2 Samuel 17:1-29
1 Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:
2 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:
3 And I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace.
4 And the saying pleaseda Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
5 Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith.
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.
7 And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath givenb is not good at this time.
8 For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafedc 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.
9 Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrownd at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.
10 And he also that is valiant, 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 valiant men.
11 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.
12 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.
13 Moreover, if he be 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.
14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointede to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.
15 Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.
16 Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.
17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king David.
18 Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man's house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down.
19 And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known.
20 And when Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
21 And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.
22 Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.
23 And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed,f he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.
24 Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
25 And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man's son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab's mother.
26 So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.
27 And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
28 Brought beds, and basons,g and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse,
29 And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.
2 Samuel 17:17. En-rogel was near Jerusalem. Joshua 15:7.
2 Samuel 17:21. Thus hath Ahithophel counselled. This disclosure of Absalom's plans saved David from being surprised, and drove him across the Jordan, where he received strength in Gilead, and supplies from Shobi, viceroy of the Ammonites. In this case wisdom was more than might. The royal person is safer to be surrounded with pious men, than with an assembly of atheists.
2 Samuel 17:25. Amasa, whose mother was David's niece, but being a love-child he had not been much noticed by the king. He now hoped to find a princely rank with Absalom. Abigail had formed a connection with Ithra while in exile on account of David, as it would seem. Amasa's father is here called an Israelite, which must have been mis-written. The LXX read Jezreelite, and in 1 Chronicles 2:17, he is called an Ishmaelite.
2 Samuel 17:27. Shobi, brother of king Hanun, who had contumeliously treated David's messengers of peace and congratulation. He now made a grateful return for being placed on his brother's throne.
REFLECTIONS.
Absalom, flushed to find himself at once in the palace and fortress of his father, instantly convened his council. But though he had the ark and the priests, he never thought of consulting the Lord. To that sanctuary the wicked, having no hope, do not presume to approach. We proceed now to the second act of the council, in which Ahithophel, once for all, discovered his secret policy. This man, full of pride, as though doubtful of the talents of his prince, wished to select twelve thousand men, and to pursue the king while his army was weak and unorganized; that he might kill the king, gain over his army, and consequently reign himself, while Absalom enjoyed the name. What will not a depraved heart devise, while in the full career of crime.
The prince, and all his council, dazzled with the idea of instant victory, precipitately applauded the haughty speech; and with regard to the prompt and decisive execution of the plan, it certainly had a fair appearance; and speeches to the same effect, have often been made in the councils of Greece and of Rome. But that Absalom should applaud the killing of his father; a father who had pardoned his crime; who had called him from exile, received him to favour, and indulged him with guards as successor to the throne, fills the mind with horror and indignation. Wicked and abandoned man, are these thy returns? Surely thou art infatuated, and nigh to destruction. Let parents learn to curb every rising of wickedness in their children, for if bad propensities are suffered to grow, we know not what the fruits may be.
Though Ahithophel had dazzled the council by a brilliant address, and a specious scheme, Hushai had the stronger powers of wisdom and knowledge; for it often occurs, that the most popular have not the best talents. This statesman being called to give his opinion, began by opposing his opponent in modesty of language. Addressing himself to Absalom he said, “The counsel of Ahithophel is not good.” Thy father is a valiant man, for he dared not now to call him king, and his generals and guards have long distinguished themselves in the field; and their minds being now highly exasperated, they will fight as bears robbed of their whelps. Hence the force proposed by Ahithophel is too small. Thy father being weak in forces, but consummate in skill, will have recourse to the stratagems of war. He will hide in ambush; and if he should give Ahithophel but the slightest defeat, it will intimidate the nation, and be regarded as an omen of ruin to thee and thy kingdom. Therefore as every thing depends on the events of the approaching battle, I advise that the whole strength of Israel be collected; and if thy father, intimidated by so great a force, shall retreat to a fortified town, we will approach it with ropes and engines, and rase it to the ground. So shall all the enemies of my lord the king be in his power. This luminous speech irradiated every countenance in the assembly, except Ahithophel's; for an audience listening to a consummate speaker, and not prepossessed against his plans, seem for the time to be deprived of reason, and completely in his power. All his sentences throw light on the subject, and every argument carries conviction. Thus the plan of Hushai was warmly applauded, and effectively adopted.
Hearing this, where did the haughty and impious Ahithophel hide his face? After hearing his nefarious project so warmly applauded, how did he bear, and in the same sitting, to hear the speech of his rival expose his folly, and sway the council? Bear it he could not. His daring hauteur was overpowered with the weight of shame; the gloom of death overshadowed his countenance, and the anguish of hell seized his soul. Unable to bear the sight of a board, where no man before had scarcely dared to combat his opinion, he retired; and inspired by the terrors of his conscience, he predicted the ruin of Absalom, and the consequent restoration of the king. Though he well knew the clemency of David, yet he concluded that his crime, in every view, was too great to receive a pardon. Besides, his pride, which had aspired at being the virtual king, was too great to support the public odium. Therefore, settling his affairs, he suspended himself by a cord, and died in full revolt against his king, and against his God. Yea, he died a proverb of folly, who had lived famed for wisdom. The Lord make us humble in heart, and keep us back from presumptuous sins.