Now Absalom, and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, came to Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom, Long live the king! Long live the king!
Absalom has taken Jerusalem, and the first man to meet him is Hushai — the very friend David left behind on purpose. His shout of loyalty raises two questions. Which king is he cheering? And was David right to plan this?
The verse calls Hushai "David's friend." That title had a history, and Absalom's cold welcome shows he knew it:
At his meeting with Absalom, Hushai takes up the part David gave him. He plays it with a cleverness that shows us why David trusted him. The new king answers his repeated greeting coldly. Absalom is the chief traitor himself, yet he is surprised that another man has deserted. But the "king's friend" had doubtless earned the title by acts that were unmistakable. So Absalom's surprise ran much deeper than the confidence he showed later. Indeed, all through this scene there is a certain ambiguity, hinting how unwilling Hushai was even to look like a deserter.
after-note: DISCUSS
"Long live the king" costs nothing when the throne is secure. The test comes when the crowd has switched sides. Older translations word that cheer "God save the king":
Suppose the king sits firmly on his throne, and no rebel rises up to dispute his right to be there. Then it is easy to look loyal, and to cry with the crowd, "God save the king!" But rebellion may spread far among the masses. The people's favourite may no longer be the king, but some man reaching for royal power and honour. Then the king finds out who his real friends are, though a short while ago he was perhaps cheered wherever he went. He can tell the flattering courtier from the loyal subject. The day of the king's rejection is the day for the subject to declare himself.
Hushai says the words to Absalom. He means them for someone else:
Absalom was surprised by the presence of Hushai, who greeted him enthusiastically, "Long live the king! Long live the king!" Of course we know that Hushai really meant King David, but he knew Absalom would not see through this.
Ittai stayed at David's side. Hushai took the other road, back to Jerusalem:
Hushai has a different character from Ittai. It is just as beautiful in its own way, and he knows God's thoughts even better. Hushai is David's close friend. A great love unites them, and they have no secrets from one another. Yet Hushai, unlike Ittai, agrees to part from his friend for a time. This is painful for a man who had come to David to show his sympathy. But he chooses the best way to serve him, and returns to Jerusalem. With his deep, calm love for his friend, Hushai has an understanding that not even the high priests had. David himself gives him this understanding: you shall "defeat the counsel of Ahithophel." It is through closeness with Christ that we receive His thoughts.
Commentators differ here. Some read Hushai's mission as devoted service. Others read it as David arranging his own rescue instead of leaving it with God:
However, David did not leave this matter fully with God. When Hushai came to him, he saw a chance to plant his own secret agent in Absalom's court… This was not faith on David's part. He told Hushai to lie to Absalom, and to say he would be Absalom's servant just as he had been David's servant. The matter did work out as David hoped. But if he had simply trusted God, he might have seen Him work in a more miraculous way.
Another writer names what that choice cost David:
So Hushai's plot, acting as a spy for David, saved the king. But would the king have been lost if Hushai had not played the spy? The Lord would not have forsaken the king, and though He used Hushai's counsel, yet David was the loser after all. He lost the opportunity of seeing the Lord's power and intervention on his behalf. And how much we also lose through lack of faith in Him, for nothing is too hard for Him.
One writer reads this clash of counsellors as a picture of days still to come:
Hushai goes to Absalom and opposes in every way the counsel of Ahithophel. So also in those future days the Lord will know how to defeat all the plans of the devil.
- Friend, earned. Hushai earned the title "the king's friend" by unmistakable acts, not by flattery. That is why Absalom is startled to see him.
- Friend, tested. Cheering a secure king costs nothing; the day of rejection is the day loyalty must declare itself.
- Friend, disguised. The shout goes to Absalom's ear, but the king Hushai means is David.
- Friend, informed. Hushai accepts a painful parting because closeness to David has given him David's own thoughts. In the same way, closeness to Christ teaches us His mind.
- Friend, questioned. Commentators differ. Some see devoted service. Others see a plan that worked, yet cost David the sight of God acting alone. Either way, the Lord would not have forsaken His king.
And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why didst thou not go with thy friend?
Absalom has just seized Jerusalem. David's closest adviser walks into his court shouting "Long live the king!" Absalom answers with a question about loyalty — asked by the man who has just betrayed his own father.
