In his sermon, Chuck Smith discusses King David's emotional journey as he sets out to thwart the rebellion of his son Absalom. David, accompanied by his loyal followers, mourns and weeps as he ascends the Mount of Olives, reflecting on his past sins and the betrayal he faces from those he once trusted, including Ahithophel. Despite the turmoil, David remains committed to God, accepting his circumstances and seeking divine intervention. The sermon highlights themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the importance of trusting in God's plan during difficult times.

Oh, let the Son of God enfold you With His Spirit and His love Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul Oh, let Him have the things that hold you And His Spirit like a dove Will descend upon your life and make you whole Welcome to The Word for Today, the broadcast ministry of Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California. Pastor Chuck is currently leading us on a verse-by-verse venture through the entire Bible. And on today's edition of The Word for Today, we find David setting out to destroy the purpose of Absalom as we pick up in 2 Samuel 15, verse 27. And now, with today's message, here's Pastor Chuck Smith. So the king said unto Zadok, verse 27, Are you not a seer or a prophet? For the prophets were called seers in the days of old, one who sees into spiritual things. Return into the city in peace and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz, thy son, and your nephew Jonathan, the son of Abiathar. And see, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness until there come word from you to certify me, to let me know what's going on. I'll stay down in the plain of the wilderness, actually down near the Jordan River. And we'll go down and we'll camp there and we will wait to hear from you as to what's happening and how things are going. So David is beginning really to set up his little CIA, his spy network. You go back, and you know, your son and all with you, the son of Abiathar, Jonathan, and you guys find out how things are going and then send the boys, they're fast runners, send them on down and let me know what's going on. So Zadok, therefore, and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem and they stayed there. And David went up by the ascent of the Mount Olivet, and he wept as he went, and he had his head covered, and he was barefoot, and all of the people that were with him covered every man his head, and they went up weeping as they went up. And so this sad procession, going up the Mount of Olives towards the Judean wilderness. The people weeping, David, his head covered and barefooted, weeping as he went. And the people that were with him also weeping. And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Of Ahithophel's defection, there are two psalms that make reference to it. One is in Psalm 55, as David is speaking to the Lord concerning the situation, Give ear to my prayer, O God, hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me and hear me, I mourn in my complaint and make a noise because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked, for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. My heart is sore pain within me, and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. And I said, Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then I would fly away and be at rest. Oh, you know, I'd like to escape. But fear, the fear of death, horrors of death are upon me. Lo, then I would wander far off and would remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and the tempest. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go about upon its walls, mischief also and sorrow in the midst of it. Wickedness is in the midst thereof. Deceit and guile depart not from her streets. And then concerning Ahithophel, for it was not an enemy that reproached me, then I could have borne it. Neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me. Then I would have hid myself from him, but it was you, a man my equal, my guide and my acquaintance. He had been David's counselor. We took sweet counsel together and walked into the house of God in company. And so then David praised vengeance upon them. Again in Psalm 41, verse 9, speaking of Ahithophel, David said, Yea, my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. Interestingly enough, though this was a reference by David of what Ahithophel had done, it is quoted in the New Testament as a prophecy of the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas Iscariot. In John 13, 18, and 19, Jesus makes reference to this particular psalm as speaking of the betrayal by Judas Iscariot. Then also Psalms 3 and 4 were written at this very same time when David was fleeing from Absalom, his son. And so as you read Psalm 3 and 4, if you'll put that now in context, of David weeping, going up the Mount of Olives with the people, weeping as they went. So it came to pass that when David was come to the top of the mount where he worshipped God, now this again, though David is fleeing, though David is being banished from his kingdom, yet so committed is he to the ways and the will of God that he worships God there on the top of the Mount of Olives as he looks back over the city. Interesting, he wept as he was on the Mount of Olives thinking about Jerusalem. We remember of Jesus, who as he was on the Mount of Olives looking at Jerusalem, wept over the city. And as he was worshipping God, behold Hushai, the Archite, came to meet him with his coat torn and earth upon his head. Hushai also was one of David's counselors, probably an older man, and unto whom David said, If you pass on with me, you'll be a burden to me. He was probably feeble and not able to really move rapidly. And so David said, Look, if you go with me, you're apt to be a burden. So you return to the city