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.
Setting: Absalom conspired against David and has driven him from Jeursalem. Ahithophel went to Absalom and forsook David. Hushai is loyal to David and seeks to confound and override Ahitohphel’s good counsel.
In 15:31 David prays that God would turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
In 17:14 God answers David’s prayer, but not in the way we would expect. Ahithophel still gave good and sound counsel. But God turned this counsel into foolishness in the ears of Absalom and the rest of his advisors. In this verse, we see a glimpse of how God did this. We get a glimpse into the inner workings of Heaven and God. In short, God manipulated man in order to accomplish His purposes
God ordained – This is the decreed will of God. He commanded that Absalom would fail to heed Ahithophel’s counsel. This wasn’t a small matter either. In 16:23 we learn that Ahithophel’s counsel was highly esteemed by both David and Absalom and was like seeking the mind of God. So God’s command required a reversal of thought and attitude that had been built up over time. Absalom and his men went against their own better judgment. God changes our inclinations to effect change in our wills. They followed their strongest inclination (Freedom of the Will, Jonathan Edwards), but God decreed that their strongest inclination be changed. He moves the hearts of men like rivers of water.
God ordained to defeat Ahithophel’s counsel – He defeated it. How? God used human means to bring about His ends. God used Hushai – a faithful follower of David – to bring about Absalom’s death. God did the initial work of changing and hardening their hearts so they would be inclined to listen to Hushai. Then God used Hushai to bring about His ends. How often this is the case in all aspects of life. God uses His creation to help bring about His ends. Even in salvation, God changes the hearts of men, but He uses us to deliver the message. This should give us all the more incentive to be faithful in all aspects of our lives so that God will use us and bless us through that and bring us joy.
God intended to bring harm against Absalom – God is indeed the judge. God metes out punishment. He is not simply a God of love. He is also a God of wrath. We see that He punishes Absalom for his wickedness, and He disciplines David for his sin with Bathsheba (in the death of Absalom). God intended to do this. It pleased God to glorify Himself in bringing harm against a human being by violating his so-called free will to effect His purposes.
God manipulates man and uses us in order to accomplish His purposes.
Setting: Absalom conspired against David and has driven him from Jeursalem. Ahithophel went to Absalom and forsook David. Hushai is loyal to David and seeks to confound and override Ahitohphel’s good counsel.
In 15:31 David prays that God would turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
In 17:14 God answers David’s prayer, but not in the way we would expect. Ahithophel still gave good and sound counsel. But God turned this counsel into foolishness in the ears of Absalom and the rest of his advisors. In this verse, we see a glimpse of how God did this. We get a glimpse into the inner workings of Heaven and God. In short, God manipulated man in order to accomplish His purposes
God ordained – This is the decreed will of God. He commanded that Absalom would fail to heed Ahithophel’s counsel. This wasn’t a small matter either. In 16:23 we learn that Ahithophel’s counsel was highly esteemed by both David and Absalom and was like seeking the mind of God. So God’s command required a reversal of thought and attitude that had been built up over time. Absalom and his men went against their own better judgment. God changes our inclinations to effect change in our wills. They followed their strongest inclination (Freedom of the Will, Jonathan Edwards), but God decreed that their strongest inclination be changed. He moves the hearts of men like rivers of water.
God ordained to defeat Ahithophel’s counsel – He defeated it. How? God used human means to bring about His ends. God used Hushai – a faithful follower of David – to bring about Absalom’s death. God did the initial work of changing and hardening their hearts so they would be inclined to listen to Hushai. Then God used Hushai to bring about His ends. How often this is the case in all aspects of life. God uses His creation to help bring about His ends. Even in salvation, God changes the hearts of men, but He uses us to deliver the message. This should give us all the more incentive to be faithful in all aspects of our lives so that God will use us and bless us through that and bring us joy.
God intended to bring harm against Absalom – God is indeed the judge. God metes out punishment. He is not simply a God of love. He is also a God of wrath. We see that He punishes Absalom for his wickedness, and He disciplines David for his sin with Bathsheba (in the death of Absalom). God intended to do this. It pleased God to glorify Himself in bringing harm against a human being by violating his so-called free will to effect His purposes.
God manipulates man and uses us in order to accomplish His purposes.
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