The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Samuel 17:18, “But a lad did see them, and told Absalom.”

It was the worst of times! Absalom, David’s son, was seeking

to wrest the kingdom from his father. Every day, Absalom

stood at the city gate and appealed to people, saying that if

he were king, things would go better for everyone. Ahithophel

was David’s counselor, but he had joined forces with Absalom,

prompting David to pray, “O LORD, I pray, make the counsel

of Ahithophel foolishness.” Strategy and intrigue attended both

sides. Hushai became David’s “plant” in Absalom’s camp. He

gave advice to Absalom that was contrary to that of Ahithophel.

Absalom took the bait, but along the way a lad saw a girl enter

the city where David was, and reported it to Absalom.

There are a number of instances in Scripture where young boys,

who saw things they didn’t completely understand, reported them

to officials. While such things were often quite valuable, they were

also often wrong. Be careful what you report and to whom. The

situation between Absalom and David was far more complicated

than that lad understood. Better that he should have stayed

out of it altogether. And so it is often with us. Yet, the LORD

overruled in this situation, as David had prayed that He would.

We are all valuable to the LORD; we just want to be careful not

to interfere in things we don’t fully understand.

May the LORD bless you abundantly today,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”