05 When God’s Plan isn’t Obvious (2 Samuel 17)

Krisan Marotta: Welcome to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. I'm Krisan Marotta. We're looking at 2 Samuel chapter 17 today. This is the fifth talk in our series on the Rebellion of Absalom. You can find links to everything mentioned in the talk as well as lecture notes at wednesdayintheword.com slash Absalom5. Thank you for joining us. We are continuing our story of the Rebellion of Absalom today. We're in 2 Samuel 17. And this chapter is almost entirely plucked. So I think in that sense it's kind of easy to miss the lessons. And as we've studied this episode in David's life, we've been asking about how is the right way to respond when you sin, or the right way to respond when your heavenly father disciplines you. And then last week we looked at how to respond when suffering unjustly. So when you suffer for a sin you did not commit. Today we're going to shift the focus a little bit and look at what is God doing while we're doing all that suffering. So, when what we're going to see is that God is actively working, that no one can upset his plan of redemption, that nothing can thwart his word from coming to pass. And as Paul says in Romans, nothing can separate us from the love of God. But what we're going to learn is that while God is not absent, sometimes his plan is not obvious. And I think there's comfort in that. Alright, so let's review the story so far. You'll recall that David's son Absalom has declared himself king, and he's succeeded in getting the men of Israel to follow him, and then to lure one of David's top advisors, Ahithophel, to his side. And his conspiracy has been growing stronger, and as it grew, then David is eventually forced to flee Jerusalem with only a band of kind of motley servants and foreigners. And as he is escaping the city, descending down the Mount of Olives, Absalom is marching into Jerusalem. And then to secure his claim to the throne, Absalom sleeps with David's concubines that he had left behind. They put a tent on the roof of David's house, so he's publicly declaring that his father is as good as dead, and that he is the new king. And this act breaks the relationship irrevocably. It removes any possibility of a diplomatic or peaceful solution. But Absalom still has a problem, and that is David is still alive. So that's where we're going to pick up the story today. Absalom's reviewing his options, trying to figure out how to remove this last obstacle between him and the throne of Israel, and that's his father David. And so he is meeting with his advisors to plan his next step. So turn to 2 Samuel 17, and it's in your booklets, and also there's a huge stack of Bibles. I don't know if they're new, but they appeared on that back shelf, so there's like 20 brand new ESV Bibles back there. So if you need one, you can borrow one of those for the day. Okay. So we're going to start with Ahithophel. So following his advice to Absalom to seize the concubines, now he says, here's the second stage of my plan. And as I'm read these opening verses to you, note the repeated pronoun I over and over, referring to Ahithophel. And I actually want to start in the last verse of chapter 16, just to remind you, 1623 says, Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the Word of God. So was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed by both both by David and by Absalom. I just want to remind you, that's an expression. That's like we might say today, his advice is as good as gold. They're saying his advice is as good as the word of God. It is so wise and so right on, it's like you're consulting the word of God. He, however, is not a prophet, he is not a priest, and he does not have the word of God. So you just want to, there's some confusion over that. He's just a skilled and wise advisor. So that's just like saying, this guy's good at what he does. Okay, so look at 17, 1 through 4, and notice again the pronoun I in here. Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, Let me choose 12,000 men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king, and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace. And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel. Now you have to remember Ahithophel served David for many years, and he knows David well. He knows David is traveling with women and children, that he is weary and he cannot move quickly. So he proposes this kind of four-step plan to eliminate David. So his first plan is that he will select twelve thousand men, which is large enough to get the job done and to ensure victory, but small enough to move quickly. And it's also large enough that it would require him to gather men from almost every tribe. So that would implicate every tribe in the elimination of David. Now they would all be kind of morally and politically on Absalom's side. So it's kind of brilliant in that estimation. And then he, with these men, he would pursue David immediately. Notice he says tonight in verse one. In verse 2, he says he'll strike David while his people are still weary and exhausted before they have a chance to organize or regroup, and so that will throw them into panic, which will leave David vulnerable. And that then three, he would execute only David trying to minimize the casualties as much as possible. And then in verse three, he