2 Sam 17:14, Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel." For the Lord had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, in order that the Lord might bring calamity on Absalom. 
	This morning, we read about how the plans of Ahithopehel to capture and kill King David were frustrated by God. This was a plan that was highly likely to succeed and that would have ended the Davidic kingship right at that fatal striking off of David’s head. However, as was so true of all the times that Saul was close to catching David in the wilderness regions, The Lord, Who thwarted the every attempt of Saul, also brought this scheme to an end. Absalom was thus prevented from carrying out that which could have been successful, because God worked fully and completely against him. 
	It was an answer to the very prayer of David as pronounced in 2 Sam 15:31, which we read at the point of David having to flee Jerusalem for the safety from the advancement of his own son, Absalom. Some of his very advisors had revolted and joined the ranks of the son over the father. Therefore, David asked God to do the very thing that is recounted in this morning’s chapter. This was a request that was fully in line with what the plan and purpose of God entailed.
	2 Sam 15:31, Now someone told David, saying, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." And David said, "O Lord, I pray, make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness." 
	Because David was asking the Lord to do that which was already in line with God’s plan and purpose, that prayer was answered with the intervention of the counsel of Hushai. The Lord worked on the hearts of those who were giving their consent as to which way to go, and therefore the advice of this counselor who was working for David in Absalom’s court was accepted and the treachery of Ahithophel against David was set aside. 
	Thus is the case whenever man tries to take matters into his own hand that are in opposition to what The Lord has ordained to take place. There is no manner of human will and design and planning that will ever take precedence over what God has ordained even before the ages of eternity where put into place. 
God’s will is always done! God’s perfect plan and purpose will always be accomplished! There is nothing in all of creation that can successfully stand against the will of God being done! Nothing and no one can derail what God has put into place and completes with His hand of Omnipotence and Omniscience. 
	We will spend some time with this reality as we look in scripture at a number of examples of how God always does the derailing of man’s plans that are outside His divine will that He has perfectly and eternally established. Humanity can make all the plans and schemes in order to try to bring about the wishes and desires of the human imagination, but those are all subject to God’s ruling and overruling in supreme accordance to that which He allows and disallows. Everything that comes into the lives of the people whom He created, is only for the purpose of His will being accomplished, no matter what the schemes or plots of those arrayed against Him. He will permit one to go so far, but no farther than the limit He has set now and forevermore. 
	Please turn back in your Bibles to Gen 50:19-21. This is the scene that is set for us as the brothers of Joseph were in fear for their lives. The patriarch of the family, Israel had died and been buried. Here we find the brothers in great worry that Joseph will exact his revenge upon them because of how they had so vilely and viciously plotted to rid themselves of this dreamer, this pest, this younger brother who was so especially loved by their father. They had made it look like Joseph was killed, while they sold him into slavery, hoping never to see him again. They had even toyed with the idea of killing him outright, but had been dissuaded by the prospect of making some money by selling this pest to some slave-traders.
	Now, they were no longer shielded from Joseph’s anger by their aged father. His protection was no longer their defense from the righteous retribution that they feared would be handed down by this now powerful ruler in the nation of Egypt. They were defenseless and fearing the unbridled, yet righteous anger that could soon be unleashed against them by this one, whom they had so viciously treated with anger and disgust and jealous indignation. 
	Gen 50:19-21, But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? "And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. 
	It is so apparent, with this example, that what man had planned was used by God to establish the placement of the Children of Israel, safely and manifestly in Egypt. This provided for their well being under the leadership of Joseph to the point that they would soon become a threat to the new Pharaoh of Egypt. 
Again, the heart of man tried to eliminate the placement of that which God had ordained. That Pharaoh was set on the subjugation of this now manifold people who truly belonged to God. Yahweh would release them from their bondage through the manifestation of the great and awesome power of Jehovah. 
	This was foretold to Pharaoh by God through Moses as recounted in Ex 9:13-16. Moses was to instruct Pharaoh as to the reason that Jehovah had allowed Pharaoh to go thus far, but no farther. God was at work, and no one, even the most powerful of earthly monarchs could stop that which needed to take place in the plan that The Lord God Almighty was bringing into fruition. 
	Ex 9:13-16, Then the Lord said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews," Let My people go, that they may serve Me. For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. For if by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. But, indeed, for this cause I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power, and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth. 
	As hard as Pharaoh’s heart was set against the release of the Hebrews from their enslavement, so much greater did that show how powerfully and awesomely God works to bring forth His deliverance and His Sovereignty in the whole realm of creation. It was not just Pharaoh and the Egyptians who were witness to the Omnipotence and the Majesty of Jehovah. The Hebrews recognized, by the time of their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, that this was God, their God Who ruled the heavens and the earth and did as He pleased in the whole of His creation. The universe witnessed the power of God on display, including all those demonic forces that tried to keep the Children of Israel in Egypt. The other nations in the vicinity of Egypt soon learned about the power of the God of the Hebrews and trembled at His might on display.