and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king, as I have been your father's servant before. So will I now also be your servant that you may for me defeat the council of Ahithophel. And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar? Now there's some other guys, Zadok and Abiathar. And it shall be that whatever you hear from the king's house, you shall tell it to Zadok and Abiathar, the priest, and they have with them their two sons who will bring the messages to me. So Hushai, David's friend, came to the city and Absalom came into Jerusalem. So David now has set spies, Hushai, Abiathar, Zadok, and the two boys, and they're to bring David word of what goes on. So when David was a little past the top of the hill, now he's heading down towards Jericho, behold Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, met him with a couple of donkeys that were saddled, and upon them were 200 loaves of bread, 100 bunches of raisins, and 100 of the summer fruits and a bottle of wine. Now this fellow Ziba had been the servant to King Saul. And you remember when David decided to show kindness to the house of Saul in order to keep the covenant with Jonathan, he called in Ziba, who had been Saul's servant, he said, are there any of Saul's descendants that are still alive? And Ziba told him of Mephibosheth, who was over in the area of Gilead, that he was still alive. David sent over, brought Mephibosheth back, and he gave to Mephibosheth all that belonged to his grandfather Saul. Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan, David's close companion. But Mephibosheth was lame in his feet. His nurse had dropped him when they were running away, and probably a spinal injury caused a lameness in his feet. And so he was to sit and eat bread at David's table, though Ziba was to be his servant, and with his family he was to till the fields and to take care of all of the property that David had restored to Mephibosheth that had belonged to Saul. Now this same Ziba comes to David, a couple of donkeys that were saddled loaded down with the 200 loaves of bread, the 100 bunches of raisins and all. And the king said, Where is your master's son, the master being Saul, his son Mephibosheth? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he stayed at Jerusalem, for he said, Today shall the house of Israel restore to me the kingdom of my father. Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertain to Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, Oh, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king. Now Ziba was lying. He was lying about Mephibosheth, as David will later discover. This is just a big lie. But it only added, of course, to David's sorrows, I'm sure, to think that here is a fellow that I took care of. I gave him back everything that belonged to his grandfather's house. I let him eat at my table and he too has turned from me. And yet that was not the case. Mephibosheth tried to go, but because of his lameness, he couldn't get with David. We'll find that out later and we'll find out how Ziba is taken care of. But right now this guy is lying and adding to David's misery. But there was more to add to David's misery. When the king David came to Bahurim, about four miles from Jerusalem, behold, from there there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, a Benjamite. His name was Shimei. He was the son of Gerah. And he came forth and he cursed as he came. He came out of his house just cursing David. And he started throwing rocks at David and at all the servants of the king David. And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And here this guy coming out cursing David, throwing rocks. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial. Or literally it's get out. Get out of here you bloody man, you son of Satan. Or man of Satan. Then the Lord hath returned upon you all of the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead you have reigned. And the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. And behold, you are taken in your mischief because you're a bloody man. You're getting what you deserve. Then Abishai, who is a tough cookie and not one to be messed with, the son of Zeruiah, one of David's generals, he said to the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord, the king? Let me go over, I pray thee, I'll take his head off. And he would have. He would have. But David restrained him. The king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? Let him curse. Because who knows, maybe the Lord has said to him, curse David. Who shall then say, wherefore hast thou done so? In other words, how do we know but what God hasn't said? Go out and curse David. David, you remember, has committed himself totally to God. If I find favor, God will bring me back. If he doesn't delight in me, then let him do what he will. Here I am, you know. Let God do it. And David now is still in that commitment. Maybe God told him to curse me. So why should we say, why are you cursing David? If it was God that told him to do it. David is still feeling guilty over his sin. And, you know, he feels that maybe if God, you know, if I get low enough, God will have mercy on me. So David is not striking out in his own defense. He's just accepting everything that comes. Maybe it's of God, I don't know. But I'm not going to defend myself. And so he restrained Abishai from going over and taking care of Shammai. And David said to Abishai and to all of his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth out of my own loins, seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite do it? In other words, my own son seeking to kill me. How much more this guy? I mean, you know, let him alone. Let him curse. For maybe the Lord has bidden him. And it may be that the Lord will look upon my affliction. Maybe God will feel sorry for me. And the Lord will requit me good