2 Samuel 15:13-37

¹³ And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. ¹⁴ And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. ¹⁵ And the king’s servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint. ¹⁶ And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house. ¹⁷ And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off. ¹⁸ And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king. ¹⁹ Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile. ²⁰ Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee. ²¹ And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. ²² And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him. ²³ And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness. ²⁴ And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city. ²⁵ And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation: ²⁶ But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. ²⁷ The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me. ²⁹ Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there. ³⁰ And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up. ³¹ And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. ³² And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head: ³³ Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me: ³⁴ But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. ³⁵ And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok’s son, and Jonathan Abiathar’s son; and by them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear. ³⁷ So Hushai David’s friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.

A. W. Tozer once wrote, “The Bible was written in tears, and to tears it will yield its best treasures.” Much of the context of Scripture is the suffering of God’s people, especially those that sought to be faithful to Him. It is to such that are humble and broken, that Scripture will be most prized. In Psalm 34:18, David wrote, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” 2 Samuel 15:13-37 describes a period of brokenness and difficulty in David’s life. After reigning as king over all of Israel and doing the Lord’s work for many years, David fell into sin and the consequences of that sin shaped the remainder of his life. One of the consequences was the rebellion of his son Absalom. In 2 Samuel 15, Absalom successfully politicked to steal the hearts of the people of Israel and the kingdom from David. In the latter part of the chapter, David and those closest to him were forced into exile. This time would mirror David’s time on the run from King Saul in which he learned to trust in the Lord. 2 Samuel 15:13-37 has much to teach us about enduring trials, not just of our own, but because of our identify with Christ our King. What do we do when we find ourselves in a trying time? What do we do in life’s trials? This portion of Scripture gives us three things to pursue.

First, we should serve the Lord’s purposes. In verses 13-22, David received news that Absalom had amassed a following in Hebron and was coming for Jerusalem. Absalom’s following was sizeable enough to lead David to immediately call all of his servants and those in his household to flee Jerusalem. His primary motivation was not just the protection of those that he was responsible for, but it was also the welfare of the city. He knew that the last thing that Jerusalem needed was a conflict. Here, David sought the Lord’s purposes in putting the welfare of his people and the city first, but he wasn’t alone. His faithful servants chose to fully identify with him in doing so. His servants declared “Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint” (v. 15) and he was accompanied in his exile by “all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath” (v. 18). The servants and soldiers would prove to be faithful to David through it all because they were committed to the Lord’s purposes in David’s life. They represent all faithful Christians who are willing to take up their cross and identify with Christ in world that is hostile toward Him. In times where lines are drawn in the sand, whether it is on the mission field in distant countries where Christians are persecuted or taking a stand for Christ in a situation where others are unwilling to submit to His Word, those who faithfully follow Christ choose to identify with Him and endure whatever consequences may come. Ittai the Gittite stood as a wonderful example of such commitment. After David tried to send him back for his own safety, Ittai declared “As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be” (v. 21). David would later trust Ittai with a critical place in the battle with Absalom’s forces in 2 Samuel 18:2. As we serve the Lord’s purposes, Ittai also serves as a reminder that we cannot do so alone. If we recognize someone faithfully serving Christ, it is our duty as a fellow Christian to encourage them in the same way he did for David.

