1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:02,880 I want to thank Chris for doing the reading of the chapter for 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:06,400 us this morning. It is my intent to get through 3 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,720 the entire chapter and hopefully we can do so in a way that's 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,280 going to be conscious of the time that we got in front of us 5 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:18,000 this morning. So it's good and it's, it's a, 6 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,960 it's such an enriched and and full chapter full of so many 7 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,480 things as the more and more I read it and it just more and 8 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,360 more came out for us to study and to know of. 9 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:32,880 So hopefully we can get through this this morning and be 10 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,200 encouraging to the congregation here. 11 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,680 And as we know that the original manuscripts, the original 12 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,560 riders, there wasn't chapter breaks in the original 13 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,920 documents. So it just kind of flowed from 14 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:51,200 one verse to another. And back in chapter 16, the the 15 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:55,320 closing verses says that the council given by Ahithophel to 16 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:57,920 Absalom, the council, which he we haven't been. 17 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,920 It kind of opens up into chapter 17. 18 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,319 And I'm actually going to start the study in verse 14, like we 19 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:09,360 have upon the board right in the middle of the chapter, it says 20 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,600 for the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of 21 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,880 Ahithophel so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom. 22 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:22,280 And in some ways it kind of spoils the story if you want to 23 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:26,800 say of us starting there in verse 14, the way the the story 24 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:29,640 is told kind of building suspense, holding on to things 25 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,560 and then the finally us as readers discover what's going 26 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:34,480 on. But the more and more like I 27 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,200 said, I read this chapter is thinking to myself, you know, 28 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:38,960 this is really a good place to start. 29 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:43,440 So it's so we can understand what's happening here in that 30 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,800 second-half of verse 14. Because in these in this verse, 31 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:55,200 these very few words play a key part, a significant part, or an 32 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,400 essential part if you want to say in this event that's 33 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:01,320 happening here. Because not only does it come at 34 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:03,960 the midpoint of the chapters we see, but it provides us with the 35 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:10,039 key to understanding just exactly what is taking place in 36 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:12,760 this event and why it's taking place. 37 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:16,000 So in other words, the key to really understanding the 38 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:20,040 narrative in this section or in this chapter is in verse 14. 39 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,480 Now we have a great deal that has been happening and it's been 40 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,760 happening very quickly to this point with David and, and 41 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:31,400 Absalom and David's exile and, and, and Absalom returning to 42 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,760 Jerusalem. Since David fled from Jerusalem 43 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:40,880 back in chapter 15, really only a day had a lapse or so, maybe 44 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:42,880 2, but not more than two for sure. 45 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,680 And we know that David had discovered the defection of his 46 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,360 trusted counsellor, a hit the fell again. 47 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:53,440 And we see that in chapter 15. And we also know that he has 48 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:57,400 David has prayed to God asking him to defeat the counsel of his 49 00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,920 now defected counselor, Ahitafel. 50 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:07,320 And we also know that while it's very clear in David's prayer, 51 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:13,520 David also launches his own plan by dispatching Hushai and as a 52 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,120 secret agent, if you want to say it, to Jerusalem and where 53 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,160 Absalom had now returned. And Absalom has arrived in 54 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:24,640 Jerusalem and has received the counsel of Ahithophel and by 55 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:28,800 gauging in rooftop activities. In the previous chapter, he had 56 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:31,880 publicly declared 2 things. And one of those is the 57 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,840 rebellion of Absalom against David as king. 58 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,640 And secondly, that those who want to follow him in that 59 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:43,280 rebellion, that he is very serious about this rebellion, 60 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,160 rebellion that he's got against his father David and his plans 61 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:50,400 to take over, take the Kingdom. And as we see at the end of 62 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:55,560 chapter 16, that he, Ahithophel's council was 63 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:57,520 followed. And as we come to the first 64 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:01,360 verse of our chapter 17, the question is before us, you know, 65 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:06,440 is, is now Absalom going to follow the counsel of Ahithophel 66 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,360 again? And that's where we at we're at 67 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,240 at this point. And we'll return to that in a 68 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:16,519 moment. But I want us to take a moment 69 00:04:16,519 --> 00:04:18,640 before return to the chapter study. 70 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:23,920 And and I want us to understand kind of what's going on here. 71 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,760 The more and more I read, the more and more I studied, I could 72 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:32,160 not get away from what was really actually happening in the 73 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:36,960 story. And it is, and it is a pure and 74 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,040 great example of God's Providence in God's sovereignty 75 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:46,120 working out In this story. We have a great illustration in 76 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:51,320 this between the sovereignty of God and the human responsibility 77 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:53,280 of man. And when we talk about the 78 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:57,600 sovereignty of God as it kind of portrays and unfolds itself in 79 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,480 Scripture, we're affirming of what the Bible actually says, 80 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,560 and that is that God rules the world. 81 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:09,280 God rules the world, and it is a world that is distinct from God 82 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:12,960 as a creator. And he has not made the world 83 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,240 out of himself. And not only is the world 84 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:20,000 distinct from him, but the world is entirely dependent upon him. 85 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:22,960 It is his will. It is his purpose. 86 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,880 Is God's purpose that the final cause of all things that unfold 87 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:32,240 throughout all of history is His plan that involves human 88 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,520 government that involves the salvation of people? 89 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:37,440 It involves the sufferings of Christ. 90 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,200 It involves the sufferings of the followers of Christ. 91 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:45,440 It involves the smallest of details because he's aware of 92 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:49,840 even when a Sparrow falls to the ground, It involves it involves 93 00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:54,440 the vastness of the greatness to the end of the universe and our 94 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:58,280 eternal destiny. And when we, when we affirm 95 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:02,800 these things, we acknowledge the fact that the sovereignty of God 96 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,400 means nothing, is beyond his control, nothing. 97 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:11,000 And when we acknowledge the fact that our human responsible, that 98 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,600 we have a human responsibility, at the same time, we're 99 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:17,320 affirming the fact that we are genuinely accountable for all 100 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,680 things, all of our individual decisions, all of our individual 101 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,960 actions. And the interaction that we see 102 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:28,240 between both of those means simply means that God is at work 103 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:31,560 within the acts of our personal freedom. 