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II Samuel
Chapter
17
{Verses
1-14: Success of David's Mole (Hushai)}
{Verses
1-3: Ahithophel's Proposal}
1~~Moreover
Ahithophel requested of Absalom,
"Please
sir, let me now select twelve thousand men,
and
I will move out and pursue after David this night.
{Note: This is after the rape of the 10 mistresses. Ahithophel knows David is now weak since he left Jerusalem. He has the castle guard and the local police so maybe 2000 men. He wants 12,000 of the best that move out before the rape of the city begins and many will want David back.}
{Ahithophel's
Plan}
2~~Consequently,
I will surprise him
when
he is weary and 'weak and exhausted'/
'weak
of hands' {no more nervous energy},
and
will 'terrify him'/'cause him to panic'.
{a tired person is irritable and 'weaker than normal'}
And all the people who are with him will flee/'run away'.
And I will assonate the king while he is isolated/alone."
{Objective
of Ahithophel's Plan}
3~~And
I will restore/'cause to return'
all
the people to you {Absalom}.
'Obviously,
the death of the man
whom
you are seeking to destroy is tantamount
to
the return of all the people."
{Idiom: literally "which is tantamount to the return of all the
people . . . is the man whom you are seeking." - means kill David
and the people will recognize Absalom as the rightful leader and
return.}
Furthermore,
{the death of David means}
that
all the people shall be in peace.
{Note: Sounds so good and sincere. Absalom, kill your father David and you will 'save lives' - no civil war! We know Ahithophel's counsel was 'wise' and had to be frustrated. This plan of his was the only one which would have defeated David.}
4~~And
the plan seemed right to Absalom,
and
all the princes/elders of Israel.
{those tribe leaders who revolted with Absalom - ruling
revolutionary counsel}
{Operation
Hushai}
5~~Then
Absalom commented,
"Please
summon also Hushai the Archite,
and
let us hear likewise 'what he has to say'."
{idiom: literally 'what is in his mouth'}
{Hushai's
Opportunity to Frustrate the Counsel of Ahithophel}
6a~~And
when Hushai reported to Absalom,
then
Absalom confided in him, saying,
"Ahithophel
has submitted the following plan."
{idiom: literally "After this manner, Ahithophel has spoken . . ."}
{Note: This verse indicates Hushai's success in infiltrating the highest levels of Absalom's command. It is one thing to trust a person, but even deeper to trust his counsel.}
6b~~"Shall
we execute the plan?"
If
not, 'state your objections'/'speak you'."
{Counter-Insurgency}
7~~And
Hushai said unto Absalom,
"The
counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good . . . at this time."
{Note: In counter-insurgency, an honorable person has to do what normally would be a dishonorable act. So, if someone must deceive, the best way is 'to tell the truth'. And, that is what Hushai does here. It would be 'not good' - for David! Yet he knows the opinion of Ahithophel is highly respected so he says, the plan is good . . . but just wait a little while first. And, that is the key. David is at his weakest right now. A delay is necessary.}
{Verses
8:-10: Sabotage of Plan Ahithophel}
8~~"Furthermore",
Hushai advised,
"you
know . . . your father and his army . . .
that
they are great soldiers,
and
they have a ferocious mental attitude . . .
like
a {mother} bear deprived of her cubs in the bush.
And
your father is a 'professional soldier'/'man of war',
and
will not bivouac with the {fleeing and frightened} civilians.
9a~~Behold/Now
. . .
he
{David} has concealed himself {chaba' - Niphal tense}
in
some cave or other strategic position.
{Note: Chaba' means to conceal for the purpose of 'aggressive offense' not defense. Hushai is counseling that David is without mercy. He will use the civilians as bait. When Absalom attacks the column, David and his men will hit them from surprise and they will not know what hit them!}
9b~~So,
it will come to pass {continuation of historical sequence},
when
he ambushes them in the first attack
{Idiom: literally: 'according to the falling among them first'},
then
who ever hears the news will say,
"There
has been a great slaughter
among
the troops who follow Absalom."
{Note: Hushai is saying it would be disastrous for the revolution if they lose the first battle. Next, the principle is "weak men in power rely on 'public opinion' instead of their own good judgment".}
10a~~Then
even 'the bravest' . . .
{idiom: literally: "he . . . son of courage"}
whose
heart is like the heart of a lion,
will
be paralyzed with fear.
