Today's Scripture Reading (November 2, 2025): 1 Chronicles 27
Delay
in military strategy is often a disaster in waiting. A while back, I considered
some possible events that might have caused World War II to end differently (I
sometimes like to play "what-if" games in conversation with like-minded
friends). And there were several incidents during the war that cost Hitler
dearly. One of them was his hapless ally, Benito Mussolini. Mussolini suffered
from illusions of grandeur. If Italy had remained neutral as Spain had, Hitler
might have been better off than with his overconfident ally. But instead,
Hitler and Mussolini became allies. In 1940, the great Mussolini had dreams of
rebuilding the Roman Empire. In an effort to rebuild the Empire, he attacked
Greece and Egypt. His army was large but inept, and it was far outmatched by
the eventual presence of the United States in Africa. As a result, the war went
badly for Mussolini. Mussolini's misstep forced Hitler to commit forces that
were desperately needed elsewhere to the task of freeing Italy from its
troubles. The result was a delay in Germany's attack on Russia (a front that
was a mistake anyway, but an earlier attack might have benefited Hitler).
Instead, the delay meant that Russia and Britain had time to come up with a
plan. In the end, Hitler really lost World War II in Russia; to overcome his
disaster there, he needed a miracle that never materialized.
Hushai
the Arkite was a good friend of David. It was a relationship that likely began
organically. However, as the friendship grew, it became an essential part of
David's strategy, and Hushai was provided with an official position in the
government. When Absalom tried to take his father's throne, David was forced
out of Jerusalem for a time. However, the King convinced his friend, Hushai, to stay in the city to act as an agent of
David.
In
the days following David's retreat, Ahithophel, Absalom's adviser, tells
Absalom to attack his father immediately. At that time, Hushai advised caution
and delay. Of course, what Absalom does not know is that Ahithophel might be
Absalom's ally, but Hushai was actually a spy for David. As Hushai makes the
case for caution, he is really just trying to delay the attack and give David
and his generals time to set up their defenses. He knew he couldn't stop the
attack, but maybe delaying it would be good enough.
It
is also interesting to note that Hushai does not totally contradict Ahithophel.
Unlike political leaders today, Hushai does not enter into a discussion of
Ahithophel's military incompetence, nor does he argue that Ahithophel is always
wrong. Hushai simply cautions that, this time, Ahithophel's advice might be
premature. Absalom needed to gather the tribes together before he attacked his
father. After all, David had experienced fighters with him. In the fight for
Israel, strength would be key.
The
advice of Hushai turned out to be instrumental for David, as the delay gave him
what he needed to win the conflict. Nothing Hushai said was wrong, but the
delay was all that David needed to gain the advantage in the battle that was
yet to come.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
2 Samuel 15
See also 2 Samuel 17:7
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