Whom Can I Trust?

In my continued reading through 2 Samuel, I came to the passages which clearly prove the prophet Nathan's words to David to be true. The 12th chapter records Nathan's words of rebuke to David for his sin with Bathsheba, the wife of Urriah, one of David's faithful commanders. Nathan gave David the Word of God concerning his sin, and the consequential sin of murder. David had sent Urriah back to the front with a closed message to Joab, telling Joab to put Urriah into the most dangerous part of the battlefield. David's plot was to rid himself of Urriah so that he might then have Bathsheba for his wife. The plot was successful, but David did not get away with what he had done. The Lord did forgive and put away the king's sin, but Nathan announced to him that the sword would never depart from his house, (12:10). This meant that there would be continuous disorder in his family for the rest of his life.

David eventually discovered this truth with the coming up of his son Amnon, Tamar, his daughter, and Absalom, another of his sons. I could never understand what appeal TV soaps have had to so many women through the fifty some-odd years they have been on the air. There is enough of that sort of thing one may read in God's Word. But I do not mean in any way to compare the problems David had with members of his family and court with the pitiful lifestyles Hollywood loves to portray. For one thing, the Bible gives details such as these, not to entertain, but to teach very important lessons on how we should live in this present fallen world. Soap operas, so called, teach us nothing. Sorry, ladies! What you watch on the screen while you eat your salad during your break on the job, or at home, if you keep house, will teach you only how to be and live wickedly like that crowd of "beautiful people." There is nothing entertaining or charming about sin. And sin is what is promoted and glamorized daily on such programing.

Now, it is here that I need to get down to the heart of what I am led to share here today. David soon found himself being forced to leave his home in Jerusalem. He took along his wives and others whom he felt necessary to protect him from his enemies. The truth of the matter is that he arrived at the point in which he did not really know whom to trust. Earlier, he had vowed that he would not allow himself to be overly reliant upon Joab, especially after Joab had murdered one of Jonathan's sons. Yet, he realized that under his present predicament, he had to rely on someone. Joab was by no means a man of impeccable morals and character. He even put a woman from nearby Tekoah up to going to David with a lie, saying that one of her sons had killed her other son, and that she pleaded for the king to allow him to return unharmed and to be pardoned for his deed. This lie was told in order for David to fall for the scheme, conceived by Joab, to allow his son Absalom to return to Jerusalem after he had been sent into exile for killing his brother Amnon years earlier.

David was able to see through this obvious fabrication, and he asked the woman if Joab had something to do with all this, (14:19). David, nonetheless, conceded, and allowed Absalom to return, but he told Joab that Absalom was not to come near him. This resulted in Absalom's eventual revolt against his father. Absalom was finally allowed to see his father for one last time, then he left in order to start for himself a political campaign against his father.

This gets even more complicated, as Absalom succeeds in gaining the love and devotion of many in Israel. And to make matters worse for David, One of David's most trusted servants, whose name is Ahithophel, runs off to Absalom to tell of how he could succeed in destroying his father and return to Jerusalem to claim his father's throne. It is here that a verse from Psalm 41:9 comes to my mind:

"Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat
of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me."

This verse is widely accepted among Bible scholars, to be a reference to Ahithophel and his betrayal. It is also a verse which is to be fulfilled on the night our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, (John 13:18).

Of course, Ahithophel's advice to Absalom was rejected in favor of the advice given by another of David's trusted servants, Hushai. Ahithophel, when he learned his counsel was overturned, went to his house, put it all in order, and, like Judas centuries later, went out and hanged himself.

Hushai was what I have come to regard as a person who holds his allegiance and fidelity to whoever appears to be gaining the upper hand. This means that he never really holds to any position, but stands ready to shift his position to wherever he sees he can gain advantage for himself. He is the sort of fellow no boss with integrity needs to have on his work team. He rather reminds me of a football fan who cheers his team as long as he sees they are the ones scoring the touchdowns. But let the opposing team make a sudden comeback and catch up with his team, or pull ahead, then you will find him sneaking over to the other side of the stadium rooting for that team. At first Hushai was in support of Absalom when he saw that Absalom was gaining the peoples' favor. Now that he saw Absalom might be losing his influence, and had received word that the people were turning back towards David, he wasted no time to let David know what was planned against him by his son. What were his motives? I cannot at all believe he did this because he loved his king. If he truly was devoted to his king, and wanted him to flourish as God's undershepherd, then I feel sure he would never have taken up with the likes of Absalom in the first place.

There is much more here, but I think I have received from the Lord what is sufficient. The lesson is this: that while it might be all right to believe in people closest to us, it is clearly wrong to believe in them as much as we believe in our God. This, of course, cannot be possible, as we cannot say we wholly rely upon our heavenly Father who is always worthy of our trust, and at the same time wholly rely upon sinful human flesh, who will inevitably disappoint us sooner or later. Jeremiah 17:5 says, "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm."
Another verse warns that trusting in Egypt is the same as leaning against a wall and his arm goes through it to be bitten by a serpent.

I believe the Lord had allowed David, the man after God's own heart, to go through all He went through here, and even later in his life, in order that he might never forget the One always worthy of his trust and devotion.

I have been disappointed several times by those whom I thought were with me on certain issues, only to discover that when the day of reckoning finally arrived, they were taking sides with the opposing party. It happens in business. Here is a supervisor who has just implemented a plan for his department. He appears to have gained full confidence in this plan from his staff. But one of his staffers hopes to get in good with higher level management. So he goes up to the next higher floor and tells that fellow what his supervisor has been working on, and further explains why he does not think it will be good for the company's interest. What has he done? He has demonstrated he cannot be trusted by anyone at all, not even the ones he has sold out to. Perhaps that is not the worthiest illustration, but I have actually observed this sort of thing.

So then, whom can I trust? Whom can you trust? Really trust? David learned more and more in his walk with His Lord that he both could and should, always trust in Him above all else. Sometime after the king's trial here had ended, and he was able to return to Jerusalem, he penned these words:

"The Lord is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer. The God
of my rock; In Him will I trust: He is my Shield,, and the Horn of my
salvation, my High Tower, and my Refuge, my Savior; Thou savest me
from violence." (22:2 & 3)

Even the Lord Himself, while He walked this earth, knew that it was futile to trust in man.The Apostle John left us with this testimony, recorded in John 2:23-25:

"Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day,
many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He
did. But Jesus DID NOT commit Himself unto them, because He knew
all men. And needed not that any would testify of man: for He knew
what was in man."

The truth is, we are all untrustworthy. We are so, as Paul wrote even of himself (Romans 7:18), because "in us dwelleth no good thing." We cannot even trust in ourselves, let alone in others. This above all else applies to our total depraved condition. Without Christ, without God, who is forever worthy of our trust, we cannot save ourselves. If I trust in my own goodness to make me acceptable to a holy, righteous God, I will fail the test, and end up paying for my sins in the lake of fire, forever. That is why God sent His Son Jesus to suffer and die and rise again from the dead, so that" whosoever believeth on Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life."