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.
Ahithophel discerned clearly that if Absalom was to gain any victory over David he must strike quickly. Satan knows that the only way to establish the anti-christ in power is to destroy the true Christ. So Ahithophel urges that he be allowed to take with him 12,000 men (in contrast to the few hundred who had gone with David) and immediately the same night pursue David. He well reasons that such an attack would scatter David's men and leave David unprotected, so that they could kill him alone. Thus he says, "I will bring back all the people to you," as though the people had left Absalom! (v.3). Wickedness can succeed only by striking quickly: it cannot afford to wait for calmly judicious deliberation. This counsel pleased Absalom and his men, for this was the plan most likely to succeed.
However, Absalom considered it an advantage to have another counsellor also, and he called for Hushai and told him what Ahithophel had counselled, asking him if he concurred with this or not. Of course Hushai knew it was the best thing from Absalom's point of view, but he was there to serve David. He therefore tells Absalom that Ahithophel's counsel "is not good at this time." He gives reasons that were convincing to Absalom, first, that David and his men were men of war and at the time enraged in their minds like a bear robbed of her cubs, so that their resistance would be furious. But also, that David would be hidden somewhere apart from the people, for he knew how to survive alone in rugged circumstances. Then if at first there was slaughter of some of Absalom's men, the people would hear the report of it (v.9), and tend to become apprehensive and fearful. He pressed the fact that, all Israel knew David's reputation for powerful conquest and that he was surrounded by valiant men (v.10).
Then he uses his most convincing argument so far as Absalom was concerned, giving his counsel that Absalom should take time to have all Israel gathered in subjection to him, the whole country from Dan to Beersheba being persuaded that Absalom was the best choice for king (v.11). Then when the kingdom was in this way established, they would have no difficulty in eventually apprehending David (vs.12-13). Hushai embellishes this with some details of how they would complete the matter, since by then Absalom would be in undisputed authority over the country.
Hushai knew perfectly well that this time delay would benefit David rather than Absalom. But he also knew that Absalom was proud enough to think that all Israel would gladly welcome him as king when they had considered the matter. Thus Absalom's pride was his downfall. He and all his men accepted the counsel of Hushai. The self-confidence of Absalom and his followers stands in sharp contrast to David's humble confidence in God. it is added also the Lord had purposed to defeat the wise counsel of Ahithophel in order that Absalom might be brought down to ruin.
Hushai then gave information to Zadok and Abiathar as to the counsel of Ahithophel and his contrary counsel, so that David would be urged to put as much distance as he could between his company and Absalom, rather than hiding in a nearby proximity. The message then was to be relayed to Jonathan and Ahimaaz by a girl. No doubt this was considered safer than using a man. Jonathan and Ahimaaz had remained outside the city to avoid any kind of suspicion (v.17). However, a boy saw them as they started on their way to meet David, and he told Absalom.
They apparently knew they had been seen, and when they came to Bahurim considered it necessary to hide. A woman was friendly, and had them go down a well, which she covered over, spreading grain on top of the covering. This of course was very effective, so that when Absalom's servants came, it was plain to them that the young men were not there. When they asked, the woman told them they had gone over the water brook. Of course their search was fruitless, so they returned to Jerusalem.
When all was clear, Jonathan and Ahimaaz came up out of the well and made their way to David, who by this time had descended to the Jordan valley. They urged him to cross over the Jordan, for Ahithophel had counselled immediate pursuit and the killing of David. But Hushai's counsel had delayed this, therefore there was time for David to cross over if Absalom and his men had immediately pursued, they might have caught them as they were crossing the river and therefore would be unable to conceal themselves. They took advantage of the respite therefore, and all had crossed over the river by daylight of the following morning.
Ahithophel was clear thinking enough to realize that, since his counsel had been refused, the cause of Absalom was totally lost. He knew that Absalom could succeed only if David were killed, and David's having time to regroup would be fatal to Absalom's cause, for the people generally would not be persuaded to follow Absalom in preference to David, in spite of the pride of Absalom in expecting this. Therefore Ahithophel returned to his home, put his affairs in order and committed suicide by hanging himself (v.28). Tragic end for an intellectual man!
David went on north to Mahanaim. No doubt some time had elapsed before Absalom and his army crossed the Jordan also and encamped in the area of Gilead, not far from David. Verse 25 tells us that Absalom made Amasa captain of his army, a man who had a certain relationship with Joab.
From areas east of the Jordan there was time given for three friends of David to bring supplies to him. Shobi was of the people of Ammon, the nation David had subdued with much slaughter. They must have had servants with them, for they brought beds, basis, earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain and beans, lentils and parched seeds, honey, curds, sheep and cheese (vs.27-29). This consideration of the needs of David's men was most commendable and must have been deeply appreciated by David.