And Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En-rogel; and the maid went and told them; and they went and told king David, for they might not be seen to come into the city.
Absalom has stolen his father's throne, and David needs warning fast. Two young men wait at En-rogel, and a servant girl carries the message out to them, because they cannot be seen in Jerusalem.
The messengers in this verse are one link in a sequence that runs through the whole chapter. Each person does a small thing, and the small things add up to a rescue.
The fragrance of service fills this entire chapter. Everyone works together to give their master his rightful place. The wicked have taken that place from him. Hushai, David's friend, is the first to face danger, but also the first instrument of victory. The priests are his first confidants. Their sons, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, carry the message that is to save David and his band. A simple, obscure servant girl (v. 17) is used to pass it on to them... In this scene there is an unbroken chain of service working together toward a common goal. Had one link been missing, David would have become Absalom's prey. The poor servant girl's devotion is just as valuable to the king as Hushai's lovely selflessness.
Jonathan and Ahimaaz were sons of the priests. The plan kept them away from the city and sent someone less likely to be noticed.
The message was then 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.
These were not couriers on a safe road. Jonathan appears again later, still bringing news, and his service had not changed.
Once before (2 Sam. 17:17) he had left En-rogel together with Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, to go at the risk of his life to warn David of the plot against him... His service has not changed its character since the days of his king's afflictions. He is always ready to bring news, just as his companion Ahimaaz is always ready to run. His character is remarkable in its consistency. He may serve David in the day of his rejection, or the world in the day of the son of David's triumph. Either way, Jonathan remains the same faithful messenger.
Absalom heard Hushai and took his advice over Ahithophel's. The writer asks how that happened.
How is it that after hearing Hushai, Absalom and all the men of Israel say, "The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel" (v. 14)? It is because God directs everything as He wills, to carry out His purposes — the circumstances, men's decisions, their judgements. On the surface it would seem that God is indifferent to what is happening. Evil is winning, evil is reigning, men are going beyond even what their hearts imagined. But God is hidden behind the scenes.
The writer turns this into a lesson for anyone who feels alone in serving. Complaining about others is not the answer.
It is worth noting that one person's service calls out the service of another. From one end of this account to the other, each person goes to work stirred up by the one before. Often, in moments of weariness and discouragement, we complain that those who follow us in serving the Lord lack eagerness... Such complaints achieve nothing. They are much like Elijah's cry: "I am left, I alone!" What we need is to redouble our zeal... Like sound waves, light waves and heat waves, this activity will soon make itself felt beyond our narrow sphere.
The servant girl in this verse is never named. Neither is the woman who appears two verses later.
In the face of the treachery seen in verse 18, we have the action of the unnamed woman in verse 19. We read no more of her. Yet her loyalty to her rejected king brought every one of his people into safety (v. 22) and overthrew the enemy completely (v. 23). Be sure of this: every act of loyalty to Christ in this day, when men reject Him, has a lasting effect on His interests here. For the moment that effect may be unseen.
- Link. Jonathan and Ahimaaz are one link in an unbroken chain. Hushai, the priests and the servant girl are the others. If one link had failed, David would have fallen.
- Hidden. God turned Absalom's judgement, working behind a scene where evil seemed to be winning.
- Cost. They waited outside the city to avoid suspicion and went at the risk of their lives. Years later Jonathan is still carrying news, unchanged.
- Spread. One person's service stirs up the next, so the answer to feeling alone in serving is more zeal, not complaint.
- Result. Unnamed loyalty to a rejected king brought all his people into safety. Every such act done for Christ today has a lasting effect.
But a lad saw them, and told Absalom. Then they went both of them away quickly, and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his court; and they went down there.
A young man sees David's two messengers and runs to tell Absalom. The secret line of couriers keeping the exiled king alive is now broken open — and David's safety comes to rest on a well in a stranger's courtyard at Bahurim.
Everything about the warning to David had been arranged to stay quiet. One writer traces that chain and where it broke:
Hushai then told Zadok and Abiathar about Ahithophel's counsel and about his own contrary counsel. The aim was to urge David to put as much distance as he could between his company and Absalom, rather than hide nearby. A girl was then to pass the message on to Jonathan and Ahimaaz. No doubt they thought this 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.
The boy's report put Absalom's servants on their trail. The two men knew they had been spotted, and what saved them was a hiding place the searchers never opened:
It seems they knew someone had seen them. When they came to Bahurim, they judged 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 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.