104 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,480 He's at work with our own personal decisions, within our 105 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:38,840 own personal choices and our actions. 106 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:44,720 And if we read the story of Naman and 2nd Kings 51, we'll 107 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,800 see at the beginning that it says, and the king of Syria had 108 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:51,640 a man, this man Naman, who was a man of great favor because God 109 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:54,360 had granted him favor in the victories in in army. 110 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:58,080 He was a mighty man of valor, but he had leprosy. 111 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:01,920 And as we read, we all of a sudden you come to this phrase 112 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,200 where it says a little girl from the land of Israel. 113 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,920 What possible significance could a little girl from the land of 114 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,960 Israel who's a servant to this mightiest man's wife in this 115 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:14,720 house? What what is she? 116 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,480 What is her part in this plan in this story? 117 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:23,240 Well, she was brave enough to say, if only my master with the 118 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,920 prophet who was in Samaria, for he would heal him of his 119 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,280 leprosy. And so the intervention that 120 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,280 took place was by the sovereign purpose of God. 121 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,920 And then through the acts, through the actions, the 122 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:41,280 conversations of this little girl from Israel, God was having 123 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:45,640 a part in that plan. So we hear the question, of 124 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,360 course, all the time. Well, you know, if, how could it 125 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:51,480 possibly leave that God, you know, then if he's so sovereign 126 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:53,800 over all the affairs of the world, over all the things that 127 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:58,920 happened, you know, then that anything I do or anything I say 128 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:02,520 with the prayers that I say, why does that even matter if God's 129 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:07,240 sovereign over all? Well, it's really our inability 130 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,720 to grasp how this can be and that and really our, our, our 131 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:16,120 inability is beyond the point because we're confronted with 132 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,080 our inability daily. How that can be, we don't know. 133 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,520 It should be enough for us to know that this is the case and 134 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:29,520 to rest in the fact that the events of all the world, the big 135 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:33,720 ones, the small ones, even want some that may seem absurd, 136 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:39,080 meaningless, unthinkably painful, are all under 137 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:41,240 sovereign, God's sovereign control. 138 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,640 So that I I needed to get to that to really help us to 139 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:49,720 understand that that God's Providence in God's sovereignty 140 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,840 is on full display in this story as we go through this. 141 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,800 So the council of the hit, the fell, the council of Ahithophel 142 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:01,240 at the end of verse 16 was esteemed, It was esteemed by 143 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:08,280 both Absalom and David. This, this Ahithophel character 144 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:11,520 is quite remarkable if we read into him and study him more and 145 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:13,840 more. And the plan that he provides to 146 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:18,240 Absalom is a plan which is marked by clarity and gravity. 147 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,200 It was distinct. It was understandable what was 148 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,200 going on. It's the kind of thing that may 149 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,760 maybe many of us as an employee may have a plan. 150 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:29,040 We can come together and present it to our boss. 151 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:31,880 And the boss looks at it and says, man, that's a great plan. 152 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:33,720 We're going to go ahead and go with that. 153 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:35,960 And the boss thinks highly of that plan. 154 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:42,640 But the the motivation behind this might have actually 155 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:47,040 something to do with a hit the Fells desire to promote himself. 156 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,840 If you want to say it might, or it might actually be tied to the 157 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:56,400 very personal dimension that is contained in the fact that we 158 00:09:56,400 --> 00:10:00,560 understand that a hit the Fell is the grandfather of Bathsheba. 159 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,800 And what he's actually doing here, he sees is the plan. 160 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,920 He's creating it in such a way that it will be possible for him 161 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:11,960 to settle the score that goes back years and years and years, 162 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:16,760 something that we've suggested that probably led to his 163 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:19,560 defections, something that is maybe eaten away at him day 164 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:23,480 after day and year after year. But whatever Ahithophel's 165 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:28,040 motivation is, the plan is straightforward and we want to 166 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:31,640 notice how Ahithophel centered it is. 167 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:33,440 He centers himself on his own plan. 168 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:37,280 If you want to say in in chapter, in verses one through 3 169 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,640 says let me choose, let me choose. 170 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:42,880 Ahithophel wants to make the choices here. 171 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:48,160 He's going to assemble the army, army, which is 12,000, and he's 172 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:52,240 going to do it tonight. And we've said a couple studies 173 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,760 ago that hit the Phil is kind of a precursor to another traitor 174 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:58,760 that we read about in the New Testament, namely Judas 175 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,200 Iscariot. And it was said of Judas 176 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:03,640 Iscariot that he went out and it was night. 177 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:07,760 We read in John 13, verse 30. And there's a reason why people 178 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:12,040 do things under the cover of darkness says let's do this and 179 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,360 we'll strike tonight. And we want to notice that all 180 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:19,520 these notice the I, I, I, I will rise, I will arise, I will come, 181 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:22,080 I will strike. And that's right there we see in 182 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:27,320 verse 2 and one verse 3. And that's why I kind of think 183 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,240 that maybe he was actually promoting himself in this in 184 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,200 this plan. What we're going to do is we're 185 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:35,480 going to catch them all these off guard while he's weary and 186 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:37,800 while he's discouraged. And we know that they're weary 187 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,800 and discouraged because back in chapter 15, they crossed over 188 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:44,240 the book Brooke Kidron and all the people had passed on towards 189 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,400 the wilderness. And in verse 30, he went up 190 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:50,720 weeping as he went barefoot. David had his head covered and 191 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,080 all the people with him covered their heads and they went and 192 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:58,280 they were weeping as they went. And the hippophile says that's 193 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:00,960 the time that we're going to strike when they're at their 194 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:03,880 weakest, catch them while they're off guard. 195 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:05,920 That way we'll be able to create create panic. 196 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:08,960 And if we create panic, it will cause the people to flee and 197 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,400 we'll have victory. And we want to notice. 