Journey Thru The Bible! (2 Samuel 16 - 18)

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Today, there are 4 characters the Bible talks about that I find especially interesting. Two of them are good, and two of them are bad. The two good ones show great spiritual discernment, the other two base their lives on injustice and lies. Let's take a closer look at these 4 guys...

1) Ziba - the smart and faithful servant! Ziba is a good guy! He possesses the heart of a faithful servant. He He faithfully served King Saul until his death (9:2), and now desires to be a faithful servant to King David. In chapter 9, Ziba has abandoned his position as Saul's servant since Saul had died in battle. When David called him into the palace to ask him whether or not there were any remaining survivors of Saul's family "to show God's kindness to", Ziba was willing to offer any information to help the king out. When David asked him and his family to serve as Mephibosheth's servants, he was more than willing.

The next time we see Ziba, he abandons the city (and Mephibosheth) and runs after King David as he and his crew are fleeing from Absalom. Now, you might say, "That's not a faithful servant...leaving Mephibosheth like that!" But wait! Who does Ziba really serve - Mephibosheth or King David? Ziba only served Mephibosheth because of David's request. Ziba knew who he really served! Thus, Ziba came to David and his group bringing with him some desperately needed food and supplies.

My question to you is..."Who do you REALLY serve?" Are you a faithful servant to your employer or to God? You may be working for someone else, but all of us really serve God!

2) Shimei - the stupid and foolish citizen! As David and his company of men rode past Shimei's home, being that he was a member of Saul's family and held grudges against David, he ran out and began shouting foul language and throwing stones at them! What's most interesting about Shimei is that he is basing his entire perspective about David on a lie! Shimei saw David as "a scoundrel", but it was Saul who was the scoundrel! He called David a "murderer", but it was Saul who wanted to murder David and eventually murdered over 70 priests out of anger! Shimei had no clue about the real Saul. And, so Shimei curses David and bases all of his perspective and feelings about him on lies. David was the opposite of the image Shimei had in his mind about him!

There are so many people today that do the very same thing! They are just like Shimei. They base their feelings and conversations about others from a perspective that is opposite the truth! Have you ever had anyone conjur up an image of you that wasn't based on the truth or actual events? Have they ever accused you of something that was quite the opposite of what really happened or what was really said? I'm sure they have! What you and I need to learn from this is that we shouldn't be quick to judge people - we may not know the whole truth!

When I was a pastor doing marriage counseling, I could always expect two different sides of the story! I knew that somewhere in the middle was the truth. The key was to sort out the truth and then live life according to the truth. What a sad, sad thing to live your life or base your thoughts about someone on a bunch of lies.

3) Ahithophel - the smart and prideful servant! Ahithophel was a smart man, but made a foolish choice. He chose to join Absalom in a conspiracy against Absalom's father, King David. His intelligence, however, was respected by Absalom and thus he was given the incredible honor of being an advisor to him. In fact, Ahithophel was so smart and articulate in word and thought that the Bible says in 16:23 - "For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God." But, God threw a wrench into the workings of Absalom and Ahithophel whereas Absalom took the advice of Hushai over that of Ahithophel's - even though Ahithophel's plans were better (17:14).

Ahithophel's pride was so damaged by the fact that Absalom would not take his advice that he went home, put his affairs in order, and hung himself! What a baby!

The problem with Ahithophel was that he was more worried about his image and what he wanted rather than what the King wanted. His pride and arrogance was so great that it destroyed him!

There are many people today who are more interested in what they want than what God wants! Out of pride and arrogance, they simply reject God and refuse to succumb to reason. They don't want the truth. They want to believe what they want to believe...period! Do you know of anyone like that?

4) Hushai - the sacrificial and faithful servant! Hushai took on one of the most dangerous tasks - that of infiltrating the camp of the enemy and pretending to be one of them in order to pass on the details of insider information! Although he was a faithful follower of King David, he sacrificially gave himself into the hands of the enemy for David's sake. As it turns out, God uses him in a mighty way! He thwarts the plans of the enemy and sets them up for David's men to overthrow. There is much else that's said about Hushai in the Scriptures, but he played a key role in David's life and reign as king! This one event alone was worth a thousand events!

You may feel like God has abandoned you or insignificant in God's overall purpose and work in the world, but know this - that God never makes a mistake, He has a purpose for you being here, and He will work His plan in your life at some point. Be patient! He may be preparing you for a short period of time - just like He did with Jesus! Jesus worked as a carpenter until He was 30 years old, and then only served His Father for a brief 3 1/2 years. But during all those 30 years, our Heavenly Father was preparing His Son for those brief 3 1/2 years. Just like He's doing in your life today!

That's all for now! Have a wonderful, Spirit-filled life today!