says, finally, or fourthly, with David eliminated, his supporters won't have any reason to continue the war. There's no, it's a war between David and Absalom, and if David's gone, of course, they'll throw their lot in with Absalom. So his plan is pretty politically sound. A lot of the commentators I read said it would have worked. It probably had a high degree of success. It's pragmatic, it's there's no flattery in it, there's no rhetoric, it's a minimal risk to Absalom, minimal risk of large-scale casualties, and they would seek only David. So it's kind of politically sensitive to the mood of the country who most likely do not want a civil war. So Absalom and his advisors are swayed, and Absalom calls in Hushai for a second opinion. Now you'll recall that Hushai is David's friend. He had pledged loyalty to David as David was fleeing into exile, and David sent him back to act as a spy in Absalom's court. So in 175 and 6 we read, Then Absalom said, Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say. And then Hushai came to Absalom, and Absalom said to him, Thus has Ahithophel spoken. Shall we do as he says, if not speak? Now think about Hushai's situation. He has his work cut out for him. 17.6 implies that he was not in the room while Ahithophel was giving his briefing. So he's walking in cold. He has no time to prepare, he has no time to kind of think through the alternatives. He has to, on his feet, come up with a plan that will defeat Ahithophel and turn the majority opinion of the room. And so turn from one way to the other, turn in his favor. And notice Absalom very stupidly reveals the whole plan to Hushai. He says, Thus is Ahithophel spoken. He could have just said, What's your plan? and kept Hushai in the dark, but instead he gives Hushai the entire plan for comment and suggestion. So as we read Hushai's plan, notice how the pronoun is shifted to you, which is referring to Absalom, whereas Ahithophel kept all the glory for himself. Now Hushai appeals to Absalom with you, and notice he calls David your father, while Ahithophel just called him David, not the king, not your father, just David. So he's reminding Absalom of his relationship to David. So look at 17, 7 through 10. Then Hushai said to Absalom, This time the counsel that Ahithophel is given is not good. Hushai said, You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is an exporter at war, he will not spend the night with the people. Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place, and as soon as some of the people fall at first attack, whoever hears it will say, There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom. Then even the valiant man, whose heart is like a lion, will utterly melt with fear, and for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and that those who are with him are valiant men. So he starts with this kind of calculated deference. He says, Well, this time Ahithophel's advice is not good. So he doesn't come in and try to attack this advisor that has this sterling reputation. Instead, he kind of implies, Well, every other time he was right, but not this time. And then he appeals to what Absalom knows about David, and he gives this arsenal of metaphors that are designed to remind Absalom of David's former glory and all his many military victories. So you get this bear, a bear robbed of her cubs in the field, the heart of the lion, the fugitive lion in ambush in a secluded cave, remind, you know, as a reminder of when Saul was after David and could never find him. And then the incomparable skill of his mighty men. And all of this is designed to kind of make Absalom think, hmm, I've never been in battle, I've never been tested. Do I really want to tackle this man who's an expert in war, who is surrounded by men who are experts in war? And then he appeals to Absalom's vanity. He says there's a better way, and that better way maximizes the glory for Absalom, but it also maximizes the risk. So look at 11 through 13. He says, But my counsel is that all Israel should be gathered to you from Dan to Beersheba, and as the sand by the sea, as the sand by the sea for the multitude, and that you go into battle in person. So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light him on him as the dew falls on the ground. And of him and all the men with him, not one will be left. If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring robes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley and until not even a pebble is to be found there. So gathering all the men from Dan to Beersheba is going to take a lot of time. And that gives David time to refresh himself, to get organized, to gather his troops, to organize a plan of defense. So he's buying David time with that plan. And notice in Ahithophel's plan, Ahithophel had the store starring role. He was going to lead this Alique strike force that would kill only David. Hushai says, no, Absalom, you need the starring role. Lead the entire nation into this glorious battle that will quickly and easily destroy David and all his followers. So easy, it's just, you know, like the dew falling on the ground. Like, that's going to happen. But it would prove to the nation that Absalom is valiant and just as mighty a warrior as his father. And so he's appealing to Absalom's vanity and then he appeals to his vengeance. And 12 to 13, he's saying, why kill only David? Why do this job halfway? Why not wipe out all the people who support him and all his loyalists? So turn every stone and rid the nation once and for all of everyone who's pro-David. So Dale Ralph Davis summarizes it this way in his commentary. He says, So Absalts, there's too many names that begin with A in this text. So Ahithophale is smart, but Hushai is cunning. Ahithophale directs, but Hushai pampers. Ahithophale can win Absalom victory, but Hushai can nourish Absalom's arrogance. Ahithophel gives better advice, but Hushai offers more cunning, more convincing advice. And then we get to the heart of the chapter, verse 14 through 16. And 14 is really the literary center of the text. 