The Life and Lessons of Ahithophel

I asked especially for this hymn that we just sang. I'm going to be talking about this hymn dealing with Psalm 55. How many of you have an idea who David was talking about? Can I see your hands? Couple? Couple? Okay. Now, one of the ways to study the Bible is to learn the lessons from the people that God included in it. There are over 3,200 biblical names in the entire Bible. Of course, only a minority of them have a story about them. But there is one person who fascinated me when I came across him in the Old Testament. And I spoke about him in a particular Bible study given back in 2007. This was Bible study number 65 from 2 Samuel 11 through 19. This is Bible study number 65. And we have a lot of them online. You can go ahead and study the background. But I want to talk about this particular person. It's a cautionary tale of a person that was given great wisdom by God, but he became a tragic figure in the Bible because he let power, resentment, bitterness, and desires for revenge eventually destroy him. It is a story of betrayal, and some scholars have called him the Old Testament Judas. One of the things that I appreciate in the Bible is that it doesn't pull punches. There's no such thing as the spin zone in the Bible. Tell things as they are, not as you would like them to be. And his life is a warning to all of us to allow situations to produce resentment, bitterness, and eventually betray friendships, betray brethren, to outside people. Notice in Matthew 24, Matthew 24, verse 8 through 14.

Starting in verse 8, Jesus Christ talking about the end time period. He says, all these are the beginning of sorrows. Actually, it's talking about the beginning of birth pangs, just like a woman who's going to give birth, that things are going to intensify over time until finally it happens. The coming of Christ. It says, then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my namesake. Why? Because we keep all of the commandments of God. And the Sabbath is a sign between God's people and God, and we're going to be hated because we keep God's commandments. Verse 10, it says, and then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. I'd like to read that from the basic Bible in English. It says, and numbers of people will be turned from the right way, and will give one another up, and have hate for one another. So God warns us. With this society and everything going on creates a lot of hatred and bitterness. It goes on to say that many prophets will rise up and deceive many, and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. So spiritual situations, it's tough to be fervent during the end time. But he who endures to the end shall be saved, and this gospel of the coming kingdom of God will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. And thanks to the internet, thanks to all of this media that we have available, people can listen to the gospel of the kingdom in virtually every language on earth. People can reach that truth if they're looking for it, if they're called as well.

So who is this person? He was a beloved counselor of King David. His name was Ahithophel.

Ahithophel. How many know about Ahithophel? Okay, very few. That's good, because we're going to learn something new today. There are a lot of lessons that he leaves behind.

Now, the Bible begins very positively about Ahithophel. Things went very well. Let's go to 1 Chronicles chapter 27. 1 Chronicles chapter 27 in verse 32, talking about all of the counselors that David had to guide him. This was kind of like the Council of Elders around David. Verse 32, he says, also Jehanathan, David's uncle was a counselor, a wise man, and a scribe. And Jehil, the son of Hekmoni, was with the king's sons. So he was the one that would teach the king's sons. And then we have Ahithophel, was the king's counselor. He was the one that David relied upon for a lot of advice. And Hushai, the archite, was the king's companion. So he was a very close companion. After Ahithophel was Jehoiada, the son of Benaiah. Then Abiathar and the general of the king's army was Joab. But notice Ahithophel. He was a key individual. Be almost like the chief of staff that we have today in the government. Notice in 2 Samuel, going back a couple of books, 2 Samuel chapter 16. In verse 23, this man was so wise. 2 Samuel 16, 23. It says, Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalon. This is a long period of time. Now this meant that basically Ahithophel's wisdom was so great that it was similar if you consulted with God. That's how smart and wise he was.

But now the plot thickens.

Notice a couple more personages related to Ahithophel. 2 Samuel 23. Let's go forward.

2 Samuel chapter 23 verse 34.

It's talking here about the 30 valiant men that David had. 2 Samuel 23 verse 34. It says, This is Ephaephelot, the son of Ashbat, the son of Macanethite.

1 John 9. Illium, the son of Ahithophel, the Gilonite. Gilonite is where Ahithophel was from, which was a town in Judea, in the Judea area. So this man was from the tribe of Judah, and Eliam was the son of Ahithophel. So it wasn't just this trusted counselor, but he had a very valiant son that was part of David's army, and basically one of the chief officers. He was very valiant. He was very courageous.

And by the way, there was something about David that endeared people so much to him that David was so dedicated to each one that it just had a natural love for him, and willing to do just about anything imaginable to repay David for his love, for his care and concern. Notice in verse 39, another one of the thirty, there was thirty and then seven that were over them. Verse 39, it says, and Uriah the Hittite, 37 in all. These were men of fame. They basically were the backbone of the army and this rise of Israel at that time.

And who did Uriah marry? Let's go to 2 Samuel 11. 2 Samuel 11.

