The King's Friend and God's Foolishness Text: 2 Samuel 15:32-37
Introduction: The War of Wits
We are in the midst of one of the most tragic episodes in David's life. His own son, Absalom, handsome and ambitious, has stolen the hearts of the men of Israel and has staged a coup. David, the anointed king, is now a fugitive, fleeing Jerusalem with a small band of loyal men. The consequences of his sin with Bathsheba have come home to roost, and the sword Nathan prophesied would never depart from his house is now being wielded by his own child. It is a moment of profound humiliation and grief. David is weeping, barefoot, his head covered, ascending the Mount of Olives. This is not just a political retreat; it is a penitential procession.
But in the middle of this chaos, this utter political and personal disaster, we see the re-emergence of the old David. The shrewd warrior, the wise strategist, the man who knows how to trust God and tie his own camel. Just moments before our text, David received the devastating news that his most trusted counselor, Ahithophel, a man whose advice was considered as if one had inquired of the oracle of God, had defected to Absalom's side. This was a catastrophic blow. It was the equivalent of losing your top general and your entire intelligence apparatus in one stroke. David's response was not despair, but a short, sharp, desperate prayer: "O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness" (2 Sam. 15:31).
And no sooner has the prayer left his lips than God provides the answer, walking up the road to meet him. This is how God's providence often works. He answers our prayers not with thunderbolts from a clear blue sky, but by sending a friend with a torn coat and dust on his head. Our passage this morning is about the intersection of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. It is about how God uses loyalty, friendship, and shrewd, calculated deception in the midst of a just war to accomplish His purposes. It is a masterclass in spiritual warfare, where the primary weapons are not swords and spears, but wisdom and counsel.
We are in a spiritual war. Our Absalom, the prince of the power of the air, is in constant rebellion. He has his Ahithophels, his worldly-wise counselors, whispering what seems to be unbeatable advice into the ears of the powerful. And we, like David, must learn to pray, and then act. We must learn how God delights to use the foolish things of the world, or in this case, a man pretending to be a fool for Absalom, to confound the wise.
The Text
Then it happened that as David was coming to the summit, where he used to worship God, that behold, Hushai the Archite met him with his coat torn and dust on his head. And David said to him, “If you pass over with me, then you will be a burden to me. But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so I will now be your servant,’ then you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me. Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So it shall be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall inform Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Behold, their two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by their hand you shall send me everything that you hear.” So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.
(2 Samuel 15:32-37 LSB)
The Providential Meeting (v. 32)
We begin with verse 32:
"Then it happened that as David was coming to the summit, where he used to worship God, that behold, Hushai the Archite met him with his coat torn and dust on his head." (2 Samuel 15:32)
Notice the location. David reaches the summit of the Mount of Olives, a place "where he used to worship God." Even in his flight, David's path is marked by his history of faithfulness. He is not running from God, but to Him. It is at this high place of worship, this place of communion, that God meets him. And how does God meet him? He sends Hushai the Archite. The timing is impeccable. David has just prayed for God to defeat Ahithophel's counsel, and here comes the very man who will be the instrument of that defeat.
This is a beautiful illustration of God's special providence. God's general providence means He is in control of everything, all the time. But special providence is when the curtain is pulled back for a moment and we see the gears turning in our favor so plainly that we cannot miss it. David prays a specific prayer, and God provides a specific man at a specific place at a specific time. This is not luck; it is orchestration.
Hushai comes in the posture of a mourner. His coat is torn and there is dust on his head. This is an outward sign of his inward grief and loyalty to David. He is identifying with the suffering king. His loyalty is not to the throne, but to the man God placed on the throne. This is the kind of loyalty that God honors. He is not a fair-weather friend. He sees David at his lowest point, stripped of his power and dignity, and he runs to join him. This is covenant friendship in action.
A Burden and a Plan (v. 33-34)
David's response to Hushai's loyalty is not sentimental. It is strategic. He is thinking clearly, even in his grief.
"And David said to him, 'If you pass over with me, then you will be a burden to me. But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so I will now be your servant,’ then you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me.'" (2 Samuel 15:33-34 LSB)
David assesses the situation with cold, hard logic. Hushai is likely an older man, a counselor, not a warrior. On the run, in the wilderness, he would be a liability, a "burden." But in Jerusalem, in the court of the usurper, he could be an invaluable asset. David's mind is already working, turning this apparent disaster into an opportunity. He sees that God has not just sent him a comforter, but a secret weapon.
And what is the plan? It is a plan of deception. David instructs Hushai to go and feign allegiance to Absalom. He is to become a double agent. Now, our modern, pietistic sensibilities might get twitchy here. Is David telling his friend to lie? Yes. And we must be clear about this. All warfare is based on deception. When you are in a state of war with a treacherous enemy, deception is not only permissible, it is a virtuous duty. Absalom has unjustly and violently overthrown the legitimate, God-ordained government. He has declared war on his own father and on God's anointed. This is not a disagreement between gentlemen at a debating society. This is war.
