Christian Education and Discipleship

Why Some Will Not Listen

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Education and Discipleship

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2020-10-11

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver examines the biblical account of Absalom's rebellion in 2 Samuel 17 to explain why some people refuse to listen to truth. He argues that the natural, unregenerate man cannot spiritually discern God's Word, yet remains responsible to hear it. Using Absalom's rejection of Ahithophel's good counsel in favor of Hushai's bad counsel, Weaver demonstrates that God sovereignly appoints some to believe lies and fall into destruction as judgment for rejecting truth. The sermon emphasizes that the ability to hear and believe is a gift of God's grace, and those who persistently refuse to listen are left to their own self-destruction.

[John Weaver] Make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee. And I will smite the king only, and I will bring back all the people unto thee. The man whom thou seekest is as all returned, so all the people shall be in peace. And the saying pleased Absalom well and all the elders of Israel. Then said Absalom, call now Hushai the Archite also. Let us hear likewise what he said. And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake on him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner. Shall we do after his saying? If not, speak thou. And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. For said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hidden now in some pit, or in some other place, and it will come to pass when some be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, there is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.

[John Weaver] And he also that is valued whose heart is as a heart of a lion shall utterly melt. And for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valued men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan, even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person.

[John Weaver] So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground. And of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it in the river until there be not one small stone found there. And Absalom, that all the men of Israel said, the council of Hushah the archite is better than the council of Ahithophel.

[John Weaver] So let me just stop there momentarily. The title of the message is why some will not listen. Every parent at some time in his or her life has become frustrated with their children simply because the children will not listen. And likewise, there are many husbands and wives become frustrated with each other because one of the spouses seemingly will not listen. And of course, any pastor can tell you that oftentimes he's become frustrated with the fact that he looks out among the congregants and some of them appear not to be listening at all. And when you do counseling, one-on-one, couple-on-couple, you find that many times it just doesn't register because they are really, really not listening. Moreover, Witnessing sometimes you will find that you can witness very plainly and folks really are interested. They don't really care.

[John Weaver] And I've had people actually tell me they did not want to hear anything about Jesus Christ. And they certainly did not want to hear anything about the Bible. And so over and over we repeat ourselves simply because people will not listen. I think that TV has probably destroyed the attention span of most people in this country. I really began to think that the average individual could not listen more than three to five minutes without being distracted or without a break. And when I began to think this, I thought, well, I think I'll do some checking. And once I began to do some checking, I found out I was extremely generous with three to five minutes. I want you to listen to this article. It says the average human attendance span is now shorter than a goldfish's. Seriously. A recent study found that the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000, or around the time smartphones hit the scene, to 8 seconds today. In comparison, scientists believe that the goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds.

[John Weaver] So I thought, wow! Three to five minutes was very generous if the average individual cannot pay attention more than eight seconds straight. Have you ever wondered, though, how our forefathers learned everything that they learned? And here's the answer. They listened. When you stop and think that all the colonial children, most of them, By the time they were five or six years of age, could already read, write, and speak not only English, but Greek, Hebrew, and Latin.

[John Weaver] It was a qualification to get into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, any of these schools. You already had to be able to read, write, and speak Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. That's astounding. An excellent example is Sam Adams. Sam Adams received what you and I would call a top education at the Boston Latin School. He was educated among some of the, I guess you would call them the elite or the most well-off in Boston, Massachusetts. And he learned not only the classics, but Latin and Greek as well. So listen to this. At age 14, In 1736, he entered Harvard College at age 14. And of course, at age 18, he graduated with a bachelor's degree. And at age 21, he received his master's degree in art and was able to write a very controversial thesis about the Commonwealth.

[John Weaver] Now, how did they learn? How did they gather so much in their minds. And the answer is they didn't have TV. They didn't have radio. They didn't have computers. They didn't have smartphones. They didn't have tablets. In other words, they actually had to pay attention. They had to listen and they had to listen very, very well.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you some verses in the New Testament. We're going to be examining second Samuel, but I want you to think about what our Lord said and how often he said it. For instance, in Matthew 11 in verse 15, our Lord said this, he that has ears to hear, let him hear. In Matthew 13 verse nine, who have ears to hear, let him hear. In Matthew chapter 13 in verse 43, he said, Then shall the righteous shine forth as a son in the kingdom of his father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And then in Mark chapter 4 in verse 9, he said again unto them, He that hath ears to hear, Let him hear and then in Luke chapter 8 he's talking about the parable of the sower and the good ground hearer He said another fell on good ground and sprang up and bare forth a hundredfold and we said these things he cried and He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And then of course, when he's talking about salt, when it had lost its saltiness, in the book of Luke chapter 14 in verse 35, he said, it is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill, men cast it out.

[John Weaver] He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. So over and over our Lord, made this simple truth very clear. If you have ears to hear, you must hear. So here is the truth that we are to grasp from all of these verses that I just quoted, and that is if you have ears to hear, if you have the ability to hear, then that means you are responsible and accountable to hear. Actually, the verses mean far more than just a responsibility to hear. In other words, you are responsible to hear far more than just what you and I would call the audio waves. So it's not just a responsibility to hear, It's also a willingness to hear, a readiness to hear. In each one of these passages I just quoted, the Greek word for hear is the word akuo, which literally means to hear, to hearken, to attend to, to consider, to understand, to perceive, and to give ear to teaching or to the teacher. Now, there's another truth I think that we've got to comprehend in light of these verses.

[John Weaver] And that truth is this. We have to distinguish between ability and responsibility. While anyone who has the ability to hear, he is also responsible to hear as well. But we must also grasp this fact that there is a difference between external hearing and internal hearing. Let me say the same thing a different way. There is a difference between just hearing sound waves and perceiving the truth spiritually. So many people may hear externally, audibly, but they cannot hear spiritually. So anyone that may have the ability to hear physically does not necessarily mean that he has the ability to hear spiritually.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm going to say this again a little bit later, but listen carefully. Inability does not negate responsibility. Let me show you what I'm talking about. I want you to hold second Samuel, but turn in your Bibles to first Corinthians chapter 2 and look if you would please at verse 14. First Corinthians chapter 2. And notice if you would please verse 14. Here the Apostle Paul makes a very clear statement.

[John Weaver] He says this, but the natural man Receive it not the things of the Spirit of God For they are foolishness unto him neither. Can he know them? Because they are spiritually discerned now in this passage the natural stands opposed to the spiritual the natural man denotes those men who are governed by by their natural instincts, their animal passions, their desires. And the natural here is in opposition to those things which are of the Spirit of God. Now, it refers to unregenerate men. That is true. It refers to unconverted men. But more than that, it refers to unconverted men, unregenerate men who are controlled by their own passions and desires. So, he tells you in verse 14 that the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God. Why? Their foolishness to him. So, truth to the natural man is folly. It is absolutely worthless. Useless and undesirable. Now, since the natural man is unregenerate, he does not have the power or the ability to see truth. I want you to look at verse 14 again.

[John Weaver] Watch this. But the natural man received not the things of the spirit of God for their foolishness unto him. Now watch. Neither can he know them because they're spiritually discerned. I remember even when I was a boy in school, our teacher taught us the difference between the two words may and can. May is a term of permission. Can is a term of ability. So Francis could ask me, pastor, may I play the piano? And I would look at him and say, you have my permission if you have the ability to play the Vienna. He could ask me, can I play the piano? And I would respond, I don't know whether you can or not. I've never heard you. But can is a term of ability. So our Lord says in verse 14, neither can he know them. That is, he does not have the ability to discern spiritual truth.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just point something out. When the Bible is here talking about the natural man, and that he's totally ignorant of spiritual truth and has no ability to see spiritual truth, that does not mean, necessarily, that he is an ignorant man by the world's standard. He could have four or five earned PhDs. He could have an IQ off the charts. But as far as the truth of God is concerned, he's totally ignorant. He cannot see it. He cannot perceive it.

[John Weaver] He is governed by his passions, by his desires, by his pride, by his intellect. Now, I want you to hold this passage, but I want you to turn back to Psalm 49. And let me show you two verses here, because God likens these men to brute beasts. So in Psalm 49 and verse 12, Watch what the Bible says. Psalm 49 verse 12, nevertheless man being in honor abideth not, he is like the beasts that perish. So man that is in honor and abides not in honor, he's like the beasts that perish. Skip down to verse 20. He says man that is in honor and understandeth not, he's like the beasts that perish. So a man that is unregenerate, A man that is a natural man cannot understand, will not understand, does not understand, and God said, he's like the beasts that perish.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look at 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14 one more time, then we're going to go to Romans chapter 8. So in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, God says, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, For their foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they're spiritually discerned. Now let me show you in Romans chapter eight, beginning with verse six, a passage that not only further explains and elucidates this truth, but it emphasizes this truth quite clearly as well. So in the book of Romans chapter eight, beginning there with verse six, look at what the Bible says. Romans 8 verse 6, for to be carnally minded is death. Oh, there's the natural mind. There's the unregenerate mind. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritual minded is life and peace. So there again, they're in opposition. Now look, if you would, at verse seven, he tells you why the carnal mind is death. He says, because the carnal mind is enmity against God.

[John Weaver] The word enmity is a very strong word for hatred. So he says, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither need can be. There's a term of ability has no ability to be subject to the law of God. Then he says in verse eight, so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Natural man has no ability to please God. Now look at verse nine, but you're not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. So what the apostle is saying, if you do not have the spirit of Jesus Christ, then you are not a Christian. And if you do not have the spirit of Jesus Christ, you cannot perceive the truth. If you do not have the spirit of Jesus Christ, it means you are carnal minded. You're natural minded. You're unregenerate. You're unsaved. It's what it means.

[John Weaver] And such in one, according to Romans eight, hates God. He hates God's truth. He refuses it. He rejects it, he repudiates it, he counts it absolutely foolish, and he refuses to hear it, consider it, and certainly he would never seek to understand it.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask a question. Why would anyone waste their time on that which they despise and think is foolishness anyhow? So clearly then, this unregenerate man, this natural man, this carnal man, is not interested in the Word of God. But let me put this again, and I want you to think about it. Inability does not nullify responsibility. Whether a man is unregenerate or whether or not he's been saved by the grace of God, each man has the responsibility to hear God. Why? God created man originally. He created him upright.

[John Weaver] But Solomon says he sought out witty inventions, sinful inventions. God created man with original knowledge, righteousness or holiness and dominion. And man in his sin and rebellion forfeited that dominion, forfeited that knowledge, and forfeited that holiness. He lost his ability to please God because of his sin and his rebellion. But listen very clearly. Just because a fallen man is unsaved, unregenerate, natural, carnal, fleshly, beastly, That does not mean that he does not have responsibility to hear God. Just because man has lost his ability to hear does not mean that God has lost his right to command. God can still command and he does command. Moreover, you have to remember that any unsaved man is still the creature of God. God created him. Therefore, since he's the creature of God, he owes God submission and obedience. He cannot escape his responsibility just because he's a sinful being. Moreover, he is not only a creature of God, he's now a sinner, and therefore he owes God repentance. Clearly, just because a man is a sinner, just because he has fallen, just because he is unregenerate, just because he's lost his ability to please God, does not mean that he's lost his responsibility.

[John Weaver] So obviously, being unsaved prohibits one from hearing the word of God, spiritually speaking. He may hear it physically, but he does not hear it spiritually. But that does not negate his responsibility to hear it. Now, the unsaved have ears to hear, and therefore they may hear the word of God audibly, but they do not have the ability to hear the word of God spiritually.

[John Weaver] Now you're going to ask me, how does all this relate to 2 Samuel? Well, I'm going to show you. You see, when you look at 2 Samuel, you have to understand that the context takes place in Absalom's rebellion against his father, David. Absalom planned and executed a rebellion that was quite successful. In other words, it was so successful, it drove David off the throne. It not only drove David off the throne, he had to flee out into the wilderness to keep from being overpowered and overcome by Absalom and the men that were with him.

