The latter part of II Samuel 23 begins to list the mighty men that were with David. These are the men who hid in the caves with him when he fled from Saul. These are the ones who pledged their lives and vowed to protect him no matter what happened. As I read this chapter this morning, I noticed one of them men listed was the son of Ahithophel. Ahithophel was the counselor to Absalom during his “mutiny” against his dad, King David. It appears Ahithophel’s son did not follow him because he is still listed a few chapters after the death of Ahithophel as a mighty man of David.
As I read this account of history, it seemed obvious to me that the purpose of this information is to let ud know we don’t have to follow the path our parents choose. There are times parents choose a wrong path. As children of God, we need to follow the scripture which tells us we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. We must be careful not to blindly follow our family members down a path that leads away from God. It is important for us to know the scripture and learn to pray for ourselves without relying on our parents to keep us on the right path.
No matter what path a parent may choose, this account found in II Samuel helps us know we can continue to follow what is right. A song I heard says, “Hold on to what you know is right, hold on to what you know is right, weeping may endure for a night but joy is coming with the morning light…” Another old song I remember my dad singing when I was just a child, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus, life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ. One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrows will erase, so bravely run this race till we see Christ.” And then Nancy Grandquist wrote a song, “It’s gonna be worth it all, it’s gonna be worth it all, it’s gonna be worth it all some beautiful happy day. It’s gonna be worth every long mile, every heartache and every trial. It’s gonna be worth it all some beautiful happy day!”
seziriak 