Why Suicide Is Not the Optionნიმუში

Relationships, Loyalties and Unforgiveness

Ahitophel’s son was Eliam and his daughter was Bathsheba. Bathsehaba who was the wife of Uriah the Hittite was the grand-daughter of Ahitophel. This relationship opens a new facet into the dynamics of the relationship between Ahitophel, David and Absalom. The sinful act of David with Bathsheba did not affect Bathsheba alone, it also sent her husband Uriah to death for no fault of his. However, David may not have realized it could have affected Ahitophel.

How David dealt with Uriah because of Bathsheba was treacherous to say the least, and one would not expect this to go down well with anyone, more so when you are related to the person victimized. As David kept pretending that everything was hunky dory after the sin with Bathsheba, Ahitophel continued to advise David and pretending it's business as usual.

When God sent the prophet Nathan to admonish David and David confessed to his sin, he was forgiven by God. And prophet Nathan said the child born to Bathsheba will die. For Bathsheba's husband to have been murdered by deceit was hurting enough but to see his granddaughter's child die as a result of what David did, was perhaps unbearable for Ahitophel. He probably found it impossible to forgive David for that reason. Having seen that David was forgiven by God, Ahitophel should have left it to God to deal with David. Since he could not do that, the forgiveness and hence the healing, evaded him.

Ahitophel was probably biding his time to settle scores with David. And when the time came to choose sides, Ahitophel chose Absalom over David. For sometime, he may have congratulated himself for asking Absalom to lie with David's concubines in the open, in spite of how indecent it may have been. And when he saw that Absalom respected his advice like David used to, he gloated even more.

Out of these three - relationship with Bathsheba, loyalty to Absalom and unforgiveness towards David - none of them aligned with God's purpose. God's purpose was to make Israel into a strong nation that would show forth God's power and glory to the world, and these considerations only served to hinder it.

When Absalom disregarded Ahitophel's advice, his entire locus-standi was challenged. With God not in the picture, resolution of a situation becomes complex, confusing and ultimately frustrating. David did something really bad, but with him confessing his sin to God with an open heart, the situation was resolvable. Unfortunately, things were different with Ahitophel. He could not, nay, he did not turn to God. He only saw the tunnel and not the light at the end of it.

Introspection

1.Are my relationship considerations coming in the way of me fulfilling God's purpose?

2.Are my loyalties based on my self-centered interpretation of events and situations instead of God's purpose?

3.Is my unforgiveness towards someone working to sabotage God's bigger purpose?

Points to remember:

1.My plans and counsel may not stand, but God's plans will always be fulfilled and His counsel never fails.

2.When I try to derail God's plans, I hurt myself. It is good for me to realign myself with God's purpose.

3.Ultimately, it is God's purpose that makes my life worth the living.