198 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,800 He's very clear. He says I will strike down the 199 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:18,320 king. I'm going to strike down only 200 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:19,840 the king. I will isolate him. 201 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:22,440 We'll take him out. And if we do that successfully, 202 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:25,920 which he plans on doing, then that will give me the 203 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,280 opportunity to bring all of his followers into your camp. 204 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:32,640 And finally, in seeking the life of one man, then all the people 205 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,600 will be at peace. It's kind of a, you know, 206 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,480 everybody will be happily ever after kind of a mantra that I 207 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:41,360 get that feeling from a hit the fell. 208 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:45,760 So he lays out his plan. So what's the reaction We're 209 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:50,400 giving it in verse four. And the saying pleased Absalom 210 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,600 and all the elders of Israel. The advice had been given. 211 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:57,320 The advice had been received. Everybody thinks it's a really 212 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:01,000 good idea so far and I imagine if hit the fell would leave at 213 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,400 this point if he stuck around. There isn't words in the air 214 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:07,200 that he did stay around, but maybe he had stuff to start 215 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,520 getting tended to to to prepare for his plan. 216 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:13,760 If you want to say so he's going to plan on proceeding 217 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,240 accordingly. And then we come to verse 5, 218 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:19,280 which is the council of Hush Hushai. 219 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:24,040 We see that in verses 5 through 13, it says then Absalom call 220 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:28,520 said call Hushai the archive also and let us hear hear what 221 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:35,360 he has to say too. I was wondering, you know, I 222 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,120 wonder if absent was kind of shocked at what he was actually 223 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,600 saying at that time if he was surprising himself that OK, I've 224 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:43,640 listened to hit the fell. Now let's go ahead and call who 225 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:45,520 shy as well. I wonder if he was he really 226 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:47,120 surprising himself at that moment. 227 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:50,760 So he wants to hear what he has to say. 228 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:53,200 Maybe get a second opinion if you want to say. 229 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:58,480 Now remember, behind all of this, way back in chapter 15, 230 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:02,920 verse 31, David's prayer was very, very clear. 231 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:07,720 He said, oh, Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into 232 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:11,240 foolishness. But at this point, it really 233 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:12,920 doesn't look like it's going to happen, does it? 234 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:16,240 Because we know that Hushai was in Jerusalem at David's 235 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,200 direction to defeat the Council of Ahithophel. 236 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,920 But here we have the opportunity, Here's the 237 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:25,840 opportunity for Hushai to step forward. 238 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,600 And I don't think it's beyond the the bounds of possibility 239 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,720 when we think about the motives of a person, when we think about 240 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,480 how a person responds to something sometimes. 241 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:41,120 So what we know about Absalom so far from the tip of his head to 242 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,560 the tip of his toes to the top of his head without blemish, 243 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:47,680 there was nobody like him. He liked his Chariots. 244 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:50,080 He liked to sit in that. People come and talk to him. 245 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:54,120 And and now his counselors come to say this thing and he says, 246 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:57,120 let me choose the troops. His counselors telling absent, 247 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,680 absent, let me choose. I will do this, I will do that, 248 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:05,080 I will strike. And you know, if you got a big 249 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:07,920 ego like Absalom, that may not sit very well. 250 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:12,520 You might like a plan that's got more of yourself kind of as a 251 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:16,560 starring role, if you want to say a starring role for Absalom. 252 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:21,560 And so you have so having sent for who shy, who shy shows up 253 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:27,960 and who shy knows exactly how to appeal to Absalom's ego. 254 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:33,080 In verse 6, he says when who shy came to Absalom, Absalom spoke 255 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,600 to him saying a hit the fell as spoken in this manner. 256 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:41,800 Shall we do as he says? Well, he just made who size job 257 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:45,880 a lot easier if you want to say because what has happened here? 258 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:49,120 He actually is telling him what a hit the fells plan was to who 259 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,960 shy in turn giving Hushai the opportunity to bring. 260 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:55,880 If you want to say like a countering view, Proverbs 261 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:59,640 actually addresses this in Proverbs Proverbs 18 verse 17. 262 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:03,280 It says the one who states his case first seems right until the 263 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:07,160 other comes and examines him. You know the first speech in a 264 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:09,960 court case is always quite convincing until you have the 265 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,920 cross examination. Some of you might remember the 266 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:18,080 2024 Super Bowl between the 49ers and the Kansas City 267 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,760 Chiefs. We went into overtime and the 268 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,280 coin flip happened and and the 49ers chose to receive the ball 269 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:26,880 first. Well, that gave the Kansas City 270 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,680 Chiefs a good opportunity to know how they responded. 271 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:37,280 I'm not mad about it still, but when we understand what somebody 272 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,640 else's plan is, we know how to respond to it. 273 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:42,760 And so who should? I was very quick on his feet. 274 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,680 He immediately goes on the offensive and verse 7, who 275 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:46,680 should? I said to Absalom. 276 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,360 The advice of a hit that Phil has given is not good at this 277 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,320 time. A hit, the field is good. 278 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:56,280 I don't think anybody's going to deny the fact that he's good. 279 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,400 He's certainly good, but he wasn't good this time is what? 280 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,400 Who should I say? Furthermore, if you want to 281 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,599 think about it, we see verse 8. You know, now there's there's 282 00:17:04,599 --> 00:17:07,680 inference here, of course, and you know in a way that a hit 283 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:11,599 field doesn't necessarily know who should. 284 00:17:11,599 --> 00:17:14,920 I was saying that that he and Absalom shared an understanding 285 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:18,920 of who David is. They both know who David was. 286 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:24,440 And So what Hushai says, it says, you know, you know that 287 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:26,520 your father and his men are mighty men. 288 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,400 You shouldn't buy the idea that of him thinking that, that he's 289 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,160 weary and discouraged, discouraged, able to be picked 290 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,360 off in a moment, able to set aside that, you know, so that 291 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:37,960 the king can be isolated and take it. 292 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,760 Oh, no, no, no, no. They are engaged. 293 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:44,760 David is like a bear. These men are like a bear has 294 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:48,160 been separated from their Cubs in a field. 295 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:51,600 And so we see the language of who shot. 296 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:56,360 It's very, very good because the language registers with Absalom. 297 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,320 Absalom starts saying, yeah, yeah, you know, he is. 298 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:01,640 You know, I remember that David's a mighty fighter, and he 299 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,520 and his men. I understand what you're saying. 