13th.: David, Absalom & Ahithophel
King David's sins of adultery and murder got him in trouble
As a punishment, God gave King David some family problems to deal with (see 2nd Sam. 10-12).
His third son, Absalom, staged a coup against his dad (2nd Sam. 15:1-14).
When David heard about the coup, he fled Jerusalem (2nd Sam. 15:14).
During his flight, David heard that a very wise counsellor, named Ahithophel,
had defected to Absalom’s conspiracy (2nd Sam. 15:31a).
Upon hearing about Ahithopel's defection, David immediately prayed,
“O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.” (2nd Sam. 15:31b).
Sometimes, our requests to God for His help must be concise, to the point, and uttered quickly.
God then had David run into his friend, Hushai the Archite.
God later used Hushai to defeat Ahithophel’s very good advice (2nd Sam. 15:32-37; 16:15-23; 17:1-14).
If David had not asked, God may not have defeated Ahithophel’s advice. Fortunately, David did ask, and God did help.
“O Lord, Divide their tongues.” (Ps. 55:9)