to his father.

Do you know how he was supposed to be dealt with? He was supposed to be stoned. And interestingly. After Absalom is put to death. He's covered in a pile of stones. But there's an interesting contrast. That's given to us here. Because in his death he's covered with stones. While in his life. He erected a stone monument to himself. It's interesting how pride.

Goes before destruction. And so. Verse 19 says.

Job said once more. Whatever happens. Please let me also run. And Job said why? There's no reward. He said but whatever happens. I will run. So he said run. And Ahimeaz ran by the way of the plain. And he passed up the Cushite. Must have been a fast runner. And David was sitting between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof. Of the gate by the wall.

And he raised his eyes and looked. At himself. There is good news in his mouth. And he came nearer and nearer. The watchman saw another man running. The watchman called to the gatekeeper. And said behold. Another man running by himself. The king said this one's also bringing good news. The watchman said I see the running of the first one. Is like the running of Ahimeaz.

The king said this is a good man. And he comes with good news. Ahimeaz came and said to the king. All is well. Who has delivered up the men. Who lifted their hands against my lord the king. The king said is it well with the young man Absalom. And Ahimeaz said. Uh. When Joab sent the king's servant. Your servant. I saw great tumult. But I don't know what it was.

The king said turn aside and stand here. So he turned aside and stood still. Behold the Cushite arrived. The Cushite said let my lord the king. Receive good news. That has freed you this day. From the hand of all those. Who rose up against you. The king said to the Cushite. Is it well with the young man Absalom. The Cushite answered. Let the enemies of my lord the king.

And all who rise up against you for evil. Be as that young man. The king was deeply moved. And he went up to the chamber over the gate. And he wept. And thus he said as he walked. Oh my son Absalom. My son my son Absalom. Oh Absalom. My son. A couple of interesting lessons to close with. Number one. If you are going to be a messenger. You better know the message.

If you are going to be a messenger. You better know and be willing to carry the message. Because Ahameas. Wanted to be a messenger. But either he didn't know the message. Or he wasn't willing to deliver the message. And when we bring the gospel. You need to know the message. And you need to be willing to deliver the message. Because the message of the gospel brothers and sisters.

Starts off with some really bad news. But if you can't give the bad news. Then you are not fit to give the good news. You need to be a messenger. You got to know the message. And you got to be willing to deliver it. But the second thing that I want to close with. Is this. David gives for us a very interesting. Type of the lord. As he receives the news of his son.

Remember his son Absalom. Was rebellious. His son Absalom was wicked. His son Absalom had turned against him. And yet. When Absalom was put to death. Ultimately for his sins. Did you see how David reacted? It says he wept. He was grieved over his son. And he said over and over again. My son Absalom. That I had died in your place. I think that is a really good type.

Of the lord right there. Because God takes no pleasure. In the death of the wicked. It is always. His desire. To be a substitute. For those who would die for their sins. I think we need to remember that. As believers in Jesus Christ. That is God's heart. For sinners. That is God's heart for those who are far from him. It is his heart. That he would not see any perish.

But all to come to eternal life. Because he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. And sometimes we live with this revengeful feel. Towards the evil people around us. We live with this revengeful feel. Towards the people of the world. That are so ultimately sinful. And I am here to tell you right now. God loves them. God wants to see them come to salvation.

God's desire. Judgment is God's strange work. His desire is salvation. And that is his heart for sinners. And listen I am going to tell us again. If we really want to be messengers of the gospel. We need to understand the heart. Of the God of the gospel. Whose heart is broken. Over the wicked of the world. Amen. Father thank you so much. For this story. And thank you for the lessons that we learned from it.

And so Father I pray that as we go out from here. That you would give us your heart. For the people that are around us. Father that we would be those. Who humbly stand before you. Who humbly stand before the people around us. And who ultimately seek to have your heart. For this world. Father we praise you for who you are. Draw your heart. Draw us near to you.

And give us the rest that we need. In Jesus name. Amen. Be blessed.