Absalom cannot understand how a man could abandon David. Yet that is exactly what Absalom has done himself. One writer notes that the title "the king's friend" was no empty label:
The new king meets his repeated greeting coldly enough. Absalom is the chief traitor himself, yet he is surprised at another man's desertion. But the "king's friend" had no doubt earned the title by acts that were unmistakable, and Absalom's surprise rested on much deeper ground than his later confidence did. Indeed, all through this scene there is a certain ambiguity, which seems to hint to us how unwilling Hushai was even to appear to desert.
Absalom is suspicious because Hushai's record is too well known.
Hushai answers in the next verse. Absalom hears one thing; Hushai means another. Every phrase fits David.
Hushai's answer, though not a lie at all, was still a masterpiece of deception. He knew Absalom's pride and used it as he spoke. "No," he says, "but whomever the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his I will be, and with him I will remain." Of course Absalom thought this applied to him. Hushai was confident that it really applied to David… "As I have served in your father's presence, so will I be in your presence." Hushai worded this so that Absalom would hear devotion to himself. But Hushai meant that even in Absalom's presence he would still be serving David, just as he had done before.
Hushai's words here are quoted from an older translation than the ESV.
Hushai had come to David to share his grief. Others, like Ittai, stayed at David's side. Hushai's love took the harder road of separation.
Hushai is David's close friend. A great love unites them and they have no secrets from one another. But Hushai, unlike Ittai, agrees to be apart from his friend for a time. This is painful for a man who had come to David to express his sympathy. Still, he chooses the best way to serve him and returns to Jerusalem. With his deep, calm love for his friend, Hushai has an understanding that not even the high priests had. David himself passed that understanding on to him: you shall "defeat the counsel of Ahithophel." It is in closeness to Christ that we receive His thoughts.
Commentators differ here. Rossier reads David's move as discernment given in answer to prayer. God answered David at once, he writes, and David, "filled with spiritual discernment, sends him back, knowing that God has destined him to 'defeat the counsel of Ahithophel'" (H. L. Rossier). Others see a king scheming instead of waiting.
However, David did not leave this matter entirely with God. When Hushai came to him, he saw a chance to plant his own secret agent in Absalom's court… This was not faith on David's part. He told Hushai to lie to Absalom and claim that he would be Absalom's servant, just as he had been David's servant. The matter did work out as David hoped. But he might have seen God work in a more miraculous way if he had only trusted Him.
Whichever reading you take, the outcome was never in the hands of the man standing in Absalom's court.
It was not Hushai who defeated the counsel of Ahithophel, but the Lord… The Lord gave the counsel through Hushai. Then He made Absalom and his men follow Hushai's advice… But would David have been lost if Hushai had not acted as a spy? The Lord would not have forsaken the king. He used Hushai's counsel, yet David was the loser after all. He lost the opportunity of seeing the Lord's power and intervention on his behalf. And how much we also lose through lack of faith in Him, with whom nothing is too hard.
- Friend accused. Absalom betrayed his own father. Yet he demands to know why a friend would desert David. The traitor is surprised at treachery.
- Friend proven. Hushai had earned his title, "the king's friend," by acts nobody could mistake. That is why his apparent desertion startled Absalom.
- Friend hidden. Hushai framed his reply so Absalom heard loyalty to himself. He meant every word of David: even in the son's presence he served the father.
- Friend sent. Love does not always stay close. Hushai accepted a painful parting as the best way to serve, and he carried David's own thoughts with him.
- Friend overruled. The rescue came from the Lord, not the strategy. Commentators differ on whether David's plan was discernment or a lost chance to see God act alone.
And Hushai said to Absalom, No; but whom Jehovah, and this people, and all the men of Israel choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide.
Absalom has taken his father's throne, and David's closest friend now stands in his court promising his loyalty. He never says which king he means. The words sound like a defection, and Absalom takes them that way. Yet every clause also fits David, the father.
Hushai's reply hangs on one question: whom had the LORD and the people chosen? Read strictly, his words do not fit the man in front of him.
All through this scene there is a certain ambiguity. It seems to show how unwilling he was even to appear to desert David. He says, "No, for whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain." In the strict sense this was only true of David. His own later counsel rested on one assurance: not all the men of Israel had chosen Absalom, and much less had the LORD chosen him. Again he says, "Whom should I serve? Should it not be in the presence of his son?" … So Absalom took it, of course, and was meant to take it, as if David's reign were over for Hushai. But if that was not so for him, then even in the son's presence the faithful service would still be to the father.
