2 Samuel 17 Devotional

Counsel That Cannot Stand

“Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.”2 Samuel 17:14 (BSB)

Ahithophel's advice is sharp and simple: strike David tonight while he is weary, kill only the king, and bring the people back (17:1-3). The narrator calls it good counsel. But Hushai pictures David as a bear robbed of her cubs and urges delay. Absalom and his men prefer Hushai's plan, and the narrator explains why: the LORD had decided to frustrate Ahithophel's sound advice so that disaster would fall on Absalom (17:14). David had prayed for exactly this (15:31).

The rest of the chapter shows God's care in small details: two messengers hidden in a well under a covering spread with grain, David's people across the Jordan by daybreak, and friends at Mahanaim bringing beds, food, and supplies for a weary people (17:27-29). One of them is Machir of Lo-debar, who once sheltered Mephibosheth (9:4). Proverbs says no wisdom or counsel can succeed against the LORD (Proverbs 21:30). The cleverest plans against his purposes cannot stand, and the God who overturns them also spreads a table in the wilderness.

To think about: What plan or opposition seems unstoppable to you right now, and how does God's rule over every counsel change the way you pray about it?