10b~~For
all Israel knows that your father is a great soldier,
and
those with him are brave men."
{Verses
11-13: Trump card- Appeal to Absalom's Arrogance}
11~~"But,
I advise you to completely mobilize first
all
Israel from Dan even to Beersheba,
under
your own command . . .
an
army as numerous as the sand of the seashore . . .
personally
lead by you.
{idiom: literally: 'your person in the midst'}
{Note: Hushai is suggesting Ahithophel is going to lead the army first against David and then back against him. So suggesting he lead the troops will also appeal to the vanity of Absalom.}
12a~~Then
we will attack him
in
one of those places
where
ever he may be found
and
we will fall upon him
like
the dew falls on the ground.
{Note: Absalom does not have the military experience of his father. 'Wherever he may be found' is a key. A professional military man would have sent out reconnaissance men and know where David was! Hushai's advice appeals to Absalom's arrogant nature.
{Appeal
to the Arrogance of Hallucination}
12b~~'Therefore,
neither he {David} nor any of his men
will
survive the battle'.
{idiom: literally: 'And there will not remain with him in his presence
of all the men who follow him even one living person.}
{More
Illusion set up by Hushai}
13~~Furthermore,
if he {David} withdraws into a city,
then
all Israel will bring ropes to that city,
and
'`we' will draw ever stone into the valley,
until
even a small stone will not be found there."
{Note: Hushai know the arrogant fantasy. He uses the royal 'we' indicating he is so for the revolution that he himself and everyone in the land will help to destroy David - Absalom's arrogance is divorced from reality.}
{Divine
Approbation of Clandestine Warfare}
14a~~Then
Absalom and all the men of Israel
said/concluded
{erroneously},
"The
advice/counsel of Hushai the Archite
is
better than the advice/counsel of Ahithophel."
{Note: Remember that Hushai is actually loyal to David so he is a 'mole' in their organization.}
14b~~For
the Jehovah/God had ordained/anointed/appointed
to
frustrate the 'better plan' of Ahithophel,
in
order that the Jehovah/God
might
bring disaster/evil upon Absalom.
{Verses
15-29: Victory of Clandestine Warfare}
{Verse
15-16 Transmission of Intelligence Information}
15~~Then
Hushai reported to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests,
"Ahithophel
advised Absalom
and
the princes/leaders of Israel.to do such and such . . ."
and
I advised thus and thus."
16~~Now
therefore send couriers immediately
and
make this report to David the advise as follows,
"Do
not spend the night at the fords of the desert,
but
rather cross over {the river} without delay;
lest
the king and all the people who are with him be destroyed."
{Note: Absalom is unstable so Hushai is taking no chances that he will change his mind. So he is advising David to keep the Jordan between him and Absalom.}
{Verses
17-29: Hospitality Passage}
{Intelligence
Link- Priests to David}
17~~Because
they could not risk being seen entering the city,
Jonathan
and Ahimaaz were standing by at Enrogel
where
a young female domestic was supposed to go and inform them.
Consequently, they in turn would go and inform king David.
18~~Nevertheless
a teenager/hippy observed saw them,
and
betrayed on them to Absalom.
However,
both of them departed quickly,
and
came to a man's chateau in Bahurim,
and
'he had a great cistern in a courtyard'
{idiom: literally: 'an unto him . . . a well in the courtyard'
this was a cry cistern where he kept supplies and could
hide people if necessary - now it was empty because Azmaveth
had taken his supplies and men out to help David}
whither
they went down.
{Note: RBT says that the man here is Azmaveth (see I Chronicles 27:25).}
19~~Then
his wife/woman rapidly seized a covering
and
spread it over the mouth of the 'dry cistern',
and
spread 'drying barley' over it . . .
so
that nothing was noticed {by the pursuers}.
20~~And
when Absalom's patrol
came
to the woman to the château, they 'interrogated saying',
"Where
is Ahimaaz and Jonathan?"
Then
she {the woman} replied {lied} to them,
"They
have gone over the stream of water."
And
when they had searched and could not find them,
they
{the revolutionary patrol} returned to Jerusalem.
{Note: This mature believer changed from her prosperity scale of values to her disaster scale of values. She understood from doctrine, that to turn these representatives of the legitimate authority would be a sin. To lie in this circumstance (as with Rahab the prostitute) to lie is the honorable thing to do, and, in this case, is NOT a sin.}
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