Absalom never tested the claim, because it fed his self-importance.
Whom did Hushai mean? He said, "whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain." The words can only fit David, and most likely in his heart he meant David. But it was flattery, and wicked Absalom gladly accepted it.
Hushai's ability to speak for David's cause grew out of how close the two men were. He gave up walking with David in order to serve him better.
Hushai is David's intimate friend; a great love unites them and they have no secrets from one another. Yet Hushai, unlike Ittai, accepts a time apart from his friend. This is painful for a man who had come to David to show his sympathy. But he chooses the best way to serve him and returns to Jerusalem. With his deep, calm love for his friend, Hushai has an understanding that not even the high priests had. David himself gave him that understanding: you shall "defeat the counsel of Ahithophel." It is in intimacy with Christ that we receive the communication of His thoughts.
Some writers admire the skill of the answer without excusing how it came about. Leslie Grant calls the speech "a masterpiece of deception," and traces the plan back to David rather than to God:
Instead of leaving this matter entirely with God, David saw an opportunity when Hushai came to him. He planted his own secret agent in Absalom's court… This was not faith on David's part. He told Hushai to lie to Absalom, and to say he would be Absalom's servant just as he had been David's servant. The matter did work out as David hoped, but he might have seen God work in a more wonderful way if he had simply trusted Him.
Others put the weight on the master's orders rather than on the servant's own choice.
Like Hushai and the priests, we do not get to choose the place or the manner in which we are to serve the Lord. He decides that. Here the task was to defeat Ahithophel's counsel and to stop this false prophet from ruining David's cause.
Whatever the verdict on the tactic, the result is credited elsewhere.
Ahithophel had not reckoned with David's Lord. That Lord loved David. Through all the discipline David had to pass through, He was still his Lord and his Keeper. It was not Hushai who defeated the counsel of Ahithophel, but the Lord. "For the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom."
- Choice — the verse turns on the word "chosen." The LORD and Israel had chosen David, so Hushai's pledge lands on the father, even while Absalom claims it.
- Flattery — Absalom accepts the words because they flatter him. He never asks whether the nation had chosen him at all.
- Intimacy — Hushai can serve David's cause because he is David's friend. The king shares his own thoughts with him, and nearness makes him useful.
- Cost — separation proves that friendship. Hushai gives up walking with David and takes the harder task his master gives him.
- Verdict — commentators differ on whether the plan showed faith. They agree on the end of it: Ahithophel's counsel fell because the LORD had ordained its defeat.
And again, whom should I serve? should it not be in the presence of his son? as I have served in thy father's presence, so will I be in thy presence.
Absalom has just seized Jerusalem from his father, David. Yet David's closest friend walks into the rebel's court with a greeting on his lips. Challenged about his loyalty, Hushai answers with a question of his own — and every word of it can be read two ways.
The older wording these writers quote runs "in the presence of his son… in your presence." Serving in a man's presence is not the same as serving that man, and Hushai's answer trades on the gap. One writer traces it phrase by phrase, and finds the honest reading points back to David:
All through this scene there is a certain double meaning. It seems to show how unwilling he was even to appear to desert David. "No," he says, "whom the LORD has chosen, and this people, all the men of Israel, his I will be, and with him I will remain." In the strict sense this was only true of David. His own later counsel rested on the certainty that not all the men of Israel — and much less the LORD — had chosen Absalom. Again he says, "Whom should I serve? Should it not be in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father's presence, so I will be in your presence." Now faithful service to the father would surely make one expect faithful service to the son. But only if the father's days were over. So Absalom took it, of course, and was meant to take it, as if for Hushai David's reign were over. But if that was not so for Hushai, then even in the son's presence his faithful service would still be to the father.
Absalom hears a servant offering to serve him, and asks nothing further:
Hushai worded this so that Absalom thought he would serve him in devotion. But Hushai had in mind that even in Absalom's presence he would still be serving David, just as he had done before. Absalom accepted him without further question.
