2 Samuel 16:21
And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong. And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong.
Ahithophel advised Absalom to publicly take the ten wives David had left to keep the palace, making the break with his father total and binding his followers to the rebellion with stronger resolve. The deed openly carried out God's warning through Nathan that evil would rise against David from his own house and his wives would be taken before all Israel. It repaid David's secret taking of Bathsheba and killing of Uriah with public shame in his own family, showing that wrongdoing returns sorrow upon the wrongdoer in kind. Though David confessed and was pardoned so he would not die, the defilement of his house with the death of his child, his flight, and Absalom's rebellion proves that pardon does not remove earthly loss. Absalom, though used as the instrument of punishment, soon reaped judgment himself for this crime with the rest when his rebellion ended in his death.
Setting and Counsel
The counsel belongs to the history of David fleeing from Jerusalem and his war against Absalom, at Absalom's occupation of Jerusalem in the record leading up to his defeat and death, and its circumstances help explain the setting of David's psalm. About three months passed between that occupation and Absalom's tragic death at Joab's hand. During that time David numbered his adherents and thoroughly organized his army, while Absalom rallied the people to his standard. The delay was caused by the counsel of Hushai, David's friend, and in answer to David's prayer Ahithophel's counsel was brought to nothing.
The women involved were wives in legal marriage though of lower rank, ten in number, and are called David's wives by Nathan. The counsel shows the treachery of Ahithophel in advising Absalom as David's false friend, devoid of moral feeling yet so wise in mere head knowledge that his counsel was regarded as an oracle of God, and the base conduct of Absalom in taking his father's concubines. Ahithophel urged a public, unforgivable outrage in the violation of David's concubines that would commit Absalom to rebellion and strengthen his followers. By that public taking on Ahithophel's advice he made the breach between father and son unmistakable to all Israel and strengthened the hands and resolve of all his supporters.
Retribution and Lessons
The act openly carried out what had been foretold through Nathan, that evil would rise against David from within his own house and that his wives would be taken by one of his own household and in the open sight of Israel. It belonged to the judgments that followed his great wickedness in the matter of Uriah, and showed how completely the denunciation against him was accomplished. The shame and division it brought made David reap the consequences of his secret sin.
It was a fitting retribution in kind, repaying secret shame with public shame. Because David had taken another man's wife, he was made to suffer a corresponding humiliation, and because his wrong had been secret, the punishment was done openly and made the breach unmistakable. The father's sin was echoed in the son's conduct, and the sad history of Absalom's rebellion and unnatural crimes illustrates that wrongdoing brings sorrow back upon the wrongdoer in kind, especially within his own family.
Though David confessed and was pardoned so that he would not die, pardon did not remove earthly loss. The public pollution of his wives left to keep the house, together with the death of his child, the rebellion of Absalom, being driven from his house, and the curses of Shimei, proves that he gained nothing by his sin but suffered great loss. Absalom was an instrument in that punishment, but he too reaped the consequences of his wickedness soon afterward. Lying with his father's concubines was one of the crimes of his final rebellion, and his crimes were visited upon him when the rebellion ended in judgment.
The troubles recorded in 2 Samuel 13 to 20 grew out of multiplying wives, which produced a large family of children by different wives in which idleness, luxury, and jealousy developed unenviable characters. Absalom's ambitions were roused by fulsome flattery poured out upon a shrewd and handsome prince, and the disgrace, sorrow, and miseries that came through Amnon and Absalom may be traced largely to this awful evil of a multiplicity of wives. Walking contrary to God's laws brings suffering, for in every transgression of divine law lies the inherent curse, even when God does not openly reprove. Intellect without Godward moral sentiment leaves passion and mind unsubordinated to the heart, the opposite of heart education where the head bows to the heart and the heart rules; goodness is greatness, and young men should be trained in moral feeling rather than cleverness alone.
About three months passed between the occupation of Jerusalem and Absalom's death, during which David numbered his adherents and thoroughly organized his army while Absalom rallied the people, the delay coming through the counsel of Hushai in answer to prayer so that Ahithophel's counsel was brought to nothing. Absalom's superiority of numbers then counted for nothing against trained heroes under experienced generals, because God was not with him. Majorities are not divine agencies, and however loud the profession, large the following, and flattering the prospects, ultimate failure is certain if God is not in the move.