2Samuel 15:19-22
Friends and Enemies
We read about the rebellion of Absalom last week. We did so in haste as that one
event covers five chapters of this book. Tonight, I want us to go back and note
something we didn’t look at last week. Let’s look at the friends and enemies of
David.
Much of our time in the Bible is spent looking at the spiritual aspects of life;
but God not only gives us spiritual blessings, He also gives us some very
practical blessings. I am sure that David needed some friends right about now.
Without doubt, David was going through some of the toughest days of his life. His
son has stolen the kingdom, a war of some degree was inevitable within the kingdom,
it seemed obvious that either David or Absalom would have to die, and David knew
that this was the consequence of his sin. It is difficult to believe, but I
imagine that David longed for the simple days when all he had to worry about was
Saul trying to kill him.
In the midst of those kinds of days, a person finds out who his friends and his
enemies are.
I. Notice some of the friends God provided for David.
A. \\#2Sam 15:19-22\\ Ittai
1. We don’t know very much about this man.
a. His name is spelled Ithai in some passages.
b. Interestingly, he is a Philistine.
(1) We remember that David not only fought the Philistines but
he lived among them for a time.
(2) It may be that Ithai was a friend he knew from those days.
That might explain how Ittai so quickly earns David’s
trust and confidence.
c. Ittai will lead 1/3 of David’s army in the fight against
Absalom. \\#2Sam 18:2\\
d. Ittai will also be named in the list of David’s might men.
\\#1Chronicles 11:31\\
2. Apparently, Ittai had recently been exiled from Philistia.
a. \\#2Sam 15:19\\ calls him an exile.
b. \\#2Sam 15:20\\ tells us that he had only been with David for a
single day.
c. \\#2Sam 15:19\\ David calls him a stranger, meaning that if
David did know him, he had not seen him in awhile.
d. All of that would indicate that Ittai, and the men he had
brought with him, were looking for a home and came to David.
3. \\#2Sam 15:19-20\\ Knowing this, David tells Ittai to go back to
Jerusalem and give his loyalty to whoever the king of Israel
turns out to be.
a. Ittai turns out to be more than just an exile hunting for a
home.
b. He turns out to be a friend.
c. He pledges his loyalty and his life to David.
4. We will call Ittai a NEW friend.
a. David had been old friends who were abandoning him right now.
b. In the middle of that, God gives to David a friend who will
give his life.
c. What an encouragement that must have been!
5. One of the purposes of friendship is ENCOURAGEMENT.
a. An encourager is one who lifts our spirits.
b. He can do this by what he says, what he does, or even the fact
that he sticks with you!
B. \\#2Sam 15:32-37\\ Hushai
1. Hushai must have been an old and trusted counselor to King David.
a. It is Hushai’s desire to go with David.
b. \\#2Sam 15:33\\ David indicates that something about Hushai
coming with David would have slowed him down. We presume it
was his age.
c. So David asks Hushai to go back to the city and keep him
informed as to what Absalom’s plans are.
(1) Of course, this is the work of a spy and it was very
dangerous.
(2) Yet, Hushai does not wince. He goes back to Jerusalem and
does what he can (which is substantial) to help David.
2. We will call Hushai, David’s OLD friend.
a. There are many advantages to being young, but one thing a young
person can’t have is an OLD friend.
b. There is nothing like having a friend that knows you so well
that no matter what others may say about you, they believe in
YOU.
3. Hushai gave HELP to David.
C. \\#2Sam 17:27-29\\ Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai
1. Again, we know little of these men.
a. This is the only text of Shobi.
b. Machir gave lodging to Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s lame son, until
David began to do so.
c. \\#2Sam 19:31-39\\ tells us that Barzillai is a older man,
80 years old, who refuse reward for what he has done but will
allow David to do good to another in his stead.
2. We will call these David’s PROVIDING friends.
a. They saw that David and his men had needs and they moved to
meet those needs.
b. No doubt, their help was at great personal expense.
c. But they gave sacrificially because that is what a friend does.
D. So we see that even a king needed friends!
1. Isn't God good to give us those who will encourage, help, and
provide for us?
2. Don't underestimate the strength from spiritual friends.
II. Not only did David have friends in his time of trouble, but his enemies
came out as well.
A. Ahithophel
2Samuel 15:12 And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor,
from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy
was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.
1. Ahithophel was one of David’s counselors.
2. The Bible tells us something about Ahithophel’s counsel. His
counsel was like the voice of God.
2Sam 16:23 And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was
as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of
Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.