Hushai had come out to David to share his grief. David sent him back into the city with a task:
Hushai is David's close friend. A great love unites them and they have no secrets from one another. Yet Hushai, unlike Ittai, agrees to part from his friend for a time. This is painful for a man who had come to David to show his sympathy. But he chooses the best way to serve him and returns to Jerusalem. With his deep, calm love for his friend, Hushai has an understanding that not even the high priests had. David himself gave him that understanding: you shall "defeat the counsel of Ahithophel." It is in closeness to Christ that we receive His thoughts.
Commentators differ on the speech itself. One finds the words true and Absalom the one who misread them. Another finds David scheming where he should have waited:
Instead of leaving this matter entirely with God, David saw an opportunity when Hushai came to him. He could plant his own secret agent in Absalom's court… This was not faith on David's part. He told Hushai to lie to Absalom, declaring that he would be Absalom's servant just as he had been David's servant. 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.
Whatever the verdict on the method, the outcome was never in Hushai's hands. Ahithophel's plan had already won over Absalom and the elders. Yet Absalom sent for Hushai too:
Ahithophel's saying "was right in the eyes of Absalom, and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel." They were all sure the plan was excellent. How then did Absalom decide to call Hushai the Archite as well, to hear his advice? … It is because God directs everything — the circumstances, men's decisions, their judgments — as He wills, to carry out His purposes. On the surface it would seem that God does not care what is happening. Evil is winning, evil is reigning, men are going beyond the imaginations of their hearts. But God is hidden behind the scenes.
The picture reaches past this palace intrigue. The Lord may send His servants right in among His enemies:
Hushai's was a difficult task. So it is today for those who struggle against Christ's enemies. Like Ahithophel, these enemies pretend to be prophets. But when it comes down to it they are false prophets, who know the Lord's thoughts and use their knowledge to deny His authority. But if the Lord sends us among enemies, let us go without fear. Is not defeating Ahithophel's counsel really restoring to our David the place that belongs to Him?
- Whose presence — the verse turns on one question: in whose presence do you serve? Hushai stands before Absalom and serves David.
- Two hearings — Absalom hears a man joining the winning side. In truth, Hushai never left the rightful king.
- Friendship first — David told Hushai what to do. Nearness to the king came before the task.
- Divided verdict — were the words true, or a deception David should never have arranged? Writers differ. All agree the Lord, not the plan, wrecked Ahithophel's advice.
- Posted, not defected — God may station the believer in the rebel's court. The work there is to restore the true King His place.
And Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.
Absalom has taken Jerusalem, and his father has fled. The new king's first act in the palace is to ask one man what to do next. Everything that follows turns on the man he asked, and on why that man was so eager to answer.
Ahithophel had been David's own adviser. Commentators trace his betrayal to an old wound in his family.
How was it that Absalom had the nerve to send for David's trusted counsellor? This was another bit of sorrowful reaping of former sin. Ahithophel appears to have been Bathsheba's grandfather. We can well understand that he had never forgiven David for the way he treated his granddaughter.
Ahithophel had a gift for advice. He did not have loyalty to go with it.
His wisdom was so remarkable that Scripture records: "the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God." But no amount of wisdom will make up for a lack of uprightness and true devotion. Then came David's time of trouble. His cause looked weak and failing, because the people were unfaithful during Absalom's conspiracy. Ahithophel, like another Judas, turned traitor. Later he hanged himself and died.
Other commentators are careful to say what that reputation did not mean. His skill was human skill, sharpened by his own interests.
Verse 23 assures us that people held Ahithophel's counsel in the highest respect, as though he had the wisdom of God behind him. David had valued his counsel, and so did Absalom. Of course he did not speak for God. But he gave his counsel with unusual insight into what would best serve the interests of the kingdom. He saw his own interests as tied up with it.
Ahithophel had a plan ready. It put Absalom's throne above every rule of decency.
The counsel Ahithophel gave Absalom in verse 21 can only disgust any upright heart. But Ahithophel was determined to sacrifice decency to his cause of vindictive hatred against David. He wanted to be sure that the rift between Absalom and David would be beyond repair. This had to happen if Absalom's kingdom was going to stand. Absalom took his advice. They put up a tent on the roof of the house — the very place where David's sin with Bathsheba began — and everyone knew that Absalom was sleeping with David's concubines. So it was clear that Absalom had completely rejected his father.
The shock is not only in the advice but in the nation that swallowed it.