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 ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom. Then Hushai said to Zadek and Abiathar the priest, Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so have I counseled. Now therefore send quickly and tell David, do not stay in the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up. Now notice 1715 implies that Hushai is dismissed and has to leave the room before he knows whose advice Absalom is going to take. So he has to get word to David, not knowing, are they going to go immediately tonight or are they going to take his plan? So notice God is working. We're told that quite clearly in 14, but neither Hushai nor David knows what's going on. In fact, none of our main characters have any clue what's going to how this is going to play out. So verse 14 tells us the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom. So the narrator's telling us we know God's at work, we know God's active, we know he's in control, he is furthering his kingdom plans, but his actions are not obvious. They are hidden from our from all our heroes at this point. So David's quick prayer of chapter 1531 has been answered, but he does not know it yet, and it may be months before he does. Now I find great comfort in that. That we know that God has answered us, and sometimes we have no clue how or when or why, but that doesn't mean he's left us or he's abandoned us. So the next scene then tells how this plan is going to work out. It sets this intricate, it explains kind of the intricate spy network that is set in motion to inform David. So from, this is from 17 through 22. I'm not going to read it, but I'll just summarize it for you. Hushai sends the news to the priest, Zadok and Abiathar, and from there word passes to an unnamed female servant who is able to pass through the city undetected to relay the plan to the two priests' sons, who are Jonathan and Ahamez. And here the plan seems to get foiled because an unnamed young man sees the woman talking with the priest's sons and reports back to Absalom. But the two quickly flee to a house in Baharim where another unnamed woman hides them in her well and then sends the pursuers in the wrong direction. And when the coast is clear, the two sons rise up out of the well and carry the report to David, who heeds their counsel and he quickly crosses over the Jordan, where you'll notice he is greeted by the dawning of a new day. How symbolic. So, meanwhile, back in Jerusalem, Ahithophel meets a different fate. Look at 1723. When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father. So I think what's going on here is he realizes since his advice was ignored, he sees the handwriting on the wall that Absalom's chances of victory are now very slim. And if Absalom is defeated, he's going to be executed as a traitor. So he takes matters into his own hands and hangs himself, foreshadowing, I think, Judas, who will betray our Lord Jesus Christ, and then similarly hang himself. But one of the things I want you to notice in this chapter is this long list of kind of unsung heroes, some who are named and some who are not named. And all of them are risking their life for their king. All of them face certain death if they are caught, and yet they all are part of this intricate web that God is weaving to bring about his kingdom. So you have Hushai acting as the double agent in Absalom's court. You have the two priests, Zadok and Abiathar, who their priestly duties give them reason to meet with just about everyone in court, so they can meet with Hushai undetected. You have this unnamed woman who passes through the city to meet their two sons, and she's going to a spring outside Jerusalem. Drawing water was a normal female duty, so her trip would just be kind of part of her normally normal daily expected tasks. And she can go about her normal day, but she is really serving the king. Then you have the two sons, Jonathan and Ahamez, who risk their lives to carry the news from Jerusalem to David, and the unnamed woman who hides them in her well, of course, reminiscent of Rahab hiding the spies before the conquest of the Promised Land. And then at the end of the chapter, there's these lists of people who are supporting David. And notice in verse 27, you have Shobi, who's a pagan. Okay, so why would a pagan support David? You have Makir, who's a member of Saul's, kind of a Saul loyalist and from Saul's party, and then you have Barzilli, who's a rich landowner, and they tell us three times he's in his 80s. So they want us to know. This guy, you know, so you have all these people, and taken