The King's Friend

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

The King's Friend

Date: Nov. 4, 2018

Passage

2 Samuel 16:15-23 (ESV)

15 Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. 16 And when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” 17 And Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?” 18 And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, for whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain. 19 And again, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? As I have served your father, so I will serve you.”

20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your counsel. What shall we do?” 21 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. 23 Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 16:18

And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, for whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain.

1. David's friend (15-19)

When Absalom arrived in Jerusalem, Hushai came up to him and exclaimed, "Long live the king!" Absalom thought Hushai was referring to him, but he wasn't. That is what Hushai wanted him to believe, but Hushai was actually speaking about David. The same was true when Hushai declared his loyalty to the one whom the LORD and all the men of Israel had chosen. Hushai chose his words carefully in a way that never betrayed David. Hushai really was David's friend. He was obedient and trustworthy and he valued David's life more than his own. Jesus says, "You are my friends if you do what I command." Hushai is an example of how to be a friend of the king.

2. Ahithophel's counsel (20-23)

Hushai's mission was to frustrate the advice of Ahithophel and that was not an easy task. Ahithophel advised Absalom to sleep with David's concubines in order to ensure a permanent separation between David and Absalom. Although his advice was wicked, God used it to fulfill his word. Long ago, the prophet Nathan had declared to David that "Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you..." In all of this, Hushai could rest in the fact that God's sovereign will would prevail.

Prayer: Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to be loyal friends like Hushai.

One Word: His I will be, and with him I will remain!

The End of Northern Israel

2 Kings 17:1-23

Key Verse: 17:15

They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them.

Today's Question

What does the tenth commandment require?

See answer and references