← All Chapters The Book of 2 Samuel · Chapter 15

2 Samuel 15: The Stolen Kingdom

Absalom flatters his way into the people's hearts, proclaims himself king at Hebron, and David flees Jerusalem in tears.

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2 Samuel 15 (WEB)

1 After this, Absalom prepared him a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him.

2 Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate. It was so, that when any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom called to him, and said, “What city are you from?” He said, “Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.”

3 Absalom said to him, “Behold, your matters are good and right; but there is no man deputized by the king to hear you.”

4 Absalom said moreover, “Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who has any suit or cause might come to me, and I would do him justice!”

5 It was so, that when any man came near to do him obeisance, he stretched out his hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him.

6 Absalom did this sort of thing to all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

7 At the end of forty years, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to Yahweh, in Hebron.

8 For your servant vowed a vow while I stayed at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If Yahweh shall indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will serve Yahweh.’”

9 The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose, and went to Hebron.

10 But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron!’”

11 Two hundred men went with Absalom out of Jerusalem, who were invited, and went in their simplicity; and they didn’t know anything.

12 Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. The conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.

13 A messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.”

14 David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee; for else none of us shall escape from Absalom. Make speed to depart, lest he overtake us quickly, and bring down evil on us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

15 The king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king chooses.”

16 The king went out, and all his household after him. The king left ten women, who were concubines, to keep the house.

17 The king went out, and all the people after him; and they stayed in Beth Merhak.

18 All his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.

19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Return, and stay with the king; for you are a foreigner, and also an exile. Return to your own place.

20 Whereas you came but yesterday, should I this day make you go up and down with us, since I go where I may? Return, and take back your brothers. Mercy and truth be with you.”

21 Ittai answered the king, and said, “As Yahweh lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in what place my lord the king shall is, whether for death or for life, even there also will your servant be.”

22 David said to Ittai, “Go and pass over.” Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones who were with him.

23 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 Behold, Zadok also came, and all the Levites 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 finished passing out of the city.

25 The king said to Zadok, “Carry back the ark of God into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of Yahweh, he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his habitation;

26 but if he say thus, ‘I have no delight in you;’ behold, here am I. Let him do to me as seems good to him.”

27 The king said also to Zadok the priest, “Aren’t you a seer? Return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.

28 Behold, I will stay at the fords of the wilderness, until word comes from you to inform me.”

29 Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem; and they stayed there.

30 David went up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered, and went barefoot: and all the people who were with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.

31 Someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” David said, “Yahweh, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

32 When David had come to the top, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn, and earth on his head.

33 David said to him, “If you pass on with me, then you will be a burden to me;

34 but if you return to the city, and tell Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king. As I have been your father’s servant in time past, so will I now be your servant; then will you defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.’

35 Don’t you have Zadok and Abiathar the priests there with you? Therefore it shall be, that whatever thing you shall hear out of the king’s house, you shall 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 you shall send to me everything that you shall hear.”

37 So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city; and Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Summary

Absalom launches a patient campaign to seize the throne. He acquires chariots, horses, and runners, then stations himself at the city gate, intercepting those who come for justice. He flatters each one, laments that no one will hear their case, and wishes aloud that he were judge, embracing all who bow to him. By such charm he steals the hearts of the men of Israel. After four years he obtains David's leave to go to Hebron under a religious pretext, and there he has himself proclaimed king, drawing even David's counselor Ahithophel into the conspiracy. When word reaches David that Israel's heart has turned, he chooses to flee rather than see the city destroyed, leading his household and loyal followers out of Jerusalem. Ittai the Gittite vows to stay with the king in death or life. David sends the ark back into the city, submitting himself to God's will, and weeps as he climbs the Mount of Olives barefoot. Hearing that Ahithophel has joined the rebels, he prays that the counselor's wisdom be turned to foolishness, and sends his friend Hushai back to the city to thwart it.

Main Characters

  • Absalom — David's son, who wins the people with flattery and false promises, then proclaims himself king at Hebron and drives his father from Jerusalem.
  • David — The king who flees weeping rather than fight for the city, submitting himself to God's will and sending back the ark and his friend Hushai.
  • Ittai the Gittite — A foreign newcomer who pledges undying loyalty to David, choosing the rejected king's fortunes over safety.
  • Ahithophel — David's trusted counselor, whose defection to Absalom prompts the king's prayer that his counsel be turned to foolishness.

Key Verse

2 Samuel 15:6 (WEB)

Absalom did this sort of thing to all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

Lessons Learned

  • Flattery and false promises can win a crowd's loyalty long before any open rebellion is declared.
  • True submission to God may mean releasing what is precious to us and trusting him to restore it if he wills.
  • Faithfulness shines brightest in adversity, as the loyalty of foreigners and friends shows when the king is rejected.
  • We can pray honestly against the schemes of those who oppose us while leaving the outcome in God's hands.
  • Ambition often works by flattery. Absalom “stole the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Samuel 15:6, WEB) not by force but by telling people what they wanted to hear. Beware the leader who courts you with flattery.
  • Surrender trusts God with what we love. David sends back the ark, saying, “If I find favor in the eyes of Yahweh, he will bring me again” (2 Samuel 15:25, WEB). He will not use holy things to secure his own ends.
  • Loyalty proves itself in loss. Ittai vows, “whether for death or for life, even there also will your servant be” (2 Samuel 15:21, WEB). The exiled king's truest friends are revealed when there is nothing to gain.
  • We may pray against evil counsel. David prays, “Yahweh, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness” (2 Samuel 15:31, WEB), then acts wisely by sending Hushai—trusting God while doing his part.
  1. How does Absalom win the people's hearts, and why is flattery such an effective and dangerous tool?
  2. Why does David choose to flee Jerusalem rather than defend it, and what does this reveal about him?
  3. What is striking about David's decision to send the ark back into the city?
  4. Ittai the Gittite, a foreigner, pledges total loyalty to the rejected king. What makes his devotion so remarkable?
  5. When you face opposition or betrayal, how do you balance honest prayer against your enemies with trusting God's will, as David does here?
  1. Absalom positions himself as the people's champion, hearing grievances no one else will and embracing all who approach (15:2-6). Flattery is dangerous because it bypasses truth and binds people through their pride and self-interest. Help the group recognize that being told what we want to hear is not the same as being told what is good.
  2. David flees to spare the city bloodshed and perhaps in humble acceptance of judgment for his own past sins (15:14). His restraint shows a king more concerned for his people and submissive to God than grasping for power. There is strength in his willingness to let go.
  3. David refuses to treat the ark as a good-luck charm, returning it and resting his future in God's favor rather than in a sacred object (15:25-26). It is a posture of genuine faith: he wants God himself, not merely God's symbols, and submits to whatever the Lord decides.
  4. Ittai has only recently arrived and owes David nothing, yet binds himself to the king's fate in death or life (15:19-21). His devotion to a rejected king, with nothing to gain, pictures the kind of faith that follows the Lord's anointed even in his rejection—a faint echo of discipleship.
  5. This is a personal-application question. David prays bluntly that Ahithophel's counsel be undone, then sends Hushai to work toward that end (15:31-34). Invite members to bring real grievances honestly to God while still entrusting outcomes to him, holding prayer and faithful action together rather than choosing one over the other.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.