What can we learn about divine intervention from 2 Samuel 17:20? Setting the Scene Absalom is pursuing his father David. Jonathan and Ahimaaz carry a crucial message that could save the king’s life, yet enemy soldiers are close behind. A simple household in Bahurim becomes the stage on which the Lord quietly but decisively acts. The Verse: 2 Samuel 17:20 “When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they asked, ‘Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?’ ‘They have crossed over the brook of water,’ she replied. The men looked but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.” Divine Intervention in Plain Sight • God works through ordinary people. – An unnamed woman—an everyday villager—becomes His instrument of rescue, echoing Rahab in Joshua 2:1-6. • Divine protection often looks “natural.” – No thunderbolt falls; instead, a well-timed statement and a concealed well secure the spies. • God can turn enemy searches into empty quests. – “The men looked but did not find them” shows Proverbs 21:30 in action: “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.” • Courage and quick thinking are tools in His hand. – The woman’s decisive answer buys the time God had ordained, much like Michal’s ruse for David in 1 Samuel 19:11-17. • Small scenes serve grand purposes. – Preserving these two messengers ensures David receives vital intelligence and ultimately safeguards the Messianic line promised in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. Patterns of God’s Hidden Hand • Strategic Concealment – Psalm 32:7: “You are my hiding place; You protect me from trouble.” – God shelters His people, sometimes beneath a simple household covering. • Redirected Pursuit – Exodus 14:24-25: the Egyptian chariots bog down at the Red Sea; here Absalom’s forces “bog down” in futile searching. • Human Agency Joined to Divine Sovereignty – 2 Kings 6:17 shows angels; 2 Samuel 17 shows a woman and a well. Whether supernatural or ordinary, the outcome is the same—deliverance. Take-Home Truths • Expect God to intervene—sometimes quietly, always effectively. • Never underestimate what He can do through the obedient, the available, and the unnamed. • Trust that no enemy strategy can thwart His covenant purposes. • Remember that moments which feel small in our story may be pivotal in His redemptive plan. |
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