But what a state Israel was in, when a man as wise as Ahithophel sees nothing but advantage in wickedness this gross and open! Can he suppose that they have so forgotten God that they will forget what such things deserve from Him? Or that they will see only the punishment of David's sin, as if that cancelled the horror of Absalom's own sin?
God had already said what would come of David's sin. The plotters in the palace did not know it, but they were carrying out that sentence.
Ahithophel thought this would strengthen Absalom's hands. In fact he only worked out the fulfilment of God's word, advanced the goal of His ways, and hurried on the restoration of the man he meant to destroy. This wicked man will soon be caught in his own trap. Ahithophel seems to have had no motive for doing evil except the simple desire to do evil. He ends like Judas, whom he resembles. This "familiar friend," who turned on David, hangs himself and dies.
One writer sums up the principle.
Wherever man's sin may carry him, it cannot find the place where God is not governor.
David could not stop the council meeting. He had already done the one thing left to him.
Then someone told David, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." David turns to God. He knew how serious the news was. But this very thing brought before him the source of his confidence, as surely as he saw the hand of Satan in it. A father's love might hold back from pleading against Absalom; but David could now unburden his heart to God. So he says, "O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness." And the LORD heard, and answered.
- Counsel — Absalom asks for advice. The man he asks never forgave David for his treatment of Bathsheba, his own granddaughter.
- Reputation — Israel took his word as though God had spoken it. Yet no amount of wisdom makes up for a lack of uprightness.
- Corruption — asked what to do, he chose the advice most certain to end all hope of repair. A whole nation went along with it.
- Control — his plot only carried out what God had already said. It even hurried on the return of the man he wanted destroyed.
- Countered — David could not silence the council. So he prayed that its wisdom would turn to foolishness. God heard him, and the counsellor ended his own life.
And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to thy father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art become odious with thy father; and the hands of all that are with thee shall be strong.
Ahithophel, the most trusted adviser in Israel, tells Absalom to take his father's concubines in public. Why would such a wise man advise something so shameful, and why does it happen on the very roof where God had said judgment would fall?
Ahithophel was David's own counsellor, so why did he join the revolt? Commentators trace it to an old family wound.
The conspiracy comes to a head, and Absalom sends for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counsellor (2 Sam. 15:12). "Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God" (2 Sam. 16:23). How did Absalom dare to send for David's trusted counsellor? This was another bit of sorrowful reaping of former sin. Ahithophel appears to have been Bathsheba's grandfather. We can well understand that he had never forgiven David for the way he treated his granddaughter. (Compare 2 Sam. 11:3 and 2 Sam. 23:34.)
To us the advice sounds only shameful. In that world it was a public claim on the throne itself.
To many, a deceased king's wife or concubine was, according to Eastern custom, the same as claiming the rights of the king (2 Sam. 12:8; 16:21-22).
Ahithophel's aim was not pleasure for Absalom. He wanted a break with David that could never be mended. Even the place mattered.
The counsel Ahithophel gave Absalom in verse 21 can only disgust any upright heart. But Ahithophel had decided to sacrifice decency to his cause of vengeful hatred against David. He wanted to be sure that the rift between Absalom and David would be irreconcilable. This was necessary if Absalom was to establish his kingdom. Absalom accepted his counsel. They spread a tent on the roof of the house — the very place where David's sin with Bathsheba began. There everyone knew that Absalom was committing fornication with David's concubines.
God had already spoken this judgment over David, and the plotters carry it out without knowing. Yet the punishment of David does not make Absalom innocent.
David will himself be dishonoured in the same way that he dealt out dishonour. And it happens on the very roof from which the lust of his eyes had carried him into open sin. But this was, as we know, the fulfilling of God's word about him. Wherever man's sin may carry him, it cannot find the place where God shall not be governor. But what a state Israel was in, when a wise man like Ahithophel sees only advantage in wickedness so gross and open! Does he suppose they have forgotten God so completely that they will forget what such things deserve from Him? Or that they will see only the punishment of David's sin, as if that cancelled how great Absalom's sin was?
Ahithophel was famous for his wisdom. Commentators point to the one thing wisdom could not supply.
No amount of wisdom will make up for a lack of uprightness and true devotedness. So in David's time of adversity, when his cause looked weak and failing because the people were unfaithful during Absalom's conspiracy, he turned traitor.
David had a friend inside Absalom's camp: Hushai. He raised no objection to this counsel, and the counsel itself turned against the man who gave it.