[John Weaver] Now, another interesting thing is this. One of the conspirators with Absalom was Ahithophel. Ahithophel was one of David's counselors. Now, there is a reason, and I'm not going to get into it right now, but there is a reason why Ahithophel joined with Absalom. But I want to show you something. Look back in your Bibles to 2 Samuel, chapter 17, and let me just show you the attitude of Ahithophel. Watch carefully. 2 Samuel, chapter 17, verse 1. Remember now, Ahithophel is a diplomat. He's a counselor. He says, moreover, Ahithophel said unto Absalom, let me now choose out 12,000 men, watch, and I will arise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee, and I will smite the king only, and I will bring back all the people unto thee.

[John Weaver] The man whom thou seekest is of all return. So all the people shall be in peace. And the same pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel."

[John Weaver] Now Ahithophel is saying right now, I am the one that will lead this raid. I'll take care of David myself. You don't even have to worry about it. And so he's saying now's the time to strike while the iron is hot. We need to hit David before he can regroup, before he can resupply, and before he can recover from the initial shock of being driven from the throne and out of Jerusalem. So Ahithophel wanted to attack David that very night.

[John Weaver] Now, let me point something out. The counsel that Ahithophel gave to Absalom was correct. It was the right thing to do. And oddly, Absalom had been listening to Ahithophel up to this point. But if you look in verse five, Absalom does something that is absolutely out of character in one sense of the word. Then said Absalom, call now Hushai the archite. Let us hear likewise what he said. Now, if you remember about Hushai the archite, Hushai was David's friend. And when David was fleeing from Absalom, Hushai went to David.

[John Weaver] And he said, I'm going with you. David said, no. If you go with me, you're going to be a burden. You go back to the palace, and it may be that you can defeat the council of Ahithophel. Whatever you hear, you tell the priests. The priests have two sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, and they will send word to me by Ahimaaz and Jonathan. And so Hushai went back to the palace and just waited for Absalom to come. So when Absalom came, the first thing Absalom asked Hushai was, why did you not go with your friend? Why are you not with David? Hushai said, nay, nay, but whom the Lord and the Lord's people choose, him shall I serve and his will I be. So he pretended then to be with Absalom. And so Ahithophel has given this great counsel, but all of a sudden now Absalom says, let's ask Hushai what he thinks. So I want you to look at Hushai's counsel, verse six. And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner, shall we do after his saying?

[John Weaver] If not, speak thou. And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. Now, I didn't say it was not good counsel. He just said it's not appropriate at this particular period, at this particular time. So Hushai is going to explain that. He said, For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds as a bear robbed of her whelps on the field. And thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.

[John Weaver] Behold, he is hid down some pit, or in some other place. And it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. And he also that is valued, whose heart is the heart of a lion, shall utterly mount. For all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valued men. Now here's his plan. Watch. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan, even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground. And of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he has gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until there be not one small stone found there."

[John Weaver] Now, the counsel that Hushai gave is wrong. Totally wrong. Why? He said, first of all, I counsel that you gather all Israel from Dan, the most northern tribe, to Beersheba, the most southern town. Do you know how long it'll take to get everybody in the land together? Moreover, what he is saying now appeals to the pride of Absalom. He says, and that thou go to battle in thine own person.

[John Weaver] In other words, here you are marching at the head of this great army, and you're going to come upon David, and you're going to destroy him, and you're going to destroy all the people, and you're going to be victorious. And Absalom sees all of this wonderful Prophecy and counsel taking place in his mind and all Hushai is doing is buying time for David so he can get the help that he needs get the food that he needs get the supply that he needs and Everything that Hushai says is basically incorrect now My question would be this. They then said that the counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of a Hithophel. So here's my question. Why did Absalom and the elders of Israel at that point reject the good counsel of a Hithophel and receive the bad counsel of Hushai.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to show you something. I want you to look in 2 Samuel 16 in verse 23. Here is an amazing statement about Ahithophel. The Bible says that the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was if a man had inquired of the oracle of God, So was all the council of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom. Ahithophel was such a wise counselor. It is said that if you inquired of Ahithophel, it was the same as requiring or inquiring of the Oracle of God. In other words, it would be the same as God speaking. Wow. Now, whether or not you like Ahithophel is immaterial.

[John Weaver] The truth of the matter is that is an excellent compliment. And what he is saying is this, that the counsel that Ahithophel gave to Absalom was spot on. It was right counsel. Now, that does not mean that everything that Ahithophel counseled was biblical. In fact, I will show you a passage where he gave some unbiblical counsel, but it was right counsel given the circumstances.

[John Weaver] Now, so you have to ask this question. Why then, why then did Absalom not listen to Ahithophel? If you will look in verse 14 of 2 Samuel chapter 17, you'll find out why. And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, the counsel of Hushai the archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. Why did they think that? For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel to the intent or for the purpose that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom.

[John Weaver] Now the word defeat in the Hebrew is the word para, and it means to defeat, to make void, to break asunder, to disappoint, to bring to naught, to frustrate, and to disannul. Now we read 2 Samuel 15 in verse 31, when David was fleeing and he was told that Ahithophel was with the conspirators, that he was with Absalom, David prayed and said, Lord, turn the council of Ahithophel into foolishness. Wow. And then, of course, he sent Hushai the Archite back that he might defeat the council of Ahithophel.

[John Weaver] Now, Here is something that's absolutely astounding to me. Up until this point, Absalom had listened to Ahithophel every time. And it was right. And now all of a sudden, he rejects the counsel of Ahithophel and takes the counsel of Hushai. By the way, I don't know if you know what happened to Ahithophel or not, but the Bible says when Ahithophel found out that his counsel was rejected, he got him to his house, he set his house in order, and he hanged himself. Because he knew when his counsel was not followed, it was over. He knew that David was going to defeat Absalom. And so he went and hanged himself. Ahithophel gave good advice, but it was not always biblical advice. So if you look in first or second Samuel chapter 16, beginning there with verse 20, here's the good advice that's not biblical advice, and I'll explain it. So Absalom and his men come to Jerusalem. Verse 20, then said Absalom to Ahithophel, give counsel among you what we shall do. And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go into thy father's concubines, which ye have left to keep the house.

[John Weaver] And all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father. Then shall the hands of all them that are with thee be strong. So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house, and Absalom went into his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.

[John Weaver] Now, was that biblical counsel? Of course not. Of course not. God says, I shall not commit adultery. The law of God said a man and his son shall not go into the same mate. And so here Absalom is going into his father's concubines, which are totally, which is totally wrong according to the word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, how can I say that this is good advice? I did not say it was biblical advice, but I said it was good advice based upon the circumstances. Look at verse 21 again. And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go into thy father's concubines, which ye have left to keep the house, and all Israel shall hear.

[John Weaver] Now watch this, that thou art of the horde of thy father. And then he makes this statement. Then shall all the hands of all that are with thee Be strong. You see, Absalom knew that it was the tendency for a father to forgive his son, to overlook his sin. And Hephaphel said, look, if you want these men to fight for you, you have to make sure that they know there's no turning back. You're either going to kill your father or he's going to kill you. And so what you're going to do is go into his concubines and shame him and put yourself in a position where your father will utterly abhor you and you will say to those men, it's on. I will kill him or he will kill me. So shall all the hands of them that be with you be strong. Now, it's interesting.

[John Weaver] That verse 23 follows this bad advice. I say bad. That is unbiblical, but good under the circumstances. Verse 23 of the council of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days was as if a man had inquired of the Oracle of God. So was the council of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom as well.

[John Weaver] Now, here's the interesting thing. Why? Did Ahithophel say, go into your father's concubines? Of course, this was part and parcel of God's correction and chastisement of David. If you would turn back in your Bibles to, let's see, 2 Samuel chapter 12. 2 Samuel chapter 12. You remember that David has committed adultery with Bathsheba. And he did everything he could to cover up his sin. He even killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the children of Ammon. So if you'll look in 2nd Corinthians chapter, I'm sorry, 2nd Samuel chapter 12 beginning of verse 11.

[John Weaver] Thus said the Lord, behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house. That's Absalom. And I will take thy wives before thine eyes and give them unto thy neighbor. That's Absalom. And he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun. That's the top of the house. For thou didst it secretly. But I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, the Lord has also put away thy sin. Thou shalt not die. So God's goal was to correct David, not to slay David. So Ahithophel's counsel to Absalom in going into his father's concubines was part and parcel of David's chastisement. But are you listening? If Absalom had followed the counsel of Ahithophel in 2 Samuel chapter 17, David would be dead and so would his family.

[John Weaver] You see what I'm saying? So God's design was to correct David and not necessarily to destroy him. So here is the point I want to emphasize. Why then, since Absalom had listened to Ahithophel the whole time, and everything turned out exactly the way Ahithophel said, Why did he not listen to Ahithophel now? And the answer is given in second Samuel chapter 17, verse 14, for the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom. Now I want you to listen to me.

[John Weaver] I find this absolutely astounding to me. David prayed in 2 Samuel 15, Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Well, God didn't do that. He didn't. The counsel that Ahithophel gave in 2 Samuel 17, one through four was good counsel. It was the right counsel. But what God did was he closed the ears of Absalom and those other people to the good counsel and opened their ears to the bad counsel. The reason Absalom would not listen, the reason those with Absalom would not listen to the good counsel was because God intended Absalom and those that were with him. You know, God sovereignly allowed Absalom to believe a lie. I don't know if you've ever thought about this or not, but when a person will not listen to the truth, will not receive the truth, will not believe the truth, The only alternative is a lie.

[John Weaver] I want you to look at this. Turn in your Bibles to Second Thessalonians, Chapter two, Second Thessalonians, Chapter two. And let's begin reading there. With verse. Ten, look what the Bible says. Second Thessalonians, two verse ten. Now watch this. This will explain everything I've been preaching. And with all deceivableness of them righteous in them that perish. So let's ask the question, why are they perishing? Here's the answer.

[John Weaver] Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. Well, what happened when they would not receive the truth? Well, verse 11, and for this cause, what cause? Because they would not receive the truth. For this cause, God shall send them a strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness. So here's what God did. God did not destroy the good counsel of Ahithophel. He just fixed it where Absalom and those people would not listen to Ahithophel.

[John Weaver] Let me put it like this. Ahithophel gave the right counsel. Absalom wouldn't listen. Absalom followed his own desires, his own pride, his own rationalization, his own thinking, and he destroyed himself. He fell upon his own sword, so to speak. Then you realize all God has to do to destroy anybody is just let us alone. Leave us to ourselves. We'll destroy ourselves. That's exactly what happened here. When one rejects the Word of God, when one refuses to hear truth, he rejects that truth at its own peril.

[John Weaver] Your wisdom, your understanding, your reasoning abilities shall fall and shall fail. You cannot and will not ever defeat God or His Word. Heaven and earth may pass away, but not God's word. Thy word has a magnified, he said, above thy name. Psalm 138. So if God's word ever fails, then God is not God. The reason some people will not listen. Is because God has appointed them to fall. He will destroy them.

[John Weaver] I want to give you one good illustration. I spoke to a man one time. The man was a nominal Roman Catholic. When I say nominal, a Roman Catholic in name only. He never went to church. I was witnessing to him about Jesus Christ. And he told me to my face, Don't ever talk to me again about Jesus Christ or the Bible. I don't want to hear it. The very next week, that 42 or three year old man who smoked.

[John Weaver] Woke up at four o'clock in the morning, went into the bathroom, got to coughing and coughed so hard, a blood vessel in his brain burst. And he fell down to the floor dead.

[John Weaver] When people will not listen, it is a very, very bad sign. You can only reject the word of God at your own peril. The Bible says in Psalm 33 in verse 10, the Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to note. He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. It doesn't matter what you plan. What about that passage in Psalm 2? Why do the heathen rage? Why do the people imagine a vain thing?

[John Weaver] The kings of the earth have gathered themselves together against our Lord and against His Christ, and they said, come, let us break His bands, let us cut His cords asunder. What does the Bible say? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. It's absolutely foolish to reject the wisdom of God and the Word of God. The Bible says in Proverbs 19 verse 21, there are many devices in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord that shall stand. And then, of course, in Isaiah 46 in verse 10, he says, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times of things that are not yet done, saying, listen, my counsel shall stand and I will do all of my pleasure. No one's going to overthrow the counsel of God. And only God can do as he pleases. Psalm 115 in verse three, David said, but our God is in the heavens. He had done whatsoever he has pleased. And I'll tell you this folks, when you run across someone who will not listen to truth, will not receive the word of God, they are in a very, very dangerous position.

