A Cause Worth Dying For • 2 Samuel 17

51:26 Teaching begins

Notes

On the one hand Absalom is a radical man. He’s made himself king, caused his father to flee Jerusalem, and slept with his father’s concubines. He’s totally burned his bridges with his father. It’s him or David, but there is no reconciliation possible.

You’d think that there’s nothing too radical for this guy. Nothing will stop him. But in one area he turns out to be very conservative. He doesn’t want to die. This one thing will cause him to be too careful. It keeps him from making the all-out effort it demands to take the kingdom. His life is worth more to him than his cause.

What you live for has to be worthier than your own life.

I’m reading in 2 Samuel 17.

1. Ahithophel gives perfect advice, vv. 1-4.

A. Remember that Ahithophel’s counsel is as if one inquired of the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord is true, it is infallible. Ahithophel has that much insight. That’s what both David and Absalom think.

B. So Ahithophel’s counsel is to complete the overthrow with as little disturbance as possible.

1. He wants to go out with a hand-picked strike team of 12,000 men.

2. Leave right now, pursue David into the night. David is on the run, weary, exhausted, unsettled.

3. Now is the time to hit David with an overwhelming force intent on killing only one person: David.

4. When David is gone, his cause is ended and the conflict is over. There’s no reason for anyone else to resist. Ahithophel brings back the rest of the people like a bride to her bridegroom. It’s peace and no one else is disturbed.

C. This sounds good to Absalom and all the elders of Israel. This is the perfect end where no one loses anything but the king himself. It’s great advice and it would have worked.

2. But, against all reason, Absalom asks for a second opinion from the wrong guy, vv. 5-14.

A. Absalom says, let’s call Hushai, David’s ex-friend, and see what he has to say. It doesn’t make sense that anyone should speak after Ahithophel. He should have the last word. But Absalom has this in his mind.

B. The first bombshell is that Hushai disagrees with Ahithophel. He says you know guys, usually Ahithophel is smarter than all of us put together, but this time he’s really missed it.

C. Hushai gives his counsel based on fear of dying. It’s all about death.

1. You guys know that your father and his mighty men are like death on two legs. A mother bear robbed of her cubs. Enraged, you can’t reason with them. Deadly, effective, these are the guys who kill 900 men in one go. You have a tiger by the tail: you can’t let go and you can’t hang on.

2. He’s hidden himself somewhere. When he attacks whoever they will be immediately dead. As soon as your followers hear that they’ll give up. You’re dead in the water.

3. Remember, these guys are likely to cause instant death. Just in case you had any thoughts about surviving, you’re not going to.

D. Hushai’s counsel is based on safety in numbers. Get all Israel together. With so many people the odds of you dying go way down. You get lost in the crowd, they can’t get all of us. Together we can overwhelm them.

E. Everybody says Hushai has better advice than Ahithophel. That’s because Hushai is emphasising: if you attack David you’re going to die. You need the safety of numbers to avoid death.

3. Hushai warns David, and David escapes certain death, like an action film, vv. 15-22.

A. Jonathan and Ahimaaz are seen by a young boy who tells Absalom. They have to hide in a covered well until the search party goes away.

B. When David gets the message he makes everyone cross the Jordan River and have that as a defense against Absalom’s attack. They’re all tired, it’s inconvenient, a terrible time to have to do this, but unless they escape they are open to attack.

4. However, the cause has been lost already, and Ahithophel knows it, vv. 15-22.

A. He calmly leaves for home, makes a will to decide who in the family gets what possessions, pays all his debts. Then he hangs himself.

B. Why? Because he has insight and wisdom like God, and he can see that the rebellion is failed right now.

1. His advice was the best. Attacking David alone with 12,000 men would have been overwhelming. It would have had the advantage of surprise, it would have scattered everyone. It would have been quick and it would have worked.

2. Now David will have time to regroup. The opportunity to strike first is gone. Having lost that Absalom will be no match for David.

C. Ahithophel has risked his life to get his goal and he has lost.

1. He wanted revenge on David. He backed Absalom in order to get to David.

2. Absalom has really let Ahithophel down. He’s the weak link in the plan. Ahithophel didn’t plan on Absalom listening to someone else.

3. So he sees that he has no future. It’s only a matter of time before he faces David and pays for his treachery. So he’s a dead man. Die now or die later? What difference does it make?

C. Ahithophel knows now. Absalom and his followers are going to find out later, the rebellion is a bubble that will pop. It can’t last. This is a cause that no one was willing to give their life for. Because they wanted to save their lives, now they’re going to lose their lives.

5. So what?

A. Every single cause that you could live for on this planet is flawed.

1. It really demands your life, because if you don’t give it all that you have someone else will give all they have and they will succeed and you won’t.

2. The flaw is: you can serve that thing to the death but when you lose your life, you don’t have that thing you gave your life for. When you die you lose everything.

3. That means every reason to live in this world is a dead end.

B. Jesus Christ had the cause from heaven: the highest and worthiest cause of all time and for that cause He gave His life.

1. His purpose in coming was to redeem people for God. To be the saviour of the world. To save those living in darkness and the shadow of death. To give sight to the blind, make lame people walk, set free prisoners, turn sinners to righteousness. To be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

2. He said, John 12:24-28 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

3. He gave His life for that worthy cause. He believed what He taught, that if a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it bears much fruit. He came to lose His life and He accomplished His goal. He suffered the punishment of God for all the sin of the world. He completely exhausted the wrath of God against sin. Just before He died He said, “It is finished.”

C. Because He accomplished the will of God perfectly, God was pleased to raise Jesus from the dead. He gave His life for the highest cause, and He received new life. Not only that, but He gives new life. He is bearing fruit every day. People receive eternal life from God because Jesus was faithful unto death and did not hold on to His life in this world.

D. There are only two causes in the whole world. Your cause and God’s cause.

1. Your cause isn’t worth giving your life for. If you get it, you can’t keep it. Your sinful, corrupted life is your biggest enemy because it’s afraid to die. “Don’t do that, you won’t be able to do what you want! That’s losing your life! You don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

2. God’s cause is worth giving your whole life for. Jesus says, “Come die with Me. I’ll give you My new life. I’ll make your life fruitful for My sake. Here is My cause to die for and to live for.”

Let’s pray.