One writer sets the boy's betrayal in this verse beside the woman's action in the next:
In the face of the treachery seen in verse 18, we have the action of the unnamed woman in verse 19. We read no more of her. Yet her loyalty to her rejected king brought every one of his people into safety (v. 22) and the complete overthrow of the enemy (v. 23). Be sure of this. In this day when men reject Christ, every act of loyalty to Him has a lasting effect on His interests here, even if for the moment no one sees it.
The woman of Bahurim does one small thing and then vanishes from the record. Rossier weighs what that one act was worth:
The woman of Bahurim is equally obscure and as seldom mentioned as the Mary of Matthew 26:6-13... She renders service to the messengers and arranges a hiding place for them that the enemy is unable to discover. Though it has the two messengers as its immediate object, her service is a "good work" on behalf of David. In this scene there is an unbroken chain of service working together toward a common goal. Had one link been missing, David would become Absalom's prey. The poor servant girl's devotion is just as valuable to the king as Hushai's lovely selflessness.
He turns that into a word for anyone discouraged in serving:
From one end of this account to the other, each agent goes to work as stirred up by the preceding one. Often, in times of weariness and discouragement of spirit, we complain that those who follow us in serving the Lord lack eagerness to serve Him well. They will not risk comfort, gain, or reputation to maintain our Master's rights against the world. Such complaints are ineffective... What we need to do is to redouble our zeal.
Commentators read the rescue differently. Rossier sees service working as one. Gaebelein asks a harder question:
It was not Hushai who defeated the counsel of Ahithophel, but the Lord... So Hushai's conspiracy, 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 by our lack of faith in Him, with whom nothing is too hard.
- Seen — One boy's glance undid a careful plan. No arrangement is so quiet that watching eyes miss it.
- Hidden — A well and a handful of grain defeated Absalom's search party. What kept David alive looked like nothing at all.
- Unnamed — We never read of the woman of Bahurim again. Loyalty to a rejected king still has a lasting effect, even when no one sees it.
- Linked — Each servant here acted because the one before acted. Had one link been missing, David would have become Absalom's prey.
- Kept — The Lord, not Hushai, defeated Ahithophel's counsel. Our own scheming can cost us the sight of His power.
And the woman took and spread the covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn on it; and the thing was not known.
Two messengers carry news that decides whether David lives or dies, and Absalom's servants are close behind them. The whole rescue now hangs on one household in the village of Bahurim, and on a woman who is never named.
The messengers knew someone had seen them, so they had to hide fast.
They seem to have known that someone had seen them, so when they came to Bahurim they thought 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 worked very well. When Absalom's servants came, it was plain to them that the young men were not there.
So the verse can close with nothing known: the searchers found no trace of the two men.
This woman is not acting alone. Her small act sits inside a whole chapter of people passing help along. If one of them had failed, the rest would have counted for nothing.
The fragrance of service fills this whole chapter. Everyone works together to give their master back the place the wicked have taken from him. Hushai, David's friend, is the first to face danger, and also the first instrument of victory. The priests are the first he confides in. Their sons, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, carry the message that will save David and his men. An unknown servant girl (v. 17) passes it on to them. The woman of Bahurim is just as obscure and just as seldom mentioned as Mary in Matthew 26:6-13... She serves the messengers and arranges a hiding place for them that the enemy is unable to discover. Her service was aimed at the two messengers, but it was a "good work" done for David. In this scene there is an unbroken chain of service working toward a common goal. Had one link been missing, David would have become Absalom's prey. The poor servant girl's devotion is just as valuable to the king as Hushai's beautiful selflessness. No one should be despised.
Scripture tells us nothing else about her — no name, no family, no later mention. Yet the chapter's outcome runs back through her.
In the face of the treachery seen in verse 18, we have the action of the unnamed woman in verse 19. We read no more of her, but her loyalty to her rejected king led to every one of his people reaching safety (v. 22) and to the complete overthrow of the enemy (v. 23). Let us be sure of this: every act of loyalty to Christ in this day when men reject Him has a lasting effect on His interests here. For the moment that effect may be unseen.
She belongs to a group of people in the Bible who appear once and then disappear:
They are mentioned but once in the Bible; they are found in unusual and even uncongenial circumstances, but the service they rendered in obscurity has been a source of cheer and strength to many.