for his cursing this day. Now later on, when David was turning the kingdom over to Solomon, he said, You know, when I left Jerusalem and I was in all that hardship, this guy Shammai came out and cursed me. Take care of him, son. So David at this point is willing to commit it, but later on he has Solomon take care of Shammai. And so as David and his men went by the way, Shammai went along the hillside over against him. That is, there was a ravine between them. And he cursed as he went. He's close enough they could hear the cursing and they were close enough that the stones were landing among them. And he was throwing dust in the earth. And the king and all the people that were with him became weary and they refreshed themselves there. Absalom and all of the people of the men of Israel came to Jerusalem and Ahithophel was with them. And it came to pass when Hushai the archite, David's friend, came to Absalom that Hushai said to Absalom, God save the king, God save the king. And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this the way to show kindness to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend? And Hushai said unto Absalom, But whom the Lord and these people and all of the men of Israel choose, his will I be and with him will I abide. I know a winning cause man, you know, and whoever the Lord chooses in all of Israel, I'll go along. And again he said, Whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father's presence, so will I be in your presence. He was a man of respected counsel and advice, a wise man. Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, What shall we do? Give counsel. And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in unto your father's concubines, which he has left to keep the house. And all of Israel shall hear that you are a horde of your father, and then shall the hands of all of those that are with you be strong. So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house, and Absalom went into his father's concubines in the side of all of Israel. And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if a man had inquired from an oracle of God. In other words, they looked at his counsel as coming from God. And so was all of the counsel of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom. The man was a brilliant man. He was extremely wise in his strategies and all. And they looked upon his counsel as though it came directly from God. Now, what the idea is behind this? Whenever a man succeeded the king, the king's harem actually became the property of the new king. And by Absalom going in to David's concubines, they're on the tent on the top of the house. And you remember again, when David sinned and Nathan faced him with the sin. David sinned with Bathsheba, you know. You did it in secret, but it's going to come back on you openly and publicly. And herein is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Nathan. As his son Absalom, on the tent on the top of David's house where the concubines were staying, he went in to them publicly in the eyes of the people. But then they realized that this was a breach, that there could be no turning back as far as Absalom is concerned. Up to this point, you see, the people may think, well, maybe Absalom will make peace with his dad and then all of us will be in trouble once David is back on the throne. Absalom making this move, he cast really the die so that there is no turning back. David cannot just come back now and just ignore what has happened. This is such a breach of ethics and all. But what it did was solidify the people with Absalom saying, ha ha, you know, we don't have to worry, man. You know, Absalom's done this disgraceful thing that precludes any treaty being created between David and Absalom in the future. We'll return with more of our verse-by-verse study through the book of 2 Samuel in our next lesson as we follow the counsel of Ahithophel. And we do hope you'll make plans to join us. But right now, I'd like to remind you that if you missed any part of today's message or perhaps you'd like to order a copy for that special friend or loved one, you can do so by simply contacting one of our customer service representatives and they'd be more than happy to assist you with the ordering details. Simply call 1-800-272-WORD and phone orders can be taken Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time. 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And now, once again, here's Pastor Chuck Smith with today's closing comments. There is a saying, man's extremities are God's opportunities. Now, that's not a scripture. But there's a lot of truth to that. When we come to our limits, to our extremities, where we have to just give up, that is the time that God has the opportunity of taking over and doing His work and showing His salvation. Your extremities often become the time of God's opportunity of showing His power and showing His love and showing His work. When a family is torn apart because of drug or alcohol addictions, or any addiction, they need help to restore their loved one to a normal and functioning life. That hope is U-Turn for Christ. U-Turn for Christ is a residential drug and alcohol program specifically designed to help men and women overcome an addiction and live a productive life, all through the power of Jesus Christ. Hi, this is Pastor Chuck. I'm well aware that many of our listeners are well acquainted with Pastor Jerry and the ministry of U-Turn for Christ. It's my estimation that it is one of the most effective ministries I know to help people turn their lives around. Without reservation, I recommend this ministry. For more information about a U-Turn for Christ location nearest you, visit us at our website at U-TurnforChrist.com or call us at area code 951-943-7097. This program has been sponsored by The Word for Today in Costa Mesa, California.