Use Time to Your Advantage

2 Samuel 17:1-14    (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 17:1-14.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Are you one who struggles with procrastinating or meeting deadlines?  Today’s passage, 2 Samuel 17:1-14, contains a valuable lesson for you.  Let’s go!

2 Samuel 17:1-14 (NIV)
¹  Ahithophel said to Absalom, “I would choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David.
²  I would attack him while he is weary and weak. I would strike him with terror, and then all the people with him will flee. I would strike down only the king
³  and bring all the people back to you. The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all; all the people will be unharmed.”
⁴  This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel.
⁵  But Absalom said, “Summon also Hushai the Arkite, so we can hear what he has to say.”
⁶  When Hushai came to him, Absalom said, “Ahithophel has given this advice. Should we do what he says? If not, give us your opinion.”
⁷  Hushai replied to Absalom, “The advice Ahithophel has given is not good this time.
⁸  You know your father and his men; they are fighters, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Besides, your father is an experienced fighter; he will not spend the night with the troops.
⁹  Even now, he is hidden in a cave or some other place. If he should attack your troops first, whoever hears about it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’
¹⁰  Then even the bravest soldier, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a fighter and that those with him are brave.
¹¹  “So I advise you: Let all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba–as numerous as the sand on the seashore–be gathered to you, with you yourself leading them into battle.
¹²  Then we will attack him wherever he may be found, and we will fall on him as dew settles on the ground. Neither he nor any of his men will be left alive.
¹³  If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley until not even a piece of it can be found.”
¹⁴  Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.

On verses 1-14:  Now that Absalom had taken over the throne in Israel, Absalom’s attention turned to how he should eliminate his father David completely.  Ahithophel advises Absalom to stage an immediate and focused attack against David that same night, using a relatively small force of 12,000 men to pursue and strike down David alone while leaving all of David’s followers unharmed.  Ahithophel’s thought was that Absalom should strike now while David and his men were still weary and weak from fleeing Jerusalem.  Also, by killing David alone and sparing David’s men, Absalom could secure the return and the loyalty of all those who had followed David.

While Ahithophel’s advice seemed very good, Absalom still asks Hushai for a second opinion.   Hushai takes that opportunity to criticize Ahithophel’s advice.   In contrast to Ahithophel’s suggestion for a quick, contained attack, Hushai advises Absalom to launch a full scale, all out, long and protracted attack against David and all his men involving all of Israel (that is, hundreds of thousands of soldiers) (v11).

Absalom and all his men praise Hushai’s advice over Ahithophel’s.  Verse 14b says that the Lord had intentionally frustrated Ahithophel’s good advice because the Lord’s plan was for David, not Absalom, to succeed.

But why would Hushai give that particular advice?  If Hushai was covertly spying for David while acting as Absalom’s advisor, why would Hushai advise Absalom to mobilize a far bigger army to pursue and kill not just David but all of David’s men?   How did Hushai’s advice help or protect David for ?  I believe the answer is time.  The plan Hushai recommended to Absalom bought David more time to recuperate, reorganize and ready themselves for a war against Absalom.  Especially when Hushai knew that David’s side would be outnumbered and out-resourced compared to Absalom’s side, Hushai’s advice gave David much more time to prepare for battle.

What can we learn from this?  Like Hushai and Ahithophel, learn to use time to your advantage.  Ask God for wisdom so that you can discern in what situations you need to act quickly and in what situations you need to give yourself more time.

For example, here’s one tip that some of the smartest time managers I know use:  when someone like a client, a customer, or an employer gives you a task to do and they ask you how long you need to get it done, don’t suggest a deadline that is very difficult for you to make.  Rather, when suggesting deadlines for yourself, suggest a more generous deadline that you can comfortably meet.  (Do it within reason, of course.  Don’t suggest 2 years when it will only take you 2 days!) That way, you can outperform their expectations and impress them with your work by giving it to them sooner than the deadline.  If you give an unrealistic deadline, you run the risk of missing it, not keeping your word, hurting your own reputation, and putting more unnecessary stress on yourself and others.  Use time to your advantage.

Here’s another example of using time to your advantage:  when an idea is fresh in your head, or you have motivation to get something done early, don’t procrastinate.  Get it done while you are fresh.  Strike while the iron is hot, as the saying goes, and make use of the opportunities, energy and ideas you have while they are still there.  If you don’t act quickly in those moments and you procrastinate, it may be much harder and take much longer for you to finish that same work later on.

That’s why whenever I have what I think is an idea for a sermon or a song, or an idea about something I should do, I’ll make it a point to stop and write it down, or send myself a message or a voice recording to remind myself later.  I’m trying to strike while the iron is hot.

That’s also why Ahithophel advised Absalom to “set out tonight in pursuit of David” (v1).  He wanted to attack David “while he is weary and weak”, striking while the iron is hot.

Likewise, use the time to your advantage.

Heavenly Father, I pray for wisdom to make decisions and to manage time wisely.  Please help me to use time to my advantage.  Help me to know in what situations I need to give myself more time and in what situations I need to act right away.  Thank You for being One who so generously gives wisdom.  I pray for wisdom today.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

opyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.