Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
2 Samuel 15:32-37
YHWH Answers David's Prayer In The Person Of Hushai The Archite (2 Samuel 15:32).
Having prayed that YHWH would turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness in the eyes of Absalom, David made his way to the top of the Mount ‘where God was worshipped' and there before his very eyes he saw the almost instant answer to his prayers in Hushai the Archite, his loyal and faithful counsellor who was known as ‘the King's Friend'. Here if anywhere was the solution to his problem. For Hushai too had a reputation for wisdom, and if he was in the right place could hopefully counteract any counsel that Ahithophel gave. The appearance of Hushai at this very time would have been an encouraging sign to David that YHWH was still with him.
Analysis.
a And it came to about that, when David was come to the top of the ascent, where God was worshipped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn, and earth on his head (2 Samuel 15:32).
b And David said to him, “If you pass on with me, then you will be a burden to me, but if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king. As I have been your father's servant in time past, so will I now be your servant.' Then will you defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel” (2 Samuel 15:33).
c “And have you not there with you Zadok and Abiathar the priests?” (2 Samuel 15:35 a).
b “Therefore it shall be, that whatever thing you shall hear out of the king's house, you will tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son, and by them you will send to me everything that you shall hear” (2 Samuel 15:35).
a So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:37).
Note that in ‘a' Hushai the Archite came out of the city to meet David, and in the parallel he returned to the city in time to meet Absalom. In ‘b' he was to act to counter the wisdom of Ahithophel before Absalom, and in the parallel he was to act as the king's eyes in the house of Absalom. Central in ‘c' was the important fact of the presence of Zadok and Abiathar the priests in the city who would give him their support. So even before Absalom arrived in the city David had planted counter-conspirators to act on his behalf.
‘ And it came to about that, when David was come to the top of the ascent, where God was worshipped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn, and earth on his head.'
As David reached the top of the Mount of Olives ‘where God was worshipped' he saw Hushai the Archite hurrying to meet him, bearing in his person all the signs of grief over what was happening. Both the tearing of the coat and the earth on the head expressed his deep emotion. Hushai the Archite was one of David's counsellors and was known as David's Friend which was probably the title resulting from his official position as his chief personal adviser. He was almost certainly old, a wise man seen as having the extra wisdom that came with age. His being an Archite probably linked him with the family whose possessions were on the southern boundary of the tribe of Ephraim, between Bethel and Ataroth as described in Joshua 16:2.
That God ‘was worshipped' at the top of the Mount of Olives is a reminder that in David's day there were still high places where YHWH was worshipped. As we have seen previously, once the one sanctuary at Shiloh had ceased there were a number of places where YHWH worship was carried on. It was fitting that at such a place he would receive the answer to his prayers in such a specific way.
‘ And David said to him, “If you pass on with me, then you will be a burden to me, but if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king. As I have been your father's servant in time past, so will I now be your servant.' Then will you defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.” '
Recognising in this an almost instant answer to his prayer concerning Ahithophel, David pointed out to Hushai that if he went with them he would only delay them because of his age, but if on the other hand he returned to the city and pretended to submit to Absalom he would hopefully be able to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.
“ And have you not there with you Zadok and Abiathar the priests? Therefore it shall be, that whatever thing you shall hear out of the king's house, you will tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.”
Furthermore he was not to think that he would be alone there. For Zadok and Abiathar the priests would also be with him in Jerusalem. Thus whatever he learned in Absalom's palace he could pass on to them.
“ Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son, and by them you will send to me everything that you shall hear.”
Then Zadok and Abiathar would be able to send to the king their two sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, with any information that was gleaned, assuming that it was considered of sufficient importance to pass on.
‘ So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.'
So Hushai, David's ‘Friend' (his most prominent personal adviser), fell in with David's suggestion and returned to the city, and he was only just in time, for with David's fifth column now safely in position Absalom arrived soon afterwards in Jerusalem with his troops, unaware of the groundwork that David had laid. It was, of course, difficult for Absalom to know who could be trusted or who could not. That is one problem with a rebellion. How do you know which of those who have joined you are genuine rebels, and are ‘patriots' who want to do their best for their country whoever is in charge, and which are actually spies and likely to be subversive? Even the most disaffected would have had to pretend to be loyal to David. Hushai then appeared no different from the others.