[John Weaver] So let me make some application and try to tie it together. First of all, I hope you understand that a man has to be an absolute fool to fight against God and reject the wisdom of God. Because all God has to do is to leave him to himself, and he'll destroy himself. He'll follow his own passions. He'll follow his own desires. He'll follow his own pride. It's kind of like that passage in Hosea chapter 13 verse 9, where God said to Israel, O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself.

[John Weaver] And that's exactly what men do. We destroy ourselves. Let me show you another passage. I want you to look in Matthew chapter 15. You see, our Lord said the same exact thing that I've just got through preaching to you. I want to show it to you. Matthew chapter 15. Look what he said to the Pharisees. Matthew 15. And let's begin reading their verse 12. Look at it. Then came his disciples and said unto him, knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying? Well, Lord, you upset the Pharisees. You've got, you hurt their feelings. Lord, they're mad at you. Lord, they'll probably vote you out. You hurt their feelings. Knowest thou not that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying? But look what our Lord said.

[John Weaver] But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Watch it. Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch. What did our Lord say? Let them alone. And someone who does not want to hear the word of God and will not listen to the truth? Our Lord said, Let them alone. And just like Absalom, he's appointed them to fall. He's appointed them to fail.

[John Weaver] Do you realize the same thing happened in 1 Kings 12 with Rehoboam? Rehoboam asked counsel of the old men, and they gave him good biblical counsel. Then he asked counsel of the young men, and they told him everything wrong. But what did he do? He listened to the young men, not the old men. And when you read verse 15, the Bible said the Lord brought it to pass. But people don't listen.

[John Weaver] It's evidence that they're set up to fall. They're set up to fail. Now, one other passage. I want you to look at this. Turn to Matthew 13. Matthew 13. And look, if you would, beginning there with verse 15, Matthew 13 and verse 15. You see, folks, if you have eyes to see, if you have ears to hear, if you have a heart to believe, you should be eternally grateful and thankful.

[John Weaver] To the Lord Jesus Christ for his grace and mercy to you. Our Lord often spoke in parables. Do you know why he spoke in parables? Here's the answer. Matthew chapter 13. Look at it. And verse 13, it is Matthew 13 and verse 13. Let's start there. Therefore, speak out to them in parables, because they seeing, see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive.

[John Weaver] Now watch, for this people's heart is wax gross. And their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Then he says this to his disciples. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. So if you see truth, If you hear truth, if you love truth, if you desire truth, it's only because of the grace and mercy of God and your life. God opens your eyes. He opens your ears. He opens your heart. You should be eternally grateful and thankful and appreciative of the fact that God has given you the ability to see and hear.

[John Weaver] I'm reading through the Old Testament again, and I am in first and second Kings at the moment. And when I read about these wicked Kings and the wicked people, I cannot help but bow my head and say, Lord, thank you. Thank you that you've opened my eyes. You opened my ears and opened my heart. I don't want to rebel against him. I don't want humanism. I want his truth and his word. It should scare, frighten every lost man who refuses to hear God's truth.

[John Weaver] Because if they will not listen, like Absalom, like the Pharisees, God has appointed them to destruction and all he's doing is leaving them to themselves. And they will destroy themselves. If you can see, if you can hear, if you believe, thank him. Praise him. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. We thank you for your mercy. We thank you, Father, for eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to believe. Thank you, Father, for giving us the Lord Jesus Christ, your only begotten Son, to be the propitiation for our sins, to be our substitute, our sacrifice, our surety. We give thee praise for thy so great salvation. And ask you, Lord, to open our understanding more that we may hear and comprehend thy word and love it and desire it more and more. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. Amen.

[John Weaver] so so

Why Some Will Not Listen

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	oP8yCggjR24
Subject	Education and Discipleship
Course	Christian Education and Discipleship
Genre	Sermon
Date	2020-10-11
Dictation Name
Book	Book 073: Christian Education and Discipleship — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	64

Formatted Transcript

Opening

Make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee. And I will smite the king only, and I will bring back all the people unto thee. The man whom thou seekest is as all returned, so all the people shall be in peace. And the saying pleased Absalom well and all the elders of Israel. Then said Absalom, call now Hushai the Archite also. Let us hear likewise what he said. And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake on him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner. Shall we do after his saying? If not, speak thou. And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. For said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hidden now in some pit, or in some other place, and it will come to pass when some be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, there is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.

And he also that is valued whose heart is as a heart of a lion shall utterly melt. And for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valued men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan, even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground. And of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it in the river until there be not one small stone found there. And Absalom, that all the men of Israel said, the council of Hushai the Archite is better than the council of Ahithophel.

Introduction: The Problem of Not Listening

Weaver introduces the universal frustration of people not listening—children, spouses, congregants, and those being witnessed to. He notes that modern attention spans have drastically shortened, even below that of a goldfish.

So let me just stop there momentarily. The title of the message is "Why Some Will Not Listen." Every parent at some time in his or her life has become frustrated with their children simply because the children will not listen. And likewise, there are many husbands and wives become frustrated with each other because one of the spouses seemingly will not listen. And of course, any pastor can tell you that oftentimes he's become frustrated with the fact that he looks out among the congregants and some of them appear not to be listening at all. And when you do counseling, one-on-one, couple-on-couple, you find that many times it just doesn't register because they are really, really not listening. Moreover, witnessing sometimes you will find that you can witness very plainly and folks really are interested. They don't really care.

And I've had people actually tell me they did not want to hear anything about Jesus Christ. And they certainly did not want to hear anything about the Bible. And so over and over we repeat ourselves simply because people will not listen. I think that TV has probably destroyed the attention span of most people in this country. I really began to think that the average individual could not listen more than three to five minutes without being distracted or without a break. And when I began to think this, I thought, well, I think I'll do some checking. And once I began to do some checking, I found out I was extremely generous with three to five minutes. I want you to listen to this article. It says the average human attention span is now shorter than a goldfish's. Seriously. A recent study found that the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000, or around the time smartphones hit the scene, to 8 seconds today. In comparison, scientists believe that the goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds.

So I thought, wow! Three to five minutes was very generous if the average individual cannot pay attention more than eight seconds straight. Have you ever wondered, though, how our forefathers learned everything that they learned? And here's the answer. They listened. When you stop and think that all the colonial children, most of them, by the time they were five or six years of age, could already read, write, and speak not only English, but Greek, Hebrew, and Latin.

Historical Contrast: How Forefathers Learned by Listening

Colonial Americans learned extensively by listening, mastering multiple languages by age six and entering elite colleges with rigorous requirements, because they lacked modern distractions.

It was a qualification to get into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, any of these schools. You already had to be able to read, write, and speak Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. That's astounding. An excellent example is Sam Adams. Sam Adams received what you and I would call a top education at the Boston Latin School. He was educated among some of the, I guess you would call them the elite or the most well-off in Boston, Massachusetts. And he learned not only the classics, but Latin and Greek as well. So listen to this. At age 14, in 1736, he entered Harvard College at age 14. And of course, at age 18, he graduated with a bachelor's degree. And at age 21, he received his master's degree in art and was able to write a very controversial thesis about the Commonwealth.

Now, how did they learn? How did they gather so much in their minds? And the answer is they didn't have TV. They didn't have radio. They didn't have computers. They didn't have smartphones. They didn't have tablets. In other words, they actually had to pay attention. They had to listen and they had to listen very, very well.

Biblical Emphasis on Hearing

Jesus repeatedly commanded, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear,' emphasizing that having the ability to hear carries responsibility and a required willingness to perceive spiritual truth.

Now, let me give you some verses in the New Testament. We're going to be examining 2 Samuel, but I want you to think about what our Lord said and how often he said it. For instance, in Matthew 11:15, our Lord said this, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear." In Matthew 13:9, "Who have ears to hear, let him hear." In Matthew 13:43, he said, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of his father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." And then in Mark 4:9, he said again unto them, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." And then in Luke chapter 8, he's talking about the parable of the sower and the good ground hearer. He said, "Another fell on good ground and sprang up and bare forth a hundredfold. And when he said these things, he cried, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'" And then of course, when he's talking about salt, when it had lost its saltiness, in Luke 14:35, he said, "It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; men cast it out.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." So over and over our Lord made this simple truth very clear. If you have ears to hear, you must hear. So here is the truth that we are to grasp from all of these verses that I just quoted, and that is if you have ears to hear, if you have the ability to hear, then that means you are responsible and accountable to hear. Actually, the verses mean far more than just a responsibility to hear. In other words, you are responsible to hear far more than just what you and I would call the audio waves. So it's not just a responsibility to hear, it's also a willingness to hear, a readiness to hear. In each one of these passages I just quoted, the Greek word for hear is the word akouo, which literally means to hear, to hearken, to attend to, to consider, to understand, to perceive, and to give ear to teaching or to the teacher. Now, there's another truth I think that we've got to comprehend in light of these verses.

Distinction Between External and Internal Hearing

Weaver distinguishes between hearing sound waves and spiritually perceiving truth. The Greek word akouo implies understanding and heeding, not just auditory reception.

And that truth is this. We have to distinguish between ability and responsibility. While anyone who has the ability to hear, he is also responsible to hear as well. But we must also grasp this fact that there is a difference between external hearing and internal hearing. Let me say the same thing a different way. There is a difference between just hearing sound waves and perceiving the truth spiritually. So many people may hear externally, audibly, but they cannot hear spiritually. So anyone that may have the ability to hear physically does not necessarily mean that he has the ability to hear spiritually.

The Natural Man's Inability and Continued Responsibility

Using 1 Corinthians 2:14 and Romans 8:6-9, Weaver explains that the unregenerate man cannot understand spiritual things, yet his inability does not negate his responsibility to hear and obey God.

Now, I'm going to say this again a little bit later, but listen carefully. Inability does not negate responsibility. Let me show you what I'm talking about. I want you to hold 2 Samuel, but turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and look, if you would please, at verse 14. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. And notice if you would please verse 14. Here the Apostle Paul makes a very clear statement.

He says this, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Now in this passage the natural stands opposed to the spiritual. The natural man denotes those men who are governed by their natural instincts, their animal passions, their desires. And the natural here is in opposition to those things which are of the Spirit of God. Now, it refers to unregenerate men. That is true. It refers to unconverted men. But more than that, it refers to unconverted men, unregenerate men who are controlled by their own passions and desires. So, he tells you in verse 14 that the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God. Why? Their foolishness to him. So, truth to the natural man is folly. It is absolutely worthless, useless, and undesirable. Now, since the natural man is unregenerate, he does not have the power or the ability to see truth. I want you to look at verse 14 again.

Watch this. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him." Now watch. "Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." I remember even when I was a boy in school, our teacher taught us the difference between the two words may and can. May is a term of permission. Can is a term of ability. So Francis could ask me, "Pastor, may I play the piano?" And I would look at him and say, "You have my permission if you have the ability to play the piano." He could ask me, "Can I play the piano?" And I would respond, "I don't know whether you can or not. I've never heard you." But can is a term of ability. So our Lord says in verse 14, "Neither can he know them." That is, he does not have the ability to discern spiritual truth.

Now, let me just point something out. When the Bible is here talking about the natural man, and that he's totally ignorant of spiritual truth and has no ability to see spiritual truth, that does not mean, necessarily, that he is an ignorant man by the world's standard. He could have four or five earned PhDs. He could have an IQ off the charts. But as far as the truth of God is concerned, he's totally ignorant. He cannot see it. He cannot perceive it.

He is governed by his passions, by his desires, by his pride, by his intellect. Now, I want you to hold this passage, but I want you to turn back to Psalm 49. And let me show you two verses here, because God likens these men to brute beasts. So in Psalm 49:12, watch what the Bible says. "Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not, he is like the beasts that perish." So man that is in honor and abides not in honor, he's like the beasts that perish. Skip down to verse 20. He says, "Man that is in honor and understandeth not, he's like the beasts that perish." So a man that is unregenerate, a man that is a natural man cannot understand, will not understand, does not understand, and God said, he's like the beasts that perish.

