Psalm 118; 2 Samuel 17:1-23; Gal. 3:6-14; John 5:30-47
Hushai, David’s spy, frustrates the good counsel of Ahitophel and David’s life is spared. Ahitophel has a plan to keep Absalom out of the battle and to spring a surprise attack on David while he is weary and depressed about the situation. Ahitophel will lead the army of 12,000 out against David and David alone will be killed, cutting off the head to kill the will of the body. Hushai is summoned and counsels that Absalom lead the charge against his father and that the goal be to utterly destroy not only David but his entire army and any place that will give him aid and comfort. He appeals to Absalom’s vanity in saying that all the people will rally to him, including Hushai (note the use of the pronoun “we” in his plan). Absalom likes the plan that makes him the hero and Hushai sends messengers to David warning him on the plans so that he can take safety. God’s will is being done. Ahitophel determines it is better for him to commit suicide in light of his plans being rejected.
Jesus is true. He is the one sent by the Father, and He says that even though this people has the Word of God they fail to understand it because its purpose is to point to Him and they can’t see that. How painful and frustrating it had to be to Him to walk among His own people, the ones He had chosen and redeemed, the ones who had the full revelation of Him, and for those people to completely lack knowledge of Him and ultimately reject Him. He knew it before He even came and yet He came anyway. We must always keep our hearts and minds open to see and know Him in spirit and in truth. We have to be willing to allow Him to reveal Himself anew to us, outside of our earthly desires and hopes, to continue to seek and pray not for our kingdom, but the heavenly kingdom, if we are to truly know Him.
It is all about faith. Paul is writing to a Galatian church that is being told that the law is the way of righteousness. It is a difficult thing to realize and live into the freedom that Jesus brings to us. We want a “do-it-yourself” way of getting to heaven. Paul understands better than anyone that it is easy to be so devoted to the law and the righteousness of the law, which is no real righteousness at all, that you miss God Himself. The law was there to reveal sin, but it became perverted to an understanding that it was possible to keep the law and therefore that it was able to reveal righteousness. Anything that encourages us to think we are righteous takes us further from God, not nearer to Him. The rejection and crucifixion of Jesus tells us that the law is not able to impart knowledge of God unless we see it as that which convicts us of sin. The law should bring humility not pride. In the law, we as Christians see ourselves as failures, unable to keep the law as taught by Jesus, and it is the knowledge that we have no real righteousness that impels us to the cross for forgiveness and the righteousness of Jesus. Our plans, like Ahitophel’s, have been rejected, but we do not despair because we recognize that God’s plan is better, the call to die to self and live to Him.
Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been thou forever will be.
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided;
great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
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