together, they look like this motley crew of nobodies. They're not an army, they don't have power, they don't uh, you know, they come from all levels of society. Brazili is probably a rich landowner, the woman going to the well may be a s or going to the spring may be a slave. So you have both secular and priestly professions, you have male and female, you have maybe educated and uneducated. And what I want you to see is how God uses everybody. And those, they look like weakness, but in God's hand they are strength. And I think that's something we ought to remember too, that help for believers comes from a wide variety of sources. So, yes, God's kingdom and God's servant may be under attack, but they are also under protection, and that protection can come from anywhere. And notice at this point, this is still hidden from the main characters. Neither David nor Hushai nor Absalom know that this spy network is in motion and how it's playing out. And it's probably going to be months before these details are told to David. Alright, so let's ask, what do we learn from this? That's kind of the plot of the chapter. So, why is it in here? What are we supposed to learn? What I want to suggest to you is that this is a real life example of the promise of Romans 8, 28, and 29. And the promise is that God is in control even when he doesn't look like it, and that God works all things, and we mean all things, together to make us more Christ-like. So I want to look at Romans 8 26 through 30. I'll bet verses 28 and 29 are familiar to most of you, but I want to make sure you understand the context that they are in. And then as we go through them, think about the events of chapter 17 and how this amplifies in a sense, or we see a real-life example of Paul's teaching. So just to orient you where we are in Romans, the overall point of this section, Paul has been arguing for what the gospel is in chapters 1 through 4. In 5 through 8, he kind of says, so what? So what are we to learn from this? And chapter 8 is what I think is the climax of the whole argument where he says, so we can have utter confidence in our God because of all this. And in specifically in 26 through 30, he says, we can have confidence that everything that happens to us is in our best interest because of the activity of the Spirit. And that's what I think we see in chapter 17, that all the events of the chapter remain unknown to David at the time they happen, yet God is actively at work, actively in control. He is not absent, even though his work is not obvious. So the the argument in Romans 8 goes like this. In 26 and 27, he says the Spirit intercedes for us, and that intercession is effective. In 28 through 30, he says, because of that, we can have absolute confidence that everything that happens to us is designed to bring about our inheritance. And then in 31 through 39, he says, well, because our inheritance is up to the activity of God and his spirit, i.e., not our own self-effort, then we can have absolute, complete confidence that we will gain it. So that's where we're going. Let's look at the specifics. So 826 and 27, he says, likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought. But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches the heart knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. So he's saying, likewise, or in the same way, he's referring right back to earlier in the chapter, where he talked about one of the things the Spirit does is work in our lives to make us aware that we are sinful and to give us this deep longing for holiness and righteousness, and that we're waiting for that eagerly for this hope that is set before us, this adoption and this holiness. So he says, likewise, just as he does that, now he helps us in our weakness, that is, in our inability to make ourselves holy. And he says, look, we don't even know how to pray, we don't know what to pray for, the right things to pray for. Our sinfulness goes so deep that we don't even know what we should be asking God for. And often, you know, we pray to God, we say, fix it, you know, whatever the problem is, just fix it, get me out of the consequences of my sin, or make my life easy. That's my favorite prayer. That's usually not what God has in mind, because his agenda is what's best for us. And so Paul is saying, look, sometimes we don't. Know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit is interceding for us with groanings too deep for words. And the idea there is it's not the Spirit's groanings, it's our groanings. So the grammar is that that groanings too deep refer for words refers to us. And I find great comfort in this because this is the have you ever been in those times where it just hurts too much to pray and you don't even know? And you just kind of fall on your knees and say, Father, help me. And you don't even know how to ask or what to ask for. That's the kind of thing Paul is describing here, like David's four-word prayer in chapter 15, 31. You know, we may we're convinced that God loves us, that he can supply our every need, but we have no idea in this particular instance what to ask for or how to ask for it. Sometimes it just hurts too much. As we saw last week when we looked at Psalm 143, and we talked about how David probably wrote that psalm during this time, and he describes himself as feeling like he's