Hushai is welcomed by Absalom. He does not oppose Ahithophel's counsel about David's concubines. His closeness to David helps him here, because he must have known what God had told the king. He had to let God's sentence run its course (2 Sam. 12:11-12). Ahithophel thought he was strengthening Absalom's hands this way. Instead he only carried out God's word, advanced the goal of His ways, and hastened the restoration of the man he meant to destroy. This wicked man will soon be caught in his own snare. Ahithophel seems to have had no motive for doing evil except the desire to do evil. He ends like Judas, whom he resembles. This "close friend" who lifted his heel against David (Ps. 41:9) hangs himself and dies.
- Seed — Ahithophel was Bathsheba's grandfather. David's sin against her planted the grudge, and the revolt was "sorrowful reaping of former sin."
- Scene — Absalom acted on the roof where David's own sin began. Taking a king's concubines claimed his throne in public.
- Sentence — the act fulfilled God's word about David. Sin "cannot find the place where God shall not be governor."
- Shared guilt — David's punishment does not cancel Absalom's sin. Israel should never have mistaken one for the other.
- Snare — the counsel meant to destroy David hastened his return. The famous counsellor was wise but not upright, and he died by his own hand.
So they spread a tent for Absalom upon the roof; and Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.
A tent on the palace roof turns David's private sin into a public show. His own son stages it in front of the whole nation. Two questions follow. Why did God allow such an open outrage? And why did David's own trusted counsellor suggest it?
Years earlier, David had taken another man's wife and hidden it. The commentators trace this scene straight back to that act and to God's word spoken through the prophet Nathan.
This was a very great sin: David committed it in secret; God punishes it in the sight of all Israel. David reigned in God's name. If he did not know how to glorify God, or how to keep a true witness to the nature of God's kingdom; if instead he falsified its character, then God Himself will know how to retrace its features in the sight of all men. He will do it by the chastisement He sends on the man who has dishonoured Him.
The place matters. This roof already had a history in David's life.
David is dishonoured himself in the same way that he dealt out dishonour, and on the very roof from which the lust of his eyes had carried him into open sin. But this was, as we know, the fulfilling of God's word about him. Wherever man's sin may carry him, it cannot find the place where God is not governor.
Ahithophel was David's own trusted adviser, and the family link explains the venom behind his counsel.
How was it that Absalom had the insolence to send for David's trusted counsellor? This was another piece of sorrowful reaping of former sin. Ahithophel appears to have been Bathsheba's grandfather. We can well understand that he had never forgiven David for the way he treated his granddaughter.
The advice was cold strategy, not impulse.
The counsel Ahithophel gives in verse 21 can only disgust any upright heart. But he had decided to sacrifice decency to his cause of vengeful hatred against David. He wanted to be sure that the rift between Absalom and David would be beyond repair. This was necessary if Absalom was to establish his kingdom. Absalom accepted his counsel. They spread a tent on the top of the house, where everyone knew that Absalom was sleeping with David's concubines. So Absalom made it clear that he was completely rejecting his father.
God had announced this, but that does not clear Absalom or Ahithophel. Their wickedness stays their own. The writer also asks what state Israel must be in to accept such advice.
But what a state of things in Israel! The wisdom of an Ahithophel sees only advantage in wickedness so gross and open. Can he suppose that they have so forgotten God that they will forget what such things deserve with Him? Or that they will see only the punishment of David's sin, as if that cancelled the enormity of sin in Absalom?
Hushai, David's friend, was now in Absalom's court. One writer explains his silence, and how the plot backfired on the plotter.
Hushai does not oppose Ahithophel's counsel about David's concubines. His closeness to David is a great help to him here. He could not be ignorant of what God had told the king, and he had to let God's decree run its course (2 Sam. 12:11-12). Ahithophel thought he was strengthening Absalom's hand this way. In fact he only worked out the fulfilment of God's word, advanced the goal of God's ways, and hastened the restoration of the man he meant to destroy. This wicked man will soon be caught in his own snare.
This warning reaches past David. He hid his sin behind closed doors; God brought it out before a nation.
David had sinned secretly, wanting to keep his actions from the people, but God would repay him publicly before all the people. When the Lord Jesus warned His disciples against hypocrisy, He told them, "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known" (Luke 12:2). How deeply humiliating a principle! But the light of God must reveal everything as it really is. We do well to take this seriously to heart.
