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II SAMUEL 17:23

"THE STUPID MOVE OF A WISE MAN"

Intro: Even wise men can do foolish things, and all the wisdom can be
       nullified in one  action. Wisdom is no guarantee against folly.

I. THE WISDOM OF AHITHOPHEL.
        A. His counsel was as if he were an oracle of God.
                1. People would put the same kind of confidence as though
                   God were speaking to them.
                2. He had been David's close friend and counselor. "We
                   took sweet  counsel together."
                3. The counsel he gave to Absalom was cunning and shrewd
                   though  evil.
                        a. He had an excellent understanding of human
                           nature.
                        b. He knew how people would respond to certain
                           moves.
        B. When he saw that Absalom did not follow his counsel, he went
           and "set  his house in order."
                1. This indicates he was a prudent man.
                2. He made careful deliberate steps to see that
                   everything was in  order.
                3. He sat down and wrote his last will and testament.
        C. It is never wise to think in terms of this world only.

II. THE FOLLY OF AHITHOPEL.
        A. "And hanged himself."
                1. We all of us face many crises in our lives.
                        a. We have great disappointments.
                        b. We have great pressure against us.
                        c. It seems our problems have no solutions.
                2. We come to that place and moment where we can no longer
                   maintain and we must reach out beyond ourselves.
                        a. this is the crises moment.
                        b. Where, or to whom we reach is vital.
                        c. This is where worldly wisdom many times leads
                           to folly.
                                a. Because we know there is no human way
                                   we assume there is no way.
                                b. Any wisdom that fails to reckon God is
                                   folly.
                3. How tragic when one reaches for the sleeping pills or
                   revolver.
                4. What true wisdom when you reach out to God.
                5. This wise man Ahithopel reached for a rope, how stupid.
        B. He had also manifested folly when he turned his back on God's
           anointed  to follow a rising star.
                1. It is folly to think that you can better your life
                   apart from God's  ordained plan.

III. I OBSERVE WISE PEOPLE TODAY DOING FOOLISH THINGS.
        A. I see a wise farmer.
                1. So careful about his work, rotating his crops,
                   choosing the best  seed, cultivating the soil, careful
                   as to how he plants and what he  plants, for he knows
                   the fruit depends on it.
                2. He is so foolish about his own life and soil.
        B. I see a wise accountant.
                1. Keeping accurate books taking care with each ledger, s
                   interested  in profit and loss.
                2. He has not taken into account "what shall it profit a
                   man if he  gains..."
        C. I see a wise doctor.
                1. So careful in his diagnosis so that he might prescribe
                   the right  treatment to hasten the cure. So interested
                   in the physical health  of his patient. He insists on
                   precautionary shots against maladies  that might
                   strike.
                2. He is dying himself from a fatal dose of sin which can
                   be so simply  prevented or cured by the blood of
                   Jesus Christ.
        D. And so the judge, the defending attorney, the builder, the
           pilot, the  engineer...