300 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:07,320 Who shot. And don't kid yourself about the 301 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:09,640 about the fact that your father's going to be sitting 302 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:13,840 somewhere and be picked up because you know, you know that 303 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:17,560 your father is an expert in war. He's going to spend, he's not 304 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,080 going to spend the night with his people with a big flab up in 305 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,560 the air saying this is the army of David here I am. 306 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,640 Don't think of him like that. Don't think of him as being 307 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,600 weary or discouraged. Think of him as being enraged. 308 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:31,240 And don't think of him as being isolated. 309 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:33,880 You should actually think of the opposite of what's being told to 310 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:37,640 you in verse 9. You should rather expect that he 311 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,840 and his men will strike. Instead, you will be able to go 312 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:43,480 and get him. He will come and get you and as 313 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:46,280 soon as one or two people are taken down, then panic will 314 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,200 spread and the word will go out. There's been a slaughter amongst 315 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:54,640 the army and he will win. So what who shy has really done 316 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:56,240 here? Like we said, he's he's really 317 00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:00,760 appealed to Absalom's eagle ego. He says, you know, which has 318 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:03,760 stirred up him of an awareness of his father's war capabilities 319 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:06,480 of which it was very, very clear in verse 10. 320 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:10,520 And even he was valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a 321 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:14,000 lion will melt completely. For all Israel knows that your 322 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,440 father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant 323 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:21,280 men. And so on the strength of that, 324 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:24,600 he gives this advice. Who should I say is therefore I 325 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,600 advise this in verse 11, that all Israel be gathered to you 326 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:32,720 from Dan to Beersheba, like the sand that is by the sea for the 327 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:34,800 multitude, and that you go into battle. 328 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:39,320 You go to battle in person and notices, it says, and you go to 329 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:46,040 battle in person. You go, who's Ice telling 330 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:48,280 Absalom you go to battle yourself. 331 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:51,480 You do this. You're the man, Absalom. 332 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:54,720 This is your victory. You're going to be the one that 333 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:59,160 overtakes David. Yeah, I had felt once you get 334 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:03,920 12,000 men, what's 12,000 men? Let's get the whole crew of 335 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:06,360 Israel like sand by the seashore, it says. 336 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:10,080 We're going to do all of Israel. We're going to put from Dan 337 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,000 diverse Sheba and you're going to be leading the charge. 338 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:17,560 And we can just imagine Absalom kind of, you know, is is ego 339 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:20,560 rising within himself. He's beginning to see a picture 340 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,160 of himself overtaking with his hair blowing and him and his 341 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:28,480 Chariots and vast company. And he's saying, and you know, 342 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:30,400 this is going to be great. This is going to be a great 343 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:36,480 victory for me, Absalom saying. But let's not forget the divine 344 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:41,680 at work in this story. Through the use of flowery 345 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:46,040 language, through the use of flattery, through the use of 346 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,760 stirring fear, through the very humor and human interaction 347 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:53,920 between Hushai and Absalom, God is at work. 348 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:58,320 Behind the scenes, in the scenes, beyond the scenes and 349 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,200 through the scenes, God is at work. 350 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,520 Verse 12, it says then we will fall on him the way that the dew 351 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:09,440 falls on the ground. And furthermore, you'll notice 352 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,800 in in the second-half of verse 12 says we'll wipe out the whole 353 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:15,280 company. Let's take the whole group out. 354 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:18,960 The idea of just going to the king, you know, you know, we 355 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:21,320 want to make sure that there's nobody left to oppose you. 356 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:25,520 Absolutely, is what he was saying, verse 13. 357 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:27,760 And by the way, in case you're worried about the possibility 358 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:30,880 that your father may return to the city, if he goes to a city, 359 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:32,800 we're going to go ahead and tear that city down. 360 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:35,760 So then that not a single rock can be found of that city. 361 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:38,800 There'll be nothing left. There won't even be a Pebble 362 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:41,480 lift. And so we see what he's doing. 363 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:44,120 He's saying, Absalom, this is your time. 364 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:45,600 This is going to go down in history. 365 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,720 I was one of your greatest moments in time and you're going 366 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:53,320 to be responsible for it all. So he's used the power of of 367 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:56,480 language. He has, as we discover, 368 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,680 thoroughly convinced Absalom and all the men of Israel because we 369 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,680 see it here in verse 14. A says so Absalom and all the 370 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:07,840 men of Israel said the advice of who shy the archive is better 371 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:09,720 than the advice of a hit the fellow. 372 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:15,480 What has happened here? We saw back in verse 4 which he 373 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:19,200 presented that advice that a hit the fellow presented seemed 374 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:21,440 right. So what had happened? 375 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:24,320 Well, here's our crux of it right here. 376 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:28,760 For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of the 377 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:31,880 hit the field. What does that mean? 378 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:38,040 That doesn't mean that it was not good in a moral sense. 379 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,480 If you want to say because it was good counsel. 380 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:45,520 It was told to us in terms of the objective, it was a good 381 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,160 plan that it hit the field had the the objective of being to 382 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:52,760 destroy David and his Kingdom. But what we have to keep in mind 383 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,400 and I'm sure all of us might have it in our mind, is that 384 00:22:56,400 --> 00:23:00,800 God's plan we have to go all the way back to Chapter 7 of Second 385 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:03,240 Samuel. God's plan was to establish 386 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,120 David's Kingdom. And remember what it said there. 387 00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:11,320 It said your house, your Kingdom shall be made sure forever 388 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:14,160 before me. Your throne shall be established 389 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:18,720 forever. This was God's plan. 390 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:23,360 In other words, the Lord reigns and He answers David's prayer 391 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:25,520 through the manipulative speech by Hushai. 392 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,840 Hushai didn't make a hit the Phil's advice foolish. 393 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:34,600 He made it appear foolish to Absalom. 394 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:40,200 God's plan was unfolding in this in this way in and through the 395 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:44,840 events naturally, humanly, freely, the hidden hand of God 396 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:49,280 is working His purpose out. And when we study the Bible 397 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:50,720 together, all these things happen. 