- Secret → Public. David sinned in private. God repaid it in the sight of all Israel, just as He had said He would.
- Same roof. The dishonour fell on the very roof where David's own lust began. The punishment matched the sin.
- Same family. Ahithophel gave the counsel, and he was Bathsheba's grandfather. David's old sin came back through the family it had wounded.
- Same guilt. God had announced this judgment on David. It still did not cancel the wickedness of Absalom and Ahithophel. Each answered for his own act.
- Same God. Sin cannot carry a man anywhere God does not govern. Ahithophel's plot only fulfilled God's word. It hurried on the restoration of the man he meant to destroy.
And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had inquired of the word of God so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.
Absalom's revolt looked unstoppable, and this verse explains why. David and Absalom alike treated Ahithophel's advice as if God Himself had spoken, so how did a man with that standing end up betraying his king?
Older translations read "the oracle of God" here. Everywhere else in the Old Testament that word points to one place only.
It was said of Ahithophel that his counsel was "as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God," or at the "word" of God. In all other places in the Old Testament the word "oracle" applies to the holy of holies. It is no doubt called this because God said, "There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you." And it was from there that Moses received many of the laws.
Ahithophel's gift was real, and it was famous. What the verse never says is that he was faithful.
His wisdom was so remarkable that the record says his counsel "was as if one consulted the word of God." But no amount of wisdom will make up for a lack of uprightness and true devotion.
There is irony buried in the man's own name, and in the kind of wisdom it turned out to be.
He had been David's counsellor, and people listened to him (we are told) as a divine oracle. Yet his name means "brother of folly." And such is always the worldly wisdom which we find in him.
How could a rebel prince expect the king's own adviser to change sides? A family tie explains it.
How was it that Absalom had the nerve to send for David's trusted counsellor? This was another sorrowful bit of reaping from an earlier sin. Ahithophel appears to have been Bathsheba's grandfather. We can well understand that he had never forgiven David for his treatment of his granddaughter.
Absalom claimed the throne. Beside him stood a counsellor whose word carried the weight of God's word, and one writer sees a pattern in that pairing.
So then, if we have been guided rightly here, the picture unites both. On one side is royal power, which Absalom was claiming for himself. Joined to it is a falsely prophetic character pictured by Ahithophel. The two were linked together, just as we saw Saul at the last finding his resource in the witch of Endor. He was driven to an evil spiritual adviser of the lowest kind. See too Pharaoh and the magicians, and Balak and Balaam. These two characters constantly stand together against the Christ of God.
David knew how dangerous this adviser was. He answered with prayer, not strategy.
Then someone told David, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." David turns to God. He knew how serious the news was. But this very thing brought before him the source of his confidence, as surely as he saw the hand of Satan in it. A father's love might hold back from pleading against Absalom, but David could now unburden his heart to God. So he says, "O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness." And the LORD heard, and answered.
Hushai's counter-advice was the means, but not the cause.
It was not Hushai who defeated the counsel of Ahithophel, but the Lord. "For the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom."
His counsel served a purpose he never intended, and his end matched that of a later traitor.
Ahithophel meant to strengthen Absalom's hand. Instead he only worked out the fulfilment of God's word, advanced the goal of His ways, and hurried on the restoration of the man he meant to destroy. This wicked man will soon be caught in his own trap. He seems to have had no motive for doing evil except the sheer desire to do it. He ends like Judas, whom he resembles: this close friend who lifted up his heel against David hangs himself and dies.
- Counsel revered. "Oracle" points to the holy of holies, where God spoke from above the mercy seat. Israel gave Ahithophel's advice that same weight.
- Counsel hollow. Brilliance is not uprightness. The man heard as a divine oracle bore a name meaning "brother of folly," and his wisdom proved to be the worldly kind.
- Counsel bought. Ahithophel was Bathsheba's grandfather. Absalom's approach to him was David's old sin coming back on the king.
- Counsel allied. A rebel claiming the throne, plus an adviser with prophetic standing. The same pairing appears with Saul and the witch of Endor, Pharaoh and the magicians, and Balak and Balaam.
- Counsel defeated. David prayed that God would turn it into foolishness. The LORD, not Hushai, defeated it, and the counsellor who lived by his reputation died by his own hand.