Now, I want you to look at 1 Corinthians 2:14 one more time, then we're going to go to Romans chapter 8. So in 1 Corinthians 2:14, God says, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Now let me show you in Romans chapter 8, beginning with verse 6, a passage that not only further explains and elucidates this truth, but it emphasizes this truth quite clearly as well. So in Romans 8:6, look at what the Bible says. "For to be carnally minded is death." Oh, there's the natural mind. There's the unregenerate mind. "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." So there again, they're in opposition. Now look, if you would, at verse 7, he tells you why the carnal mind is death. He says, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God."

The word enmity is a very strong word for hatred. So he says, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." There's a term of ability—has no ability to be subject to the law of God. Then he says in verse 8, "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Natural man has no ability to please God. Now look at verse 9, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." So what the apostle is saying, if you do not have the Spirit of Jesus Christ, then you are not a Christian. And if you do not have the Spirit of Jesus Christ, you cannot perceive the truth. If you do not have the Spirit of Jesus Christ, it means you are carnal minded. You're natural minded. You're unregenerate. You're unsaved. It's what it means.

And such a one, according to Romans 8, hates God. He hates God's truth. He refuses it. He rejects it, he repudiates it, he counts it absolutely foolish, and he refuses to hear it, consider it, and certainly he would never seek to understand it.

Now let me ask a question. Why would anyone waste their time on that which they despise and think is foolishness anyhow? So clearly then, this unregenerate man, this natural man, this carnal man, is not interested in the Word of God. But let me put this again, and I want you to think about it. Inability does not nullify responsibility. Whether a man is unregenerate or whether or not he's been saved by the grace of God, each man has the responsibility to hear God. Why? God created man originally. He created him upright.

But Solomon says he sought out witty inventions, sinful inventions. God created man with original knowledge, righteousness or holiness, and dominion. And man in his sin and rebellion forfeited that dominion, forfeited that knowledge, and forfeited that holiness. He lost his ability to please God because of his sin and his rebellion. But listen very clearly. Just because a fallen man is unsaved, unregenerate, natural, carnal, fleshly, beastly, that does not mean that he does not have responsibility to hear God. Just because man has lost his ability to hear does not mean that God has lost his right to command. God can still command and he does command. Moreover, you have to remember that any unsaved man is still the creature of God. God created him. Therefore, since he's the creature of God, he owes God submission and obedience. He cannot escape his responsibility just because he's a sinful being. Moreover, he is not only a creature of God, he's now a sinner, and therefore he owes God repentance. Clearly, just because a man is a sinner, just because he has fallen, just because he is unregenerate, just because he's lost his ability to please God, does not mean that he's lost his responsibility.

So obviously, being unsaved prohibits one from hearing the Word of God, spiritually speaking. He may hear it physically, but he does not hear it spiritually. But that does not negate his responsibility to hear it. Now, the unsaved have ears to hear, and therefore they may hear the Word of God audibly, but they do not have the ability to hear the Word of God spiritually.

Absalom's Rebellion and the Counsel of Ahithophel and Hushai

Weaver recounts the story of Absalom's rebellion, Ahithophel's wise but rejected counsel, and Hushai's deceptive advice that appealed to Absalom's pride, buying time for David.

Now you're going to ask me, how does all this relate to 2 Samuel? Well, I'm going to show you. You see, when you look at 2 Samuel, you have to understand that the context takes place in Absalom's rebellion against his father, David. Absalom planned and executed a rebellion that was quite successful. In other words, it was so successful, it drove David off the throne. It not only drove David off the throne, he had to flee out into the wilderness to keep from being overpowered and overcome by Absalom and the men that were with him.

Now, another interesting thing is this. One of the conspirators with Absalom was Ahithophel. Ahithophel was one of David's counselors. Now, there is a reason, and I'm not going to get into it right now, but there is a reason why Ahithophel joined with Absalom. But I want to show you something. Look back in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 17, and let me just show you the attitude of Ahithophel. Watch carefully. 2 Samuel 17:1. Remember now, Ahithophel is a diplomat. He's a counselor. He says, "Moreover, Ahithophel said unto Absalom, let me now choose out 12,000 men, watch, and I will arise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee, and I will smite the king only, and I will bring back all the people unto thee.

The man whom thou seekest is as all returned. So all the people shall be in peace. And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel." Now Ahithophel is saying right now, I am the one that will lead this raid. I'll take care of David myself. You don't even have to worry about it. And so he's saying now's the time to strike while the iron is hot. We need to hit David before he can regroup, before he can resupply, and before he can recover from the initial shock of being driven from the throne and out of Jerusalem. So Ahithophel wanted to attack David that very night.

Now, let me point something out. The counsel that Ahithophel gave to Absalom was correct. It was the right thing to do. And oddly, Absalom had been listening to Ahithophel up to this point. But if you look in verse 5, Absalom does something that is absolutely out of character in one sense of the word. "Then said Absalom, call now Hushai the Archite. Let us hear likewise what he said." Now, if you remember about Hushai the Archite, Hushai was David's friend. And when David was fleeing from Absalom, Hushai went to David.

And he said, "I'm going with you." David said, "No. If you go with me, you're going to be a burden. You go back to the palace, and it may be that you can defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. Whatever you hear, you tell the priests. The priests have two sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, and they will send word to me by Ahimaaz and Jonathan." And so Hushai went back to the palace and just waited for Absalom to come. So when Absalom came, the first thing Absalom asked Hushai was, "Why did you not go with your friend? Why are you not with David?" Hushai said, "Nay, nay, but whom the Lord and the Lord's people choose, him shall I serve and his will I be." So he pretended then to be with Absalom. And so Ahithophel has given this great counsel, but all of a sudden now Absalom says, "Let's ask Hushai what he thinks." So I want you to look at Hushai's counsel, verse 6. "And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner, shall we do after his saying?

If not, speak thou. And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time." Now, I didn't say it was not good counsel. He just said it's not appropriate at this particular period, at this particular time. So Hushai is going to explain that. He said, "For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place. And it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. And he also that is valued, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt. For all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valued men." Now here's his plan. Watch. "Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan, even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground. And of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he has gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until there be not one small stone found there."

Now, the counsel that Hushai gave is wrong. Totally wrong. Why? He said, first of all, "I counsel that you gather all Israel from Dan, the most northern tribe, to Beersheba, the most southern town." Do you know how long it'll take to get everybody in the land together? Moreover, what he is saying now appeals to the pride of Absalom. He says, "and that thou go to battle in thine own person." In other words, here you are marching at the head of this great army, and you're going to come upon David, and you're going to destroy him, and you're going to destroy all the people, and you're going to be victorious. And Absalom sees all of this wonderful prophecy and counsel taking place in his mind, and all Hushai is doing is buying time for David so he can get the help that he needs, get the food that he needs, get the supply that he needs. And everything that Hushai says is basically incorrect. Now my question would be this. They then said that the counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. So here's my question. Why did Absalom and the elders of Israel at that point reject the good counsel of Ahithophel and receive the bad counsel of Hushai?

The Divine Reason Absalom Would Not Listen

2 Samuel 17:14 reveals that the Lord appointed to defeat Ahithophel's good counsel to bring evil upon Absalom. God closed Absalom's ears to truth and opened them to a lie as judgment.

Now, I want to show you something. I want you to look in 2 Samuel 16:23. Here is an amazing statement about Ahithophel. The Bible says that the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if a man had inquired of the oracle of God. So was all the counsel of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom. Ahithophel was such a wise counselor. It is said that if you inquired of Ahithophel, it was the same as inquiring of the oracle of God. In other words, it would be the same as God speaking. Wow. Now, whether or not you like Ahithophel is immaterial.

The truth of the matter is that is an excellent compliment. And what he is saying is this, that the counsel that Ahithophel gave to Absalom was spot on. It was right counsel. Now, that does not mean that everything that Ahithophel counseled was biblical. In fact, I will show you a passage where he gave some unbiblical counsel, but it was right counsel given the circumstances.

Now, so you have to ask this question. Why then, why then did Absalom not listen to Ahithophel? If you will look in verse 14 of 2 Samuel chapter 17, you'll find out why. "And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, the counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel." Why did they think that? "For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom."

Now the word defeat in the Hebrew is the word para, and it means to defeat, to make void, to break asunder, to disappoint, to bring to naught, to frustrate, and to disannul. Now we read 2 Samuel 15:31, when David was fleeing and he was told that Ahithophel was with the conspirators, that he was with Absalom, David prayed and said,

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 15:31

"Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness."

Wow. And then, of course, he sent Hushai the Archite back that he might defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. Now, here is something that's absolutely astounding to me. Up until this point, Absalom had listened to Ahithophel every time. And it was right. And now all of a sudden, he rejects the counsel of Ahithophel and takes the counsel of Hushai. By the way, I don't know if you know what happened to Ahithophel or not, but the Bible says when Ahithophel found out that his counsel was rejected, he got him to his house, he set his house in order, and he hanged himself. Because he knew when his counsel was not followed, it was over. He knew that David was going to defeat Absalom. And so he went and hanged himself. Ahithophel gave good advice, but it was not always biblical advice. So if you look in 2 Samuel chapter 16, beginning there with verse 20, here's the good advice that's not biblical advice, and I'll explain it. So Absalom and his men come to Jerusalem. Verse 20, "Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, give counsel among you what we shall do. And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house.

The Principle of Judicial Hardening

Weaver connects Absalom's rejection to 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, where God sends strong delusion to those who refuse the truth, leaving them to believe lies and be damned.

I want you to look at this. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. And let's begin reading there with verse 10. Look what the Bible says. "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." So let's ask the question, why are they perishing? Here's the answer.

"Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Well, what happened when they would not receive the truth? Well, verse 11, "And for this cause"—what cause? Because they would not receive the truth—"for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." So here's what God did. God did not destroy the good counsel of Ahithophel. He just fixed it where Absalom and those people would not listen to Ahithophel. Let me put it like this. Ahithophel gave the right counsel. Absalom wouldn't listen. Absalom followed his own desires, his own pride, his own rationalization, his own thinking, and he destroyed himself. He fell upon his own sword, so to speak. Then you realize all God has to do to destroy anybody is just let us alone. Leave us to ourselves. We'll destroy ourselves. That's exactly what happened here. When one rejects the Word of God, when one refuses to hear truth, he rejects that truth at his own peril.

Applications and Warnings

Those who reject God's Word destroy themselves. Jesus said to 'let them alone' (Matthew 15:14). Believers should be grateful that God has opened their eyes and ears to truth.

Your wisdom, your understanding, your reasoning abilities shall fall and shall fail. You cannot and will not ever defeat God or His Word. Heaven and earth may pass away, but not God's Word. "Thy word is magnified," he said, "above thy name" (Psalm 138). So if God's Word ever fails, then God is not God. The reason some people will not listen is because God has appointed them to fall. He will destroy them.

I want to give you one good illustration. I spoke to a man one time. The man was a nominal Roman Catholic. When I say nominal, a Roman Catholic in name only. He never went to church. I was witnessing to him about Jesus Christ. And he told me to my face, "Don't ever talk to me again about Jesus Christ or the Bible. I don't want to hear it." The very next week, that 42- or 43-year-old man who smoked

woke up at four o'clock in the morning, went into the bathroom, got to coughing and coughed so hard, a blood vessel in his brain burst. And he fell down to the floor dead.

When people will not listen, it is a very, very bad sign. You can only reject the Word of God at your own peril. The Bible says in Psalm 33:10, "The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought. He maketh the devices of the people of none effect." It doesn't matter what you plan. What about that passage in Psalm 2? "Why do the heathen rage? Why do the people imagine a vain thing?

Scripture Reading — Psalm 33:10

The kings of the earth have gathered themselves together against our Lord and against His Christ, and they said, 'Come, let us break His bands, let us cut His cords asunder.'" What does the Bible say? "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision." It's absolutely foolish to reject the wisdom of God and the Word of God. The Bible says in Proverbs 19:21, "There are many devices in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord that shall stand." And then, of course, in Isaiah 46:10, he says, "Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand and I will do all of my pleasure.'" No one's going to overthrow the counsel of God. And only God can do as he pleases. Psalm 115:3, David said, "But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." And I'll tell you this, folks, when you run across someone who will not listen to truth, will not receive the Word of God, they are in a very, very dangerous position.

