Passage Read: 2 Samuel 14-17
Meditation Verses: 17:1-2
Thought
David's life is a testimony against laying hands on the Lord's anointed, but here is the wisest man in the kingdom advocating just that. As wise as Ahithophel is considered to be, he sees nothing wrong with joining in with a rebellious son of the king and planning to kill the king for that son. Two things that should be clearly wrong to the wise. How did he justify that? Was it because David had not judged his son Amnon, so that Absalom felt compelled to avenge his sister? Did he consider David to have lost the blessing of God and the right to rule? No one tried to remove Saul when he failed to keep the word of God. Whatever wisdom Ahithophel had before this time, he lost it when he joined with Absalom, before David asked God to confound Ahithophel's advice. When his advice was rejected, then Ahithophel finally understood that he was on the wrong side of God's purposes.
Application
A man may be considered the wisest in the land, still, if his advice leads against the clear teachings of Scripture, he is not to be trusted. The Scriptures are not inaccessible to the average person. Anyone can read and study and understand them. Of course, I like my shortcuts, and looking to others for a quick answer is easier than investing the time in God's Word to understand His ways, especially when everyone considers that person to be so wise. Sure, Amnon probably should have been put to death for raping his sister, but when you've received mercy you didn't deserve after having done worse, it's easier to offer mercy to those who don't deserve it, especially if they're your own child. In fact, you can feel like a hypocrite if you don't extend mercy. And yes, that can easily snowball into lawlessness. The tension between justice and mercy, law and grace, is hard to resolve, apart from Christ. But using unlawful means to restore the rule of law is not the solution. True wisdom is understanding and operating by God's ways. No matter how much one man is praised for his wisdom, I still need to make sure their advice doesn't lead me against God's will or ways. And if that wise man discovers he was wrong, I'd better be quick to change course and seek forgiveness for my wrong in following his advice!