108B – Running to the King
II Samuel 17:15-29
At first, Hushai didn’t know if Absalom would follow his advice or Ahithophel’s. So he decided to prepare David for the worse outcome. It was prearranged that two runners would deliver to David any communication from Hushai. So he sent them a message delivered by a servant girl saying, “Run to the king and tell him, ‘Don’t spend the night on this side of the Jordan River. Instead, cross over to the other side. If you don’t, you and all the people with you will be destroyed.’” So the men started running toward David.
Unfortunately, a boy saw the servant girl deliver her message. He immediately went and told Absalom what he had seen. Absalom sent guards to capture the two men.
The runners came to a family who had a well in their courtyard. The man of the house helped them climb down into the well, and his wife placed a cover over it and scattered grain on top.
When the guards arrived, they asked the woman, “Where are the two men who came here?”
“Oh, they passed by and went toward the water.”
The guards hurried on and searched for the two runners, but weren’t able to find them. Soon they gave up and returned to Jerusalem.
After the guards had gone, the two men climbed out of the well and continued on their way. They found King David and told him, “Get up immediately and cross the river!” They then told him about the advice Ahithophel had given. So David and all the people with him crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, they were safely across.
They then travelled north until they came to the city of Mahanaim, which means “Two Camps.” They were met by a group of prominent men led by an 80-year-old man named Barzillai. The men said, “The people with you must be hungry, exhausted, and thirsty. We have brought you beds, basins, and pottery items.” They had also brought wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd. So David and the people with him were welcomed into the city and their needs were cared for.
