2 Samuel 15:1-37
1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
2 And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy camea to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.
3 And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.
4 Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!
5 And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.
6 And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7 And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the LORD, in Hebron.
8 For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.
9 And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron.
10 But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron.
11 And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing.
12 And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.
13 And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.
14 And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bringb evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.
15 And the king's servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint.c
16 And the king went forth, and all his household afterd him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house.
17 And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off.
18 And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.
19 Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile.
20 Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee.
21 And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.
22 And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him.
23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron,e and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
24 And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city.
25 And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation:
26 But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.
27 The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.
28 See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me.
29 Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there.
30 And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and weptf as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
31 And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
32 And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head:
33 Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me:
34 But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father's servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.
35 And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
36 Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok's son, and Jonathan Abiathar's son; and by them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear.
37 So Hushai David's friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.
Absalom knew how to take full advantage of his outward acceptance by his father Now there was no difficulty in beginning to exalt himself in the eyes of Israel. His chariots and horses and fifty men to run before him (v.1) were all intended as a show of his importance. If David was troubled by this, we read nothing of it.
More than this, Absalom was adept in influencing the people personally. Others ought to have seen through his activities, and to have warned David, but he got away with his intercepting of people who came early in the morning to the gate of the city to look for judgment in cases of personal problems. He would be most friendly, beginning by asking where their home was. Then whatever grievance they had, he told them their case was right, but added that there was no-one appointed by the king to handle these matters. If this was true, Absalom should have suggested to the king that he should appoint someone to this work, but his object was to plant in the people seeds of discontent and distrust toward David and to worm his way into the affections of the people. He succeeded in this without David apparently suspecting anything (v.6).
In verse 7 it is said that after 40 years Absalom approached the king. It is considered that this may be an error in copying from the earliest manuscripts, and that four years seems more likely. Though he had only treachery in his heart, Absalom was able to speak in such a pious way as to deceive David. He said he had vowed a vow to the Lord in Geshur to the effect that he would serve the Lord if the Lord brought him back to Jerusalem. Now he wanted to go to Hebron to fulfil the vow. David still does not suspect his hypocrisy, and does not even question as to why he was choosing Hebron as a place to serve the Lord.
But Absalom was making the most solid plans he knew how to. Hebron was the first place in which David reigned, and Absalom was making an appearance of returning to the original principles of the kingdom. Also, the place would be enshrined in people's affections because of its close association with Abraham's history. He went to Hebron and sent spies throughout all Israel to inform them that, when the trumpet sounded, Absalom would be reigning in Hebron. When he left Jerusalem he also brought 200 men with him who had no idea what he had in mind, but followed him apparently because they like him (v.11).
How great are the multitudes today who are merely followers of men! They have no serious exercise as to the principles of the truth of God, but are influenced by what appeals to their own comfort or convenience. In many cases their choice is not only unwise but links them with what is absolute wickedness in opposition to God, as was true of these followers of Absalom.
Absalom then sent for Ahithophel, who was David's counsellor, and who willingly came. No doubt he had strong feelings against David that had been suppressed until now, for his later advice to Absalom was to brazenly use David's concubines, then to concentrate only on killing David (ch.16:21-22; 17:1-3). The reason for this strong enmity was likely that Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba (cf.ch.13:3 and 23:34). In this God was again making David feel the results of his great sin. Absalom's conspiracy was well planned, and it grew strong with many people carried by the current.
Having been unaware of all this, David was finally awakened by a messenger who told him that the hearts of the men of Israel had been led to follow Absalom in revolt. Of course David realized that an attack on the city of Jerusalem was imminent. But he was not prepared to defend the city, nor to send an army to meet an attacking company. His only recourse was to flee the city. David did have servants who were not so easily moved by Absalom's popularity, and the king left with his household, though leaving ten concubines to take care of the house (v.16). On the outskirts of the city David took time to review all the people who were with him. His servants who had remained loyal to him are mentioned as passing before him, then the Cherethites and the Pelethites who had been chosen as David's bodyguard. After these came 600 men from Gath, led by Ittai (v.18).
Of course Gath was a prominent Philistine city, and it would be an unusual thing for Philistines to stand true to Israel at a time like this. Not many Palestinians today would be devoted to Israel! David therefore questions Ittai as to why he was going with him, since he was a foreigner and had only recently identified himself with David. David gave him fullest opportunity to return with his brethren and be identified with whatever king reigned in Jerusalem (which appeared to be Absalom at this time.).
However, Ittai shows convincing evidence that the Lord had worked within his heart to give him a genuine love for David (v.21). He speaks with firm decision that, as the Lord lives and David lives, he chooses to be in the place where David is, whether this should mean life or death.
In this present day of grace it is sometimes refreshing to witness cases similar to that of Ittai. Some who have had an outwardly near position in the testimony of God for some years, have, when troubles came, given up any such testimony, while others who have newly come in fresh, vital affection toward the Lord, are not moved by difficulties, but prove their stedfast devotion by whole heartedly continuing with the Lord. David therefore welcomes the help of lttai and his men (v.22).
There was deep distress and weeping as the people and the king himself crossed over the brook Kidron. Zadok and Abiathar the priests and all the Levites with them had also come, bearing the ark of God. but David realized that he had no right to have the ark accompany him. He knew he was under the chastening hand of God and should bow to this rather than giving the people the impression that the ark should leave its proper place in Jerusalem just because David was in exile. He tells Zadok and Abiathar to return with the ark, and that God could simply restore David to Jerusalem if it was His will, while if He did not do so, His will was still to be accepted He also told them to keep their two sons with them and use them to send David any useful information (vs.27-28)
In all of this David was no doubt showing a proper spirit of submission and faith, and in verse 30 we are told that he showed signs of penitence, having his head covered in humiliation and his feet bare, an admission of weakness and dependence before God, not preparing for battle. When he heard that Ahithophel had joined Absalom's conspiracy he was no doubt alarmed, for he knew Ahithophel to be a shrewd and capable counsellor. He prayed immediately that God would turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness (v.31).
However, instead of leaving this matter entirely with God, David saw an opportunity, when Hushai came to him, of planting his own secret agent in Absalom's court. Hushai was also a counsellor, and though he was willing to suffer rejection along with David, David told him he has no need of him, but that if he returns to the city and professes allegiance to Absalom, he might defeat the counsel of Ahithophel (v.34). This was not faith on David's part, for he told Hushai to lie to Absalom in declaring that he would be Absalom's servant just as he had been David's servant. Actually, the matter did work out as David hoped, but he might have seen God work in a more miraculous way if he had simply trusted Him.
David had already arranged that Ahimaaz and Jonathan could bring secret intelligence from the priests, so he tells Hushai to use them in order to give David information. Naturally speaking, David was able to make well grounded plans in the very short time he had. Hushai then returned to Jerusalem, and in a short time Absalom with all his retinue walked in to take possession of the city without any resistance.