2Samuel 18:5 The
king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, "Be gentle with the young man
Absalom for my sake." And all the troops heard the king giving orders
concerning Absalom to each of the commanders. 6 David's army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and
the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There Israel's troops were
routed by David's men, and the casualties that day were great--twenty thousand
men. 8 The battle
spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men
that day than the sword. 9 Now
Absalom happened to meet David's men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule
went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom's hair got caught in
the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on
going. 15 And
ten of Joab's armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed
him. 31 Then the
Cushite arrived and said, "My lord the king, hear the good news! The LORD
has vindicated you today by delivering you from the hand of all who rose up
against you." 32 The
king asked the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" The Cushite
replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm
you be like that young man." 33 The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and
wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If
only I had died instead of you--O Absalom, my son, my son!"
The David Saga, Pt 10. From the Sundays & Seasons lesson
commentary: This reading describes some of the troubles in King David’s
family. His son Absalom has amassed an army and seized David’s throne. Those
loyal to David fight Absalom’s forces and defeat them. David himself is chiefly
concerned about the well-being of his son, even though that son has betrayed
him.
A lot of time has passed since the last 2 weeks and
the episode with Bathsheba--perhaps as much as ten years. In that time,
however, the judgment oracle from the prophet Nathan has come true: "This
is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity
on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who
is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did
it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel'
" (2Samuel 12:11-12). In other words, the biblical writer is
telling us that the events that unfold continue to address the aftermath of
David’s affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. That set of sinful
actions provoked a curse from God on David. Absalom had revolted against his
father’s reign, gathered an army around himself, taking over the palace in
Jerusalem and forcing David to flee. After which, he publicly raped his
father’s leading concubines on the roof of the palace in as a show of
'ownership' and as part of his coup d’état. Absalom then set his army out to
attack and destroy David’s remaining army (see chapters 15-18). Even so, David
ordered his army commanders to “deal gently” with Absalom.
Contrary to
original plans, the battle was fought primarily in the forests of the territory
of Ephraim. That location proved treacherous for Absalom’s army and Absalom
himself (18:8). He, like many of his men, found themselves knocked helpless or
stuck in the trees. When Absalom became
stuck in a tree (by his hair), the armor bearers of Joab (David’s commander)
killed him on the spot—hardly “dealing gently” as David had ordered.
There are a
lot of unanswered questions in the narrative, such as, what were Absalom's
motivations for rebelling? Looking at it strictly from the standpoint of
'primogenitor,' Absalom perhaps considered that he was "next in line"
for the throne, yet his father didn't seem to see it that way. The text
surrounding the birth of the much younger son Solomon is somewhat cryptic in
terms of his importance, but we find these words in 2Samuel 12:24-25: Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba,
and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they
named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; and because the LORD loved him, he sent
word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. This detail of the
Lord's "love" and the special name seem to signify an early sign that
Solomon was God's choice to succeed David. This, by the way, is a recurrent
theme in the Bible; God frequently chooses the smallest, weakest, youngest,
etc.
Regardless,
it seems clear to Absalom that if the only way he's going to get the thrown is
to take it. He begins a crafty PR campaign with the people (2Samuel 15), while
at the same time amassing an army to defeat his father. But David, though
perhaps over sixty years old by this time, is a seasoned veteran of many
military campaigns; and David is still the
Lord's anointed. And so Absalom's rebellion comes to naught.
It's
interesting to see how lectionary commentators throw up their hands with this
passage. One even suggested that there was "no good news," and so
that is perhaps the message the preacher must focus on; sometimes the Bible
tells us that life can be so messed up that there's no good news. While it may
in fact be the case that life can be so messed up that good news is lacking, it
seems strange to me to imply that the Bible has no counter-message. To be
clear, I recognize David's deep grief in this passage: he no doubt grieves the
fact that ALL of this was a result of the curse oracle he brought upon
himself way back in chapter 12. He, no doubt, grieves the fact that his
family is in tatters. He no doubt grieves the fact that his kingdom hangs by a
thread. And ultimately, as we know from the text, he deeply grieves that his
own son has rebelled... and now has been killed.
But grief
isn't the ONLY theme in this passage--especially from a Christian perspective.
The last phrase of the text has immense theological
significance: O my son Absalom! My son,
my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you. David not only laments the loss of his
rebellious son, he also laments the fact that he would gladly have taken
Absalom's place. Had it been possible, David would willingly have laid down his
life for his rebellious son. I cannot help but think of David's ultimate heir, who would come: When the fullness of time had come, God
sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were
under the law, so that we might receive adoption (Gal 4:4-5); And who
willingly laid down his life for all of rebellious humanity: This is how we know what love is: Jesus
Christ laid down his life for us (1John 3:16); and not merely as a symbolic
act of martyrdom, but as the ultimate, tangible act of reconciliation between
God and humanity: For God made Christ,
who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made
right with God through Christ. (2Cor 5:21).
Cheers,
T.M.
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