398 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:57,480 You know, us as teachers have a, a concept or a, an idea in our 399 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:01,320 mind. And it is very hard to sometimes 400 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:03,840 convey the thoughts and the and the points that we want to make 401 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:05,880 to the audience that we're presenting it to or to the 402 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,560 congregation. So it's very hard at some time. 403 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,960 So not only for any listening congregation before the teacher 404 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:16,280 themselves to make sure that we, we're we're taking the things in 405 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:19,000 the Bible that are taught to us and teaching them to the 406 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,840 congregation. So we need to try to bridge 407 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,120 that. And how do we bridge that? 408 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:33,800 SO11 idea that I had here is that we've all seen the terrible 409 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:38,640 conflict that is going on in the Middle East between Israel and 410 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:44,640 Hamas and the involvement in Iran and all the things 411 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,040 potential US involvement. Well, there has been US 412 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:50,400 involvement, missile strikes on nuclear facilities and hospitals 413 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:54,280 that we've seen, casualties, injuries. 414 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:56,400 How's this all going to turn out? 415 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,520 What's going to happen? Are they going to get on to 416 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,960 native soil here at some point, ships, bases in Northern 417 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:05,840 America? Who's going to win the war? 418 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:10,120 Will Israel come out on top or will Iran or something else 419 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:11,880 going to be happening? Who's really leading those 420 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,120 people over there? And we have all these questions. 421 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:17,800 We have all these thoughts that go through our mind, but I want 422 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:21,720 to remind us of Isaiah 4021 through 23. 423 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,280 Have you not known? Have you not heard? 424 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,120 Has it not been told you from the beginning? 425 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,160 Have you not understood? From the foundations of the 426 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:33,600 earth? It is He who sits above the 427 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,000 circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like 428 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:40,040 grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and 429 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:43,320 spreads them out like a tent. And to dwell in he brings the 430 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:46,360 Princess to nothing. He makes the judges of the earth 431 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:50,440 useless. Whatever our thoughts are on 432 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:54,000 Iran and Israel and America, I mean, it's irrelevant to me at 433 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,400 any moment. But the fact of the matter is 434 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:01,600 that the security of the world is in the Providence of God and 435 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:04,880 the security of our, the big world, maybe the little world's 436 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:09,680 we have is all under the Providence of God because it's 437 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:14,680 in his sovereignty that lies in and behind, in and through and 438 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:18,480 behind all things, all conversations, all activities. 439 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:25,720 God's working out his plan. We go back Monday, you know, 440 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:28,360 tomorrow and we really only see it on the surface. 441 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:31,200 We get busy with our daily routines, you know, taking kids 442 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,560 to school, going to the grocery stores, people we interact with, 443 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,320 the hellos, the goodbyes, the missteps, the mistakes that we 444 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,960 made, the broken parts, the broken pieces that we run into 445 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:44,800 and in and all and through it all, God is at work. 446 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,880 The advice from a Hippophel and then the advice from Hushai, and 447 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,680 then the words from the narrator, I think are by far the 448 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:54,560 most important words of all in this. 449 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:58,680 It says for the Lord had purpose to defeat the good advice of a 450 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:02,480 hippophel. Well, all this is unfolding 451 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,760 according to God's plan and according to God's plan because 452 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,240 it really is. God plan is the only plan that 453 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:11,800 matters. It's God plan that we need to 454 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:15,880 recognize. Now, we're not in any doubt of 455 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:17,520 what God's plan is in this context. 456 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:18,960 Hopefully I've conveyed that to you. 457 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,960 And that is to establish David's Kingdom or God's Kingdom if you 458 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,120 want to say. And because he is determined 459 00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:27,560 that he will establish his Kingdom, that no one will stand 460 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:31,360 against his Kingdom. No one, nobody who's going to be 461 00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:34,280 able to go against him is going to prosper in the same way that 462 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,960 when we come to King Jesus, the gates of hell will not prevail 463 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:42,200 against that prevail against him, prevail against God's son. 464 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:47,120 So we know that we know that because we have the scripture in 465 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:49,240 hand today. We've read the story, we 466 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:50,520 understand what's going to happen. 467 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,360 We know how it all turns out. But the characters in this 468 00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:57,520 story, the the individuals in the story, they don't know who 469 00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:58,880 shy doesn't know what's going to happen. 470 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:02,360 He doesn't know if they're going to take who shy's advice or or a 471 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:05,240 hit the fells advice. Neither one of them know how 472 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:06,680 this is going to work out at this point. 473 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,080 He's actually unaware in which which the matter is going to be 474 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:14,880 resolved. And the scene here at this point 475 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:18,400 then moves back to David and his group and they have been hanging 476 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:19,800 out, if you want to say and waiting. 477 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:24,440 We know that that because if we turn back to chapter 15 verse 478 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:28,320 28, the word was given to Zadok the priest and Jonathan as well. 479 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:31,960 It says make sure he was saying this to Jonathan and son of Abby 480 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:33,600 Athar. I will wait at the forge of the 481 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,720 wilderness until the word comes from you to inform me. 482 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,160 Now remember these events are happening in a very short period 483 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:43,240 of time. They're happening maybe within 484 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:45,720 24 hours of source. So when we get go back to 485 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,160 chapter 15, it may seem like it was a long time ago, but it 486 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:52,320 wasn't actually says I'm going to wait at the planes and some 487 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:56,960 translations say Fords. And if you go back to verse 35 488 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,800 in chapter 15, we learned that there that Zadok and Abby Athar 489 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:03,120 the the priests are with you there. 490 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,600 And he tells Hushai and he says, so whatever you hear from the 491 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:09,920 King's house, you tell it to Zadok and Abiath are the 492 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:14,120 priests. And then we come back to verse 493 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:18,120 15 of chapter 17. And here are are are how the 494 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:21,880 process is starting to unfold. Then Hushai said to Zadok and 495 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:26,680 Abiath of the priest thus and so Ahithophel has advised Absalom 496 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:30,320 and the elders of Israel and thus and so I have advised. 497 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:34,040 And so we have two competing plans, one of a hit the fell and 498 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:38,400 one of Hushai and a good and again Hushai was unable to be 499 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,920 sure that Absalom was going to heeded his vice. 500 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,960 He doesn't know. And it seemed that a hit the 501 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:47,960 fell recognizes that time is of the essence. 