Pride

573 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 16:14-19, “Now the king and all the people who were with him became weary; so they refreshed themselves there. 15 Meanwhile Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem; and Ahithophel was with him. 16 And so it was, when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, came to Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom, "Long live the king! Long live the king!" 17 So Absalom said to Hushai, "Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?" 18 And Hushai said to Absalom, "No, but whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his I will be, and with him I will remain. 19 "Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father's presence, so will I be in your presence." ( 2 Sam 16:14-19) David and his men are safely out of Jerusalem and take a break to recharge their batteries. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Absalom has heard of David's departure and moves quickly to occupy the city. He was pleasantly surprised to find Hushai waiting for him, since Hushai was one of his father's closest friends and greatest advisers. This is almost too good to be true! Absalom can't believe his eyes and questions Hushai about his loyalty. What I find interesting about Hushai's response, is he never really says that he has stopped serving David. Listen again to his words: “Long live the king! Long live the king!" (He can just as easily mean King David) Then he says, “whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his I will be, and with him I will remain. (believing that the Lord has chosen David, he can just be restating that loyalty to David) Then he says, “As I have served in your father's presence, so will I be in your presence." ( This again can be taken as “I remain loyal to David!”) But Absalom is so sure of himself, so enamored with his press clippings and success, he imagines that all of Hushai's comments speak of loyalty to him! It is just as we read in Pr 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. John Ruskin has said “In general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes.” it's what caused Absalom to seek to ascend to the throne in the first place, and it was pride that allowed him to misinterpret the words of Hushai, which ultimately led to his demise. It wasn't the words of Hushai that deceived him, it was the pride in his heart!! Ob 1:3 says, “ The pride of your heart has deceived you! Father, guard our hearts from pride.