Why Would He Do That?

God’s providence pushes and pulls events toward His planned end.   #daybydaylw   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   We are studying 2 Samuel 16, where Absalom has no reason at all to do what he did next, but he does it anyway. He calls for Hushai! You remember Hushai? He had been sent by David back into Jerusalem to be a spy for David. Why would Absalom seek out the advice of Hushai, when it has already been told to us that Ahithophel’s advice and counsel seemed as if it was always from God, especially since this particular piece of advice that we just read seemed right in the eyes of Absalom. So why would Absalom call in Hushai? The hidden providence of God. Not only that, but when Absalom called in Hushai, Absalom told him Ahithophel’s plan. If you are truly seeking advice, and want to weigh the counsel of one against the other, you give each adviser the same information. But that is not what happens here. Absalom gives to Hushai Ahithophel’s blueprint. Now all Hushai has to do is poke holes in Ahithophel’s strategy. And that is exactly what Hushai did. He poked holes in Ahithophel’s plan by appealing to history. “Absalom, you know that your father and his men are mighty warriors. They have been doing this for years. I assure you, they are not tired, and they have not grown weary. They live for this type of warfare. Not only that, but they are enraged. You also know that your father is not going to be staying with the people. He is too smart for that! He will be in a cave somewhere.” Hushai also appeals to fear—“And you know that your men, when they hear that just one person has been slain by one of David’s mighty men, all your men, even your bravest of men, will run away like school children. They have heard the stories Absalom! They grew up with David and these men as their heroes!” And then Hushai appeals to Absalom’s pride—“Absalom, don’t let Ahithophel go into battle as the leader. You Go! And you take all the men with you. And we will sneak up on him like dew on the ground. We will surround and overwhelm not just David, but all his men. He will not be able to escape us.” And this plan seemed like a better plan to Absalom. But then we get the reason why—“For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.” One of the realities we must keep in mind as we read our bibles is that these characters are not just characters. They were real people, these were real events, real history. And we get a behind the scenes commentary in seeing all of this happen under the umbrella of God’s providence. And God’s providence is still pushing and pulling history to God’s appointed end.