The King's Friend

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 15:32-37

1 Chronicles 27:33 “…Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend.”

Friend. That’s a good title to have, don’t you think? 1 Chronicles lists all of David’s overseers. One was in charge of the royal storehouses. One was in charge of the workers who farmed the land. One took care of the king’s sons. The list goes on. Then, at the end of the list it simply says, “Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend.” When I read that I wondered what David and his friend would have done together. They probably didn’t go to lunch or play golf. How did Hushai come to be called the king’s friend? I would like to be THE KING’S friend. At some point they must have spent some time together developing this friendship. Wouldn’t it be cool to be a friend to King Jesus? Wouldn’t you like to just hang out with Him? So I looked to see what fun things Hushai and David did together. The only place I found him mentioned again was in 2 Samuel 15-17. David’s son, Absalom, had just carried out his conspiracy to take the kingdom from David. When David arrived at the summit where people used to worship God, Hushai met him there, mourning. Maybe he just wanted to be with his friend during this difficult time. But David told Hushai that if he continued on with him he would be a burden. Then David gave him an assignment which he willingly completed. In John 15:14, Jesus said, “You are my friends if you obey me.” So, joyfully doing what needs to be done earns us the title of Jesus’ friend.

I have a friend like Hushai. I love spending time with her, but our schedules don’t allow us to do that very often. If I needed someone to pray with me a 2 AM, I wouldn’t hesitate to call her. And if she knows I have a need, she is always right there with me doing whatever she can to help. Friendship isn’t just about all the time we spend together. It isn’t about the fun things we do together. It’s about always choosing to act in your friend’s best interest.