502 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:51,600 And indeed, it it unfolds in in anticipation that a hit the fell 503 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:56,520 plan will actually be executed. And we see that as we read on in 504 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,680 the text. And so because of the time is of 505 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:01,800 the essence, he wants to make sure that everything is done 506 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:05,280 quickly. We see it starting in verse 16 507 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:08,480 quickly. Therefore, send quickly and tell 508 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:14,240 David as you are, we see the word quickly kind of happening 509 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:17,080 over and over again. Get these done things done fast 510 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:20,800 because it's very well possible that Absalom is going to heed 511 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:23,040 the advice of the hit the fail and it's going to work out that 512 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:28,440 way. Well, I think if we if we look 513 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:33,240 at how how short a hit the fells advice was compared to who shy, 514 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,480 I think who shy was actually trying to buy some time. 515 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,400 If you want to say it, Hit the Fells said we'll get this on 516 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:42,440 tonight and that was a hit the fells advice. 517 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:43,760 I'll go down there, I'll take them out. 518 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:45,760 We'll leave the rest. They'll come and join you. 519 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:47,360 We'll do it tonight. You stay here. 520 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:49,760 I'll be on the battlefield. No need to worry. 521 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:51,920 I'll take you here. We'll be right back is what it 522 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:55,880 hit the Phils advice was but that plan was it was going to 523 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:59,800 start without Absalom was not going to start without Absalom 524 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:05,120 hearing who shy's first. Now the priest son Jonathan and 525 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:06,840 Ahimas. They were charged with the 526 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,640 responsibility of getting to news to David. 527 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:14,000 We see that in verse 17. Jonathan and Ahimas were waiting 528 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:17,360 in en Rogel. En Rogel is right here. 529 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:25,640 That's about 1/4 mile South of Jerusalem, South of the city 530 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:27,360 itself. It's very important that they're 531 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:29,120 not obvious in what they're doing. 532 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:32,800 You know, they're not supposed to be caught as spies getting 533 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:36,560 the information back to David. We see in verse 17 it says for 534 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,280 they dare not be seen coming into the city. 535 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:41,440 Well, how are they going to do that? 536 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:45,080 How are they not going to be seen coming into the city if 537 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,960 they have if, if they have to get that information from the 538 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:51,840 city and get it to David, they don't want to get caught, of 539 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:53,720 course. So how do they do that? 540 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:57,560 And the answer is this. A female servant was to go and 541 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:02,440 tell them A no name female servant is given the 542 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:06,680 responsibility to bring the messages to them so that they 543 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:11,200 will not be seen in the city. And despite the undercover 544 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:13,800 approach, we're told that a young man saw them and told 545 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,440 absolutely. So both of them went away 546 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:19,000 quickly. And here's another quickly, two 547 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,240 of the three, and they went away quickly and they came to the 548 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:24,480 House of a man of the hero. Now be here. 549 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,920 Umm, we've seen this before. This is where Shimmy Eye was the 550 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:31,120 guy that was kicking dust and throwing rocks at David. 551 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:33,840 This is that same place that was going on. 552 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:36,360 Now it's in the previous chapter that we can read. 553 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:39,120 And if we think that Behurim was just basically simply, if we 554 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:41,600 think that Behurim is not a good place for David's support, 555 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:44,600 there's at least this guy here and be here and that's wanting 556 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:51,800 to help out. But we want to say to ourself, 557 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:53,840 you know, what is happening here. 558 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:58,160 The chain of communication to get the information from from 559 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:01,680 who shy to David, is that communication? 560 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:04,280 Is that chain going to be broken by the events that happened 561 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:07,880 here? Is the plan about to come to a 562 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:12,200 crashing halt as a result of the very humanity in the way which 563 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:16,440 we see things to be completed? And how could we ever be assured 564 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:18,240 the plan of God would ever prevail? 565 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:22,240 And then the answer is because it's God's plan. 566 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:24,240 That's why it's going to prevail. 567 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:29,680 It's because it's his plan. It's so human nature of us, you 568 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:33,000 know, says they went away quickly and they came to the 569 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,720 House of the man of Yehran. And presumably they knew that 570 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:38,320 this guy maybe had been a sympathizer of David. 571 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:41,360 They must have known that he had a well on his courtyard and they 572 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:45,280 went down into it. We say, hang on a second. 573 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:48,560 We're talking about the Kingdom of God here. 574 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:53,560 We're talking about the great unfolding drama and we've got to 575 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:55,920 see these two guys are supposed to be doing their best getting 576 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:58,440 the message from female servant to get it to King Dave. 577 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:00,880 And as far as we can tell right now, the whole plan is going to 578 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:04,360 come to an end because the two of them are now hiding in a well 579 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,800 and we hear him well. Is it over? 580 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:12,440 It's actually not very impressive, is it? 581 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:18,239 Of the Kingdom of God unfolding. The Kingdom of God is unfolding 582 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:20,199 where it's unfolding in at the moment. 583 00:34:20,199 --> 00:34:21,800 It's now. And we hear I'm in a well of a 584 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:25,960 guy and you know, I thought about this for a bit. 585 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:31,560 I'm thinking, you know, well, the simplicity, the simple acts 586 00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:40,600 of men and women to carry out God's work are so impactful. 587 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:44,920 Just the simple little smallest details that you and I may not 588 00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:51,960 think may be very important or or on a large scale. 589 00:34:52,360 --> 00:35:00,760 Those simple quiet acts are huge in the Kingdom of God and made 590 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:02,320 me think of the New Testament scene. 591 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:06,320 You know, in Acts 925, remember how Paul gets out of Damascus 592 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:09,640 shortly after his baptism. The Jews were seeking Paul to 593 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:13,080 kill him and it says that his disciples saved him by letting 594 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,400 him out through a hole in the wall and lowered him in a 595 00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:20,360 basket. The Apostle Paul being lowered 596 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:21,800 in a basket through a hole in a wall. 597 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:26,040 The Kingdom of God is unfolding from Damascus and on it with a 598 00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:29,640 man in a basket. So don't be surprised that God 599 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:35,080 would use you and I. An unknown lady, unknown man. 600 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:40,160 It's all according to his plan. And not only do we have that 601 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:43,280 Lady in that man, but we have a woman at the well for hearing 602 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:44,400 this story. Who is she? 603 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:46,720 She's a woman of the house. What did she do? 604 00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:49,120 She covered the top of the well with a piece of fabric. 