2 Samuel 17:15-17
Verse 17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En Rogel. A female servant was to go and inform them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they could not risk being seen entering the city.
Hushai, hearing Absalom and the men of Israel had liked his option over Ahithophel’s knew he must get right on his job of informing the king through the appointed contacts. Without making much of a scene he would have excused himself from Absalom’s presence. He didn’t want to make it obvious but he needed to get the word to David as quick as possible.
He went to the priests as David had told him to and passed on the vital information. David had told Hushai to have the priests use their sons for the passing of messages. Though we have their names, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, we don’t know a whole lot about these young men. We know they were going to be priests if they weren’t already old enough for that.
Jonathan and Ahimaaz weren’t in town but they had a way of getting the news to them so they could go to David. As with any good secret service message system of the day, the priests sent another person to take the message to their sons. Who would suspect a servant girl of being on a mission for the king of Israel? This girl may not have understood the significance of what she was doing, she was simply obeying. Her name isn’t mentioned but God was using her to do His work.
Hushai had gone on with his day which made it look like nothing out of the ordinary was going on. Even if someone had noticed he had gone to see the priests it would have appeared as that was all there was to it because they continued on with their duties as if everything was normal. But the message had been passed on to the third part of the relay and she was on her way to find the young men.
The young priests were not all that far away, they were down by the Kidron Valley in En Rogel less than a mile southeast of Jerusalem. They knew they couldn’t be spotted back in the city. This little fact about them not wanting to be identified in the city shows the length they were going through to keep the king safe in their communications. If they were seen in the city and then were gone it would have looked suspicious but a female servant would be less concerning. These 5 men and a servant girl were willing to help David, the man after God’s own heart even if it meant things would be difficult for them.
Making It Personal
How devoted are you to God and His message? Are you willing to be His messenger? How willing are you to go to uncomfortable lengths to pass along word of Him?
Making It Personal Kids
What do you think it means to be a messenger for Jesus? Are you willing to be His messenger? Who can you tell about Him today?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for wanting us to be part of Your messaging system. Give us wisdom and Your words to share with those in our world. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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