3. The question one would have is, "Why would this man betray David?"
a. Perhaps the Bible hints at a possible reason.
b. \\#2Samuel 23:34\\ lists as a son of Ahithophel, one Eliam.
c. \\#2Samuel 11:3\\ tells us that Bathsheba’s father was an
Eliam.
d. Quite a few consider it possible that Ahithophel was
Bathsheba’s grandfather, and that he looked with displeasure
to what David had done to her and Uriah.
e. So much so, that when he had the opportunity, he looked to
both overthrow and kill David.
2Samuel 17:1 Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out
twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:
2 And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him
afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king
only:
3 And I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as
if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace.
4 And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
f. It is hard to miss the "I"s in this passage.
(1) It seems to be Ahithophel’s personal desire not only to
find but also to kill David.
(2) If it were not that David’s friend, Hushai, gave different
counsel which gave David and his men time enough to
get across the River Jordan and regroup, things might
have been much different.
g. All of that could mean that Ahithophel betrayed David for
revenge.
4. What is interesting is how David handled Ahithophel.
a. Have you ever wondered how to handle a person who is seeking
revenge against you?
b. You may have done something wrong, but you have put it under
the blood and sought to make amends, but others feel it is
their duty to make you pay!
c. What do you do?
2Sam 15:31 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.
(1) David just prayed about it. (Some people shrug things
off. David prayed it off.)
(2) He turned it over to God!
(3) What else can you do?
(a) Such a person isn’t going to listen to you.
(b) Seeking a pre-emptive strike against that person is
only going to make matters worse.
(c) Doing nothing is too difficult!
(4) So let God take care of it.
(a) God took care of Ahithophel.
(b) God moved Absalom to take Hushai’s advice over
Ahithophel and Ahithophel went out and hanged
himself.
(c) By the way, Ahithophel is a type of Judas. He was a
traitor who went out and hanged himself.
B. \\#2Sam 16:5-13\\ Shimei
1. Unlike a lot of the other people we have mentioned, we know all
that we need to know about Shimei. He tells us.
a. \\#2Sam 16:7-8\\ Here was a man bitter over the fact that
David reigned instead of Saul.
(1) \\#2Sam 16:11\\ He does this because he, like Saul, is a
Benjamite.
(2) Granted that makes Shimei and Saul related but it is
likely a very distant relationship!
b. This man seems to have a different history than the one
revealed in the Bible.
(1) He talks alike David killed Saul.
(2) You and I know that David had opportunities to kill him
Saul but refused.
(3) However, it is not unusual to find bitter people with a
distorted view of the events.
2. That is what Shimei is, a bitter man.
a. David has probably been ruling for twenty year now.
b. That is a long time to nurse an imaginary wrong!
c. But look how disturbed this man is.
(1) First of all, he is slinging accusations at a man with a
sword and a small army!
(1) That’s not too bright.
(2) He doesn’t know it, but he almost loses his head for
it.
(2) But he kicked at the dirt, cursed, and threw rocks.
(3) This man was sick from holding bitterness for years.
3. Again, notice how David handled it.
a. Abishai wants to give him the royal haircut.
b. \\#2Sam 16:12\\ David says let God take care of it.
(1) David says, "Maybe it will cause God to have pity on me."
(2) God is a compassionate God.
(3) David was saying, "Let God take care of it."
C. \\#2Sam 16:1-4\\ Ziba
1. Ziba was a the servant that had served Saul and David had him serve
Saul’s grandson, Mephibosheth.
a. David had had compassion on Mephibosheth because he was
Jonathan’s son and he was lame.
b. I suspect that Ziba had enjoyed his time of NOT serving anyone.
c. Apparently, after the death of Saul, he had freedom until
David restored Saul’s possessions to Mephibosheth.
2. The truth is that we are never really told for sure what happened.
a. Ziba says Mephibosheth refused to help David and hoped to be
installed as king.
b. Later, Mephibosheth will say that Ziba lied about him.
c. I tend to believe Mephibosheth.
d. Why would Ziba lie?
3. I believe Ziba was resentful of David making him serve again.
a. Resentment is like anger and bitterness.
b. It creates a hard, mean-spirited heart.
4. What did David do to Ziba and Mephibosheth.
a. Again, he let God handle it.
b. As far as possessions, he split Mephibosheth’s holdings, giving
half to Ziba but Mephibosheth didn’t seem to mind.
c. In the end, David trusted that the Lord would work it out.
III. What made the difference between these two sets of people, some who were
David's friends and some who pretended to be David's friends?
A. It was what was on in their heart
1. Some were filled with love for David and it showed in their
actions.
2. Some were filled with bitterness, resentment, and vengeance. That
also showed in their actions.
B. I get two lessons from these passages.
1. I want to BE the right kind of friend.
2. I want to HAVE the right kind friends around me.
What about you?
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