13 A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, “All Israel
has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!” 14 “Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!” David urged
his men. “Hurry! If we get out of the city before Absalom arrives, both we and
the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster.” 15 “We are with you” his advisers replied. “Do what you think is
best.”…. 30 David walked up the road to the Mount of Olives,
weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of
mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they
climbed the hill. 31 When someone told David that his adviser
Ahithophel was now backing Absalom, David prayed, “O Lord, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!”
In life sometimes
we get confronted with rebellious individuals who walk “with” us but “against”
us. Back home we refer to people like
this, as “they chew you but don’t swallow you”; meaning they do not really like
you or care for you but they talk to you or deal with you as an essential for
whatever reason. Maybe you work in the same office, go to the same church or
school, maybe eat at the same table, but just in opposite spots, we come across
individuals like this on a daily bases; they’re found commonly everywhere! Now
the way THEY react to us, IS NOT our responsibility; our responsibility is the
way WE act towards them, for WE are Christ’s Ambassadors!
In today’s account, David had to
deal with someone like this. His name was Ahithophel, and I found several interesting facts about this
Ahithophel[1];
his name meant “brother of foolishness”. He was a
privy councilor of David[2], whose
wisdom was highly esteemed, though his name had an exactly opposite
signification. He was originally one of David's
most intimate and valued friends, but
upon the defection and rebellion of Absalom, he espoused the cause of that
prince, and became one of David's bitterest enemies.
Among other details I found that Ahithophel
was Bathsheba’s[3]
grandfather[4] which
can bring to mind that probably because David killed her husband Uriah the way
he did, maybe he had some unforgiveness and bitterness against David and that
lead him to betray him the way he did. After
several “wrong advices” Absalom decided to disregard Ahithophel, and in chapter seventeen we seen
a disappointed Ahithophel, and
foreseeing the issue of the rebellion, Ahithophel committed suicide by hanging himself.[5]
The way David prayed for Ahithophel
is what we’ll look into because it doesn’t cease to amaze me every time I read
how God worked for HIS glory as He answered David’s prayer. He didn’t ask for the Lord to kill him or to
do away with him, no! He only asked that the “professional” advice this man
would be giving to his opponents would benefit David instead of them. So I
thought, that’s kind of clever; now if you think twice, this mirrors what
happened with Joseph and his brothers; when his brother’s wanted to get rid of
him they threw Joseph in an empty cistern to “die” but GOD used that to
transform and blessed Joseph’s life.[6]
Although I have not come across where it
says that Joseph prayed for God to take care of his brothers, God Himself used
what the devil meant for bad, to bless Joseph.
In David’s situation, he just prayed for that to happened, and it did!
In other words, when we encounter
people who want to harm us, we just have to trust that God, WHO IS the GOD WE
SERVE, (if in fact we have accepted HIM as our Savior, and are living for HIM),
He can and will use whatever comes against us for our own good. There’s no
objection or regulation that says we do not have to pray since we already know
HE IS for us, and not against us; on the contrary is always good to pray.
And that’s what in this case David
did. Although David was broken and hurt
because of this conspiracy, he’d been betrayed; but he humbled, and prayed for
the Lord to lead this ringleader (Ahithophel),
to give a wrong advice to Absalom and his people so they would fall into
their own trap. In other words, David
was asking God, that whatever the enemy would throw at them God would take care
of it, and would use it to bless them instead.
So the next time, you feel
betrayed like David did, before you ask God to intervene for you, make sure
your heart and relationship with HIM is in order; for “we know that God does
not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He
hears him”[7]
Ask Him to forgive you of your
sins, recognize HE sent JESUS to die for those sins in the cross and accept HIS
gift by allowing HIM to come into your heart and receive HIM as your Savior
& Master. Then freely and confidently you can pray like David: “O Lord,
I pray, turn the counsel of _____ into foolishness!” because in red letter, we
read: “And whatever you ask for in prayer, believing, you will receive.”[8]
Remember you are God’s Masterpiece, and GOD is for you, HE has GREAT
plans for you, and HE IS NOT against you! Stay rooted in HIS word, praying with
thanksgiving in your heart, fellowship with the body of Christ, and DO NOT fall
in the habit of isolating yourself from church, as a members of the body of
Christ we are interconnected, and that’s for our benefit. Join a church if you haven’t yet, and enjoy
growing in maturity and spending time in the presence of our Creator, there’s
no better way to be that at our Father’s feet.
God
bless you all; I’m praying for you. Inbox me if you need additional info or to
find a church close by you.
[1] http://biblehub.com/topical/a/ahithophel.htm
[2] Smith's
Bible Dictionary - http://biblehub.com/topical/a/ahithophel.htm
[3] The
woman David fell for after seeing her bathing. - 2nd Samuel 11
[4] 2nd
Samuel 23:34, 11:3
[5] 2nd
Samuel 17:23
[6]
Genesis 50:20
[7]
John 9:31 NKJV
[8] Matthew
21:22 AMP
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