Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life.

In the time it takes to get to work.

I'm Patrick Miller.

In today's chapter, David is on the run from his favorite son, Absalom.

And in this chapter, David almost becomes a shadow.

He's not a character in the story.

He's not an actor in the drama. He's just a man reacting in the shadows. When David fled Jerusalem, he fled

with a group of trusted warriors. But anyone reading this in the ancient world would know that

David was in a precarious position. The size of his small force put him in danger if a larger

force confronted him. Perhaps most

importantly, if his enemies managed to kill him without engaging his warriors, well, there's a good

chance that they would just switch sides and give their allegiance to Absalom. So at this point,

time is of the essence. David needs to flee as far from Jerusalem as he can, and he needs

to hide himself away. That's why 2nd Samuel 17 reads more like a history of court intrigue than anything

else. And that's part of what makes it interesting, but I know that sometimes this chapter has left

people wondering how it helps us to worship God, how it

helps us to follow Jesus. So let's just start at the beginning of the story because again,

this is interesting historically. Absalom begins by summoning advisors on how to deal with David

now that David is on the run. He knows that David is weak. and so he starts with Ahedafel, who's loyal to

Absalom and definitely not loyal to David. We'll pick up in verse one. Hidafel said to Absalom,

I would choose 12,000 men and set out tonight in pursuit of David. I would attack him while he is

weary and weak. I would strike him with terror. And then all the people with

...