rotting in a dark tomb, that that's just how low it is. That's the kind of things the situation Paul is describing. So when we are in that spot where we don't even know what to pray for, or it just hurts too much to pray, then the Spirit is interceding for us. And he's praying intelligently on our behalf. So he's not, you know, mumbling or stuttering or using caveman's speech. He's praying with wisdom and intelligence. He knows intimately what I need, and he knows the mind of God, so he can ask for just the right things. And that's what Paul's point is here. Because the Spirit knows us better than we know ourselves, and he knows the mind and character and will of God better than we know it, he can precisely and intelligently ask for what's best for us. And then he who searches the hearts, that is God, he says, knows what the mind of the Spirit is, namely that he's interceding according to God's will. And then God grants it. So if you think about what that means, it means I mean, to me that's a very comforting thing. It's a wonderful gift that the Spirit is as perfect an intercessor as Jesus was the perfect atoning sacrifice. So when we're in that situation where we're we can't even trust our own prayers because of our own sinfulness or our own selfishness or our own impulses, we don't have to. We may be asking for the wrong things because our our vision is too small, or we don't see the big picture, or we don't know the long-term goals. But we have someone who knows us and exactly what we need, and at the same time knows God and exactly what he wants for us and can ask for the perfect thing. So the Spirit knew exactly what David needed as he sat weary and exhausted in the wilderness, hunted by his own sons, and then he can ask for that in complete accordance with the will of God, and he does the same for us if we trust him. I find that amazingly confident and encouraging. So then we get the two famous verses that a lot of people quotes, but now you're going to know, be able to quote them in context and with more understanding. So look at Romans 28, 29, and 30. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined, to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified, and those whom he justified, he also glorified. So he's saying, Because we have the Spirit praying for us, knowing us, knowing what we need, knowing exactly what to ask for, and knowing the mind and the will and the heart of the Father, we can have confidence that everything that happens to us is working out toward our good. And by good he means being conformed to the image of his son in verse 29. So our inheritance, being made holy and perfect and freed from sin. It does not mean pleasure, happiness, or comfort. Okay, that's so we think good means that my life ought to be easy. Good means I will be the person God wants me to be, and that may not be easy. In fact, you can almost guarantee it won't be. So this is not a promise that you will never get hurt or that life will be easy. I mean, just think about what David's gone through in his life so far. But the promise is that through it all, God will arrange it to make you the person he intends you to be, to bring you out of your sinfulness and into the character of Christ. Now notice it's limited to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose, i.e. believers, and that good is our ultimate good, being made holy. And the emphasis on in this verse is that God is working in everything. So no matter where we are, what choices we've made, God is there. God is with us and working it out to bring out our holiness. And I think that's what we've seen in 2 Samuel 17. God's hand is over everything. It's over the advice Ahithophel gives, it's over the counteradvice of Hushai, the movements of the spy network. All of this is working to bring David back to the throne, and he doesn't even know it. And I suspect it's working for a lot more, because at the same time David was coming back to the throne and God was restoring him, he was also probably, most likely, building faith in the lives of all those individual people, so into the lives of the priest's sons, the two unnamed women, and so on. We just aren't told what they learned from the experience or how it was used in their lives, but I'm willing to bet that it was. So the point of 28 and 30 is that no matter what happens, God is there. The Spirit is praying intelligent for you to bring about your inheritance. And we all make stupid choices, as David has done, to get himself to this point. We all get ourselves in a fix, but God is there. He is arranging and orchestrating our lives to put us on the right path to bring about our inheritance. So just to finish that section, those whom he foreknew, the idea here is those whom he foreordained, that is, those whom he chose. I know this is the PCA church. Some of you may not agree with this doctrine, but this, I think this is what the passage is teaching. The idea is not that God looked through history and saw who would choose him, and then he said, Okay, well, I'll choose them because they're going to choose me. The idea is that he marked them out beforehand, that he set the boundaries of their lives, if you will, and part of those boundaries was choosing them to be saved, to be conformed to the image of his son. So he chose some to have this destiny to me to