605 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,040 And because she was skillful on that manner, she covered the 606 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:54,480 fabric then with the grain and make it look as though just 607 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:57,280 basically routine day drying out the grain in the sun. 608 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:01,200 And the people came searching on behalf of Absalom. 609 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:03,200 Clearly they weren't doing a very good job. 610 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:06,800 They didn't look very hard. And she lied to them that the 611 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:10,480 men have gone over the brook. They seem to pay much attention 612 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:12,800 to that. And eventually they returned to 613 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:18,560 Jerusalem there in verse 20. So did it matter what she had 614 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:19,920 done? Absolutely. 615 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,040 It was very, very vital to the plan. 616 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:25,480 But didn't she tell lies? Yes, she did. 617 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,160 Does that mean that the Bible then condones the telling of 618 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:31,520 lies? No, it does not. 619 00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:37,800 Romans 828 What it does, it reminds us simply this, that in 620 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,560 all things God works for the good of those who love him. 621 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:46,120 It reminds us that God controls evil, but he does not create 622 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:49,880 evil. And when we consider the 623 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:52,520 unfolding of the Providence of God, whether in the life of we 624 00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:55,840 see saw in Joseph in the early chapters of the Old Testament, 625 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,320 whether it's in the life of Esther or so on. 626 00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:02,160 And here in this chapter, we realize it's really a wonder in 627 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:05,160 and of itself. The little that you mean, the 628 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:07,920 hidden life of a little girl from Israel is the store in the 629 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:11,320 story of Naman, the female servant who doesn't have a name, 630 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:15,240 the man who had a well, You mean the woman who was brave enough 631 00:37:15,240 --> 00:37:16,680 to do what she did? Yes. 632 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:20,400 All those acts mattered to God's plan. 633 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:25,960 So what happens? We see well these men when they 634 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:29,120 had gone, these group of searchers, they leave and they 635 00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:31,560 come up and then the guys come up out of the well. 636 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:34,280 And then they went and they did what they were supposed to do by 637 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:36,720 in the 1st place and getting this information to King David. 638 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:41,080 And no surprise, they said to him, you should get up, go 639 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:43,200 quickly over the water. They're telling us to David, 640 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:46,120 this is thus has a hit the fell of eyes against you. 641 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:49,920 In other words, they're telling David like this plan that a hit 642 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:51,680 the fell has very well may unfold. 643 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:54,680 And if it unfolds, it's vital that you get out of here. 644 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:58,560 And it would be better that you now that you left now rather 645 00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:01,960 than later on. And So what we actually have in 646 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:05,600 this little incident is from humans perspective, what we're 647 00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:07,960 seeing is it's really kind of a narrow escape, if you want to 648 00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:14,080 say, but in but is all proceeding according to plan, 649 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,840 including the tragedy that we see contained here in verse 23. 650 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:20,560 So what are we to do with a hit the fell? 651 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,520 It's a tragedy, I think and what we're told when a hit the fell 652 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:29,280 realized that his council had not been followed and things had 653 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:33,760 not gone according to his plan. When he realized that for him, 654 00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:35,920 it was kind of like a writing on the wall, if you want to say, 655 00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:42,400 because if Dave was going to be triumphant as he inevitably 656 00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:45,320 would, then there's little chance for hope for him because 657 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:47,840 he had he's really a dreadful traitor to David. 658 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:52,200 And he knew that and his life was essentially over. 659 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:53,960 There was no future in him for all. 660 00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:58,680 And so in a methodical, clinical, organized fashion, he 661 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:01,960 went off riding his doc. He back to his own city, set his 662 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:06,560 house in order, hanged himself, died and was buried in the tomb 663 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:10,480 of his father. You know, we've been comparing 664 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:13,960 Ahithophel to Judas multiple times, and Judas also hanged 665 00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:16,800 himself. But by compensate comparison 666 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:20,120 with Judas, there's actually much to be condemned, I think, 667 00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:24,000 by a hit. The film, you know, we may see 668 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:26,880 well, you know, he really wasn't a good man, if we want to say 669 00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:28,000 that a bit. I hit the film well. 670 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:31,200 I think he actually was a really good man at points in his life. 671 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:34,560 He wasn't really particularly wicked man. 672 00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:37,480 If you want to say he's not presented to us in the text as a 673 00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:39,840 wicked man. He's presented to us in the text 674 00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:43,160 as a wise counselor. Indeed, his counsel was as if 675 00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:45,880 one counseled the word of God. We see that in chapter 16. 676 00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:50,240 That's a hit the fell. He was a wise counselor and his 677 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:53,480 advice was good counsel. It says it says in verse 14 of 678 00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:57,040 our chapter here it says for the Lord had ordained to defeat the 679 00:39:57,040 --> 00:40:02,160 good counsel of a hit the fell. And we see if that's our 680 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:05,600 understanding what drove if we understand that what that's what 681 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:08,440 drove his defection that is being the grandfather of 682 00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:11,840 Bathsheba responding to the graphic nature of the crime of 683 00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:15,240 David, not only the act of Bathsheba, but then in the 684 00:40:15,240 --> 00:40:20,760 destruction of death as that was to follow that, you know, why 685 00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:24,120 would we not be surprised of a hit the fells actions in his 686 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:28,400 response to that? Why should we be annoyed that he 687 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:31,680 was enraged by that? He should be enraged by that act 688 00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:35,320 that David did, and he was. And so should we have. 689 00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:38,600 Because in actual fact, if we go back to the text where that 690 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:41,440 happened, we'll discover that that's exactly what God's 691 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:44,080 reaction was to that that act as well. 692 00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:50,880 So on in this strange scenario, Ahithophel is in this respect, 693 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:54,120 is on one side of God, and therefore I think we should 694 00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:57,760 respect Ahithophel for despising David's crimes. 695 00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:03,520 One scholar, I think, gets it right when he suggests that a 696 00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:07,920 Hippophel's biggest failure was his failure to accept the grace 697 00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:10,840 of God that was extended to David. 