2 Samuel 16:15 - Meaning and Application

Absalom quickly got word from friends in Jerusalem that David had left and had taken only a small group with him. So the city was open, and no one was there to stop him. He came at once (2 Samuel 16:15), no doubt feeling very proud of how easily his plan was working. What had seemed like the hardest part of his takeover had been done with little trouble.

Now that he thought he had Jerusalem, he likely assumed the rest of the country would follow. God often lets wicked people succeed for a time in their evil plans, even beyond what they expected. Then, when they fail, their fall is more shameful and more painful.

Absalom had brought Ahithophel with him to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 16:15), and Hushai met him there (2 Samuel 16:16). These were the most famous political advisers of the time. Absalom must have felt sure of success with both of them on his side, and he trusted their advice instead of seeking God. But both men were poor counselors in very different ways.

Hushai would never truly advise him well. He was really David’s friend, and he meant to deceive Absalom while pretending loyalty. That made him dangerous, because Absalom could not see through him. Hushai praised Absalom for taking the throne, as if he were fully pleased with the new king (2 Samuel 16:16). People who live by human cleverness often use such tricks, but those who have not learned these hidden ways of evil are blessed to live with simple honesty before God.

Absalom was surprised that a close friend of David would be on his side. He asked, “Is this your loyalty to your friend?” (2 Samuel 16:17). He comforted himself with the thought that if Hushai was for him, then everything else would soon be his too. He did not doubt Hushai’s sincerity, because pride had blinded him. He believed what he wanted to believe, that David’s best friends would quickly switch sides and honor him, just as Obadiah describes the proud person who is deceived by his own heart (Obadiah 1:3).

Hushai made Absalom think he was truly loyal. He said that, although David was his friend, he was for the king who was in power (2 Samuel 16:18). He claimed to support the ruler whom the people had chosen and whom providence had allowed to rise. He also said he was for the king in the future, the one now coming up, like the rising sun (2 Samuel 16:19). He was really pretending to explain a decision he hated.

Ahithophel, on the other hand, did not pretend to be loyal. He advised Absalom to sin, and that advice was itself a betrayal. Anyone who urges others to sin is really guiding them toward harm, and any government built on sin is built on unstable ground.

Ahithophel was known as a very deep politician. His counsel was valued as highly as if one had asked God himself (2 Samuel 16:23). He was so respected for his sharp mind and practical skill that both David and Absalom listened to him carefully. That was far too much honor for any mere man. Human wisdom cannot be compared with the wisdom of God, who alone is truly wise.

This also shows two things. First, many people are very skilled in worldly wisdom and yet completely lacking in God’s grace. People who act like oracles often ignore God’s own word. God has often chosen the weak and simple things of this world, while those who seem most talented in politics are not usually the most godly. Second, the most clever politicians often ruin themselves in foolish ways. Ahithophel was praised as if he were an oracle, yet he chose to side with Absalom, a reckless young man and a usurper. Anyone with even a little wisdom could see that Absalom’s cause would end badly. In the end, honesty proves to be the best policy.

Still, Ahithophel’s cleverness failed to reach its goal. When he saw that David had left his concubines, his housekeepers and secondary wives, he advised Absalom to sleep with them (2 Samuel 16:21). This was a terrible sin. God’s law made it a capital crime (Leviticus 20:11), and the apostle Paul speaks of such a thing as disgraceful conduct that should not even be named among believers (1 Corinthians 5:1). Reuben lost his birthright for a sin like this.

Ahithophel’s purpose was public and political. He wanted all Israel to see that Absalom meant to keep the throne. By beginning with his father’s concubines, Absalom would show that he planned to take over everything David had. Ahithophel also knew this would make peace with David impossible. After such an insult, David would never accept him back. That would strengthen Absalom’s supporters, since they would have no way to retreat. This was wicked policy, more like the advice of a devil than of God.

Absalom agreed at once, because the advice matched his own evil heart. He wasted no time putting it into practice (2 Samuel 16:22). Since his rebellion was unnatural, this lustful act made it even more shameful. His whole course of action fit together in wickedness, and only a deadened conscience could think of it without horror.

Absalom even went further than Ahithophel suggested. Ahithophel wanted the act to be seen by all Israel, and a tent was set up on the roof for that purpose. He openly displayed his sin like Sodom. Yet even here, God’s word was fulfilled exactly. Through Nathan, God had warned David that because he had sinned with Bathsheba, his own wives would be publicly violated (2 Samuel 12:11, 2 Samuel 12:12). Some think Ahithophel may also have wanted revenge for what happened to Bathsheba, his granddaughter, since she was the daughter of Eliam (2 Samuel 11:3), who was the son of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 23:34).

Job speaks of this sort of thing as a just punishment for adultery, saying, “Let my wife grind for another” (Job 31:9, Job 31:10). The prophet Hosea speaks in the same way (Hosea 4:13, Hosea 4:14). I do not know what to say of these concubines, who submitted to such evil. However wrong Absalom and they were, we must still say, The Lord is righteous. None of his words will fail.