So let me make some application and try to tie it together. First of all, I hope you understand that a man has to be an absolute fool to fight against God and reject the wisdom of God. Because all God has to do is to leave him to himself, and he'll destroy himself. He'll follow his own passions. He'll follow his own desires. He'll follow his own pride. It's kind of like that passage in Hosea 13:9, where God said to Israel, "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself."

And that's exactly what men do. We destroy ourselves. Let me show you another passage. I want you to look in Matthew chapter 15. You see, our Lord said the same exact thing that I've just got through preaching to you. I want to show it to you. Matthew 15. And let's begin reading there at verse 12. Look at it. "Then came his disciples and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?" Well, Lord, you upset the Pharisees. You've got, you hurt their feelings. Lord, they're mad at you. Lord, they'll probably vote you out. You hurt their feelings. "Knowest thou not that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?" But look what our Lord said.

"But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Watch it. Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch." What did our Lord say? "Let them alone." And someone who does not want to hear the Word of God and will not listen to the truth? Our Lord said, "Let them alone." And just like Absalom, he's appointed them to fall. He's appointed them to fail.

Do you realize the same thing happened in 1 Kings 12 with Rehoboam? Rehoboam asked counsel of the old men, and they gave him good biblical counsel. Then he asked counsel of the young men, and they told him everything wrong. But what did he do? He listened to the young men, not the old men. And when you read verse 15, the Bible said the Lord brought it to pass. But people don't listen.

It's evidence that they're set up to fall. They're set up to fail. Now, one other passage. I want you to look at this. Turn to Matthew 13. Matthew 13. And look, if you would, beginning there with verse 15. Matthew 13:15. You see, folks, if you have eyes to see, if you have ears to hear, if you have a heart to believe, you should be eternally grateful and thankful.

To the Lord Jesus Christ for his grace and mercy to you. Our Lord often spoke in parables. Do you know why he spoke in parables? Here's the answer. Matthew chapter 13. Look at it. And verse 13, it is Matthew 13:13. Let's start there. "Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.

Now watch, for this people's heart is waxed gross. And their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Then he says this to his disciples. "But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear." So if you see truth, if you hear truth, if you love truth, if you desire truth, it's only because of the grace and mercy of God in your life. God opens your eyes. He opens your ears. He opens your heart. You should be eternally grateful and thankful and appreciative of the fact that God has given you the ability to see and hear.

Closing Prayer and Thanksgiving

Weaver prays, thanking God for opening eyes, ears, and hearts to believe, and asks for greater understanding and love for His Word.

Because if they will not listen, like Absalom, like the Pharisees, God has appointed them to destruction and all he's doing is leaving them to themselves. And they will destroy themselves. If you can see, if you can hear, if you believe, thank him. Praise him. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. We thank you for your mercy. We thank you, Father, for eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to believe. Thank you, Father, for giving us the Lord Jesus Christ, your only begotten Son, to be the propitiation for our sins, to be our substitute, our sacrifice, our surety. We give thee praise for thy so great salvation. And ask you, Lord, to open our understanding more that we may hear and comprehend thy word and love it and desire it more and more. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Spiritual Inability of the Natural Man

Summary: The unregenerate person cannot understand or receive spiritual truth because it is foolishness to him; he is governed by fleshly passions and is at enmity with God.

Evidence: Weaver expounds 1 Corinthians 2:14 and Romans 8:6-9, stating, 'the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God... neither can he know them.'

Responsibility Despite Inability

Summary: Man's fallen inability to hear spiritually does not remove his God-given responsibility to hear and obey; God retains the right to command His creatures.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Inability does not nullify responsibility... just because a fallen man is unsaved... does not mean that he does not have responsibility to hear God.'

Divine Sovereignty in Rejection of Truth

Summary: God sovereignly appoints some to reject good counsel and believe lies as a judgment for their refusal of truth, leading to their destruction.

Evidence: Weaver cites 2 Samuel 17:14: 'the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom.'

The Danger of Rejecting God's Word

Summary: Those who persistently refuse to listen to truth are left to themselves and will inevitably destroy themselves; it is a perilous sign of impending judgment.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'When people will not listen, it is a very, very bad sign. You can only reject the Word of God at your own peril.'

Grace as the Source of Spiritual Perception

Summary: The ability to see, hear, and believe truth is a gift of God's grace, not human merit; believers should be eternally grateful for opened eyes and ears.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If you see truth, if you hear truth... it's only because of the grace and mercy of God in your life.'

Key Arguments

The natural man cannot spiritually discern truth.

Summary: 1 Corinthians 2:14 and Romans 8:7 teach that the unregenerate person lacks the ability to understand or submit to God's truth, viewing it as foolishness.

Evidence: Weaver reads 1 Corinthians 2:14: 'the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God... neither can he know them.'

Inability does not remove responsibility.

Summary: Even though fallen man cannot please God, he remains a creature obligated to obey his Creator; sin does not erase accountability.

Evidence: Weaver argues, 'Just because man has lost his ability to hear does not mean that God has lost his right to command.'

God sovereignly caused Absalom to reject good counsel.

Summary: 2 Samuel 17:14 explicitly states that the Lord appointed to defeat Ahithophel's good counsel to bring evil on Absalom, demonstrating divine hardening.

Evidence: Weaver reads 2 Samuel 17:14: 'For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom.'

Rejecting truth leads to believing a lie.

Summary: When people refuse the love of the truth, God sends them strong delusion to believe what is false, resulting in their damnation (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

Evidence: Weaver reads 2 Thessalonians 2:11: 'for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.'

Jesus taught to leave rejecters alone to their fate.

Summary: In Matthew 15:14, Jesus said of the Pharisees, 'Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind,' indicating that persistent rejection leads to appointed destruction.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Matthew 15:14: 'Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch.'

Scripture References

2 Samuel 17:1-4

Context: Ahithophel's counsel to Absalom to pursue David immediately with 12,000 men.

2 Samuel 17:5-14

Context: Absalom asks for Hushai's counsel; Hushai gives bad advice that appeals to pride; the Lord appointed to defeat Ahithophel's good counsel.

2 Samuel 16:23

Context: Ahithophel's counsel was esteemed as if one inquired of the oracle of God.

2 Samuel 15:31

Context: David prays for the Lord to turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness.

2 Samuel 16:20-22

Context: Ahithophel advises Absalom to lie with David's concubines to strengthen his followers' resolve.

2 Samuel 12:11-12

Context: God's prophecy that He would raise up evil from David's house and give his wives to his neighbor in public view.

Matthew 11:15

Context: Jesus says, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'

Matthew 13:9

Context: Jesus repeats the call to hear.

Matthew 13:43

Context: Jesus again says, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'

Mark 4:9

Context: Jesus says, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'

Luke 8:8

Context: In the parable of the sower, Jesus cries, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'

Luke 14:35

Context: Jesus says of salt that has lost its savor, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'

1 Corinthians 2:14

Context: The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit; they are foolishness to him, and he cannot know them.

Psalm 49:12, 20

Context: Man in honor without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Romans 8:6-9

Context: The carnal mind is enmity against God and cannot be subject to His law; those in the flesh cannot please God.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

Context: God sends strong delusion to those who do not receive the love of the truth, that they should believe a lie and be damned.

Psalm 33:10

Context: The Lord brings the counsel of the heathen to nought.

Proverbs 19:21

Context: Many devices are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord shall stand.

Isaiah 46:10

Context: God declares the end from the beginning; His counsel shall stand.

Matthew 15:12-14

Context: Jesus says of the offended Pharisees, 'Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.'

Historical References

Sam Adams' education at Boston Latin School and Harvard College

Context: Weaver uses Sam Adams as an example of colonial Americans who learned extensively by listening, entering Harvard at age 14 and graduating with a master's degree by 21.

Colonial American education standards

Context: Weaver notes that colonial children often could read, write, and speak English, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin by age five or six, and this was a qualification for Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.

Decline of human attention span since 2000

Context: Weaver cites a study that the average human attention span dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds today, shorter than a goldfish's 9 seconds.

Important Quotes

Inability does not negate responsibility.

Significance: This concise statement encapsulates a key theological point: man's fallen inability to obey does not remove his duty to obey God.

The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Significance: Weaver quotes 1 Corinthians 2:14 to establish the biblical basis for the unregenerate person's total inability to understand spiritual truth.

For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom.

Significance: This verse from 2 Samuel 17:14 is the central text showing God's sovereign hand in Absalom's rejection of good counsel.

When people will not listen, it is a very, very bad sign. You can only reject the Word of God at your own peril.

Significance: Weaver warns that persistent refusal to hear truth is evidence of divine judgment and leads to self-destruction.

Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch.

Significance: Jesus' words in Matthew 15:14 are used to show that God sometimes abandons rejecters to their own devices, leading to their fall.

If you see truth, if you hear truth, if you love truth, if you desire truth, it's only because of the grace and mercy of God in your life.

Significance: Weaver emphasizes that spiritual perception is entirely a gift of grace, prompting gratitude in believers.

Discussion Questions

How does the modern decline in attention span affect our ability to listen to God's Word, and what practical steps can we take to cultivate better listening?

Context: Weaver notes that the average attention span is now shorter than a goldfish's, which impacts how people engage with sermons and Scripture.

In what ways does 1 Corinthians 2:14 challenge the common belief that everyone can understand spiritual truth if it is presented clearly enough?

Context: Weaver explains that the natural man cannot know the things of the Spirit because they are spiritually discerned.

How do we reconcile the biblical teaching that unbelievers are responsible to hear and obey God with the teaching that they are unable to do so apart from grace?

Context: Weaver argues that inability does not nullify responsibility, citing man's created obligation and God's right to command.

What does Absalom's rejection of Ahithophel's good counsel teach us about the danger of pride and the sovereignty of God in judgment?

Context: Weaver shows that God appointed Absalom to reject good counsel and believe a lie, leading to his destruction.

How should the reality of judicial hardening (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12) affect our evangelism and our prayers for the lost?

Context: Weaver warns that God sends strong delusion to those who refuse the truth, leaving them to believe lies.

Why is it dangerous to persistently reject or ignore the Word of God, and what are some modern examples of this?

Context: Weaver shares an illustration of a man who told him never to speak about Jesus again and died suddenly the next week.

How does recognizing that our ability to hear and believe is a gift of grace change the way we approach Scripture and worship?

Context: Weaver concludes that believers should be eternally grateful that God has opened their eyes and ears.

Applications

Cultivate attentive listening to God's Word

Summary: In an age of short attention spans, believers must intentionally discipline themselves to listen carefully to Scripture and preaching, recognizing the value of sustained attention.

Evidence: Weaver contrasts modern attention spans with colonial Americans who learned by listening and warns that TV and smartphones have eroded our ability to focus.

Recognize the danger of rejecting truth

Summary: Those who persistently refuse to hear God's Word are in grave danger; believers should examine their own hearts for any resistance to truth and repent.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'When people will not listen, it is a very, very bad sign. You can only reject the Word of God at your own peril.'

Be grateful for spiritual perception

Summary: If you understand and love God's truth, it is solely because of His grace; respond with continual thanksgiving and praise.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If you see truth, if you hear truth... it's only because of the grace and mercy of God in your life.'

Trust God's sovereignty over human decisions

Summary: Even when people reject good counsel or truth, God is working out His purposes; believers can rest in His control rather than despair over others' unbelief.

Evidence: Weaver explains that God appointed Absalom to reject Ahithophel's counsel to bring about His own purposes.

Warn others with urgency and compassion

Summary: Knowing that rejection of truth leads to destruction, believers should faithfully share the gospel while recognizing that only God can open blind eyes.

