Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice. – 2 Samuel 16:21

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 7, 2016): 2 Samuel 16

What if Adolf Hitler’s Germany had won the Second World War? I know, it is not a nice thought, but it might not be hard to imagine. There might have been a few ways that history could have happened differently. And most of those ways involve Japan. Is it possible that if Japan had not attacked Pearl Harbor, that the United States might have stayed out of the war, leaving Britain and the Commonwealth Countries to fight against Hitler alone? Could that have done it? Or if Japan had not combined its fate with that of Germany, instead fighting its war with China on its own terms? What if Russia had not entered the war? Of course, none of these things actually happened. The evil unleashed on the world by Adolf Hitler was met with the exact response that was needed to stop the evil from spreading. Admittedly, decisions to confront Hitler earlier in the process may have stopped him sooner, and maybe with less loss of life and with fewer atrocities, but he was eventually stopped. There was a line where he could not pass. It is like something stood in his path. We can call it fate or luck or God, but something conspired if I can use that word, against a Hitler-dominated Europe.

For believers in God, the question that we are asking is simply this - if God is really sovereign, then is it possible that his will is served no matter what it is that we do or say? It is a difficult question to answer, but a survey of both the Bible and history might suggest that this could be true. That, at least in the extremely big things, God protects his purpose. Hitler’s defeat in Europe or the fact that no one has pushed the atomic button and destroyed the world may lead us toward that conclusion. Maybe. Okay, I am not suggesting that we rest on our laurels. I also believe that as Christians we are supposed to make a difference. But is it just possible that if we blow it, God really does have a backup plan?

Biblically we have stories like that of Balaam, who tried to curse Israel, but blessed them instead and the key role that Judas plays in the Passion Story, that lead us down a similar road. And then there is the story of Ahithophel’s rebellion against David.

There are a couple of ways of interpreting the story of Ahithophel’s betrayal of David. On the surface, there is no doubt that Ahithophel’s advice was intended to serve the best of Absalom’s aspirations and to further the decline of David. But on a deeper level, the advice ingeniously served the purposes of God. Whether or not it was Ahithophel’s intention, in the end, his advice followed his reputation; it seemed to be the word of God. In telling Absalom to sleep with David’s concubines in front of the nation, Absalom was burning his bridges with David and informing the nation of his intention to take the throne. That served Absalom’s purpose. But the nation could never stand for the throne to be taken from David by such an immoral act, and that served God’s purpose. Even in his rebellion, Ahithophel’s spoke with God’s voice. Judas would do the same thing in his rebellion, all of which reinforces the idea that Judas followed in the footsteps of Ahithophel, and reinforces the idea that God has a plan that cannot be thwarted.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 63