”Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give advice as to what we should do.” And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left 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 they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.“ II Samuel 16:20-22 NKJV
a. Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go into your father’s concubines”: Ahithophel told Absalom to do something so offensive that it would eliminate any possibility of reconciliation with David. Ahithophel felt this strong statement would give courage to Absalom’s followers.
i. In the ancient world, taking the king’s concubines was not only an act of immorality; but also, an act of treason. This was a way for Absalom to not only replace David but also to completely repudiate his father.
ii. Why did Ahithophel give such radical advice? Because it made sense from his own self-interest. Ahithophel had the most to lose if Absalom failed to keep the throne or if David and Absalom reconciled. He would be revealed and rejected as a traitor.
iii. The Puritan commentator John Trapp wrote this of Ahithophel’s tongue, which gave this wicked advice: “O tongue worthy to have been cut out, shred in gobbets and driven down the throat of him that thus misused him, to the engaging of Absalom in such an unpardonable villainy, beside hazard of his immortal soul!”
b. So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines: This disgraceful act said a lot about Absalom, who actually did it. It also said a lot about Ahithophel, who must have had a strange sense of satisfaction in seeing David’s women violated in a similar way to his granddaughter Bathsheba.
i. 2 Samuel 11:3 tells us that Bathsheba’s father was Eliam, one of David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:34). This also means that her grandfather was Ahithophel (according to 2 Samuel 23:34).
ii. This shows the power of bitterness. Ahithophel was willing to see these women abused, Absalom grievously sin, and the kingdom of Israel suffer greatly – all simply to satisfy his bitter longing for revenge.
iii. This disgraceful incident also shows that God kept His promise to David: 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 the sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun (2 Samuel 12:11-12).
iv. “Every part of the conduct of Absalom shows him to have been a most profligate young man; he was proud, vindictive, adulterous, incestuous, a parricide, and in fine, reprobate to every good word and work.” (Clarke)
c. Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God: Ahithophel had a well-deserved reputation for giving counsel almost as good as God. But in this case, his counsel was foolish and destructive.
i. It was foolish and destructive because it was motivated by bitterness. Bitterness has the power to turn our best qualities sour.
ii. It was foolish and destructive because God answered David’s prayer (2 Samuel 15:31) by prompting Ahithophel to give this foolish counsel, and in prompting Absalom to take the foolish counsel.
iii. Strangely, Absalom thought he could establish his kingdom through immorality. He was a clever and skilled politician but ignorant about the ways of God. (Guzik)
Power of Bitterness!
The human heart can easily be ensnared in bitterness and Ahithophel is a biblical example of the power of bitterness resulting in revenge.
”looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;“
Hebrews 12:15 NKJV
The moment I sense bitterness creeping into my heart I lift it up to the Lord and ask Him to remove it. It may be a process that lasts for days!
I have to continually remind myself that Jesus loves them too!
How do you deal with bitterness?
Blessings
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