The Life and Times of

Hushai's Counsel
(17:5-14)

5 Then Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.” 6 When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Ahithophel has spoken thus. Shall we carry out his plan? If not, you speak.” 7 So Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the advice that Ahithophel has given is not good.” 8 Moreover, Hushai said, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men and they are fierce, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. And your father is an expert in warfare, and will not spend the night with the people. 9 “Behold, he has now hidden himself in one of the caves or in another place; and it will be when he falls on them at the first attack, that whoever hears it will say, 'There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.' 10 “And even the one who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will completely lose heart; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. 11 “But I counsel that all Israel be surely gathered to you, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea in abundance, and that you personally go into battle. 12 “So we shall come to him in one of the places where he can be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left. 13 “If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it into the valley until not even a small stone is found there.” 14 Then 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 thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring calamity on Absalom.

We are not told why Absalom seeks a second opinion from Hushai. Is it a kind of test of Hushai's loyalty? You may remember that he does not have time to reflect on what he should say. He was brought into Absalom's presence, told what Ahithophel had advised, and then asked to respond. Hushai's response is brilliant. He begins by acknowledging Ahithophel's great wisdom and skill as an advisor, but then goes on to state that his counsel is not good this time. No one is perfect. No one is right all the time. Ahithophel is nearly always right, but not this time.

Hushai has one great handicap: Absalom and everyone else in Israel knows he is David's friend. How can Absalom trust a man who has been David's friend for so long? His counsel must be suspect. Rather than try to avoid this issue, Hushai uses his friendship. It is as though he says to Absalom,

“Am I David's friend? I have been for years, it is true. And it is this very friendship which gives me great insight into this man, David. I know him better than any of you. And therefore I know how he will respond to Absalom's revolt. Let me give you a plan which is based upon the David I knew, and the David which you know is true to history.”

The attractiveness of Ahithophel's plan is that David can be defeated quickly and relatively easily, with a minimal loss of life and a nominal expenditure of energy. Absalom doesn’t need to go to battle at all. He can stay in Jerusalem with David's wives. Ahithophel will immediately set out with 12,000 soldiers and hunt David down, kill him alone, and bring David's followers to Absalom. The plan is also predicated upon certain assumptions. The assumption is that David is weary and defeated in spirit, that David has no will to fight and can be easily overcome. If this assumption is in error, the whole scheme Ahithophel proposes will collapse like a house of cards.

Hushai challenges the assumptions on which Ahithophel's plans are based, and thus the plans as well. He proposes a very different David, and thus a very different plan. Hushai insists that Ahithophel has dangerously underestimated David and his ability to defend himself and his kingdom. Hushai reminds Absalom and the elders of Israel about the kind of man David is. David is no mental weakling; he is a tough and seasoned warrior. Absalom's rebellion will not break David's spirit; it will antagonize him. He will be like a she-bear, deprived of her cubs. David will be fighting mad and fighting ready. If Ahithophel comes into the wilderness to attack David, they will fight him on his turf. After all, David has spent years hiding from Saul in the wilderness. Does Ahithophel really think David can easily be found sitting among the rest of the people? He will be hiding out, and when Ahithophel and his small army arrive, David will pounce on them, giving them a humiliating defeat. It will be Absalom's soldiers who will lose heart and run, not David or his men.

If this assumption is right (and all of David's past fighting experience would seem to bear it out), then a completely different battle plan is required. This will not be a quick and easy matter. It will require much more than the death of David, and thus a much larger army will be necessary to attack and defeat David and his followers. This army will take a little more time to assemble, but it will be necessary to wait. (And while Absalom waits in Jerusalem, he can possess David's wives. This is the only time he can do so.) It will also take a great military leader, rather than someone like Ahithophel. It will take Absalom himself to lead this army. It will be a great battle, with a great leader, and a great victory will be the outcome. Now this is the kind of plan that appeals to a man who rides about in a chariot, preceded by 50 runners. Absalom loves ostentation, and Hushai's plan reeks of it. And thus Hushai's plan prevails. It is not a carelessly proposed plan, but extremely insightful, and extremely appealing. It was a plan God assured would be adopted. It is also a plan that Absalom finds attractive.

Hushai's plan brings about a bigger battle, so that not only will many of Absalom's supporters die, but Absalom himself will be killed, thus ending the revolution.¹ Hushai's plan gives David the time he needs to get to his kind of battle -- guerrilla warfare. It lets him fight on his turf, so that the forest will kill more than his soldiers (18:8). Hushai's plan makes Ahithophel's counsel seem foolish, which is exactly what David has prayed for (15:31). It brings about the deliverance of David and the defeat of his enemies.