be made holy, to be conformed to the image of his son ahead of time, and those whom he predestined, he called, that is, he gave them here that conversion experience. We, you know, all of us hopefully have been there, where you have your eyes opened, you see who you are, you see your sin, and you long to be freed from it. And then those whom he called, he justified, that is, forgave their sins, and those whom he justified, he glorified. And that glorified, I think, is the same as sanctification in this sense. It's being made holy, being made fully and completely righteous. Now that doesn't happen in this life, it happens in the age to come. But you'll notice it's in the past tense in this chapter. It's clear from Paul's earlier arguments in 24 and 25 that he looks to our glorification as a future event. He talks about the hope that we have, and of course, you don't hope for what you already have, you hope for what you don't yet have. So it's clear from his own argument that he thinks this is a future event, but it's in the past hence here, and that's a pretty typical kind of uh Jewish mindset, is that they will put a future event in the past if God had said it. Because the idea is if God said it, it's as good as done. So even if chronologically in the future, if God has promised it, we can talk about it as a past event because it's as good as accomplished. So I think that's why it's in the past tense here. So then the rest of his section is his application. He says, so if this is true, that if the Spirit is interceding for us intelligently, asking for exactly what we need, and we can have confidence that everything that happens, no matter how hard it is, is designed to bring us into our inheritance, how should we respond? What should we say to these things? And his response is, we have nothing to fear. So look at 831 and 32. What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? So he's saying, look, if God loved you enough to do all this for you while you were still a sinner and still a rebel, now that he's done this for you, adopted you into his family, made you his child, don't you think he loves you enough to get you the rest of the way? If he is for you, who can be against you? If he didn't even spare his own son for you, now won't he finish the job, won't he get you to the glory he's promised you? And all of that is to say, do you realize how secure your inheritance is? Look at 33 and 34 then. Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, and who indeed is interceding for us. So he's saying, Who can find you guilty if God Himself has forgiven you and Jesus has died for you? So it's like saying, okay, the Father is our judge and Jesus is our defense attorney or our advocate. How who is left to condemn you? The price has already been paid. You don't need to condemn yourselves, this there's no one left to condemn you. And then kind of the resounding climax of the chapter in 835 through 39, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? And by love of Christ, there he doesn't mean Christ's feelings for us, he means what Christ's love accomplished for us. So this is not who can make Christ stop loving me, but who can separate me from what he did for me, who can separate me from the thing that he accomplished. So by his love, he demonstrate by his death he demonstrated his love, and that death and resurrection brings about our fulfillment, our inheritance. So as we go through this list, think of how many of these David faced in his lifetime and how many he's facing at this particular point in the story. It's a kind of amazing. So in 835, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake, we are being killed all day long, we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's a pretty all-inclusive list. Tribulation and distress are kind of the outward pressures and the internal pressures. They cover both the out external anguish and internal anguish. Peril and persecution are life-threatening dangers. And then he quotes Psalm 44, verse 22, and that psalm is talking about people who go out in battle in faith and are killed. And the Psalm is asking the question: so if I do the right thing, I go out to battle for God and I'm killed for it, does that mean God has abandoned me? Does that mean I was wrong? Does that mean I've somehow, you know, I'm misguided in my faith? And the psalmist saying, no, that doesn't even prove that. You can do the right thing and still be killed, but it does not mean that God no longer loves you. And I think that's why Psalm Paul is quoting that psalm here to say, how should you respond when you do the right thing and you're killed for it? And he says, not even that is evidence that God has abandoned you. Not even that means God has forgiven you, or forgotten you, or abandoned you. So he says, no, and those very circumstances are part of the plan in 37, and all things we overwhelmingly conquer. So you don't just survive, you conquer. You don't just kind of barely make it through scraping by, you know, with your fingernails. But then in all of that, God is going to bring you in this victorious triumph and conquer. So even my sinful choices, my stupidity, my selfishness, all of that God can somehow orchestrate and redeem to bring about my inheritance. So he says, in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer. It's part