Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. Joab was the commander of the royal army.

1 Chronicles 27:32-34

32 Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of insight and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hakmoni took care of the king’s sons.
33 Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai the Arkite was the king’s confidant. 34 Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. Joab was the commander of the royal army.

“Excellency Or Trust”

David’s kingdom was great by all standards. It was huge and expansive encompassing vast territories and people. He had a great army with dedicated generals and warriors. They were invincible. He also built a great administration system to rule the nation. It was all intricately organized from top to bottom. David, by God’s grace, was able to make the most of huge physical resources as well as enormous human resources. The Book of Chronicles contains the meticulous records of all the generals and leaders. Today’s passage is the climax of the list of the enormous human resources at the disposal of David. The list shows the people whom David most intimately consulted. Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of insight, and ascribe. An uncle with insight and biblical knowledge will make a good counselor. There is another counselor named Ahithophel. He was called “king’s counselor”. Unlike Jonathan, Ahithophel was probably chosen just for his excellent sagacity. Then there was Hushai the Arkite who was the king’s confidant. We are not quite sure whether the confidant was an office or not. But if it was an office, the main function of it must have been to become someone that the king could talk to freely opening up his hearts. If Ahithophel was a man of excellency, Hushai was a man of trust. And the two men went in totally opposite ways in times of crisis. When Absalom, who was David’s most favorite son revolted later, Ahithophel joined in Absalom against David. Hushai kept his trust in David. The bible clearly shows that the relationship of trust is better than excellence. God is trustworthy. He clearly wants us to be trustworthy, whether we are excellent or not. I am glad that God gave us His Son as our friend like Hushai with whom we could trust. But are we truly living as His friend as trustworthy as Hushai?