Evidence: Weaver's illustration of the man who died after refusing to hear about Christ underscores the urgency of warning the lost.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T22:44:26Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-05T23:00:10Z

Clean Transcript

Why Some Will Not Listen

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee. And I will smite the king only, and I will bring back all the people unto thee. The man whom thou seekest is as all returned, so all the people shall be in peace. And the saying pleased Absalom well and all the elders of Israel. Then said Absalom, call now Hushai the Archite also. Let us hear likewise what he said. And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake on him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner. Shall we do after his saying? If not, speak thou. And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. For said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hidden now in some pit, or in some other place, and it will come to pass when some be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, there is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.
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And he also that is valued whose heart is as a heart of a lion shall utterly melt. And for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valued men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan, even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person.
#2 | 1:20 to 1:44 | cleaned
So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground. And of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it in the river until there be not one small stone found there. And Absalom, that all the men of Israel said, the council of Hushai the Archite is better than the council of Ahithophel.
#3 | 1:45 to 2:18 | cleaned
So let me just stop there momentarily. The title of the message is "Why Some Will Not Listen." Every parent at some time in his or her life has become frustrated with their children simply because the children will not listen. And likewise, there are many husbands and wives become frustrated with each other because one of the spouses seemingly will not listen. And of course, any pastor can tell you that oftentimes he's become frustrated with the fact that he looks out among the congregants and some of them appear not to be listening at all. And when you do counseling, one-on-one, couple-on-couple, you find that many times it just doesn't register because they are really, really not listening. Moreover, witnessing sometimes you will find that you can witness very plainly and folks really are interested. They don't really care.
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And I've had people actually tell me they did not want to hear anything about Jesus Christ. And they certainly did not want to hear anything about the Bible. And so over and over we repeat ourselves simply because people will not listen. I think that TV has probably destroyed the attention span of most people in this country. I really began to think that the average individual could not listen more than three to five minutes without being distracted or without a break. And when I began to think this, I thought, well, I think I'll do some checking. And once I began to do some checking, I found out I was extremely generous with three to five minutes. I want you to listen to this article. It says the average human attention span is now shorter than a goldfish's. Seriously. A recent study found that the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000, or around the time smartphones hit the scene, to 8 seconds today. In comparison, scientists believe that the goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds.
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So I thought, wow! Three to five minutes was very generous if the average individual cannot pay attention more than eight seconds straight. Have you ever wondered, though, how our forefathers learned everything that they learned? And here's the answer. They listened. When you stop and think that all the colonial children, most of them, by the time they were five or six years of age, could already read, write, and speak not only English, but Greek, Hebrew, and Latin.
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It was a qualification to get into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, any of these schools. You already had to be able to read, write, and speak Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. That's astounding. An excellent example is Sam Adams. Sam Adams received what you and I would call a top education at the Boston Latin School. He was educated among some of the, I guess you would call them the elite or the most well-off in Boston, Massachusetts. And he learned not only the classics, but Latin and Greek as well. So listen to this. At age 14, in 1736, he entered Harvard College at age 14. And of course, at age 18, he graduated with a bachelor's degree. And at age 21, he received his master's degree in art and was able to write a very controversial thesis about the Commonwealth.
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Now, how did they learn? How did they gather so much in their minds? And the answer is they didn't have TV. They didn't have radio. They didn't have computers. They didn't have smartphones. They didn't have tablets. In other words, they actually had to pay attention. They had to listen and they had to listen very, very well.
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Now, let me give you some verses in the New Testament. We're going to be examining 2 Samuel, but I want you to think about what our Lord said and how often he said it. For instance, in Matthew 11:15, our Lord said this, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear." In Matthew 13:9, "Who have ears to hear, let him hear." In Matthew 13:43, he said, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of his father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." And then in Mark 4:9, he said again unto them, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." And then in Luke chapter 8, he's talking about the parable of the sower and the good ground hearer. He said, "Another fell on good ground and sprang up and bare forth a hundredfold. And when he said these things, he cried, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'" And then of course, when he's talking about salt, when it had lost its saltiness, in Luke 14:35, he said, "It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; men cast it out.
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He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." So over and over our Lord made this simple truth very clear. If you have ears to hear, you must hear. So here is the truth that we are to grasp from all of these verses that I just quoted, and that is if you have ears to hear, if you have the ability to hear, then that means you are responsible and accountable to hear. Actually, the verses mean far more than just a responsibility to hear. In other words, you are responsible to hear far more than just what you and I would call the audio waves. So it's not just a responsibility to hear, it's also a willingness to hear, a readiness to hear. In each one of these passages I just quoted, the Greek word for hear is the word akouo, which literally means to hear, to hearken, to attend to, to consider, to understand, to perceive, and to give ear to teaching or to the teacher. Now, there's another truth I think that we've got to comprehend in light of these verses.
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And that truth is this. We have to distinguish between ability and responsibility. While anyone who has the ability to hear, he is also responsible to hear as well. But we must also grasp this fact that there is a difference between external hearing and internal hearing. Let me say the same thing a different way. There is a difference between just hearing sound waves and perceiving the truth spiritually. So many people may hear externally, audibly, but they cannot hear spiritually. So anyone that may have the ability to hear physically does not necessarily mean that he has the ability to hear spiritually.
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Now, I'm going to say this again a little bit later, but listen carefully. Inability does not negate responsibility. Let me show you what I'm talking about. I want you to hold 2 Samuel, but turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and look, if you would please, at verse 14. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. And notice if you would please verse 14. Here the Apostle Paul makes a very clear statement.
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He says this, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Now in this passage the natural stands opposed to the spiritual. The natural man denotes those men who are governed by their natural instincts, their animal passions, their desires. And the natural here is in opposition to those things which are of the Spirit of God. Now, it refers to unregenerate men. That is true. It refers to unconverted men. But more than that, it refers to unconverted men, unregenerate men who are controlled by their own passions and desires. So, he tells you in verse 14 that the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God. Why? Their foolishness to him. So, truth to the natural man is folly. It is absolutely worthless, useless, and undesirable. Now, since the natural man is unregenerate, he does not have the power or the ability to see truth. I want you to look at verse 14 again.
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Watch this. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him." Now watch. "Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." I remember even when I was a boy in school, our teacher taught us the difference between the two words may and can. May is a term of permission. Can is a term of ability. So Francis could ask me, "Pastor, may I play the piano?" And I would look at him and say, "You have my permission if you have the ability to play the piano." He could ask me, "Can I play the piano?" And I would respond, "I don't know whether you can or not. I've never heard you." But can is a term of ability. So our Lord says in verse 14, "Neither can he know them." That is, he does not have the ability to discern spiritual truth.
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Now, let me just point something out. When the Bible is here talking about the natural man, and that he's totally ignorant of spiritual truth and has no ability to see spiritual truth, that does not mean, necessarily, that he is an ignorant man by the world's standard. He could have four or five earned PhDs. He could have an IQ off the charts. But as far as the truth of God is concerned, he's totally ignorant. He cannot see it. He cannot perceive it.
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He is governed by his passions, by his desires, by his pride, by his intellect. Now, I want you to hold this passage, but I want you to turn back to Psalm 49. And let me show you two verses here, because God likens these men to brute beasts. So in Psalm 49:12, watch what the Bible says. "Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not, he is like the beasts that perish." So man that is in honor and abides not in honor, he's like the beasts that perish. Skip down to verse 20. He says, "Man that is in honor and understandeth not, he's like the beasts that perish." So a man that is unregenerate, a man that is a natural man cannot understand, will not understand, does not understand, and God said, he's like the beasts that perish.
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Now, I want you to look at 1 Corinthians 2:14 one more time, then we're going to go to Romans chapter 8. So in 1 Corinthians 2:14, God says, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Now let me show you in Romans chapter 8, beginning with verse 6, a passage that not only further explains and elucidates this truth, but it emphasizes this truth quite clearly as well. So in Romans 8:6, look at what the Bible says. "For to be carnally minded is death." Oh, there's the natural mind. There's the unregenerate mind. "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." So there again, they're in opposition. Now look, if you would, at verse 7, he tells you why the carnal mind is death. He says, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God."
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The word enmity is a very strong word for hatred. So he says, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." There's a term of ability—has no ability to be subject to the law of God. Then he says in verse 8, "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Natural man has no ability to please God. Now look at verse 9, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." So what the apostle is saying, if you do not have the Spirit of Jesus Christ, then you are not a Christian. And if you do not have the Spirit of Jesus Christ, you cannot perceive the truth. If you do not have the Spirit of Jesus Christ, it means you are carnal minded. You're natural minded. You're unregenerate. You're unsaved. It's what it means.
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And such a one, according to Romans 8, hates God. He hates God's truth. He refuses it. He rejects it, he repudiates it, he counts it absolutely foolish, and he refuses to hear it, consider it, and certainly he would never seek to understand it.
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Now let me ask a question. Why would anyone waste their time on that which they despise and think is foolishness anyhow? So clearly then, this unregenerate man, this natural man, this carnal man, is not interested in the Word of God. But let me put this again, and I want you to think about it. Inability does not nullify responsibility. Whether a man is unregenerate or whether or not he's been saved by the grace of God, each man has the responsibility to hear God. Why? God created man originally. He created him upright.
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But Solomon says he sought out witty inventions, sinful inventions. God created man with original knowledge, righteousness or holiness, and dominion. And man in his sin and rebellion forfeited that dominion, forfeited that knowledge, and forfeited that holiness. He lost his ability to please God because of his sin and his rebellion. But listen very clearly. Just because a fallen man is unsaved, unregenerate, natural, carnal, fleshly, beastly, that does not mean that he does not have responsibility to hear God. Just because man has lost his ability to hear does not mean that God has lost his right to command. God can still command and he does command. Moreover, you have to remember that any unsaved man is still the creature of God. God created him. Therefore, since he's the creature of God, he owes God submission and obedience. He cannot escape his responsibility just because he's a sinful being. Moreover, he is not only a creature of God, he's now a sinner, and therefore he owes God repentance. Clearly, just because a man is a sinner, just because he has fallen, just because he is unregenerate, just because he's lost his ability to please God, does not mean that he's lost his responsibility.
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So obviously, being unsaved prohibits one from hearing the Word of God, spiritually speaking. He may hear it physically, but he does not hear it spiritually. But that does not negate his responsibility to hear it. Now, the unsaved have ears to hear, and therefore they may hear the Word of God audibly, but they do not have the ability to hear the Word of God spiritually.
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Now you're going to ask me, how does all this relate to 2 Samuel? Well, I'm going to show you. You see, when you look at 2 Samuel, you have to understand that the context takes place in Absalom's rebellion against his father, David. Absalom planned and executed a rebellion that was quite successful. In other words, it was so successful, it drove David off the throne. It not only drove David off the throne, he had to flee out into the wilderness to keep from being overpowered and overcome by Absalom and the men that were with him.
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Now, another interesting thing is this. One of the conspirators with Absalom was Ahithophel. Ahithophel was one of David's counselors. Now, there is a reason, and I'm not going to get into it right now, but there is a reason why Ahithophel joined with Absalom. But I want to show you something. Look back in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 17, and let me just show you the attitude of Ahithophel. Watch carefully. 2 Samuel 17:1. Remember now, Ahithophel is a diplomat. He's a counselor. He says, "Moreover, Ahithophel said unto Absalom, let me now choose out 12,000 men, watch, and I will arise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee, and I will smite the king only, and I will bring back all the people unto thee.
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The man whom thou seekest is as all returned. So all the people shall be in peace. And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel."
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Now Ahithophel is saying right now, I am the one that will lead this raid. I'll take care of David myself. You don't even have to worry about it. And so he's saying now's the time to strike while the iron is hot. We need to hit David before he can regroup, before he can resupply, and before he can recover from the initial shock of being driven from the throne and out of Jerusalem. So Ahithophel wanted to attack David that very night.
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Now, let me point something out. The counsel that Ahithophel gave to Absalom was correct. It was the right thing to do. And oddly, Absalom had been listening to Ahithophel up to this point. But if you look in verse 5, Absalom does something that is absolutely out of character in one sense of the word. "Then said Absalom, call now Hushai the Archite. Let us hear likewise what he said." Now, if you remember about Hushai the Archite, Hushai was David's friend. And when David was fleeing from Absalom, Hushai went to David.
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And he said, "I'm going with you." David said, "No. If you go with me, you're going to be a burden. You go back to the palace, and it may be that you can defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. Whatever you hear, you tell the priests. The priests have two sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, and they will send word to me by Ahimaaz and Jonathan." And so Hushai went back to the palace and just waited for Absalom to come. So when Absalom came, the first thing Absalom asked Hushai was, "Why did you not go with your friend? Why are you not with David?" Hushai said, "Nay, nay, but whom the Lord and the Lord's people choose, him shall I serve and his will I be." So he pretended then to be with Absalom. And so Ahithophel has given this great counsel, but all of a sudden now Absalom says, "Let's ask Hushai what he thinks." So I want you to look at Hushai's counsel, verse 6. "And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner, shall we do after his saying?
