#458 That Wisdom Men Employ

And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.

2 And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.

3 And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.

4 Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.

5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.

6 And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.

7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:

8 The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.

9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.

10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?

11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lordhath bidden him.

12 It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lordwill requite me good for his cursing this day.

13 And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

14 And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.

15 And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.

16 And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, was come unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king, God save the king.

17 And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend?

18 And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom the Lord, and this people, and all the men of Israel, choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide.

19 And again, whom should I serve? should I not serve in the presence of his son? as I have served in thy father's presence, so will I be in thy presence.

20 Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.

21 And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong.

22 So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.

23 And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom. 2 Samuel 16 KJV

If you read this first part without knowing what comes later, then you would think Ziba a very good friend of God's chosen. He shows up at the right time, with well thought out gifts, gifts that will help replenish their energy and restore their spirits. It looks from this one side of the tale that he is doing it at his own personal risk, against his master's wishes. I have seen at least a hundred men like Ziba, they kiss whatever ring they have access to at the time, but are always looking for the one that can move them forward. It's ok to differ with those who are in office or your boss, but go to them, give them the opportunity to talk through your issues. Don't go over their head with a lie to make yourself look good at their expense. Ziba wanted what David had given to Mephibosheth, and Ziba's family all had all already benefited from this gift. They worked the land and reaped from it, but as the manager of it he came to despise the owner. He coveted the estate and would now steal it with a lie, but also by the word of a deceived and manipulated king. He has a silver tongue though, and here we are again with those who bring gifts and compliments, it works all too well so the unrighteous employ such means and steps wherever possible. It is perfect timing though, for David is not in any position presently to turn away such a gift. Beware, they come in sheep's clothing bearing gifts.

Now Shimei is another sort, the one would tempt you to believe a lie about your friend, but Shimei would pour alcohol into your wounds, throwing stones and kicking up dust. He hates David because he is king over Saul. He hates David and thinks that what David now suffers is because of what the present king has done to get to the throne. What is his accusation concerning David? 

First, that he is a bloody man. OK, but do you mean a warrior? Do you mean because he is the one who ordered the death of Uriah? No, his complaint is for the blood of the house of Saul, and this is not only unjust but very self serving. He is like the man who goes to the voting booth and says this is my candidate, because he is from my home state. Because he is from my state he can do little wrong. This is my candidate because in my world of upside down priorities I have not cared what the Creator of the Universe thinks, but this guy shares my one pet peeve. I was happy with Saul, he was one of us, but you are the shepherd from Judah, the son of Jesse. I am now happy to see that God is punishing you for what you did to Saul. Wait a minute, didn't David refuse to kill Saul twice when it was made easy? Did he not love the son of Saul as the brother of his own soul? Has he not been kind to Jonathan's son, up until this point where it looks as though Mephibosheth has betrayed him? David was a bloody man also on Saul's behalf, fighting the wars of the kingdom, standing tall against giants, and he did not initiate a rebellion to the crown that God had put upon Saul's head, but Saul was the one who sought the life of David. How vane and selective are we when we defend our home team. 

"Why should this dead dog curse the lord, my king?" Well, in the world you will have tribulation, and Christ told his followers to expect such ill treatment as well. They mocked him, falsely accused him, and He was not just chosen of God, but was God. There was no one that ever spit or said ought against him that he could not justly rebuke and destroy, but as a sheep before the sheer is dumb so He opened not His mouth. Yes, they may be wrong, but the Lord hath allowed it. David may not be guilty of Saul's blood, but he is greater than any statesman ever in taking this rebuke. He is so much better a king in adversity than he is in rule. What brings a man to his knees brings him to the blessing of reality, when we can forgive those who speak evil of us, we can accept forgiveness from above. It is just dust, and he is only kicking up what the wind will take away. David is surrounded by a host, and they are ready to end this at his word, but he is too busy in his thoughts, remembering the road here, in awe of God's provision, to swat at such a flea. It will pass, none of us may ever speak from the throne of infinite righteousness, for we are all born trespassers. I will weigh your words, and if they are true I will eat them and thank you for them. If they are false, I will tell you why and still forgive you, because that is what I am asking God to do for me. If you cannot hear me then I will go to God and still forgive you, let Him decide, but I know that I cannot say that all my ways have been right, my every thought pure, or that I have always acted in humility. So, do forgive me please if I was wrong, and if not then I should want to show you grace as well.

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”[e] 55 But he turned and rebuked them.[f] 56 And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

The end of this is sinister. We should never wish that our enemy does evil, nor should we advise those to do evil that we may have revenge. Ahithophel's wisdom is a concern to David, and I think more than it should be, but he is a politician, a persuader. He probably wins at debate, but not with the whole counsel of God, but rather worldly wisdom. The truth is not the end or the means for such men, but how can we win? I can say a lot of small truths, poke your feelings and emotions, get a response, and in the end of it you swallow a great big lie. He is most probably here as the grandfather of Bathsheba, a house whose honor has been affronted. He advises one who is ever so vane and arrogant, let that which David did in secret be done on the roof tops. He advises against God's law, so how good an adviser can he be? It is this worldly wisdom that would suggest such a course, for it insures no going back. David may well want to forgive his son or be able to with such a heart as his, but that would leave Ahithophel a trader. David might even forgive this oddly enough, but since neither Absalom nor Ahithophel are men acquainted with such power, they could never forgive such an act themselves. They could not do it so they would never expect such a door open to their return; they would not be able to find what in their hearts does not exist. To them this says there is no going back, and to those in Israel that were on the fence this abomination would have been seen not merely against David, but against God. His counsel in those days was received as an oracle, so much was his wisdom revered. God, please give me discernment, keep me from revenge and the evil doer, let me try to convince purely with Your truth, let me beg men back from the edge of their destruction, speak to their hearts. Thank you for forgiving me, please give me the strength to forgive others. Let me not be deceived by wicked men.

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4