II Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 is part of a larger section, 17:24-19:8a, that recounts the defeat and death of Absalom.
18:5 The king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man (or my boy) Absalom,” an endearing reference despite his criminal behavior. Moreover, all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom. The desire to deal gently with Absalom may be a sign of a readiness to forgive. It may also be a sign of his continuing weakness as a father. It shows his confidence in victory. 18:6 Therefore, the army went out into the field against Israel, the usual term in this account for the rebels; and they fought the battle in the forest of Ephraim. 7 The servants of David defeated the men of Israel, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword. The vast amount of cover puts the "host" under a disadvantage, while there is a mixture of deep undergrowth, rocks, as well as towering trees. 18:9 Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Unlike David, Absalom participates in the battle, as suggested by Hushai (II Samuel 17:11). Absalom was riding on his mule, the preferred form of transportation by the royal family, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head (hair, which he weighed when he cut it once a year, indicating that it was his pride that was his undoing) caught fast in the oak, as he hung between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. Absalom falls victim to the forest. He cannot free himself. 18:15 Further, ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him. The other soldiers finish him off. 18:31 Then the Cushite (Negro, possibly a close slave to the king) came; and the Cushite said, using diplomatic language, “Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.” 32 The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite answered, answering indirectly but unambiguously in hinting that Absalom was a rebel, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.” Divine justice is done. The servants of David won the battle in the forest of Ephraim. David wanted the life of Absalom spared, but Joab had him killed. He famously offers the lament. 33The news deeply moved the king, and he went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” David turns victory into mourning. His personal lament consists of short cries, repeatedly saying the name of the beloved son.
This sad and tragic account of David's loss of a son circles back to David himself and his sins of omission. Absalom's hatred of his father begins when his half-brother Amnon (David's first son) rapes Absalom's full sister, Tamar. Both Absalom and his mother, Maacah (and Tamar's mother; cf. 1 Chronicles 3:2), expected the king to do something when he was made aware of it. But David refused to provide justice in this case of sexual assault and abuse. You can see the obvious parallels to our contemporary context. Therefore, biding his time, Absalom killed his half-brother Amnon, the rapist, and fled the country for a while. He then led an unsuccessful revolt, where the handsome but hapless lad met his fate. David, then, has lost his child born to Bathsheba, lost his firstborn Amnon and lost his third son, Absalom, whom he loved dearly. Not to speak of the trauma inflicted upon his daughter, Tamar. There is no record that he shed tears over her rape. The story is touching because of David's sorrow for Absalom. What is missing is David's sorrow for Absalom's sister. No wonder Absalom, while campaigning for his father's job, said, "Your claims are good and right, but there is no one deputed by the king to hear you ... If only I were judge in the land! Then all who had a suit or cause might come to me and I would give them justice" (15:3-4).
Reading the story of David after his victorious rise to be king invites us to reflect upon the dark, uneasy world of family life, where the greatest can fall.[1] At this point, King David has public success and private tragedy. David wanted to preserve his kingdom, a kingdom that had brought prominence and power to Israel. Nevertheless, the cost of preserving his rule was higher than David imagined in the death of his son. When David wails that he wishes he had died rather than his son Absalom, I think he is speaking truthfully. Nevertheless, he cannot do this. Parents like David wish that they could stand in for their children. They would like to take the blows that life sometimes brings upon them and sometimes they bring upon themselves. Of course, only they can live their lives. This story lets us know that unhappiness, tragedy, and regret are part of loving and living in a family. It was true for King David; it is true at your house and mine. We are in a mess, particularly in our families. There is regret and things do not turn out as we had planned. We cannot get everything together. We cannot make it all work out right. If our own families hurt us, how much more must God be hurting for the faults and foibles of humanity, who God considers family? What is to become of the troubled family of David?
No comments:
Post a Comment