The Death of the Man

05.09.14

2 Samuel 17.1-3 1 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “I would choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David. 2 I would attack him while he is weary and weak. I would strike him with terror, and then all the people with him will flee. I would strike down only the king 3 and bring all the people back to you. The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all; all the people will be unharmed.”

You know, the plan of Ahithophel wasn’t that bad – it made sense: attack David with surprise and bank on catching him weak. Not a bad plan. And then Ahithophel said this: The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all; all the people will be unharmed. Now there might’ve been some wisdom in Ahithophel’s approach, but I think there was something lacking in his narrative: the death of the man you seek… arrogance? A laydown? Piece of cake?

When I read this, I immediately thought of Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel: they sought to kill Jesus because they assumed He was a threat to their plans and purposes. It’s not surprising that Caiaphas (the High Priest at the time) said, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” (John 11.49-50) There seems to be a common thread here.

God never sought the death of His Son but He knew, in His foreknowledge, that His Son would be despised and rejected: He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. (Isaiah 53.3) Ahithophel despised and rejected David in much the same manner; David, he thought, needed to be removed and replaced – he bet the farm on Absalom.

For you and me it was better for us that Ahithophel’s advice was supplanted by Hushai the Arkite (See: 2 Samuel 17.14): no David, no Jesus. And we need Jesus. The nation of Israel needed Jesus and the prophecy of Caiaphas the priest was a telling prophecy indeed of the need of Israel (and the rest of the planet for that matter).

I am exploring a concept that came to me which I call: the Nakedness of Death. As each of us is born naked into this world, all of us will depart naked into eternity. Nakedness is how all of us enter and leave this world. Our arrival requires covering but so does our departure. The death of David would’ve removed all possibility of our being clothed in Christ’s righteousness. The death of Jesus secured for us leaving this life clothed in His righteousness forever.

The death of the [Man] you seek will mean the return of all; all the people will be unharmed. And the death of Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophecy and the intent of God’s heart for all of His children who’ve wandered away. Now, by His naked death they come fully clothed into the Kingdom of the presence of God safely; forever.

Father God, thank You for the sacrifice of Your Son – the death of the Man they sought – and the result of His bringing all of Your children fully clothed and safely home. Thank You that I am included in that number: when the saints come marching in… Amen.