Next, we should submit to the Lord’s will. Beyond his household and the loyal servants and soldiers, David was also joined by Zadok and Abiathar who came to him bringing the ark of the covenant. Their reasoning in doing so was because they believed that the ark belonged with Israel’s true king, not with Absalom the “antichrist” type. Upon doing so, David sent the two faithful friends back to Jerusalem with the ark. He did this for two reasons. First, he trusted that the Lord would bring him back to Jerusalem again. He knew that it was the Lord’s will for everything that happened to transpire as it did. Even Absalom’s rebellion, he knew, was a part of the consequences that the Lord had said would come. David was able to submit to those consequences and trust that the same God that had delivered him from Saul without the ark could deliver him from Absalom as well. David’s move eastward from Jerusalem is meant to deliberately mirror the move eastward by Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after the fall (Genesis 3:24). Movements eastward like this are often resulting from sin. David’s sin had now driven him eastward from Jerusalem, the city of the Lord, and that is reinforced with the mentioning of the ark here, the symbol of God’s presence. By sending the ark back, David acknowledged and accepted his exile as the Lord’s will. He trusted, just as we must, that one day God will bring us back to “Eden,” to His presence. Second, David had been given the task of bringing the ark to God’s chosen city Jerusalem. For him to then remove it and take it into the wilderness with him, would be to undo the purposes of God he had already fulfilled. David knew to submit to the Lord’s will in both areas. Joining him in this were Zadok and Abiathar and their sons: Ahimaaz and Jonathan. They returned the ark and would serve as spies for David to deliver him warnings and news of what Absalom had planned. After sending Zadok and Abiathar back with instructions, David and his entourage went up the Mount of Olives “barefoot” with their heads “covered” and “weeping.” He and his people were together in brokenness and humility over what had transpired. This march mirrored the night of Jesus’s betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane. After being rejected by His people in Jerusalem, He went to the Mount of Olives and submitted Himself to the Father’s will. Some have also said that this march was David’s Via Delarosa. It was a foreshadowing of Christ’s “Way of Suffering” as He carried His cross outside the city bearing our sin. David left bearing the consequences of his own sin and reminds us of a greater, sinless Son of David to come. The humility and brokenness displayed here would reveal the Lord’s will for David’s life. The Lord wasn’t just fulfilling His Word, He was faithfully disciplining David as a son. It would be during this time in exile that David’s heart would be once again directed to the Lord. Trials and difficulty have a way of doing this. How do we respond? Are we humble and broken, directing our trust to the Lord or do we stubbornly and pridefully cross our arms, angry because things didn’t go our way? Like Jesus, we should seek to submit to the Lord’s will in all seasons of life and pray “not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Lastly, we should seek the Lord’s help. Verse 12 of the chapter had already told us that Ahithophel, one of David’s closest friends and counsellors, had defected to join Absalom, but in verse 31, that news reached David. On top of all else that he had suffered, Ahithophel’s betrayal was devastating to David. In fact, he wrote two Psalms (41:9; 55:12-16) in which he expressed his grief over his betrayal. Both of these psalms would later be quoted in regards to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. David was grieved over Ahithophel for two reasons. First, Ahithophel was a very wise counsellor. We find out later that his counsel was considered like an oracle from God (2 Samuel 16:23). Now that counsel would be given to Absalom against David. Second, Ahithophel was David’s friend. He had been betrayed by someone close to him. Have you ever had that happen? Have you had someone you thought was a friend abandon you or betray you? Both David and our Lord Jesus did. What did David do? He turned his trust to the Lord and prayed that the Lord would override any counsel Ahithophel would provide against him. Almost immediately, while David worshipped on the mountain, a true friend arrived. Hushai the Archite is mentioned as “David’s friend” (v. 37). He would prove to be the Lord’s answer to David’s prayer. David sent him back to the city to join Absalom and “defeat the counsel of Ahithophel” (v. 34). Hushai would prove to be a loyal friend to David and he would the catalyst that the Lord used to bring about Absalom’s judgment and David’s victory. The key for us here is that you and I are prone to be depend upon ourselves when faced with difficulty and trial, but instead we must develop the discipline of always going to the Lord for help, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:6).

How do we rightly respond to trials, with mistreatment, or with difficulty in life as Christians? We serve the Lord’s purposes, submit to the Lord’s will, and seek the Lord’s help. We have a Savior and Lord who perfectly did all of those things. He perfectly accomplished the Lord’s purpose of our salvation by enduring the suffering on the cross for our sin. He perfectly submitted to the Father’ will in all things and served as the perfect sacrifice and our representative before God. He perfectly trusted in His Father while on earth and now ever lives to intercede for His people and provide for us all that we need to remain faithful to Him. While David and his friends serve as examples to us, let us look to the greater David who is all things to us. While we endure trials and may suffer for identifying with Him here, we can rest assured that His perfect work of conforming us to His image (Romans 8:29) and bearing fruit for Him will be accomplished (Philippians 1:6; John 15:5).