Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / April 30 - 2 Samuel 17

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April 30 - 2 Samuel 17 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It
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  is the 30th of April, the very last day of the month
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  of April. It is Tuesday, Tuesday Kayaobi
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  in Japanese, which is the day of fire, which is
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  fantastic after we made it through Monday and the
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  energy can start to dip for Tuesday. No,
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  this is the day where we fire up, get ourselves
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  moving into the rest of the week. And
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  I hope that's not too much of an effort for you today
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  as we begin another day or we're halfway through or
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  we're finishing another day wherever this finds you on
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  this fine Tuesday. But irrespective of how you're
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  going, we dip our toes back into this story of
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  David and his family and their advisors and it is
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  all going south for this family caught up in the
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  consequences of sin and things are falling apart.
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  It's not a good story, but it
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  is what happened to this family as this dynasty
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  began. So we continue to read and we
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  open our hearts for the Holy Spirit to move in us
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  and to teach us something more about God's character.
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  So let's do that, shall we?
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  Let us read together 2 Samuel
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  chapter 17. Now,
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  Ahaythophel urged Absalom, let me choose 12 ,000 men
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  to start out after David tonight. I
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  will catch up with him while he is weary and
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  discouraged. He and his troops will panic
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  and everyone will run away. Then
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  I will kill only the king and I will bring all the
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  people back to you as a bride returns to her
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  husband. After all, it is only one man's
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  life that you seek, then you will be at peace with
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  all the people. This plan seemed good to Absalom
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  and to all the elders of Israel. But
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  then Absalom said, bring in Hushai, the Archite. Let's
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  see what he thinks about this. When
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  Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahaythophel had
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  said. Then he asked, what is your
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  opinion? Should we follow Ahaythophel's
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  advice? If not, what do you suggest?
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  Well, Hushai reported to Absalom,
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  this time Ahaythophel has made a mistake. You
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  know your father and his men. They
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  are mighty warriors. Right now they are as enraged as
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  a mother bear who has been robbed of her cubs. And
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  remember that your father is an experienced man of
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  war. He might be spending the night
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  among the troops. He is probably already hidden
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  in some pit or cave. And when he comes out and
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  attacks and a few of your men fall, there will be
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  panic among your troops. And
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  the word will spread that Absalom's men are being
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  slaughtered. Then even the bravest soldiers,
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  though they have the heart of a lion, will be
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  paralyzed with fear. For all Israel knows what a
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  mighty warrior your father is and how courageous his
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  men are. I recommend that you mobilize
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  the entire army of Israel, bringing them from as far
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  away as Dan in the north and Be 'ersheba in the
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  south. That way you will have an army
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  as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And
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  I advise that you personally lead the troops
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  when refined David will fall on him like a Jew
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  that falls on the ground. Then
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  neither he nor any of his men will be alive. And
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  if David were to escape into some town, you will
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  have all Israel there at your command. Then
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  we can take ropes and drag the walls of the town into
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  the nearest valley until every stone is torn down.
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  Then Absalom and all the men of
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  Israel said, Hushai's advice is better than Ahaytophels.
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  For the Lord had determined to
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  defeat the council of Ahaytophels, which really
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  was the better plan, so that he could bring
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  disaster on Absalom. Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar,
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  the priests, what Ahaytophels had said to
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  Absalom and the elders of Israel, and what he himself
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  had devised instead. Quick, he told them, find David
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  and urge him not to stay at the shallows of the
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  Jordan River tonight. He must go across once into
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  the wilderness beyond, otherwise he will die and
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  his entire army with him. Jonathan
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  and Ahaymas had been staying at Enrogle, so as
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  not to be seen entering and leaving the city.
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  Arangents had been made for a
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  servant girl to bring them the message they were to
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  take to King David. But a boy spotted them at
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  Enrogle, and he told Absalom about it. So
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  they quickly escaped to Bohurum, where a man hid
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  them down inside a well in his courtyard. The
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  man's wife put a cloth over the top of the well
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  and scattered grain on it to dry in the sun, so no
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  one suspected they were there. When
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  Absalom's men arrived, they asked her, have you seen
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  Ahaymas and Jonathan? The woman replied, they were
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  here, but they crossed over the brook. Absalom's
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  men looked for them without success and returned to
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  Jerusalem. Then the two men crawled out of
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  the well and hurried on to King David, quick, they
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  told him, cross the Jordan tonight. And
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  they told him how Ahaythophil had advised that
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  he be captured and killed. So
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  David and all the people with him went across the
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  Jordan River during the night, and they were all
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  on the other bank before dawn. When
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  Ahaythophil realized that his advice had not been
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  followed, he saddled his donkey, went to his
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  hometown, set his affairs in order, and hanged
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  himself. He died there and was buried
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  in the family tomb. David soon arrived in Mahanae. By
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  now Absalom had mobilized the entire army of Israel
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  and was leading his troops across the Jordan River.
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  Absalom had appointed Amasa as
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  commander of his army, replacing Joab, who had
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  been commander under David. Amasa
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  was Joab's cousin, his father was Jetha and
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  Ishmaelite, his mother Abigail, daughter of Nahash,
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  was the sister of Joab's mother, Jeruaya. Absalom
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  and the Israelite army set up camp in the land of
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  Gilead. When David arrived in Mahanae,
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  he was warmly greeted by Shobi, son of Nahash, who
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  had come from rubber of the Ammonites, and by
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  maker, son of Amel from Lodebar, and by Barzali of
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  Gilead from Rogelam. They brought sleeping mats,
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  cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley, flour and
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  roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, butter,
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  sheep, goats and cheese for David and those who were
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  with him. For they said, you must all be
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  very hungry and tired and thirsty after your long
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  march through the wilderness.
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  Lord, you are a gracious and
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  loving God and we come before you with hearts full
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  of praise and with hearts full of gratitude for
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  everything that you've done and everything that you
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  are. Thank you that despite our
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  busyness and the way we are consumed with our own
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  plans and activities, you continue to be present and
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  to be active, guiding and blessing, holding and
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  nurturing in ways that we don't even know in all
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  these behind the scenes spaces where you in your
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  kindness are present, bringing about your kingdom
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  priorities. So Lord, help us hold our own
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  plans lightly, acknowledging that all that we do is
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  but a small part of your much greater plan and we
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  gladly surrender that to you, our loving, almighty
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  God. And we pray all these things
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  in the loving name of Jesus. Amen.