The ninth commandment forbids bearing false witness against your neighbor. It is a prohibition against destroying peace and covenantal trust where it ought to exist. But Absalom has already shattered the peace. He is not acting as a neighbor, but as a wolf. To deceive a wolf in order to protect the sheep is not a sin. Rahab was justified by her deception of the men of Jericho. The Hebrew midwives were blessed by God for deceiving Pharaoh. David himself feigned madness to escape from King Achish. Hushai is being called to be a spy, to engage in counter-intelligence against a wicked regime. His feigned loyalty to Absalom is an act of true loyalty to David, the rightful king.
The Intelligence Network (v. 35-36)
The plan is not just about sowing discord; it is also about gathering information. David is setting up an intelligence network on the fly.
"Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So it shall be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall inform Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Behold, their two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by their hand you shall send me everything that you hear." (2 Samuel 15:35-36 LSB)
David had already sent the Ark back to Jerusalem with the priests, Zadok and Abiathar. He understood that his fight was not against God, and he would not drag the symbols of God's presence into his personal battle as though they were magic charms. But he also knew that loyal men in the city were a strategic advantage. He now incorporates them into his plan. Hushai will be the ear inside the court. The priests will be the secure communication channel. And their sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, will be the couriers, the runners who will carry the intelligence out to David in the wilderness.
This is a brilliant piece of statecraft, conceived in a moment of extreme duress. It shows us that true faith is not passive. David prayed, and then he immediately began to act, using the resources and the men God had provided. He did not sit down at the top of the mountain and say, "Well, I've prayed. Now I'll just wait for God to drop a dead Ahithophel out of the sky." No, he prayed for God to turn the counsel to foolishness, and then he sent his own man to be the agent of that foolishness. Faith and works, prayer and planning, divine sovereignty and human action, all working together seamlessly.
The Friend and the Traitor (v. 37)
The chapter concludes with two arrivals in Jerusalem, setting the stage for the great confrontation of wits.
"So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem." (2 Samuel 15:37 LSB)
The text makes a point of calling Hushai "David's friend." This is a title of high honor and deep significance. In the face of Ahithophel's betrayal, Hushai's friendship shines all the brighter. Friendship is measured in times of adversity. Ahithophel was David's counselor, a professional relationship. Hushai was David's friend, a covenantal relationship. When the pressure came, the professional sold out, but the friend risked everything.
And so the two men enter the city. Hushai, the true friend, enters as a fake traitor. And Absalom, the true traitor, enters as a fake king. The stage is now set. The battle for the kingdom will not be decided first on the battlefield, but in the counsel chamber. It will be a contest between the wisdom of Ahithophel, which is the wisdom of this world, pragmatic, ruthless, and godless, and the God-given task of Hushai, which is to frustrate that wisdom. And as we will see in the coming chapters, David's prayer is answered precisely. God uses Hushai's flattering, long-winded, and strategically terrible advice to appeal to Absalom's vanity, and Ahithophel's brilliant, efficient, and correct advice is rejected. The Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that He might bring disaster upon Absalom (2 Sam. 17:14).
Conclusion: God's Counter-Intelligence
What does this ancient story of political intrigue have to do with us? Everything. We serve a greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ, who also ascended a hill outside Jerusalem, betrayed by a friend, rejected by his people. He is the true king, and there is a usurper, an Absalom, who has set himself up as the prince of this world. This usurper has his counselors, his Ahithophels, who offer what appears to be unassailable worldly wisdom. "Look out for number one." "Might makes right." "If it feels good, do it." "Your truth is all that matters." This is the counsel of the world, and it is the counsel of demons, and it leads to death.
But God has His own agents, His own friends, in the court of the usurper. That is what we are called to be. We are called to be Hushais in a world run by Absalom. We are in the world, but not of it. We live in Babylon, but our allegiance is to Jerusalem. And our task is to thwart the counsel of Ahithophel. We do this not through carnal, political maneuvering, but by speaking and living a wisdom that the world considers foolishness.
The wisdom of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Cor. 1:18). The idea that strength is found in weakness, that life is found through death, that the way up is the way down, this is nonsense to the world. The counsel of Ahithophel is to seize power. The counsel of God is to lay it down. The counsel of Ahithophel is to act immediately and ruthlessly. The counsel of God is to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. The counsel of Ahithophel is to trust in chariots and horses. The counsel of God is to trust in the name of the Lord.
Like Hushai, we are called to a life of loyal friendship to our King. This will sometimes require us to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. It will require us to live in a world that is hostile to our King, feigning a certain kind of compliance while our true loyalty is elsewhere. And our ultimate mission is to proclaim the foolishness of God which is wiser than men. We are here to thwart the deadly counsel of this world by proclaiming the life-giving news of the gospel. And we can do so with confidence, because we know that just as God ordained to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, He has already ordained the ultimate defeat of our great enemy through the ultimate foolishness of a crucified King who rose from the dead.