Sarah
Over on Absalom’s side, there was a man who was especially good at coming up with plans. His name was Ahithophel.
This guy was definitely smart. The problem was, he wasn’t using his brains for the right thing.
Ahithophel said to Absalom:
“King, there’s no need to make this complicated. Give me twelve thousand men, and we’ll leave tonight.
David is exhausted and scared right now. We’ll catch him while he’s still worn out.
We’ll suddenly attack him, and his men will scatter in fear. Then I’ll go straight after David and take him out.
Once David is dead, everyone else will settle down, and the people will naturally come over to you.
Wouldn’t that be perfect?”
Absalom and all the elders of Israel heard this and thought:
“Hmm… That actually sounds pretty good!”
Everyone agreed that Ahithophel’s plan made a lot of sense.
But Absalom wanted to hear another opinion.
That man was Hushai.
Hushai appeared to be on Absalom’s side, but secretly, he was working for David.
Absalom asked him:
“Ahithophel has suggested this plan. What do you think? Should we do it?”
Hushai knew immediately:
“There’s no way I can let them do that!”
So he said:
“King, if you ask me, Ahithophel’s plan this time just isn’t right.”
Absalom asked:
“Why not?”
Hushai replied:
“Think about it. Your father David—what kind of man is he?
He’s a veteran warrior. He has spent his whole life fighting battles.
Sure, he’s running away right now. But do you really think he has no plan?
He and the men with him must be furious right now. They’re probably like a mother bear whose cubs have been taken away—dangerous and ready to fight.
And your father is an experienced soldier. He certainly isn’t going to sleep out in the open like an ordinary person.
He may already be hiding somewhere.”
Then Hushai continued:
“Suppose our first group attacks them and a few of our men get killed.
As soon as people hear about it, they’ll start saying:
‘Oh no! Absalom’s men have been defeated by David!’
Then everyone’s courage will disappear, and people will lose confidence.”
That sounded pretty convincing.
Hushai kept going:
“And David’s men are tough. Every one of them is brave and fierce. They have hearts like lions.
Everyone in Israel knows David is a great warrior. They also know that the men following him are experienced fighters.
So I don’t think we should just sneak after him with twelve thousand men.
We should gather the entire army of Israel.
From Dan all the way to Beersheba, bring everyone together. There should be so many people that they’re like the sand on the seashore.
Then you personally should lead them into battle.
We’ll use overwhelming numbers and charge forward all at once.
Once we find David, we won’t let a single man escape.
And if David hides inside a city?
That’s even easier.
We’ll surround the city and pull it down with ropes. We won’t leave even one stone standing!”
Absalom and all the men of Israel heard this and said:
“Wow! Now that’s a plan!”
So they said:
“Hushai’s plan is better than Ahithophel’s plan!”
But they didn’t realize something.
The one truly deciding what would happen wasn’t Ahithophel.
It wasn’t Hushai either.
It was the LORD.
The Bible says:
“For the LORD had determined to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, in order to bring disaster on Absalom.”
In other words:
Ahithophel could be as smart as he wanted, but he still couldn’t outsmart God’s plan.
Hushai Warns David
Hushai knew there was no time to waste.
He quickly went to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, so they could send word to David.
He told them:
“Tell David right away:
‘Do not spend the night at the fords in the wilderness. Cross the Jordan immediately!
Otherwise, Absalom and his army may catch up with you and destroy everyone.’”
Meanwhile, two messengers—Jonathan and Ahimaaz—were waiting for the message.
But they didn’t dare enter the city because they were afraid someone would see them.
So a servant girl secretly came out and gave them the message.
The two men heard it and thought:
“We’ve got to go—right now!”
But along the way, a young man saw them.
He immediately went and told Absalom:
“I saw Jonathan and Ahimaaz!”
Now things were getting dangerous.
The two men quickly ran for their lives.
When they reached Bahurim, they found a house with a well in the courtyard.
They looked at each other and basically thought:
“Well… looks like this is our hiding place!”
So they climbed down into the well.
The woman of the house covered the opening with a lid and spread grain over it.
From the outside, nobody could tell there was anyone hiding underneath.
After a while, Absalom’s servants came looking for them.
They asked the woman:
“Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”
She answered:
“They already crossed the stream.”
So the men went looking for them.
They searched everywhere but couldn’t find them.
Finally, they gave up and went back to Jerusalem.
Once they were gone, Jonathan and Ahimaaz climbed out of the well.
Then they hurried to David.
When they found him, they told him:
“King David, don’t wait!
Ahithophel has made a plan to attack you.
You need to get up right now and cross the Jordan!”
David listened.
He didn’t waste any time.
That very night, David and everyone with him crossed the Jordan River.
By sunrise, every single person had safely crossed.
Ahithophel Realizes His Plan Has Failed
Meanwhile, Ahithophel looked around and realized:
“What? Absalom didn’t listen to me?”
He probably knew right away:
“This is going badly.”
He understood that under Hushai’s plan, Absalom would first have to gather the entire army.
That would take time.
And while they were wasting time getting everyone together, David had already crossed the Jordan.
Ahithophel knew what that meant.
Absalom was probably going to lose.
So Ahithophel went back home.
He put his affairs in order, left instructions for his household, and then took his own life by hanging himself.
And that was the end of Ahithophel.
His great wisdom could not save him.
His carefully designed plan had failed.
Because ultimately, God’s plan was greater than his plan.