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If not, speak thou. And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time." Now, I didn't say it was not good counsel. He just said it's not appropriate at this particular period, at this particular time. So Hushai is going to explain that. He said, "For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
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Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place. And it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. And he also that is valued, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt. For all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valued men." Now here's his plan. Watch. "Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan, even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground. And of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he has gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until there be not one small stone found there."
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Now, the counsel that Hushai gave is wrong. Totally wrong. Why? He said, first of all, "I counsel that you gather all Israel from Dan, the most northern tribe, to Beersheba, the most southern town." Do you know how long it'll take to get everybody in the land together? Moreover, what he is saying now appeals to the pride of Absalom. He says, "and that thou go to battle in thine own person."
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In other words, here you are marching at the head of this great army, and you're going to come upon David, and you're going to destroy him, and you're going to destroy all the people, and you're going to be victorious. And Absalom sees all of this wonderful prophecy and counsel taking place in his mind, and all Hushai is doing is buying time for David so he can get the help that he needs, get the food that he needs, get the supply that he needs. And everything that Hushai says is basically incorrect. Now my question would be this. They then said that the counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. So here's my question. Why did Absalom and the elders of Israel at that point reject the good counsel of Ahithophel and receive the bad counsel of Hushai?
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Now, I want to show you something. I want you to look in 2 Samuel 16:23. Here is an amazing statement about Ahithophel. The Bible says that the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if a man had inquired of the oracle of God. So was all the counsel of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom. Ahithophel was such a wise counselor. It is said that if you inquired of Ahithophel, it was the same as inquiring of the oracle of God. In other words, it would be the same as God speaking. Wow. Now, whether or not you like Ahithophel is immaterial.
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The truth of the matter is that is an excellent compliment. And what he is saying is this, that the counsel that Ahithophel gave to Absalom was spot on. It was right counsel. Now, that does not mean that everything that Ahithophel counseled was biblical. In fact, I will show you a passage where he gave some unbiblical counsel, but it was right counsel given the circumstances.
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Now, so you have to ask this question. Why then, why then did Absalom not listen to Ahithophel? If you will look in verse 14 of 2 Samuel chapter 17, you'll find out why. "And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, the counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel." Why did they think that? "For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom."
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Now the word defeat in the Hebrew is the word para, and it means to defeat, to make void, to break asunder, to disappoint, to bring to naught, to frustrate, and to disannul. Now we read 2 Samuel 15:31, when David was fleeing and he was told that Ahithophel was with the conspirators, that he was with Absalom, David prayed and said, "Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness." Wow. And then, of course, he sent Hushai the Archite back that he might defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.
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Now, here is something that's absolutely astounding to me. Up until this point, Absalom had listened to Ahithophel every time. And it was right. And now all of a sudden, he rejects the counsel of Ahithophel and takes the counsel of Hushai. By the way, I don't know if you know what happened to Ahithophel or not, but the Bible says when Ahithophel found out that his counsel was rejected, he got him to his house, he set his house in order, and he hanged himself. Because he knew when his counsel was not followed, it was over. He knew that David was going to defeat Absalom. And so he went and hanged himself. Ahithophel gave good advice, but it was not always biblical advice. So if you look in 2 Samuel chapter 16, beginning there with verse 20, here's the good advice that's not biblical advice, and I'll explain it. So Absalom and his men come to Jerusalem. Verse 20, "Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, give counsel among you what we shall do. And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house.
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And all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father. Then shall the hands of all them that are with thee be strong. So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house, and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel."
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Now, was that biblical counsel? Of course not. Of course not. God says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." The law of God said a man and his son shall not go in unto the same maid. And so here Absalom is going in unto his father's concubines, which is totally wrong according to the Word of God.
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Now, how can I say that this is good advice? I did not say it was biblical advice, but I said it was good advice based upon the circumstances. Look at verse 21 again. "And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house, and all Israel shall hear.
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Now watch this, that thou art abhorred of thy father. And then he makes this statement. Then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong." You see, Absalom knew that it was the tendency for a father to forgive his son, to overlook his sin. And Ahithophel said, "Look, if you want these men to fight for you, you have to make sure that they know there's no turning back. You're either going to kill your father or he's going to kill you. And so what you're going to do is go in unto his concubines and shame him and put yourself in a position where your father will utterly abhor you and you will say to those men, it's on. I will kill him or he will kill me. So shall the hands of all them that be with you be strong." Now, it's interesting.
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That verse 23 follows this bad advice. I say bad. That is unbiblical, but good under the circumstances. Verse 23, "And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if a man had inquired of the oracle of God. So was all the counsel of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom."
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Now, here's the interesting thing. Why did Ahithophel say, "Go in unto your father's concubines"? Of course, this was part and parcel of God's correction and chastisement of David. If you would turn back in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 12. 2 Samuel chapter 12. You remember that David has committed adultery with Bathsheba. And he did everything he could to cover up his sin. He even killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the children of Ammon. So if you'll look in 2 Samuel chapter 12, beginning at verse 11.
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"Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house." That's Absalom. "And I will take thy wives before thine eyes and give them unto thy neighbor." That's Absalom. "And he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun." That's the top of the house. "For thou didst it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun." And David said unto Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord has also put away thy sin. Thou shalt not die." So God's goal was to correct David, not to slay David. So Ahithophel's counsel to Absalom in going in unto his father's concubines was part and parcel of David's chastisement. But are you listening? If Absalom had followed the counsel of Ahithophel in 2 Samuel chapter 17, David would be dead and so would his family.
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You see what I'm saying? So God's design was to correct David and not necessarily to destroy him. So here is the point I want to emphasize. Why then, since Absalom had listened to Ahithophel the whole time, and everything turned out exactly the way Ahithophel said, why did he not listen to Ahithophel now? And the answer is given in 2 Samuel 17:14, "For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom." Now I want you to listen to me.
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I find this absolutely astounding to me. David prayed in 2 Samuel 15, "Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness." Well, God didn't do that. He didn't. The counsel that Ahithophel gave in 2 Samuel 17:1-4 was good counsel. It was the right counsel. But what God did was he closed the ears of Absalom and those other people to the good counsel and opened their ears to the bad counsel. The reason Absalom would not listen, the reason those with Absalom would not listen to the good counsel was because God intended Absalom and those that were with him. You know, God sovereignly allowed Absalom to believe a lie. I don't know if you've ever thought about this or not, but when a person will not listen to the truth, will not receive the truth, will not believe the truth, the only alternative is a lie.
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I want you to look at this. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. And let's begin reading there with verse 10. Look what the Bible says. "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." So let's ask the question, why are they perishing? Here's the answer.
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"Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Well, what happened when they would not receive the truth? Well, verse 11, "And for this cause"—what cause? Because they would not receive the truth—"for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." So here's what God did. God did not destroy the good counsel of Ahithophel. He just fixed it where Absalom and those people would not listen to Ahithophel.
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Let me put it like this. Ahithophel gave the right counsel. Absalom wouldn't listen. Absalom followed his own desires, his own pride, his own rationalization, his own thinking, and he destroyed himself. He fell upon his own sword, so to speak. Then you realize all God has to do to destroy anybody is just let us alone. Leave us to ourselves. We'll destroy ourselves. That's exactly what happened here. When one rejects the Word of God, when one refuses to hear truth, he rejects that truth at his own peril.
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Your wisdom, your understanding, your reasoning abilities shall fall and shall fail. You cannot and will not ever defeat God or His Word. Heaven and earth may pass away, but not God's Word. "Thy word is magnified," he said, "above thy name" (Psalm 138). So if God's Word ever fails, then God is not God. The reason some people will not listen is because God has appointed them to fall. He will destroy them.
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I want to give you one good illustration. I spoke to a man one time. The man was a nominal Roman Catholic. When I say nominal, a Roman Catholic in name only. He never went to church. I was witnessing to him about Jesus Christ. And he told me to my face, "Don't ever talk to me again about Jesus Christ or the Bible. I don't want to hear it." The very next week, that 42- or 43-year-old man who smoked
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woke up at four o'clock in the morning, went into the bathroom, got to coughing and coughed so hard, a blood vessel in his brain burst. And he fell down to the floor dead.
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When people will not listen, it is a very, very bad sign. You can only reject the Word of God at your own peril. The Bible says in Psalm 33:10, "The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought. He maketh the devices of the people of none effect." It doesn't matter what you plan. What about that passage in Psalm 2? "Why do the heathen rage? Why do the people imagine a vain thing?
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The kings of the earth have gathered themselves together against our Lord and against His Christ, and they said, 'Come, let us break His bands, let us cut His cords asunder.'" What does the Bible say? "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision." It's absolutely foolish to reject the wisdom of God and the Word of God. The Bible says in Proverbs 19:21, "There are many devices in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord that shall stand." And then, of course, in Isaiah 46:10, he says, "Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand and I will do all of my pleasure.'" No one's going to overthrow the counsel of God. And only God can do as he pleases. Psalm 115:3, David said, "But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." And I'll tell you this, folks, when you run across someone who will not listen to truth, will not receive the Word of God, they are in a very, very dangerous position.
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So let me make some application and try to tie it together. First of all, I hope you understand that a man has to be an absolute fool to fight against God and reject the wisdom of God. Because all God has to do is to leave him to himself, and he'll destroy himself. He'll follow his own passions. He'll follow his own desires. He'll follow his own pride. It's kind of like that passage in Hosea 13:9, where God said to Israel, "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself."
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And that's exactly what men do. We destroy ourselves. Let me show you another passage. I want you to look in Matthew chapter 15. You see, our Lord said the same exact thing that I've just got through preaching to you. I want to show it to you. Matthew 15. And let's begin reading there at verse 12. Look at it. "Then came his disciples and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?" Well, Lord, you upset the Pharisees. You've got, you hurt their feelings. Lord, they're mad at you. Lord, they'll probably vote you out. You hurt their feelings. "Knowest thou not that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?" But look what our Lord said.
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"But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Watch it. Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch." What did our Lord say? "Let them alone." And someone who does not want to hear the Word of God and will not listen to the truth? Our Lord said, "Let them alone." And just like Absalom, he's appointed them to fall. He's appointed them to fail.
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Do you realize the same thing happened in 1 Kings 12 with Rehoboam? Rehoboam asked counsel of the old men, and they gave him good biblical counsel. Then he asked counsel of the young men, and they told him everything wrong. But what did he do? He listened to the young men, not the old men. And when you read verse 15, the Bible said the Lord brought it to pass. But people don't listen.
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It's evidence that they're set up to fall. They're set up to fail. Now, one other passage. I want you to look at this. Turn to Matthew 13. Matthew 13. And look, if you would, beginning there with verse 15. Matthew 13:15. You see, folks, if you have eyes to see, if you have ears to hear, if you have a heart to believe, you should be eternally grateful and thankful.
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To the Lord Jesus Christ for his grace and mercy to you. Our Lord often spoke in parables. Do you know why he spoke in parables? Here's the answer. Matthew chapter 13. Look at it. And verse 13, it is Matthew 13:13. Let's start there. "Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.
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Now watch, for this people's heart is waxed gross. And their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Then he says this to his disciples. "But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear." So if you see truth, if you hear truth, if you love truth, if you desire truth, it's only because of the grace and mercy of God in your life. God opens your eyes. He opens your ears. He opens your heart. You should be eternally grateful and thankful and appreciative of the fact that God has given you the ability to see and hear.
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I'm reading through the Old Testament again, and I am in 1 and 2 Kings at the moment. And when I read about these wicked kings and the wicked people, I cannot help but bow my head and say, "Lord, thank you. Thank you that you've opened my eyes. You opened my ears and opened my heart. I don't want to rebel against him. I don't want humanism. I want his truth and his word." It should scare, frighten every lost man who refuses to hear God's truth.
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Because if they will not listen, like Absalom, like the Pharisees, God has appointed them to destruction and all he's doing is leaving them to themselves. And they will destroy themselves. If you can see, if you can hear, if you believe, thank him. Praise him. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. We thank you for your mercy. We thank you, Father, for eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to believe. Thank you, Father, for giving us the Lord Jesus Christ, your only begotten Son, to be the propitiation for our sins, to be our substitute, our sacrifice, our surety. We give thee praise for thy so great salvation. And ask you, Lord, to open our understanding more that we may hear and comprehend thy word and love it and desire it more and more. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. Amen.
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so so
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T22:44:26Z

Why Some Will Not Listen

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver examines the biblical account of Absalom's rebellion in 2 Samuel 17 to explain why some people refuse to listen to truth. He argues that the natural, unregenerate man cannot spiritually discern God's Word, yet remains responsible to hear it. Using Absalom's rejection of Ahithophel's good counsel in favor of Hushai's bad counsel, Weaver demonstrates that God sovereignly appoints some to believe lies and fall into destruction as judgment for rejecting truth. The sermon emphasizes that the ability to hear and believe is a gift of God's grace, and those who persistently refuse to listen are left to their own self-destruction.