	Listen to the song of Moses, recorded in Ex 15:1-18, sung triumphantly on the other shore of the Red Sea. This was nothing because of anything that the Hebrews had done. They had not triumphed in battle. They had not overcome in bravery and might and cunning. They had simply been forced to trust Jehovah and pass through the separation of the water that He had brought into place. They crossed on dry land and when they had crossed, even as the chariots of Pharaoh were still in the midst of the Sea, the waters closed and the battle was over. God had magnificently and majestically fulfilled His salvation of His people against the might of Pharaoh and all those gods of Egypt. 
Ex 15:1-18, Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, "I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. "The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will extol Him. "The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name. "Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. "The deeps cover them; They went down into the depths like a stone. "Thy right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power, Thy right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy. "And in the greatness of Thine excellence Thou dost overthrow those who rise up against Thee; Thou dost send forth Thy burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff. "And at the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up, The flowing waters stood up like a heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. "The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be gratified against them; I will draw out my sword, my hand shall destroy them.' "Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters. "Who is like Thee among the gods, O Lord? Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? "Thou didst stretch out Thy right hand, The earth swallowed them. "In Thy lovingkindness Thou hast led the people whom Thou hast redeemed; In Thy strength Thou hast guided them to Thy holy habitation. "The peoples have heard, they tremble; Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. "Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. "Terror and dread fall upon them; By the greatness of Thine arm they are motionless as stone; Until Thy people pass over, O Lord, Until the people pass over whom Thou hast purchased. "Thou wilt bring them and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, The place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thy dwelling, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established. "The Lord shall reign forever and ever." 
	Moses’ father in law, Jethro, is an example of one who received this report of the awesome power of God with utter astonishment and amazement at the mighty Hand of God in operation. Jehovah thwarted the every effort and plan of the then most powerful ruler on earth with all the efforts of the gods of Egypt working to maintain the subjugation of the Children of Israel with its accompanying intended derailment of God’s plan. It was not lost on Jethro Who God was and all that He had done in bringing about the release of this people which his son-in-law was now leading. This realization and result is recounted in Ex 18:10+11.
	Ex 18:10+11, So Jethro said, "Blessed be the Lord who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people."
	As Jehovah then lead His people into the wilderness to meet with Him at Mount Sinai, there was the need to learn that they had to submit to God’s plan and will, and not their own. They were taught by God, in those desolate regions that He would meet their every need. Often, they would rebel and even try to return to the slavery of Egypt, but Jehovah proved Himself over and over and over again as their Shepherd Who would be their every provision. 
This lead to the fact that God brought His people, through the teaching of the desert with such a reliance and dependence on Him, that they were prepared to follow through on His will and His plan into the Promised Land. They had come to the place that they were utterly dependent upon Him. They would only go where He lead and seek to obey Him, Alone. They had learned to set aside the desires after returning to Egypt, their will, in order to serve Jehovah with all their heart, and with all their mind, and with all their strength. 
	In accordance with this, the second generation of this nation of The Lord was obediently prepared to enter into the Promised Land. This began with the account as expressed by Moses concerning the Lord’s bringing into place that which was opposed by the inhabitants of Canaan. Moses addressed this beginning of the movement into the Land of Promise against the will of the inhabitants of that land who would try to put a halt to what God had declared and prepared for His people. Consider what we read in Deut 2:26-31.
	Deut 2:26-31, "So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, 'Let me pass through your land, I will travel only on the highway; I will not turn aside to the right or to the left. 'You will sell me food for money so that I may eat, and give me water for money so that I may drink, only let me pass through on foot, just as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross over the Jordan into the land which the Lord our God is giving to us.' "But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today. And the Lord said to me, 'See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to occupy, that you may possess his land.' 
	As the people began that occupation of the Promised Land, it was through the Lord dealing according to His will. It was area by area, step by step against those who would try to halt the forward motion of the people who were walking in line with that which was God’s heart for the establishment of His nation in His land of ordination. The will of those kings and peoples who would try to stop this fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham by Jehovah was doomed to failure, much as had been Pharaoh’s will to keep the Hebrews as his slaves. All were seeing how God’s will would be accomplished despite the strongest and most hardened efforts of humanity to vainly try to derail and stop that which God was doing. 
	This was voiced by Rahab, in Josh 2:10+11, to the spies as they were scouting out the defenses of the city of Jericho. She made known how all the people were in absolute fear of the nation whose God was Jehovah, the Only True and Living Lord God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth and all that has life.
	Josh 2:10+11, For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And when we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
	We will continue, Lord willing, with the greater detailing of just how much more powerful God is than any created thing, whether in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth! The most mighty of creatures, including man, can never stand against the will of God. It will be done on earth as it is in heaven no matter what anyone may try to do to stop or hinder it. No one and nothing can thwart the Hand of God in action to accomplish that which He has ordained! So be it!
	Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel." For the Lord had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, in order that the Lord might bring calamity on Absalom. Amen.
	This morning’s benediction is Ps 20:6. Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven, With the saving strength of His right hand. Amen.