Here is the moment when David committed his greatest sin. This was the greatest mistake in his life. And it says in verse 1, it happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him in all Israel, and they destroyed the people of Ammon, today that's part of Jordan, and besieged Rabah, which today is in the same location as the capital of Jordan, which is Ammon, so it was Rabah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house, because usually on the roof they had a place where you could have a covering and you could actually sleep. It was a lot cooler than inside where you had these adobe walls, which were very warm, so it was nice in the evening.

And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful, to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman, and someone said, Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, one of David's chief soldiers, chief officials, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? Now, who was the father of Eliam? It was Ahithophel. So you have all of this lineage. So David sent and inquired about the woman, and someone said, Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

Then David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity, and she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, so she sent and told David and said, I am with child. Then David sent to Joab saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite, and Joab sent Uriah to David. So here David committed adultery, and then she became pregnant, and then David got even more desperate.

And he said, Well, let's have Uriah come and go to his house, and then be with her, and then if she just started her pregnancy, it could look like it was Uriah's child. But it wasn't going to work out that way, because Uriah was one of those thirty very valiant and loyal men, and so when he brought them, Uriah did not go into his house. He slept outside. Having a beautiful woman inside didn't matter. So then, it says in verse 10, So when they told David, saying Uriah did not go down to his house, David said to Uriah, Did you not come from a journey? Why didn't you go down to your house?

Hey, I'm giving you here a leave from the battle. Relax, enjoy your house. And Uriah said to David, The ark, so basically the priests had taken it. It was a holy war that had certain rules, that the men had to be purified. And Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my Lord Joab and the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink and to lie with my wife as you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this.

And so, instead of David stopping everything he was doing, he thought, okay. So he tried to get him drunk. And that didn't work either. And so then he said, well, he's going to find out that she's pregnant, and then I'm going to be implicated. And so he said, you sent a note with Uriah, basically with Uriah's death sentence. Because it said, put him in the most dangerous part of the battle, and then withdraw, and then he doesn't have the backing, and sure enough Uriah was killed.

And then it says, verse 26, when the wife of Uriah heard, this is Bathsheba, that Uriah, her husband, was dead, she mourned for her husband. That's a certain period of time. And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife. Now, nobody else knew what was going on. They just knew, well, she's a widow now. And bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. See, David could hide her from others. He couldn't hide her from God.

And God had great hopes and plans for David. This was one sin that God just was not going to overlook. Verse 1 of chapter 12, then the Lord sent Nathan, who was a prophet, to David, and he came to him and said to him, there were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. So here Uriah was the poor soldier in comparison to this very rich king. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished, and it grew up together with him and with his children.

It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and, laying his bosom, so it's almost a mascot, and it was like a daughter to him. A traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd, to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him, but he took a poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man.

Here David showing his concern for the poor, concerned for injustice that was being done, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die. Yes, David was very indignant, and he shall restore four-fold for the lamb. You have to give four lambs, because he did this thing and because he had no pity. Then Nathan said to David, You are the man.

Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, this is one of the most tragic verses in the Bible, I also would have given you much more. So David could have been much greater with all the blessings.

Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword. He didn't do it directly, but he sent Uriah to a certain death to be right there in a place where he knew he was going to get killed.

You have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. You used them. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. So notice it's an affront to God, to that relationship that God had with David, which was so precious. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this son, which is the most humiliating thing for a man to have to go through. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun. In other words, in daylight. So David said to Nathan, is he one of those that says, well, it was somebody else's fault. Or Nathan, you're just a prophet. I'm the king. Get out of here. Nope.

David admitted his sin. I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, the Lord also has put away your sin. You shall not die. So David, with his dedication, was spared by God. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who was born to you shall surely die.

Then Nathan departed to his house. And so the son did die. And then it says in verse 24, then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, Bathsheba, and went into her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him. There was something about Solomon that was so special. He saw his inner characteristics and attributes that he would have. And he sent word by the hand of Nathan, the prophet.

So he called his name Jedidiah, which means beloved of the Lord because of the Lord. But the sin would have repercussions. And all the family here looked like they were just going to have a good family, and this thing started undermining the family. Notice in 1 Chronicles chapter 3, verse 4 and 5, it talks about David's children. Well, let's start in verse 1. It says, Now these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron.

So remember, he was seven years governing from the capital of Hebron. The first born was Amnon. And then the second, Daniel. The third, Absalom, whose mother was a daughter, she was a princess, and the daughter of the king of Jesur. The fourth, Adoniah. And then it goes on to say, verse 4, These six were born to him in Hebron. There he reigned seven years and six months. And in Jerusalem he reigned 33 years. And these were born to him in Jerusalem.

