2 Samuel 15:24-37 When Everyone Is Abandoning You, God Remains Loyal

2 Samuel 15:24-37

24 Zadok and all the Levites also came along, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until everyone had passed out of the city. 25 Then the king instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. “If the Lord sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. 26 But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him.”

27 The king also told Zadok the priest, “Look, here is my plan. You and Abiathar should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. 28 I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River and wait there for a report from you.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to the city and stayed there.

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!”

32 When David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God, Hushai the Arkite was waiting there for him. Hushai had torn his clothing and put dirt on his head as a sign of mourning. 33 But David told him, “If you go with me, you will only be a burden. 34 Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ‘I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father’s adviser in the past.’ Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice. 35 Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there. Tell them about the plans being made in the king’s palace, 36 and they will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what is going on.” 37 So David’s friend Hushai returned to Jerusalem, getting there just as Absalom arrived.

Background

David’s withdrawal from Jerusalem resembles a funeral cortege. They mourn the departure of their homeland while embracing an uncertain future of exile. As they make their way up Mount Olives, with their minds awashed with news of more defections, David looks up to God for divine intervention. In today’s passage, we learn not to dwell in the mire of fear and unbelief but to look to God for His mercy and intervention. When everyone abandons you, God remains loyal and faithful to see you through.

Observation

He will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again – The righteousness of David’s character is explicitly seen here in his decision concerning the Ark of the Covenant. Although it is in his prerogative to use the ark as a means of ensuring his ultimate victory and return, he willingly submits Himself to God’s judgment and plans. David perceives the crisis as divinely orchestrated and he is determined not to resist the heavenly decree but to rest in God’s mercy and wisdom.

Look, here is my plan – David’s resignation to God’s plans however, is not passive, but active in doing what is right for Israel. The truth of the matter is that he is still king of Israel and divinely anointed to rule. As God will not allow him to remove Saul, in the same vein, God will not allow anyone including his son to remove him. David arranges for Zadok and Abiathar to return to Jerusalem as intelligence gatherers. Meanwhile, David receives news of a major setback – Ahithophel’s (Israel’s chief counselor) defection to Absalom. Despite David’s domestic problems, the onslaught of defections and the threat of an uncertain future, the king and the people prayed and worshiped God, looking to Him for intervention at the summit of Mount Olives.

When David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God – David, in the thick his sorrow and desperation, he worships God and prays for His intervention at at the summit of Mount Olives. Hushai’s sudden emergence comes as a breath of fresh air, a divine intervention, a timely answer to David’s prayer. Hushai is the one who will frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice bringing it to nothing. Hushai returns to Jerusalem and insinuates his way into Absalom’s war counsil.

Truth

1. When all hopes are lost, it is time to look to God in prayer and worship. Some times, God forces us into a dead-end street so that we may learn to look up. Desperation is a gift that draws our dependence towards God. Many people develop depression, being trapped in a vicious cycle of desperation because they could not find a solution to their problems. When all hopes are lost, and when all else fails, looking to God in prayer and worship is perhaps the logical thing to do. David, in the thick of his discouragement and desperation worships God, looking to Him for intervention: When David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God. The act of prayer and worship focuses our eyes towards God asking Him for guidance and intervention. David, a seasoned warrior, having experienced the mighty interventions of God prayed and received his breakthrough at Mount Olives.
2. Prayer is a process where we understand God’s ways and walk with Him. Many believers pray to God to intervene in their circumstances, but fail to understand what God wants them to do next. They become passive supposing inaction is a sign of faith and dependence on God. While David prays for divine intervention, he is also actively pursuing divine guidance. Hushai’s sudden appearance is an indication of God’s plan to frustrate Ahithopel’s counsel. Hence, David immediately arranges for Hushai to return to Jerusalem ostensibly to avail his service to Absalom. Therefore, apart from presenting prayer requests to God, believers must learn to listen and receive divine instructions through which we will experience breakthrough. James 1:5 says,

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Application

1.  Do you have a habit of continually dwelling on your problems? Snap out of the mindset of unbelief and dwell on the promises of God. Seek His wisdom and look out for His hand of guidance expecting Him to act in your circumstances.

2.   Do you feel depress and abandoned when people leave you? Because people are imperfect, hence, they can never be your refuge in times of need. People and loved ones are present for a time and season, but the Holy Spirit will never leave you nor forsake you.

Dear Lord, I believe you are in total control of my circumstances. Even as I look to you in prayer, guide me and show me the next course of action. I rebuke the thoughts of fear and anxiety and command them to go. I ask the Holy Spirit to fill me with peace and assurance. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.