698 00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:17,480 He couldn't handle that. And his failure to accept that 699 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:20,000 the purpose of God was to establish a Kingdom through 700 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:22,720 somebody like David, a Hippophel, couldn't wrap his 701 00:41:22,720 --> 00:41:24,480 mind around that, couldn't understand it. 702 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:29,240 And God did not prefer David over Absalom because David was 703 00:41:29,240 --> 00:41:34,360 better than Absalom. God preferred David because God 704 00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:39,720 preferred David. Remember, I don't love you 705 00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:42,200 because you were brighter, larger, more significant than 706 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:44,600 other people. I loved you because I loved you. 707 00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:50,760 It is a great mystery and God, according to plan, works it all 708 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:53,720 out. Ahithophel's plans were doomed 709 00:41:53,720 --> 00:41:57,880 to failure because he was on the wrong side of history, because 710 00:41:57,880 --> 00:42:02,040 God had chosen David, because God promised David that his 711 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:05,080 Kingdom would endure. And so actually, Ahithophel's 712 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:09,040 suicide is not just the account of a government official who is 713 00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:12,000 embarrassed by the fact that his plans have been rejected and 714 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:14,400 he's lost face and he's lost honour and he's lost hope. 715 00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:18,400 I think it's that the actual suicide that we read up here is 716 00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:21,280 actually the record of the adversary of God. 717 00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:28,560 God deals with things, dealt with things in the Old Testament 718 00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:35,160 in ways that were very, I don't know the right word for it, but 719 00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:37,920 when somebody was going to die, God made it happen. 720 00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:42,400 God wiped out armies. God wiped out people because 721 00:42:42,400 --> 00:42:49,960 God, they weren't following who? God and his instructions hit the 722 00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:53,360 fill identified him as the adversary of Yahweh and his 723 00:42:53,360 --> 00:42:56,440 Kingdom. Well, the negotiation time is 724 00:42:56,440 --> 00:42:57,760 over. The preparation time is 725 00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:00,400 essentially over in the confrontation is getting ready 726 00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:04,240 to begin. And So what we have in these 727 00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:07,400 final verses, we have the names and the records of the assembly 728 00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:10,560 of the forces, first of all, Absalom and then of the forces 729 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:13,480 of David himself and these individuals are going to line up 730 00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:16,360 on one side or the other. If you want to say kind of like 731 00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:19,840 choose this day who you will serve moment and when the teams 732 00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:22,640 are put together, the personnel, the friends of David bring, they 733 00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:26,000 bring all the provisions in order that the progress might be 734 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:29,120 in full. And I find it quite interesting 735 00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:32,920 that the final sentence of the chapter as we have it affirms 736 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:36,480 part of a hippophiles council because we remember we look all 737 00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:40,440 the way back up in the passage. You can go and get him while 738 00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:43,080 he's weary and discouraged. That's there in verse 2 and 739 00:43:43,080 --> 00:43:46,840 Hushai comes and says, you know, hippophiles council is not good. 740 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:49,920 You should not think of him as being weary and discouraged. 741 00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:51,800 You should think of him as being enraged. 742 00:43:52,040 --> 00:43:55,120 You should think of as being like a bear seeking to go out 743 00:43:55,120 --> 00:43:57,560 and invade. You know, like a bear that's 744 00:43:57,560 --> 00:44:01,240 been separated from her Cubs. Well, who was right here? 745 00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:08,040 Who was right here? It tells us there they were. 746 00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:11,800 That says they were weary and thirsty in the wilderness. 747 00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:17,320 Well, hit the fell was right in in stating that, so he was right 748 00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:20,520 about that. But at the end he was foolish 749 00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:22,360 because he should never have defected. 750 00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:25,160 He should never have deserted the king. 751 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:34,120 You wouldn't defect, would you? It's not unusual to come across 752 00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:38,000 someone who has defected, someone who has deserted, 753 00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:41,440 someone who was once marched alongside us, alongside others. 754 00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:48,360 And when we when we press into that person's reasoning, we may 755 00:44:48,360 --> 00:44:52,040 find circumstances that are potentially comparable or 756 00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:56,480 similar to a hit the fells. When we ask questions, we find 757 00:44:56,480 --> 00:44:59,120 that there was maybe some moral degeneracy, something that 758 00:44:59,120 --> 00:45:03,240 happened in the family along the path, something that enraged and 759 00:45:03,240 --> 00:45:07,680 disappointed and confused and sidelined that individual and 760 00:45:07,680 --> 00:45:11,080 they've lost out because they can't believe God would forgive 761 00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:14,280 that person. They can't believe that God 762 00:45:14,280 --> 00:45:18,760 would continue to use him or her for his Kingdom. 763 00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:22,360 It's the same issue. It's the same problem that we 764 00:45:22,360 --> 00:45:23,880 read of this Old Testament story. 765 00:45:25,560 --> 00:45:29,880 I think that scholar Woodhouses, his name, I think he got it 766 00:45:29,880 --> 00:45:32,240 right. The 5th field got to where he 767 00:45:32,240 --> 00:45:34,960 was because he couldn't believe that God would forgive somebody 768 00:45:34,960 --> 00:45:39,080 who did that and that he found it hard to believe that God 769 00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:41,680 would build his Kingdom through somebody like David. 770 00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:45,800 So let's make sure that we deal with the issues that may tempt 771 00:45:45,800 --> 00:45:48,920 us to defect or to desert God at any time. 772 00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:52,480 You take our side with the king. Don't be foolish. 773 00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:58,040 Trust the counsel of God and rest entirely in his Providence. 774 00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:03,360 In the end, all will be well. All the parts and pieces that we 775 00:46:03,360 --> 00:46:05,440 can't fix are under his sovereign control. 776 00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:09,960 And whether we got a name like Barzillai or Shelby or Mac here, 777 00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:13,800 whether we're a name, as it were, in the unfolding story of 778 00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:17,120 God's purposes, as significant as we may think it might be, or 779 00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:19,800 whether in eternity we'll just find out. 780 00:46:19,800 --> 00:46:23,480 It was just fine for us to be the female servant that we've 781 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:26,200 just read about, or was finding us to be the man who had a house 782 00:46:26,200 --> 00:46:28,640 with a well. It was fine for us to be a young 783 00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:31,720 man from Bakersfield, to be a little girl from Israel. 784 00:46:34,880 --> 00:46:38,960 I have a Maker. He formed my heart before even 785 00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:41,400 time began. My life was in His hands. 786 00:46:41,960 --> 00:46:47,160 He knows my name, He knows my every thought, He knows each 787 00:46:47,160 --> 00:46:50,720 tear that falls, and he hears me when I call. 788 00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:53,200 You know we forget people's names. 789 00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:59,040 He never forgets our name. And he puts the good and the bad 790 00:46:59,240 --> 00:47:04,560 and the ugly into his vast purpose from all of eternity. 791 00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:11,040 Puts it together for people that are his very own who are utterly 792 00:47:11,040 --> 00:47:15,600 undeserving beneficiaries of his relentless love and it's Amazing 793 00:47:15,600 --> 00:47:20,880 Grace and so the story of God's Kingdom continues so other way 794 00:47:20,880 --> 00:47:23,640 maybe be down a well this week if you want to say or crossing 795 00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:26,920 the Fords and the open plains. Perhaps it will do us well to 796 00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:30,480 remember that we're not about to get upset about the things that 797 00:47:30,480 --> 00:47:33,920 may be confronted to us, you know, watching the news. 798 00:47:33,920 --> 00:47:36,520 And I can't believe where this country's going. 799 00:47:36,520 --> 00:47:38,080 I can't believe what's happening here. 800 00:47:38,080 --> 00:47:40,360 You know what, I just can't deal with this anymore. 801 00:47:40,360 --> 00:47:41,920 You know, what are we going to do about that? 802 00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:42,840 What are you going to do with that? 803 00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:47,560 So we can stop back and say, wait a minute, we've got a God 804 00:47:47,800 --> 00:47:52,480 that is in control of it all. And whatever his plan is, His 805 00:47:52,480 --> 00:47:57,440 plan is. So we should believe that God is 806 00:47:57,440 --> 00:47:59,920 who he says he is and he's in control of it all. 807 00:48:00,360 --> 00:48:02,800 Is there one here who needs to be baptized for the remission of 808 00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:04,680 their sins? We can't. 809 00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:07,680 We can provide that quickly. And if that is a need, if 810 00:48:07,680 --> 00:48:10,120 there's a one here who has done that but needs to make public 811 00:48:10,120 --> 00:48:13,320 confession in any way, or needs the prayer of the church, please 812 00:48:13,320 --> 00:48:15,560 come while we stand and while we see.