Shemayah, Shabab, Nathan, and Solomon. Four by, this is a variant in the Hebrew, it's Bathsheba, the daughter of Amiel, which is also the same as Eliam, it's just a variation in the Hebrew. And so Bathsheba had four sons, the first one being Solomon. Solomon was about 10 years old when Absalom, his older brother, rebelled against David. How much did Ahithophel know? We don't know for sure. Certainly, here's the grandfather, and the father, and the father just had Bathsheba's husband die suddenly.

But something happened with Ahithophel, where he just had resentment and bitterness toward David. And basically, the next time we hear of Ahithophel, he's not the king's counselor. He's over back in his own city of Gilon. And so we're going to continue with this story. Let's go to Psalm 55, because there is one person that was David's counselor who went to the temple with him. Psalm 55, we just sang it, but I want to focus on verses 10 through 17.

So when you read about David's disappointment, his hurt, that this man who had been with him went to the temple, he confided, and all of a sudden he turned against him.

Psalm 55 and verse 10, it says, Day and night they go around it on his walls. Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it. So it looks like this was when Absalon and Ahithophel rebelled against David and Absalon, went and took Jerusalem. Destruction is in the midst oppression and deceit do not depart from his streets. For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me, who has exalted himself against me.

Then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together and walked to the house of God in the throng. Verse 16, it says, As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and noon I will pray and cry out. And he shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me.

So the thing about David is like he was just like that unsinkable Molly Brown that story about how the person just would never stay down. He was just like the proverbial cork in the ocean. You push it down, you let it go, it pops right up. He continued with that relationship with God, and he continued in prayer.

He repented. He changed his life. We never see him doing anything like that again in his life. The Believer's Bible Commentary on Psalm 55 says the following. Ahithophel was one of David's most trusted advisors, who later led a defection to the usurping Absalon. In this psalm, we sense the extreme anguish of David's heart over this bitter blow. We can also read here something of the deep tides of emotion, which surged through the Savior's soul in connection with his betrayal by Judas. And the psalm foreshadows the prayer of the remnant as they suffer under the conspiracy of the coming antichrist. So all these betrayals, they've happened in the past, they will happen in the future.

So the next time we hear about Ahithophel, he's back in his hometown away from David. Notice in 2 Samuel, chapter 15. Verse 10. So here's Absalon's treason against his father David. Notice in verse 10. It says, then Absalon sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say Absalon reigns in Hebron. And with Absalon went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything. Then Absalon sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor from his city, from Gilo, while he offered sacrifices. So this was Absalon setting up a new kingdom, offering sacrifices to God. And the conspiracy grew strong with Ahithophel, with his advice, for the people with Absalon continually increased in number.

Now a messenger came to David. He had to flee. The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalon. So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, Arise and let us flee, or we shall not escape from Absalon. Surround the city and kill us. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword. And the king's servants said to the king, We are your servants, ready to do whatever my Lord the king commands. So he always had those men, those valiant men, that we're going to back him through thick and thin. Verse 16, Then the king went out with all his household after him, but the king left ten women, concubines, to keep the house. And the king went out with all the people after him, and stopped at the outskirts. And then in verse 31, it says, Then someone told David, saying, A Hitha-phill is among the conspirators with Absalon. And so that David realized, well, he's got the best advice, the best counselor. And so what did he do? Did he just give up? No. And David said, and he prayed, O Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of a Hitha-phill into foolishness. And by the way, the name, A Hitha-phill, means brother of foolishness. So it's a play on words there.

Now it happened when David had come to the top of the mountain, where he worshiped God. There was Hushai, the Archite, coming to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head. So he'd heard about Absalon betraying his father. And so this is a sign of mourning, of great anguish. And David said to him, If you go on with me, then you will become a burden to me, because I'm going to have to feed you. But if you return to the city and say to Absalon, I will be your servant, O King, as I was with your father's servant previously, so I will now also be your servant. Then you may defeat the counsel of a Hitha-phill for me. So David prayed, and then he acted. This other counselor came to him, and he says, Go back, because that way you can counter what a Hitha-phill's counsel will be. And do you not have Zadok, the priest, and a Biethar, the priest with you? There they were secretly backing David.

Verse 37, So Hushai, David's friend, went into the city, and Absalon came into Jerusalem. So here he came in triumphantly, didn't have to fire an arrow, and he took over.

And so in chapter 16, in verse 15, it says, Meanwhile Absalon and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and a Hitha-phill was with him. This was a chief counselor, the chief of staff. And so it was when Hushai, the Archite, David's friend, came to Absalon that Hushai said to Absalon, Long live the king, long live the king. And he finally persuaded Absalon that he was going to back him because this is the new king.

