“Rather, I advise that you summon all Israel to come to you, from Dan to Be’er-Sheva, numbering as many as sand grains on the seashore; and then you go to battle, yourself.”-2 Samuel 17:11
So Hushai has successfully persuaded Absalom that Achitofel’s plan to hunt down and kill David is full of crap.
He argues that David’s men would turn into raging tigers and would kill off so many of Achitofel’s forces that the men would soon lose courage and then the battle.
And even though Achitofel was calling the shots, this fight would be viewed as Absalom’s army versus David’s.
If Absalom’s side lost, everyone in Israel would see David as still more than capable enough to rule.
The result?
Absalom’s support would collapse, leading to a total public relations disaster for him.
Therefore, Hushai proposed a “better plan.”
He said to forget about sending a small squad.
Instead, build up a monster-sized army, from Dan in the north to Be’er Sheva in the south.
The army would be so big that if David tried to escape to a walled city somewhere, a warning would go out that any city that tried to shelter him would be crushed to dust and dumped in a river.
There would be no chance of rebuilding since the old rubble is what they normally use to rebuild a new city.
So boom!
David and the city he was hiding out in would be gone forever.
On top of that, Hushai tells Absalom he should lead the army himself, since that’s what real kings do.
This way, he—not Achitofel—would get the glory when they emerge victorious.
The narcissistic Absalom, being proud and unstable, eats it up like an uncontrolled type 2 diabetic in a pizza joint.
He runs to the other rebel leaders and tells them:
“This time around, I ain’t shuckin’ and jivin’ with Achitofel’s advice.
Let’s follow Hushai’s plan instead!”
Everyone wholeheartedly agrees.
Alrighty, let’s stop here and get back to the quiz question I posed yesterday.
So, why was Hushai’s plan (deliberately) so foolhardy?
There was one HUGE weakness in his instructions.
Well, here’s your answer:
Achitofel could’ve put together a 12,000-soldier army relatively fast.
But to gather farmers, shepherds, and carpenters from all over Israel?
Are you freakin’ kidding me?!
That would take weeks.
And even then, those men would be undisciplined and inexperienced.
It would take time to train them.
That delay would give David just what he needed.
He’d have plenty of time to run, regroup, and launch a counterattack.
Finally, Hushai’s suggestion that Absalom leads the army himself was a master move.
It would expose Absalom on the battlefield.
We’ll see later that this would be the cause of his downfall.
Alrighty, let’s switch over to the takeaway.
It’s pretty much what I said yesterday.
Don’t let your ego be the guide when it comes to forming battle plans.
When you do that, you lose the ability to spot all of the fatal weaknesses in it.
I see this happen in the business world all the time.
A business owner comes up with an idea that his ego falls in love with.
Despite all the signs that there’s no market demand for his ridiculous idea…
He goes ahead and spends a ton of cash on product development and marketing.
The result?
He falls flat on his face and goes bankrupt.
The business dies before it ever gets off the ground.
And that’s exactly what’s gonna happen with Absalom.
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