2 Samuel 17--Hushai Saves David

2 Samuel 17
English Standard Version

Hushai Saves David
17 Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. 2 I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king, 3 and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace.” 4 And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

5 Then Absalom said, “Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.” 6 And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Thus has Ahithophel spoken; shall we do as he says? If not, you speak.” 7 Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.” 8 Hushai said, “You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the people. 9 Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’ 10 Then even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are valiant men. 11 But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. 12 So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him not one will be left. 13 If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be 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 ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom.

15 Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so have I counseled. 16 Now therefore send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not stay tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.’” 17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel. A female servant was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they were not to be seen entering the city. 18 But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard. And they went down into it. 19 And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it. 20 When Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman said to them, “They have gone over the brook of water.” And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

21 After they had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. They said to David, “Arise, and go quickly over the water, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you.” 22 Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed the Jordan. By daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

23 When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.

24 Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. 25 Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite, who had married Abigal the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother. 26 And Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.

​27 When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, 28 brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils, 29 honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”

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Ahithophel's next piece of advice for Absalom was to let Ahithophel lead a group of 12,000 to hunt after David and those with him while they were still weary and to kill only David and bring the rest of the people back alive.  I doubt this would go as planned as there would be people that would fight that the soldiers would have to get through and kill in order to get to David, but it sounded good to Absalom.  However, Absalom wants to seek a second opinion from Hushai the Archite.  Absalom asks Husai to either agree with Ahithophel or to speak his own plan if he does not agree with Ahithophel's.

Hushai brought up much the same point that I did, comparing David and his men to an enraged mama-bear who had just been robbed of her cubs.  Hushai said that besides that, the men with David are mighty men of war and David is also a master at war and strategy.  He would be expecting an attack like this and would make preparations to separate himself from the main group so that they would not all be killed together if attacked.

Moreover, Hushai said that David does not have to have a resounding victory.  All his men need to do is kill a few of Absalom's men and news will spread far and wide that David's men who are mighty with valor have started to make their comeback and fear will grip the hearts of those who say they are loyal to Absalom right now.  Hushai says that not even 12,000 men will be enough.  They will need to raise up an army of every fighting man in all of Israel and commit them to the pursuit of David.  That way, even if David were to take refuge in a fortified city, there would be enough men to deal with the fortifications and make sure that there was no place safe for David to hide.  Then the text tells us that the LORD caused Absalom to like the counsel of Hushai better than the counsel of Ahithophel, even though Ahithophel had given better military advice (it is not tactically wise to commit your entire army to the pursuit of one man).  "For the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom."  Each man had some strong arguments, but it was the LORD that caused Absalom to take the advice that would put him in the weakest position, because it was the LORD's will that Absalom be defeated and David be restored to the throne.

Recall also that Hushai was one of David's inside men, so this "advice" that he gave to Absalom was intentionally bad advice.  As soon as he was done, Hushai went and reported everything to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, as David had instructed (the other "inside men" for David).  Given everything that was said to Absalom by both advisors, Hushai tells the priests to send the following message to David and his men, "Do not stay tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.”

Jonathan and Ahimaaz, the sons of these two priests, were waiting some distance away so that a female servant could carry the message to them and then they could carry the message to David and his men.  In this way Jonathan and Ahimaaz did not have to enter the city, but one of Absalom's men saw them and reported their position to Absalom so that they had to change positions and take refuge in the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard. And they went down into it.  The woman of the house closed the mouth of the well (common in that day to keep anything from falling in and polluting the water supply) and scattered some grain on top of it (so that it would look undisturbed).  No one else knew anything about them being in the well.  When Absalom and his men came to that house, the woman of the house greeted them and sent them off in the wrong direction telling them that she had seen them crossing over the brook.  The soldiers went that way to search for them, and having found nothing, they returned to Jerusalem.

After the soldiers had left, Jonathan and Ahimaaz were let out of the well and sent on their way so that they could give their message to King David.  David and his men immediately arose and crossed the Jordan River that night so that by daybreak all of them had safely crossed over.

​Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed so he decided that he was no longer of any use or service here on this earth.  He went to his house and set everything in order (to prepare for his death) and then he hanged himself.  He died and was buried in the tomb of his father (there were usually family tombs back then).

Absalom does not stop pursuing David.  He then turns to his new general, an Ishmaelite who was loosely related to Joab because Absalom, for good reason, did not want Joab leading the army.  All the army of Israel encamped against Gilead (the Trans-Jordan area where David and his men had fled to).  David then came to Mahanaim and a man there by the name of Shobi provided beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”  This man must have been quite wealthy or a man of great influence to get others to provide their resources to have been able to provide all these provisions for David and his men.  So it was that the LORD took care of David and his men.

The LORD has taken sides and has chosen David over Absalom, no matter what those who cursed David on his way out of Jerusalem said.  Absalom is stubborn though and will not give us as he wants to see his father dead.  Since Absalom is not going to surrender or submit, there is only one way this can end, and that's what our passage will be about next time.