The covering over the well hid two men. Something else in this chapter was hidden too — God Himself.
On the surface it would seem that God does not care what is taking place. Evil is winning, evil is reigning, men are going beyond what their own hearts imagined. But God is hidden behind the scenes. Nothing can resist God: even Satan serves as His instrument. For us, Satan's power is formidable; for God it is less than a speck of straw that a puff of breeze blows away.
So the escape was not luck.
She served a king who had been driven out and rejected. One writer applies that same setting to serving Christ now.
I am never really in the spirit of service if I do not remember that He is an absent and a rejected Lord... Is it not a moving thought that the very sorrows and insults heaped on Him here are so many fresh claims on our love? For service to have the right character, we must remember that we serve One who was cast out and refused. You might do very little, but that little would have a precious quality if you do it with the love of someone who acknowledges the insults the Lord has received.
And such service is not lost because no one sees it:
A man may pursue a quiet, humble, lowly path of service, unknown and unnoticed. No one may ever hear his name or give his work a thought, but what he has done, he has done in simple love to Christ... His work will stand. It will be remembered and rewarded, though he did not do it for remembrance or reward.
- Hidden well. A covering and scattered grain hid two messengers, and Absalom's servants left sure that no one was there.
- Hidden hand. Evil looked like the winner. God was hidden behind the scenes, and nothing — not even Satan — could resist Him.
- Hidden servant. Scripture never names her and never mentions her again, yet her loyalty shaped how the chapter ends.
- Unbroken chain. Her act was one link among many. If one link had failed, Absalom would have caught David.
- Open result. Every one of David's people reached safety and the enemy fell. Loyalty to a rejected King still works that way.
And Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house, and said, Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said to them, They have gone over the brook of water. And they sought and could not find [them], and returned to Jerusalem.
A plot against David's life is under way, and two young men are carrying the warning that can save him. This verse catches them at the moment the hunt reaches the door they are hiding behind.
The pursuers knew the two men by name and came to the right house. One writer walks through the steps that left them with nothing to find.
It seems they knew someone had spotted them. So when they came to Bahurim they thought they had 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 worked very well. When Absalom's servants came, it looked 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.
The search failed. So did every other plan against David in this chapter. One writer explains why.
It is because God is directing everything — the circumstances, men's decisions, their opinions — 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 ruling, men are going beyond what their own hearts imagined. But God is hidden behind the scenes. Nothing can resist God: even Satan serves as His instrument. For us, Satan's power is formidable; for God it is less than a speck of straw that a puff of breeze blows away.
The men at the door were not chasing two young runners for their own sake. The plot behind them had one target, and the same writer traces that strategy further back.
In verses 1 to 4 we discover the enemy's hidden design: he wants to get at David. With reason he figures that if he gets rid of David, everything will fall to pieces and the people will become Absalom's prey. "I will strike down only the king." This is how the prince of darkness works: he aims all his efforts at Christ. To this end he stirred up the world against Him. But at the cross he did not win the conflict — he lost, and that broke his power.
The woman who answered the door was not acting alone. One writer sets her beside the others who passed the message along.
The woman of Bahurim is unknown and seldom mentioned. She is respectful in the place God has entrusted to her care as a woman keeping her home. She serves the messengers and arranges a hiding place for them that the enemy is unable to discover. In this scene there is an unbroken chain of service working together toward a common goal. Had one link been missing, David would have become Absalom's prey. The poor servant girl's devotion is just as valuable to the king as Hushai's lovely selflessness. None is to be despised.
The woman's answer at the door sent the hunters the wrong way, and the whole plan worked. Commentators differ on what that proves. One writer warns against letting a good outcome settle the question.
David passes over the fords of the Jordan, and is meanwhile safe. His plan to defeat Ahithophel by using Hushai has worked completely. If success can justify a plan, then this plan is justified. How many people would accept that excuse — some out loud, some quietly, some hardly admitting it even to themselves?
She is never mentioned again. Yet one writer traces what follows in the chapter back to what she did at her door.
In the face of the treachery seen in verse 18, we have the action of the unnamed woman in verse 19. We read no more of her. But her loyalty to her rejected king brought every one of his people to safety (v. 22) and the complete overthrow of the enemy (v. 23). Be sure of this. Men still reject Christ today. Every act of loyalty to Him in such a day has a lasting effect on His interests here, even if we cannot see it for the moment.
