2 Samuel 18:1 – 13 “Then David reviewed his troops and appointed over them commanders of hundreds and of thousands. He sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the troops, “I will surely march out with you as well.”
But the people pleaded, “You must not go out! For if we have to flee, they will pay no attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It is better for now if you support us from the city.”
“I will do whatever seems best to you,” the king replied. So, he stood beside the gate, while all the troops marched out by hundreds and by thousands. Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” And all the people heard the king’s orders to each of the commanders regarding Absalom.
So, David’s army marched into the field to engage Israel in the battle, which took place in the forest of Ephraim. There the people of Israel were defeated by David’s servants, and the slaughter was great that day—twenty thousand men. The battle spread over the whole countryside, and that day the forest devoured more people than the sword.
Now Absalom was riding on his mule when he met the servants of David, and as the mule went under the tangled branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so that he was suspended in midair. When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”
“You just saw him!” Joab exclaimed. “Why did you not strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a warrior’s belt!”
The man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels of silver were weighed out into my hands, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. For we heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake. ’ If I had jeopardized my own life —and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have abandoned me.”
But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree. And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him.
Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab had restrained them. They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.
During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So, he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.”
Remember Absalom and his incredible hair? Every year Absalom would cut five pounds, 2.3 kg, of hair from his head. In an earlier day and age, a woman’s hair was referred to as her “crowning glory.” Now Absalom’s crowning glory will become his undoing.
Following Hushai’s advice, Absalom heads a huge army to attack David. But as a savvy military commander, David divides his forces into three groups, headed by Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, and then subdivides those forces into groups of thousands and hundreds. No coward, David is prepared to march out with his forces; however, David’s people sensibly point out that he is the main target. Far better for David to remain behind in the city than for him to be captured. This statement by David’s followers indicates their degree of loyalty and proves that David still enjoys strong support in Israel.
The battle takes place in the forest of Ephraim, a mountainous area east of the Jordan River. Parts of this area are still heavily wooded, and the rugged terrain could easily kill careless people fleeing for their lives. This photo shows that area as it is today; however, in ancient times, the woods were probably far denser than they are now. Twenty thousand men die that day, and the forest accounts for more of the deaths than do the soldiers.
As the armies are setting off, David orders the commanders to be gentle with Absalom for David’s sake, but that doesn’t happen. Lacking organized leadership, Absalom’s forces are in retreat all over the countryside. When Absalom meets David’s soldiers, he turns his mule around and attempts to run away; however, that gorgeous hair gets caught in low – lying branches. The mule gallops off, leaving Absalom hanging in the tree by his hair. A foot soldier sensibly reports Absalom’s plight to Joab, who explodes in anger. When this soldier refuses to kill Absalom for fear of reprisals by David, Joab finds Absalom and thrusts three spears through his heart. Ten young men in Joab’s body guard then finish Absalom off. Joab blows his ram’s horn to call off his troops and then buries Absalom in a pit in the forests, raising a large pile of stones over the body. At this point, all the Israelites flee to their homes. Nobody wants to wait to see what David will do now that Absalom is dead.
Why is Joab willing to kill Absalom, despite David’s orders to the contrary? When David wanted to eliminate Uriah, he ordered Joab to send Uriah to the hottest part of the battle. In effect, Joab was forced to act as David’s executioner. Joab is still smarting at his unwilling part in the death of an outstanding soldier. Earlier, Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner in cold blood as revenge for Abner’s killing of Joab’s brother, Asahel at the Battle of Gibeon. Traditionally, a death in battle would not demand vengeance, and in fact, Abner tried to warn Asahel to stop following him and to leave off the attack. Joab has a grudge against David, and Joab also recognizes that a live Absalom might escape and start rebellion all over again. Given the opportunity, Joab feels secure in ignoring David’s orders and permanently eliminating a threat to the throne. (Perhaps Joab is also angry that Absalom has not invited Joab to head his army, but has chosen Amasa instead.)
The final comments are very interesting. Despite the fact that Absalom could be a male model and despite the fact that he has had no trouble having sex with ten women in public, Absalom has never fathered a son. In the end, Absalom’s only memorial is a pillar he has raised for himself in the King’s Valley, a sad testimonial to a supremely gifted individual who has wasted his life.
APPLICATION: The story of Absalom is a tangled one, demonstrating how far the Israelites have strayed from the Laws of Moses. In Deuteronomy 17:14 – 20, Moses sets out rules for kingship. Unfortunately, despite David’s relationship with the Lord, he seems unaware of these rules. 14 “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. 18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel. The king is not to multiply horses or wives and the king is charged to write a copy of the law for himself to study it all the days of his life “that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.”
Why hasn’t David obeyed these commands of God? There is nothing to indicate that David’s father Jesse was a man of faith. David himself may have been the son of a less favorite wife or even of a concubine; that would certainly explain Jesse’s willingness to send David out to risk his life herding sheep. No, David has not learned about the Lord from his father; David has had personal encounters with the Lord in the wilderness. Perhaps nobody has ever taught David the Laws of Moses, and he is unaware of these commands. Perhaps David has felt that he is too busy and has depended on the priests to interpret God’s Law for him. Failing to have a personal knowledge of God’s Word, David has patterned his life after that of Saul and other kings around him.
David has done well in refusing to amass a large cavalry; however, he has taken numerous wives and concubines, and he has not made a copy of the Law for himself to study. In polygamous situations, fathering children becomes a form of keeping score, and the only parental guidance the children may receive will likely come from their mothers. Absalom and Tamar’s mother is a princess from Geshur, a kingdom east of the Jordan River in the area of the Golan Heights. According to Wikipedia, the people of Geshur worshiped a moon god in the form of a bull and may also have incorporated Egyptian deities into their religion. David’s polygamy has left his children with confused loyalties and no spiritual foundation.
“But,” you say, “I come from a broken home, and I don’t have any good models for fatherhood. My mother was too busy supporting us to give very much guidance.” All human parents fail at some point; that’s why we need to learn as much as we can about our perfect Heavenly Father. God is the perfect Father, and the more we learn about Him, the more effectively we will be able to parent. God also has instituted motherhood, and God is the One who can guide us so that those of us who are mothers can fulfill our roles successfully. Ask God for help! Ask God for guidance! God will never ignore someone who is sincerely seeking His help. The one thing we must not do is to ignore God’s Word. Failing to study God’s Word and to teach it to our children will leave our children hanging and vulnerable, just like Absalom.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, all of us need guidance as parents and grandparents, as leaders. Speak to our hearts and teach us Your ways, so that those who depend on us will not be left hanging. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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