Royal Outcast / 05. Royal Outcast Wk5 Allegiance
05. Royal Outcast Wk5 Allegiance
Originally recorded on 13 May 2018. Visit www.weareemmanuel.com for more content.
Speaker: Joel Virgo
Key scriptures: 2 Samuel 16:23 - 17:1-29
All of us will have to make decisions on what we will be allied to in our lives. They can be trivial choices of allegiances or matters of life and death. In the cases of Ahithophel, one of King David’s close friends and counsellors, he joined the other side to Absalom- David’s son who was usurping his position as king. Ahithophel can be compared to the Judas of the Old Testament, as he betrayed the true king.
This talk will look at why Ahithophel made this choice and what difference it made.
1. The Attractive Choice- The choice Ahithophel made is one you can understand on one level. Ahithophel is no fool- He had probably watched Absalom closely and made the decision to join him. He was cunning. However, Ahithophel’s danger was that he was clever but not ultimately wise. He understood how to get by in a world of survival of the fittest. He didn’t care or notice things of value; all he seemed to value at this stage of the story, was his own personal survival which actually was a disaster for him because it turned out to be the surest way to prevent his ultimate survival. What does wisdom mean to you? Do you want to be seen as smart or do you want to be wise ultimately? Often the two don’t go together- you have to make a choice. We can be attracted to the new for the sake of new. Perhaps this is what happened with Ahithophel, as he recognised Absalom as someone new and everyone else was joining him. However, change in itself doesn’t automatically solve problems. You have to disprove the old first before stating the new is better. To think that whatever is new is good is an ingrained assumption we live with now in the 21st century. It is a mistake to think that because something is old it is false.
2. A Flawed Choice- Ahithophel chose to join Absalom- who had massive disqualifying weaknesses. In the story Ahithophel gave his smart punchy advice to attack David there and then because he was without an army. Absalom then asked for Hushai’s advice. Hushai was his own type of smart, as he recognised Absalom’s weakness in his vanity and violence. He saw that Absalom would’ve liked to kill more people than David alone. Hushai’s advice appealed to Absalom’s vanity, which led him to take this advice over Ahithophel’s. In life you will be offered advice. Some of it will flatter your vanity, whilst others will not. Often, the best advice you get will go directly against your vanity. It will offend you and be unattractive to you. Look through people’s advice and see the motive behind it. Don’t be so easily seduced by vanity, but instead look to the wise option.
3. A Domed choice- Absalom isn’t just flawed but also doomed. Ahithophel has attached his wagon to a doomed man, an Anti-Christ. We can also fall into this trap by giving our hearts to something that is ultimately doomed. The thing that you thought would be so good could lead in the end to be fruitless. All the way through the Bible there is a God who is wisely, compassionately, jealously ensuring the outcome that He desires. God is in control- not Absalom. He can use Absalom at his worst and turned it against him and he will do this to those who turn against His king. God loves His son and is passionate about His king being raised up to sit on the throne forever and ever. We have to come to the persuasion that Jesus is to reign forever. God is bringing Jesus to be the ruler of everything one day. He is the one we are to give our allegiance to as he is the true and perfect king.
Speaker: Joel Virgo
Key scriptures: 2 Samuel 16:23 - 17:1-29
All of us will have to make decisions on what we will be allied to in our lives. They can be trivial choices of allegiances or matters of life and death. In the cases of Ahithophel, one of King David’s close friends and counsellors, he joined the other side to Absalom- David’s son who was usurping his position as king. Ahithophel can be compared to the Judas of the Old Testament, as he betrayed the true king.
This talk will look at why Ahithophel made this choice and what difference it made.
1. The Attractive Choice- The choice Ahithophel made is one you can understand on one level. Ahithophel is no fool- He had probably watched Absalom closely and made the decision to join him. He was cunning. However, Ahithophel’s danger was that he was clever but not ultimately wise. He understood how to get by in a world of survival of the fittest. He didn’t care or notice things of value; all he seemed to value at this stage of the story, was his own personal survival which actually was a disaster for him because it turned out to be the surest way to prevent his ultimate survival. What does wisdom mean to you? Do you want to be seen as smart or do you want to be wise ultimately? Often the two don’t go together- you have to make a choice. We can be attracted to the new for the sake of new. Perhaps this is what happened with Ahithophel, as he recognised Absalom as someone new and everyone else was joining him. However, change in itself doesn’t automatically solve problems. You have to disprove the old first before stating the new is better. To think that whatever is new is good is an ingrained assumption we live with now in the 21st century. It is a mistake to think that because something is old it is false.
2. A Flawed Choice- Ahithophel chose to join Absalom- who had massive disqualifying weaknesses. In the story Ahithophel gave his smart punchy advice to attack David there and then because he was without an army. Absalom then asked for Hushai’s advice. Hushai was his own type of smart, as he recognised Absalom’s weakness in his vanity and violence. He saw that Absalom would’ve liked to kill more people than David alone. Hushai’s advice appealed to Absalom’s vanity, which led him to take this advice over Ahithophel’s. In life you will be offered advice. Some of it will flatter your vanity, whilst others will not. Often, the best advice you get will go directly against your vanity. It will offend you and be unattractive to you. Look through people’s advice and see the motive behind it. Don’t be so easily seduced by vanity, but instead look to the wise option.
3. A Domed choice- Absalom isn’t just flawed but also doomed. Ahithophel has attached his wagon to a doomed man, an Anti-Christ. We can also fall into this trap by giving our hearts to something that is ultimately doomed. The thing that you thought would be so good could lead in the end to be fruitless. All the way through the Bible there is a God who is wisely, compassionately, jealously ensuring the outcome that He desires. God is in control- not Absalom. He can use Absalom at his worst and turned it against him and he will do this to those who turn against His king. God loves His son and is passionate about His king being raised up to sit on the throne forever and ever. We have to come to the persuasion that Jesus is to reign forever. God is bringing Jesus to be the ruler of everything one day. He is the one we are to give our allegiance to as he is the true and perfect king.
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