In verse 20, Then Absalon said to a Hitha-phill, Give advice as to what we should do. And a Hitha-phill said to Absalon, Go in your father's concubines, whom he has left, remember there were ten, to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong. So basically, this is what in history is called crossing the Rubicon, just like Julius Caesar. Once he got of his territory and crossed over to the territory, belonging to another Roman leader, he knew there was no way back. And so with this type of defiling of the concubines, that Absalon had no turning back. And people could say, well, he's not going to change his mind. Because now he did the worst thing so he could all contact and connections with his father. And then in verse 23, it says, Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalon. So Ahithophel was used to getting his way. Nobody had better advice than him. And he thought, okay, I'm with you and I'm going to use all my resources for you, Absalon, to beat your father. Because there was bitterness, there was resentful. It never tells us why Ahithophel turned completely, but we know. Well, his son-in-law, he was the grandfather of Bathsheba, so Bathsheba's husband had been killed. And Ahithophel just wanted vengeance. That's what we can understand between the lines. And now we come to the key verses in 2 Samuel 17. So Hushai said to Absalon, when Absalon asked, what is your advice? He says, the advice of Ahithophel has given is not good at this time. He didn't say it wasn't good at any time, but at this time. So he put doubt in Absalon. For, said Hushai, you know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are enraged in their minds, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. And your father is a man of war, and will not camp with the people. Surely by now he is hidden in some pit or in some other place. And it will be, when some of them are overthrown, the men of Absalon was sent. That whoever hears it will say, there is a slaughter among the people who follow Absalon. And even he who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will melt completely. For all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I advise you that all Israel be fully gathered to you from Dan to Beersheba, like the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. So we will come upon him in some place where he may be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls on the ground. And on him and all the men who are with him, there shall not be left so much as one.

Moreover, he is withdrawn into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will pull it into the river until there is not one small stone found there. So Absalon and all the men of Israel said the advice of Hushai, the Archite, is better than the advice of Ahithophel. Why?

For the Lord had purposed to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring disaster on Absalon. See, they didn't count on God looking from heaven and seeing who were the real rebels.

And so what happened?

In verse 14 of 2 Samuel 17, it says, So Absalon and all the men of Israel said the advice of Hushai is better. And then in verse 23, it says, Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order. He was a very orderly, organized person. And hanged himself and died. And he was buried in his father's tomb. So Ahithophel knew that the advice that Hushai had given was not going to work, and that it was just going to give David time to gather and get a plan going. And sure enough, in the following chapters, chapter 18, you can read the battle and how Absalon was defeated and killed.

And Ahithophel's good advice, he forgot, he didn't take into account, God was watching. So here are some lessons we can learn. Number one, recognize that sin has many unintended consequences, and that others will be affected by it. So you should not let bitterness grow in your heart. It will spread to others. You might have reasons for that, but there's no reason to harbor bitterness and resentment. You can jot down Hebrews 12, 14 through 15, talk about that root of bitterness if you let it grow. Number two, whatever happened, Ahithophel did not seek reconciliation. Eventually, resentment and bitterness led him to rebellion, and a person has to retain the purity of heart through the trials, or else a disaster will be waiting. Have you ever been blamed improperly? I think most have. Now, some people just can't get over that in their lives. They don't know how to forgive. They don't know how to forget. They don't know how to put it in God's hands. David put it in God's hands. It tells us in Ephesians 4, verse 29. It says, let now corrupt word proceed out of your mouth. What kind of words come out of our mouth? Are those edifying and positive? But what is good for necessary edification? That it may impart grace to the hearers, and do not grieve, which means do not stifle the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. David was forgiven. He appreciated that the rest of his life. Thirdly, there's always time to repent and change, no matter what was done. If you apply humility, repentance, obedience, and finding grace before God. Remember, worldly wisdom can be thwarted through prayer like David did. Doesn't matter how wise the person, your enemy, is. God can completely change that. I've seen it in my life numerous times where God had to intervene, but you did not allow any resentment, bitterness, and you learn from suffering that way. 1 Kings 15, 4 through 5. That's the summary that we should learn. 1 Kings 15, verses 4 through 5. It says about David, Nevertheless, for David's sake, the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by setting up his son after him and establishing Jerusalem. Because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not turned aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. Yes, that was the one blotch, but David didn't let him get it down. He went forward obeying, serving God. See, the difference between David and Ahithophel is that David repented, continued serving God. While Ahithophel let his resentment and bitterness cause rebellion, and he was rejected by God. Even if he never committed as big of a sin as David had. And now, the fourth lesson, apply it to the end time scenario.

There will be much confusion, betrayals. People will always find excuses to rebel, to leave the church and become embittered, turn against the brethren, and betray others. So, let's never forget the lesson of Ahithophel, and learn from David's humility, repentance, obedience, and finding grace, serving God faithfully. Now you know, every time you sing that hymn, Psalm 55, a little more, what it's about.