Opening

Introduction: The Problem of Not Listening

Historical Contrast: How Forefathers Learned by Listening

Colonial Americans learned extensively by listening, mastering multiple languages by age six and entering elite colleges with rigorous requirements, because they lacked modern distractions.

Biblical Emphasis on Hearing

Jesus repeatedly commanded, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear,' emphasizing that having the ability to hear carries responsibility and a required willingness to perceive spiritual truth.

Distinction Between External and Internal Hearing

Weaver distinguishes between hearing sound waves and spiritually perceiving truth. The Greek word akouo implies understanding and heeding, not just auditory reception.

The Natural Man's Inability and Continued Responsibility

Using 1 Corinthians 2:14 and Romans 8:6-9, Weaver explains that the unregenerate man cannot understand spiritual things, yet his inability does not negate his responsibility to hear and obey God.

Absalom's Rebellion and the Counsel of Ahithophel and Hushai

Weaver recounts the story of Absalom's rebellion, Ahithophel's wise but rejected counsel, and Hushai's deceptive advice that appealed to Absalom's pride, buying time for David.

The Divine Reason Absalom Would Not Listen

2 Samuel 17:14 reveals that the Lord appointed to defeat Ahithophel's good counsel to bring evil upon Absalom. God closed Absalom's ears to truth and opened them to a lie as judgment.

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 15:31

"Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness."

The Principle of Judicial Hardening

Weaver connects Absalom's rejection to 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, where God sends strong delusion to those who refuse the truth, leaving them to believe lies and be damned.

Applications and Warnings

Those who reject God's Word destroy themselves. Jesus said to 'let them alone' (Matthew 15:14). Believers should be grateful that God has opened their eyes and ears to truth.

woke up at four o'clock in the morning, went into the bathroom, got to coughing and coughed so hard, a blood vessel in his brain burst. And he fell down to the floor dead.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 33:10

The kings of the earth have gathered themselves together against our Lord and against His Christ, and they said, 'Come, let us break His bands, let us cut His cords asunder.'" What does the Bible say? "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision." It's absolutely foolish to reject the wisdom of God and the Word of God. The Bible says in Proverbs 19:21, "There are many devices in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord that shall stand." And then, of course, in Isaiah 46:10, he says, "Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand and I will do all of my pleasure.'" No one's going to overthrow the counsel of God. And only God can do as he pleases. Psalm 115:3, David said, "But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." And I'll tell you this, folks, when you run across someone who will not listen to truth, will not receive the Word of God, they are in a very, very dangerous position.

Closing Prayer and Thanksgiving

Weaver prays, thanking God for opening eyes, ears, and hearts to believe, and asks for greater understanding and love for His Word.

Why Some Will Not Listen

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	oP8yCggjR24
Subject	Education and Discipleship
Course	Christian Education and Discipleship
Genre	Sermon
Date	2020-10-11
Dictation Name
Book	Book 073: Christian Education and Discipleship — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	64

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Problem of Not Listening: Weaver introduces the universal frustration of people not listening—children, spouses, congregants, and those being witnessed to. He notes that modern attention spans have drastically shortened, even below that of a goldfish.
Historical Contrast: How Forefathers Learned by Listening: Colonial Americans learned extensively by listening, mastering multiple languages by age six and entering elite colleges with rigorous requirements, because they lacked modern distractions.
Biblical Emphasis on Hearing: Jesus repeatedly commanded, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear,' emphasizing that having the ability to hear carries responsibility and a required willingness to perceive spiritual truth.
Distinction Between External and Internal Hearing: Weaver distinguishes between hearing sound waves and spiritually perceiving truth. The Greek word akouo implies understanding and heeding, not just auditory reception.
The Natural Man's Inability and Continued Responsibility: Using 1 Corinthians 2:14 and Romans 8:6-9, Weaver explains that the unregenerate man cannot understand spiritual things, yet his inability does not negate his responsibility to hear and obey God.
Absalom's Rebellion and the Counsel of Ahithophel and Hushai: Weaver recounts the story of Absalom's rebellion, Ahithophel's wise but rejected counsel, and Hushai's deceptive advice that appealed to Absalom's pride, buying time for David.
The Divine Reason Absalom Would Not Listen: 2 Samuel 17:14 reveals that the Lord appointed to defeat Ahithophel's good counsel to bring evil upon Absalom. God closed Absalom's ears to truth and opened them to a lie as judgment.
The Principle of Judicial Hardening: Weaver connects Absalom's rejection to 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, where God sends strong delusion to those who refuse the truth, leaving them to believe lies and be damned.
Applications and Warnings: Those who reject God's Word destroy themselves. Jesus said to 'let them alone' (Matthew 15:14). Believers should be grateful that God has opened their eyes and ears to truth.
Closing Prayer and Thanksgiving: Weaver prays, thanking God for opening eyes, ears, and hearts to believe, and asks for greater understanding and love for His Word.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

The natural man cannot spiritually discern truth.

1 Corinthians 2:14 and Romans 8:7 teach that the unregenerate person lacks the ability to understand or submit to God's truth, viewing it as foolishness.

Weaver reads 1 Corinthians 2:14: 'the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God... neither can he know them.'

Inability does not remove responsibility.

Even though fallen man cannot please God, he remains a creature obligated to obey his Creator; sin does not erase accountability.

Weaver argues, 'Just because man has lost his ability to hear does not mean that God has lost his right to command.'

God sovereignly caused Absalom to reject good counsel.

2 Samuel 17:14 explicitly states that the Lord appointed to defeat Ahithophel's good counsel to bring evil on Absalom, demonstrating divine hardening.

Weaver reads 2 Samuel 17:14: 'For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom.'

Rejecting truth leads to believing a lie.

When people refuse the love of the truth, God sends them strong delusion to believe what is false, resulting in their damnation (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

Weaver reads 2 Thessalonians 2:11: 'for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.'

Jesus taught to leave rejecters alone to their fate.

In Matthew 15:14, Jesus said of the Pharisees, 'Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind,' indicating that persistent rejection leads to appointed destruction.

Weaver quotes Matthew 15:14: 'Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch.'

Scripture References

2 Samuel 17:1-4: Ahithophel's counsel to Absalom to pursue David immediately with 12,000 men.
2 Samuel 17:5-14: Absalom asks for Hushai's counsel; Hushai gives bad advice that appeals to pride; the Lord appointed to defeat Ahithophel's good counsel.
2 Samuel 16:23: Ahithophel's counsel was esteemed as if one inquired of the oracle of God.
2 Samuel 15:31: David prays for the Lord to turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness.
2 Samuel 16:20-22: Ahithophel advises Absalom to lie with David's concubines to strengthen his followers' resolve.
2 Samuel 12:11-12: God's prophecy that He would raise up evil from David's house and give his wives to his neighbor in public view.
Matthew 11:15: Jesus says, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'
Matthew 13:9: Jesus repeats the call to hear.
Matthew 13:43: Jesus again says, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'
Mark 4:9: Jesus says, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'
Luke 8:8: In the parable of the sower, Jesus cries, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'
Luke 14:35: Jesus says of salt that has lost its savor, 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.'
1 Corinthians 2:14: The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit; they are foolishness to him, and he cannot know them.
Psalm 49:12, 20: Man in honor without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
Romans 8:6-9: The carnal mind is enmity against God and cannot be subject to His law; those in the flesh cannot please God.
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: God sends strong delusion to those who do not receive the love of the truth, that they should believe a lie and be damned.
Psalm 33:10: The Lord brings the counsel of the heathen to nought.
Proverbs 19:21: Many devices are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord shall stand.
Isaiah 46:10: God declares the end from the beginning; His counsel shall stand.
Matthew 15:12-14: Jesus says of the offended Pharisees, 'Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.'

Historical References

Sam Adams' education at Boston Latin School and Harvard College: Weaver uses Sam Adams as an example of colonial Americans who learned extensively by listening, entering Harvard at age 14 and graduating with a master's degree by 21.
Colonial American education standards: Weaver notes that colonial children often could read, write, and speak English, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin by age five or six, and this was a qualification for Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
Decline of human attention span since 2000: Weaver cites a study that the average human attention span dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds today, shorter than a goldfish's 9 seconds.

Important Quotes

Inability does not negate responsibility.

This concise statement encapsulates a key theological point: man's fallen inability to obey does not remove his duty to obey God.

The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Weaver quotes 1 Corinthians 2:14 to establish the biblical basis for the unregenerate person's total inability to understand spiritual truth.

For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom.

This verse from 2 Samuel 17:14 is the central text showing God's sovereign hand in Absalom's rejection of good counsel.

When people will not listen, it is a very, very bad sign. You can only reject the Word of God at your own peril.

Weaver warns that persistent refusal to hear truth is evidence of divine judgment and leads to self-destruction.

Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch.

Jesus' words in Matthew 15:14 are used to show that God sometimes abandons rejecters to their own devices, leading to their fall.

If you see truth, if you hear truth, if you love truth, if you desire truth, it's only because of the grace and mercy of God in your life.

Weaver emphasizes that spiritual perception is entirely a gift of grace, prompting gratitude in believers.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the modern decline in attention span affect our ability to listen to God's Word, and what practical steps can we take to cultivate better listening?

[Context]

Weaver notes that the average attention span is now shorter than a goldfish's, which impacts how people engage with sermons and Scripture.

[Question]

In what ways does 1 Corinthians 2:14 challenge the common belief that everyone can understand spiritual truth if it is presented clearly enough?

[Context]

Weaver explains that the natural man cannot know the things of the Spirit because they are spiritually discerned.

[Question]

How do we reconcile the biblical teaching that unbelievers are responsible to hear and obey God with the teaching that they are unable to do so apart from grace?

[Context]

Weaver argues that inability does not nullify responsibility, citing man's created obligation and God's right to command.

[Question]

What does Absalom's rejection of Ahithophel's good counsel teach us about the danger of pride and the sovereignty of God in judgment?

[Context]

Weaver shows that God appointed Absalom to reject good counsel and believe a lie, leading to his destruction.

[Question]

How should the reality of judicial hardening (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12) affect our evangelism and our prayers for the lost?

[Context]

Weaver warns that God sends strong delusion to those who refuse the truth, leaving them to believe lies.

[Question]

Why is it dangerous to persistently reject or ignore the Word of God, and what are some modern examples of this?

[Context]

Weaver shares an illustration of a man who told him never to speak about Jesus again and died suddenly the next week.

[Question]

How does recognizing that our ability to hear and believe is a gift of grace change the way we approach Scripture and worship?

[Context]

Weaver concludes that believers should be eternally grateful that God has opened their eyes and ears.

Applications

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