Key Verse: 2 Samuel 16:23
Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

In today’s reading, the prayer of David, that is recorded in 2 Samuel 15:31, is answered. Ahithophel’s counsel is turned into foolishness. Taking the harem of an oriental King would’ve been considered the greatest insult. The public image that Absalom had so carefully developed was far from the reality of his true character. Ziba, Hushai, and others could see the real Absalom. A person who is very proud can never see his own faults. Absalom’s reign began to crumble quickly. Despite all of David’s sin, he was still the one God had chosen to be King. The High Priest, Zadok, and his sons recognized this fact. An exception was Shimei. Just imagine Shimei, perhaps on top of the rocks in the above photo, calling King David a rogue, cursing him and throwing stones at him. Surely David, on this occasion, showed great self control and mercy. David is called, “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). The Apostle Paul includes this statement in his message recorded in Acts 13:14-33 (click here for Paul’s overview of Israel’s history).
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord Jesus, in Your humanity You are of the seed of David, born in David’s city, chosen by God to rule forever. I give You my loyalty, my service, my resources. All that I am and have is Yours. You wept over Jerusalem, the city that symbolizes Your reign over the world which Your Father so loved that He gave You to us (John 3:16). I pray that I will also weep over those things that break Your heart. Through Your Person, Your work, and in Your Name I pray, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I steadfastly refuse to Google my name on the Internet. The last time I checked it out, several years ago, there were critics, as is to be expected for all public persons. However, I’ve experienced nothing to compare with the antics of Shimei toward David, as in today’s reading. If the Internet had been invented in King David’s day, just think what Shimei would’ve posted about David. The word “rogue” would probably be the least of the tabloid-style accusations. Think what might have been posted by Jesus’ enemies if a contemporary of Jesus of Nazareth had Googled His Name 2,000 years ago. My imagination is running away with me.

In 1922 on their honeymoon, my parents travelled the road from Jerusalem to the Jordan River and back again. The Jordan, at the point it flows into the Dead Sea, is 1,300 feet below sea level. Jerusalem is 2,500 feet above sea level. The 1914 Model T Ford my Dad was driving would run out of gas unless he backed up the hills. There was no fuel pump, and with only gravity feed for the gas, and with the gas tank below the engine on the way back to Jerusalem, my Dad found a way to keep going by turning the car around and putting it into reverse. That’s just one of many stories from my childhood. When I travel the great highway pictured above, I can still see from time to time the old British road, built in 1918, snaking along on one side or the other, on which the honeymoon couple would have travelled. My imagination does the rest.

Yours for learning lessons from the past,

David