2 Samuel 17:21

DAVID HEEDED WARNING AND CROSSED THE JORDAN

"And after the men had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. "Arise, and go quickly over the water; for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you." Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed the Jordan; by daybreak, not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan."

Moving twelve thousand men with their supplies and equipment across the Jordan would have required a great deal of time, and with this maneuver David bought the time that he needed to rally his forces for the final showdown. Matthew Henry and others have supposed that upon that occasion after David crossed the Jordan, "He penned Psalms 42 and Psalms 43, `Looking back upon Jerusalem from the land of the Jordan' (Psalms 42:6)."[22]

THE SUICIDE OF AHITHOPHEL

Not only had Absalom's acceptance of Hushai's counsel assured the failure of Absalom's rebellion, it also spelled the end of Ahithophel's hope of getting control of the army, and, as far as he was concerned, that ended any reason he might have had for continuing to live. If Absalom lost his bid for the throne, Ahithophel would surely have been executed by David, and even if he had won, Ahithophel could never have prevented the execution of all David's sons, including his own beloved great-grandson Solomon. He simply decided to end it all by committing suicide.