- Hidden men. A well covered over, with grain spread on top, hid the messengers. The search found nothing, and Absalom's servants went home to Jerusalem.
- Hidden God. Evil seemed to be winning. Behind the scenes God was directing the circumstances, the decisions and even the opinions of men, and nothing could resist Him.
- Hidden target. The hunt aimed at the king alone. Remove him, and the people fall. Satan used the same strategy against Christ, and lost at the cross.
- Hidden service. An unnamed woman at home forms one link in an unbroken chain; take her out and David falls. The humblest devotion counted as much to the king as the boldest.
- Visible result. Every one of David's people reached safety and the enemy fell. Still, one writer warns us not to treat success as proof that a method was right.
And it came to pass after they had departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David; and they said to David, Arise and pass quickly over the water; for thus has Ahithophel counselled against you.
Two men climb out of a well at Bahurim and run through the night to a king in flight. Their message is short and urgent: David's life and the whole rebellion hang on whether he acts before morning.
The warning names Ahithophel. His plan was not a battle but a murder. One writer traces that strategy back to its source.
In verses 1 to 4 we discover the enemy's hidden design: he wants to get at David. He rightly figures that if he can kill David, everything will fall to pieces and the people will become Absalom's prey. "I will strike down only the king, and I will bring all the people back to you." This is how the prince of darkness operates: all his efforts are directed against Christ.
Earlier David had asked God to ruin Ahithophel's advice. The warning now reaching him is the answer.
David turns to God. He knew how serious the news was. But this very thing put the source of his confidence before him. He saw the hand of Satan in it just as clearly. So he says, "O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness." And the LORD heard, and answered.
Another writer looks behind these events to the hand that arranges them.
God is directing the circumstances, men's decisions and their judgments — in short, everything. He does it as He wills, to carry out His designs. On the surface it would seem that God is indifferent to what is taking place. Evil is triumphing. Evil is reigning. Men are going beyond the imaginations of their hearts. But God is hidden behind the scenes.
The messengers only reach David because a stranger risked her household for them.
They apparently knew they had been seen, and when they came to Bahurim they thought 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 was very effective, so that when Absalom's servants came, it was plain to them that the young men were not there.
Trace the message backwards and it passes through people the story barely names.
Hushai, David's friend, is the first to face danger, but also the first instrument of victory. The priests are his first confidants. Their sons, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, carry the message that is to save David and his band. A simple, unknown servant girl is used to pass it on to them... In this scene there is an unbroken chain of service working together toward a common goal. Had one link been missing, David would have become Absalom's prey. The poor servant girl's devotion is just as valuable to the king as Hushai's lovely selflessness.
Another writer draws the line from that woman's hidden act to its measurable outcome.
We read no more of her. But her loyalty to her rejected king brought every one of his people to safety, and the complete overthrow of the enemy. Let us be sure of this. Every act of loyalty to Christ, in this day when men reject Him, has a lasting effect on His interests here. For the moment that effect may be unseen.
David is told to cross the water, not just to run. The timing explains the hurry.
They urged him to cross over the Jordan. Ahithophel had advised chasing David at once and killing him. But Hushai's counsel had delayed this, so there was time for David to cross over. If Absalom and his men had pursued at once, they might have caught them as they were crossing the river. They used the delay, and everyone had crossed the river by daylight the next morning.
The crossing did more than save lives.
David is warned and all his people pass over the Jordan: not one is missing. Thanks to this service, God's true people set a barrier between themselves and the enemy.
Not every writer treats the rescue as pure gain. One asks what David lost by escaping through Hushai's plan.
That David escaped by Hushai's means is certainly true. How much did he miss by it of seeing God's hand stretched out for him? How willingly do we deprive ourselves of many such glorious sights in the same way! The richer we are in resources, the poorer our lives become.
- Target. Ahithophel's counsel was not war but murder. Strike the king only, and the people fall in. The enemy has always used the same strategy against Christ.
- Answer. David had prayed that God would turn this counsel into foolishness. The two runners at the Jordan are that prayer answered.
- Chain. Hushai, the priests, their sons, a servant girl, a woman with a well. Remove one link and David is lost. The humblest service was worth as much as the greatest.
- Speed. The warning was useless unless David obeyed at once. The delay Hushai won bought one night. By dawn every person was across.
- Caution. Commentators differ on the means. One praises the devotion that saved the king. Another asks how much of God's open hand David gave up by arranging his own escape.