20140506 Tuesday, May 6 2014
2 Samuel 17: The Spirit Of Traitors

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"I will exalt my throne above the stars of God"

The English word "traitor" originated from a Latin word, traditor, which meant to trade, as in to surrender something for the supposed benefit of the trader (traitor and trader actually had the same origin in meaning). Politically, it came to mean to violate one's allegiance to the king for one's supposed personal benefit.

Satan was the original traitor - he traded his allegiance to the King for an egotistical sovereignty unto himself: "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God ... I will be like the most High" (see also Satan's Masquerade).

"14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." (Isaiah 14:13-14 KJV)

The failed rebel Satan then inspired the first human invasion, against the same King, through the same lust of covetousness ("I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet" Romans 7:7 KJV).

"3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat [see How Did Adam And Eve Sin Differently?]." (Genesis 3:1-6 KJV)

Satan inspired Judas Iscariot to trade his allegiance to the same King at the bargain price of thirty pieces of silver (see also The Traitor In History And Prophecy and Did Judas Iscariot Repent?).

"19:37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 19:38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest." (Luke 19:37-38 KJV)

"13:2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;" (John 13:2 KJV)

"22:3 Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. 22:4 And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. 22:5 And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. 22:6 And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude." (Luke 22:3-6 KJV)

That same spirit of rebellion against the King - and against those who were anointed as royal representatives of Him - also manifested itself (festered itself may be more appropriate) in Absalom's rebellion against his father King David (see Israel In History and Prophecy: King David). While the spirit of rebellion was always the same, so too was the eventual result - an ego-driven trade that deflated into failure.

The traitor Absalom (see 2 Samuel 15: The Treason Of Absalom) was able to muster only one major battle against King David, "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." Absalom failed to recognize that the LORD (Who was and is Jesus Christ - see Genesis 1: In The Beginning Was The Word and The Kingdom Of The LORD God) was David's strength.

"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: 17:2 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: 17:3 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. 17:4 And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel." (2 Samuel 17:1-4 KJV)

Absalom was a typical liberal. He knew how to tear something down, but was clueless in how to build something up. This was compounded by his advisors, who were either liberals like Absalom, or men who actually favored King David. Ahithophel advised Absalom to attack David immediately with overwhelming force, but Hushai convinced Absalom to hold off the attack, which gave David time to regroup and muster his forces, thereby enabling David's eventual victory and return as king. Hushai also advised Absalom to come out of the relative safety of the palace and lead the battle against David's forces himself - a piece of baited advice that proved to be a deadly mistake for Absalom.

"17:5 Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith. 17:6 And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do after his saying? if not; speak thou.

17:7 And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. 17:8 For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. 17:9 Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. 17:10 And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men.

17:11 Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person. 17:12 So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one. 17:13 Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there.

17:14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.

17:15 Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled. 17:16 Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.

17:17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king David. 17:18 Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man's house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down. 17:19 And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known.

17:20 And when Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan?

And the woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water.

And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. 17:21 And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you. 17:22 Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.

17:23 And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father." (2 Samuel 17:5-23 KJV)

In the meantime, King David was safe, well-supplied and regaining military power. As we will cover in our next study, all that remained was for Absalom to deliver himself to a traitor's well-deserved fate.

"17:24 Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. 17:25 And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man's son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab's mother. 17:26 So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.

17:27 And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim, 17:28 Brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse, 17:29 And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness." (2 Samuel 17:24-29 KJV)

Fact Finder: When is the spirit of rebellion in humanity going to be removed?
See Sending Away The Escapades Goat and The Day Of Atonement: It's All About Christianity