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Today, we move into a chapter where the real battle isn’t fought with swords or armies — it’s fought with counsel, with strategy, and with the unseen hand of God quietly shaping the outcome.
This is the chapter where human wisdom on one level reaches its highest point… and yet still falls short of the purposes of God. It’s where the most brilliant strategist in Israel gives flawless advice — and God overturns it with a word. It’s where Absalom looks unstoppable — and yet the seeds of his downfall are already being sown.
 We’re going to walk through this chapter today in three sections:
 1. Ahithophel’s Counsel — Brilliant, Ruthless, and Humanly Unbeatable. t is almost flawless. From heaven’s perspective, it is already doomed.
 2. Hushai’s Counter‑Counsel. Then Hushai steps forward with a plan that appeals not to strategy, but to Absalom’s ego. And in that moment, God bends the heart of a rebellious son towards choosing the wrong plan — the very thing that will save David’s life.
 3. The Escape — God's Protection of David. David is exhausted, vulnerable, and outnumbered — but he is not unprotected.
 This chapter is a helpful reminder that God does not need the odds in His favour to accomplish His will.  He simply speaks — and the counsel of the wise is overturned.
Welcome to the episode…. 

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Today, we step into one of the most emotionally charged chapters in the entire story of David — a chapter where the king is down, the kingdom is shaking, and yet God is quietly, faithfully at work behind the scenes.
 Chapter 15 showed us David fleeing Jerusalem with a broken heart; Chapter 16 shows us what happens on the road — a road of humiliation, a road of loss, a road where everything familiar has been stripped away. And it’s on that very road that God begins to reveal something really quite profound:
 This chapter will be unpacked through its three dramatic scenes, each one showing us a different angle of what it means to trust God when life is falling apart.
 1. Verses 1–4 — We meet Ziba
1.       Verses 5–13 — We then meet Shimei.
 2.       Verses 14–23 — We see Absalom’s Arrival in Jerusalem.
 This is a chapter about humiliation and betrayal, but also about faith, restraint, and the quiet, steady work of God in the background. It’s a chapter that speaks to anyone who has ever walked through a season where life felt unfair, where people misunderstood you, or where circumstances seemed stacked against you.
 So, let’s walk with David through this difficult chapter of his life— because in his story, we can discover something true about our own.... No matter what, God is still working.
 Welcome to the episode…..
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Check out my other Podcasts.
The Bible Project: https://thebibleproject.buzzsprout.com
History of the Christian Church: https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.com
The L.I.F.E. Podcast: (Philosophy and current trends in the Arts and Entertainment Podcast).
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https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568906

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Today, we step into one of the great turning points in the entire story of David — a moment when the kingdom shakes, loyalties shift, and the consequences of years of unresolved pain finally erupt into out-and-out rebellion.
If chapter 14 felt tense, chapter 15 feels explosive.
This is the chapter where the unthinkable happens:
David is forced to flee his own family and city because his own son has stolen the hearts of the people.
It is heartbreaking. It is shocking, and it is deeply human.
This chapter is more than a history lesson because I believe it is meant to warn us about what happens when ambition replaces humility, when image replaces integrity, when bitterness replaces reconciliation, and when leadership is tested when it is most vulnerable. So, let’s step into another gripping chapter in the life of David — a chapter where the king is on the run, the kingdom is in crisis, and God is quietly at work behind the scenes.
Welcome to the episode.
Support the show
Follow and Support All my Creative endeavours on Patreon.
Jeremy McCandless | Creating Podcasts and Bible Study Resources | Patreon
Check out my other Podcasts.
The Bible Project: https://thebibleproject.buzzsprout.com
History of the Christian Church: https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.com
The L.I.F.E. Podcast: (Philosophy and current trends in the Arts and Entertainment Podcast).
https://the-living-in-faith-everyday-podcast.buzzsprout.com
The Renewed Mind Podcast. My Psychology and Mental Health Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568891
The Classic Literature Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568906

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In today's episode, we will be looking at one of the most emotionally complex chapters in the entire story of David — a chapter filled with manipulation, political manoeuvring, and a father‑son relationship that never quite heals.
This is a chapter about reconciliation — but not the kind we hope for. Not the kind that heals. Not the kind that restores. This is a chapter about a partial, political, and ultimately a dangerous, manipulative reconciliation.
 It’s a chapter that shows us something we all need to understand:
 You can bring someone back geographically without bringing them back relationally.
 You can restore the appearance of unity…. without restoring the heart of unity and when reconciliation is attempted without truth, without repentance, and without genuine connection, the result is not peace — it’s a ticking time bomb.
 So today, we’re going to walk through this chapter in three movements, each one revealing a different layer of what happens when reconciliation is attempted… but never completed.
 
1. A Manipulated Reconciliation (vv. 1–20)
 2. A Partial Restoration (vv. 21–24)
3. A Reconciliation Without Relationship (vv. 25–33)
 This is a powerful chapter — not because of what happens, but because of what doesn’t happen. It’s a chapter that warns us about the danger of half‑hearted reconciliation, unresolved conflict, and relationships that look healed on the outside but remain broken on the inside.
Support the show
Follow and Support All my Creative endeavours on Patreon.
Jeremy McCandless | Creating Podcasts and Bible Study Resources | Patreon
Check out my other Podcasts.
The Bible Project: https://thebibleproject.buzzsprout.com
History of the Christian Church: https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.com
The L.I.F.E. Podcast: (Philosophy and current trends in the Arts and Entertainment Podcast).
https://the-living-in-faith-everyday-podcast.buzzsprout.com
The Renewed Mind Podcast. My Psychology and Mental Health Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568891
The Classic Literature Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568906

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In today’s episode, we step into one of the most painful and sobering chapters in all of Scripture — a chapter that shows us not only the depths of human sin, but the tragedy of wasted potential.
If you’ve been following our journey through the life of David, you know that chapter 12 ended with forgiveness, restoration, and hope. God confronted David, David confessed, and God extended mercy. But forgiveness does not erase the consequences, and sometimes the consequences of our sin show up even in the next generation.
This chapter introduces us to a young man named Amnon — David’s firstborn son. A young man with every advantage. A man with royal privilege. A man positioned to inherit the throne. Someone who had potential written all over him.
But potential is not the same as character. Furthermore, potential is not the same as discipline, and potential is not the same as obedience.
So, in today’s episode, we’re going to look honestly at this painful chapter — not to dwell on the darkness, but to learn from it. To see the warnings and to understand the dangers. And to discover how we can meet our God‑given potential by cultivating the character Amnon refused to develop.
Support the show
Follow and Support All my Creative endeavours on Patreon.
Jeremy McCandless | Creating Podcasts and Bible Study Resources | Patreon
Check out my other Podcasts.
The Bible Project: https://thebibleproject.buzzsprout.com
History of the Christian Church: https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.com
The L.I.F.E. Podcast: (Philosophy and current trends in the Arts and Entertainment Podcast).
https://the-living-in-faith-everyday-podcast.buzzsprout.com
The Renewed Mind Podcast. My Psychology and Mental Health Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568891
The Classic Literature Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568906