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2 Samuel Chapter 17
Hushai Saves David
- 2Samuel 17:1
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
pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
On the surface, that sounded like a
terrific idea. It seemed to be and done deal, a sure thing. It seems
that Absalom wanted complete assurance and wanted to consult someone
else just to see if he might have a better idea or else confirm
Athithophel's plan. Two heads better than one.
David himself was resigned to the idea
that he was under God's judgment and so he really had no desire to
fight against Absalom. Absalom may not have had to even fight if he
would have waited long enough. David still loved his son and would
not have allowed anyone to take Absalom's life.
- 2Samuel 17:5 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.
This alone would have troubled a man
like Ahithophel. He would have been troubled that Absalom would have
not trusted his advice without consulting another.
The verse in Proverbs was not written
at the time of this event involving Absalom but a much younger son
of David, Solomon wrote the words years later.
- 2 Samuel 17:7 And
Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given
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 chafed 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 overthrown 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.
What this would do, I fail to
understand unless the ropes were to climb up on to attack the city.
Or else maybe when the men ran out to fight, the ropes would cause
them to stumble and fall. Whatever this means it was something they
probably used in that day to defeat whole cities at once. Another
thought is that it could have been used to pull down a strong
defense tower.
-
2Samuel 17:14 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 appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the
intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.
Actually the counsel of Ahithophet
might have worked at this time. David would not have fought back
thinking he was under God's judgment. God was at work here though.
He had Absalom and his men remembering the David of the past. A
warrior and a fighter that trusted in God to deliver him.
- 2Samuel 17:15 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.
There seems to be always those that are
faithful to one side and those that stand by the other side. A woman
who was faithful to David hid the two men who went to warn David.
They almost got caught but escaped.
- 2 Samuel 17:21 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.
Hushai made sure David was warned just
in case Absalom decided to follow the counsel of Athithophel.
-
2Samuel 17:23 And when
Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, 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.
He probably knew that it was over and
David would win in the end. He decided to take his own life instead
of being publicily disgraced. Repentance and change is always a
better way to make things right but some give up and end things
badly.
- 2Samuel 17:24 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, 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.
The army of David was famished and need
refreshment and help. Shobi, Machir and Barzillai were 3 men who
brought help. Food, beds and vessels were brought to them. This is awesome to think
about. One of them was a son of the king of Ammon. God always helps
those that trust in Him. He didn't remove David from being king. The
anointing of God was still upon him. God keeps His word. It is sad
that Absalom did this thing. He should have left vengeance and hate
behind and just found his own place in the kingdom of David
forgiving the past. It is not easy but it is better than ending up
like Absalom did later. God's way is better for all of us in the
long run. DC
2 Samuel Chapter 18
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