While these deliberations were taking place, Hushai informed Zadok and Abiathar, the priests,—who also were faithful to their king,—and he advised them to send directly to David and urge him to get out of the plain where he was, lest, if Absalom should yet follow the advice of Ahithophel, he might be suddenly overthrown, and to avoid the overwhelming army which, on his plan, would be sent against him.

David immediately followed Hushai's advice, and, passing the fords of Jordan in the night, he and his men all got safely over.

Ahithophel was so much mortified that Hushai's counsel had been followed rather than his, that he went to his house at Giloh, and there, having “put his house in order," or settled his affairs, he hanged himself. He also foresaw that David would now conquer and return to Jerusalem, and then he must suffer the death of a traitor; and he would rather become a selfmurderer than fall into the hands of justice.

DA

Absalom's Defeat and Death.

2 SAMUEL XVIII.

AVID now divided his army into companies of thousands and hundreds, and set captains over them. Then he divided the whole into three parts, and appointed three generals to command them—Joab, Abishai, Joab's brother, and Ittai the Gittite; and he intended himself to be commander-in-chief over these, but the people would not let him go, lest he should be killed, which would have thrown them all into confusion and made Absalom king, who would have been avenged on them for defending David; and they advised David rather to stay in the city of Mahanaim, and send them succor by forwarding provisions and recruits.

And now the army marched to meet Absalom, but as it passed through the gate of the city David commanded the generals to "deal gently" with Absalom if he should fall into their hands, and rather take him alive than hurt or kill him.

"So the people went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim." This was not a wood in the tribe of Ephraim, but in the land of Gilead, across the river Jordan, and was probably called the wood of Ephraim because, in the time of Jephthah, forty-two thousand Ephraimites were slain near it by the men of Gilead.

Absalom's army was soon put to flight, and twenty thousand of his

soldiers perished. In their flight their ranks became broken, and they ran over the country in all directions; but vast numbers tried to escape through the wood, where they were easily overtaken by being caught in thickets; and some might fall into pits, and it is supposed that some were devoured by wild beasts; so that "the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured," for there were more people slain in it than in the open field.

Absalom fled among the rest: in passing through the wood, he met with some of David's troops, and in hastening from them on his mule, either his fine hair was caught in the branches of an oak tree, or, as is rather believed, his neck was stuck fast in a forked branch, and the mule going forward, left him hanging alive.

One of David's soldiers saw this accident, and ran and told Joab; who asked the man why he did not kill Absalom; and told him that if he had done so, he would have given him ten shekels of silver,-about six dollars of our money, and a girdle, which was a mark of great honor and promotion. But the man told Joab he would not have killed Absalom for

DEFEAT OF ABSALOM.

a thousand shekels of silver, after David had given so strict a charge to spare his life, for he should have exposed his own life to danger for disobedience, and even Joab would then have condemned him.

So Joab went himself, taking three darts with him, and thrust them into Absalom; and ten young men who attended Joab thrust darts into him also, so that they were sure he was dead.

Having slain David's wicked son, the chief of the rebellion, Joab ordered a trumpet to be blown, to call back his men, that they might pursue the rebel army no longer, as they would now submit, and he did not want to shed any more blood.

Then they took Absalom's body and cast it "into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him," to be a monument

of his villany, and to signify that he ought to have been stoned as a rebellious son. (See Deuteronomy xxi. 20, 21.)

Absalom little expected to die such a death, and to be buried in such a manner. In his pride he had erected a very handsome monument for the reception of his body when he should die, in a place called the King's Dale, or valley-the valley of Jehoshaphat; for he said, "I have no son to keep my name in remembrance," though he had had three sons, but all were dead-" and he called the pillar after his own name," and it was still called "Absalom's place," when this history was written.

Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, was now with Joab, and he begged him to let him run and inform David of the victory; but as Joab did not wish him to carry news which would displease the king, as Absalom's death would, he told him not to go. Then he ordered Cushi, an Ethiopian,—or black, as some suppose,-to hasten with the tidings. After Cushi was gone, Ahimaaz still urged Joab to let him go, though he had "no tidings ready," but what Cushi had; then he allowed him, and he outrun Cushi, as Cushi took a hilly road, and Ahimaaz a flat one.

David was anxiously waiting for news, and so he sat between the two gates of the city; one gate being within another, between two walls that surrounded the place. And the watchman mounted the tower over the wall, and looked to see if any messenger was coming. And when he saw a man running, he called out to the king; and the king said, if the man was alone he brought news as a messenger, for if he had had others with him, it would have been a sign that they were part of his army put to flight. Presently the watchman called to the porter below, who kept the outward gate, that there was another man running, and that the foremost looked like Ahimaaz. And David was pleased, for he said that Ahimaaz was a good man, and would not run to tell him bad news.

To encourage David's heart, Ahimaaz called out, as soon as he could be heard, "All is well;" meaning that the victory was gained. And then he approached the king, and bowed himself before him, and blessed God for the victory.

Poor David was, however, alarmed for his wicked son, and his first question was, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" Ahimaaz evaded the question, and David waited for Cushi.

Cushi saluted David in a similar manner to Ahimaaz, and the king asked the same question about Absalom. And Cushi replied, "the enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that

young man is;" meaning, in a delicate way, that he was dead, which he wished were the case with all David's enemies; as they rebelled against a king whom God had especially set up. And the king ran up to the watchman's chamber, and there he wept alone; but cried aloud in great distress, "O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!"

THE

David's Return to Jerusalem.

2 SAMUEL XIX.

HE news reached Joab that David was much grieved for the loss of Absalom; the victory was therefore turned into mourning by the people, instead of being an occasion of joy, which was usual at such times. Instead of marching triumphantly into the city like conquerors, the people stole in like cowards, lest they should displease the king: for David would not see his generals, and covered his face with his mantle, as mourners did, and still cried, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!"

Joab, at last, got leave to see David, and he spoke very boldly to him, and told him how ill he had used the people that had done him so much service, and saved his life, and the lives of the other members of his family, all of whom might have perished, had Absalom gained the victory. And he urged him to go and show himself to the people, and speak kindly to them, instead of lamenting what they had done, or his army would all desert him.

So the king went and sat in the gate, which was a public place of the city, where many people were constantly passing; and there they assembled and congratulated him on saving his kingdom.

Then the tribes of Israel began to talk about what David had done for them in saving them from the Philistines, and that something should be done to convey him back to Jerusalem. And David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, to urge them to arouse the tribe of Judah, who were yet negligent to join in restoring him; for "the speech of all Israel," or the invitations of the people, had been sent to him to return to his palace and city.

He also reminded that tribe, by a message, that they were his nearest brethren, he being of the same tribe; and as for Amasa, who had commanded Absalom's army, he would not only pardon him, but make him commander