of this custom-made plan to get me to my inheritance. And the wonderful conclusion of the chapter, neither life nor death, so nothing in this age or in the age to come, neither angels nor principalities, no other spiritual power can intervene, neither things present nor things to come, nothing in the past, nothing in the future, powers or anything of a miraculous nature, neither height nor depth, no geographical location, nor any other created thing. So just in case he missed anything, anything else under the sun. It kind of makes the list all inclusive. So he's saying, all these afflictions, they're not going to stop you from becoming the person God wants you to be. They're not going to keep you from being freed ultimately from your sin or receiving your inheritance. In fact, the opposite, they are going to bring it about. Your glory is guaranteed. So, like David, you may be at the lowest point in your life, or a low point. You know, think about him, weary and hungry in the wilderness, thinking that all is lost, and even worse, it's his own fault that he has brought him to this place. And I think the message of 2 Samuel and the message of Romans is God is still at work. We may not see it, we may not understand it, but no one can upset his plan of redemption, nothing can thwart his word from coming about, or as Paul says, nothing can separate us from the love of God. God is not absent, even when what he's doing is not obvious. So, what should you kind of take away from all this? For me, I think one of the lessons I learned is that my God is too small. You know, I kind of underestimate what he could be doing because I see a problem, I get my solution, and it's like, okay, by Friday, this is the answer I want. You know? And there's a hundred thousand ways he could be working to strengthen our faith. So I think the emphasis is he is working. We just don't have the big enough picture to understand it. The other thing I think is we may miss our own contribution. I mean, we like to identify with David and think about ourselves as the hero of the story, but what if we're the woman just going about our daily duty to the well drawing water, and God uses that as an act to save the kingdom? I mean, we may not even be aware that just a simple conversation we have, or something we do in our daily lives, or smiling at someone in the grocery store, or whatever. God may be using that in ways we have no idea. We I think we're all part of the plan, not only for our own lives, but for other people's lives. We're just one piece of the puzzle. I was, we got an example of this. Um I'm gonna brag about my daughter. She was uh in a small group and they were asked to, uh, people were kind of sharing their testimonies and what they had learned in this past year, and one of the college guys in her group started saying, Well, you know, I was I was really kind of lax about my faith, and then I had this conversation with Megan, my daughter, and it made me think, oh, I really should start studying my Bible. And then he'd go on and say, Oh, and then I had this confirmation with Megan, and she's like, Me? Is he talking about me? Because she didn't even remember half of them. He'd say, Well, she said something like they just assumed that she thought this was true about God, and I thought, Do I think that's true about God? Maybe I should take that seriously. And she had no clue. Now, you may think, oh, well, he likes her. Well, he doesn't. He has a crush on her roommate. So he was just hanging around because of the roommate, and God used all these offhand conversations to move him to a place of stronger faith, and she had no clue, didn't even know aware of it. And I thought, God's probably doing that all the time, but we just don't see it. Sometimes he he draws back the curtain and lets us see, and sometimes we don't see it. So let me just close with these verses from Philippians. It's Philippians 4, 6, and 7. And think about what we've just talked about and why Paul could make this claim. They're probably familiar verses to you. Do not be anxious about anything. But in everything in prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. Now, how could we possibly not be anxious about anything unless we were convinced God is working all things together for our good? But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, lest your request be made knowed to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The peace of God, knowing that He is in control no matter what. Let me pray for us. Father, thank you that you are our God that loves us and loves us enough to die for us, loves us enough to weave all the daily ins and outs of our lives into this intricate pattern to bring about our faith and our sanctification and our ultimate glorification. And we pray that you would encourage us uh those who are struggling with this to see or who don't see how you're working, to hang on to their faith and believe. And we pray especially for the Andersons and the Taggers that they're probably in the midst of a time that do not understand. Um, that you would give them this hope that you are at work, that nothing can separate them from the love of your son and the plan you have for them, and that you would open our eyes to the small ways, maybe this could be an encouragement or a support to help them be able to do that.