Lesson 11 - 2 Sam. 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 - THE DEATH OF ABSALOM
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in 2 Sam. 11:26-12:15, we heard Nathan the prophet go to David and tell him a parable about a rich man who owned huge flocks beyond number and a poor man who owned only one little ewe lamb that was precious to him, like a daughter. When a traveler came to the rich man's house as a guest, instead of taking one of his many animals to feed his guest, he took the poor man's lamb, slaughtered it, and fed it to the traveler. When David heard this, he was infuriated and said the rich man "deserved to die" (v. 5). Then, Nathan informed David, "You are the man!" Then because of David's sin (adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah), Nathan told him that "the sword shall never depart from your house" and that God "will raise up evil against you in your own household" (12:10-11). David repented and confessed, "I have sinned against the LORD" Yet, to his credit, David made no excuses, nor did he lash out at the prophet. This was a crucial moment: If David had persisted in his rebellion, the Lord surely would have brought him to his end. Yet, although God forgave David's sin, He didn't erase all the consequences for them.
This week, in 2 Sam. 18:5-9, 15, 31-33, we will cover the final battle that dealt with the rebellion of David's son, Absalom, and his death. We discover that Nathan's prophecy about David's house came true with tragic results and David's children ended up paying the price for his sin: (1) Bathsheba's child died (12:15-23); (2) David's son Amnon, raped his half-sister, Tamar (13:1-22); (3) Absalom avenged Tamar by killing Amnon (13:23-38); and (4) finally, Absalom rebelled against David's kinship (15:1-12).
Synopsis of skipped verses 1-4: To defeat the rebel forces of Absalom, David organized his army into three groups: one under Joab (his top general), another under Abishai (Joab's brother) and the last under Ittai the Gittite (from Gath). David initially had proposed to lead his armies, but his men dissuaded him, and David, uncharacteristically, agreed to their counsel. This isn't the David of old.
Read 2 Sam. 18:5 - DEAL GENTLY WITH ABSALOM FOR MY SAKE
5 But the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, "Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake." And all the people heard when the king commanded all the commanders regarding Absalom.
v. 5a-b: "But the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, "Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake." -David could not have been clearer: his commanders are ordered to "deal gently with...Absalom...for my sake." While deal gently is somewhat vague, there is no question about David's desire to make certain that Absalom's life should be preserved.
v. 5c: "And all the people heard when the king commanded all the commanders regarding Absalom." - David gave this command "before all the people" so that if anything bad happened to Absalom, nobody can claim that they didn't understand his instructions.
Read 2 Sam. 18:6-8 - THE SLAUGHTER THAT DAY WAS GREAT
6 Then the people went out to the field against Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 The people of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there that day was great, twenty thousand men. 8 For the battle there was spread over the whole countryside, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
v. 6: "Then the people went out to the field against Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim." - "Israel" is the rebellious force led by Absalom. The "forest of Ephraim" was a heavily wooded and hilly area about 20 miles north of Jerusalem. David's soldiers were trained professionals, whereas Absalom's troops weren't nearly as competent. Moreover, fighting in rough terrain like this forest provides a significant advantage to well-trained men like David's.
v. 7: "The people of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there that day was great, twenty thousand men. -The defeat of Absalom's force was total. The text implies that the 20,000 killed in this battle were Absalom's men, but that's not certain.
v. 8a: "For the battle there was spread over the whole countryside, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured." -David's army was divided into three mobile forces that took maximum advantage of the terrain so they could attack Absalom's forces from different directions. That it was "spread all over the whole countryside" suggests that it was a battle of pursuit, with David's soldiers running down and attacking the fleeing soldiers of Absalom's force.
v. 8b: "and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured." - This phrase confirms that the terrain played a key role in the army's overwhelming defeat of the rebel forces.
Read 2 Sam. 18:9 - ABSALOM'S HEAD CAUGHT FIRMLY IN THE OAK
9 Now Absalom encountered the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the branches of a massive oak. Then his head caught firmly in the oak, and he was left hanging between the sky and earth, while the mule that was under him kept going.
v. 9: The Septuagint (Greek version) of the OT depicts Absalom running ahead of David's soldiers when he becomes entrapped by a tree. He was mounted on mule, which due to their surefootedness and endurance, were frequently employed as royal mounts. Since Absalom was known for his luxuriant head of hair, classical illustrations of this scene depict him dangling from the tree by his hair; however, this text clearly reports that "his head (not his hair)...was firmly caught" in the branches of the tree; and as his mule continued forward, it left him trapped and exposed in the tree.
Synopsis of skipped vv. 10-13: When one of David's soldiers spotted Absalom dangling from the tree, he ran to Joab, David's leading general, and reported what he had seen. Joab tells the soldier if he had struck Absalom down, he would receive a reward. However, the soldier, mindful of David's order to not to harm Absalom, refused to commit this deed.
Read 2 Sam. 18:14-15 - SO JOAB TOOK THREE SPEARS IN HIS HAND
14 Then Joab said, "I will not waste time here with you." So he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the midst of the oak. 15 And ten young men who carried Joab's armor gathered around and struck Absalom and killed him.
v. 14: "Then Joab said, "I will not waste time here with you." So he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the midst of the oak." - Seeing Absalom alive and caught by the trees, Joab took three spears (darts in some translations) and stabbed them into Absalom's heart.
v. 15: "And ten young men who carried Joab's armor gathered around and struck Absalom and killed him." - Joab, while a fearless military leader, was also a devious and ungodly man who hated Absalom and wanted him dead. Even though three spears in the heart would suffice to kill anyone, Joab calls in his own soldiers to strike Absalom to make it appear that they inflicted the fatal blows.
Synopsis of skipped verses 19-30: Having killed Absalom, Joab now brings an end to the battle. He and his soldiers throw Absalom's dead body into a pit and cover it with stones. While this may seem to be crude, it was an acceptable form of burial in those times that would protect the body from scavenging animals. This hasty burial serves other purposes as well. Joab wanted to get this unpleasantness behind him as quickly as possible and does not want David to see his son's body. He also wants to rule the possibility of a holding a grand royal funeral for this rebellious son. Amihaz, the son of the high priest, volunteered to go inform David of Absalom's death, but Joab forbade him from doing it. Instead, Joab assigned the task to a Cushite (an Ethiopian). Scholars speculate that Joab did this because he considered the man to be more expendable. After the Cushite left, Amihaz followed him and passed him up arriving at the gate where David stood. He reported to David that "all is well." But when David inquired about Absalom, he only said there was a "great commotion" (vv. 28-29), a carefully veiled half-truth.
Read 2 Sam. 18:31-32 - THE LORD HAS FREED YOU FROM THOSE WHO ROSE AGAINST YOU
31 Then behold, the Cushite arrived, and the Cushite said, "Let my lord the king receive good news, for the Lord has freed you this day from the hand of all those who rose up against you." 32 Then the king said to the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" And the Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you for evil, be like that young man!"
v. 31: Then behold, the Cushite arrived, and the Cushite said, "Let my lord the king receive good news, for the Lord has freed you this day from the hand of all those who rose up against you." - The Cushite, who obviously understood the danger confronting David with the news of Absalom's death, reports his assessment of the battle in glowing terms-a complete victory in which "the Lord has freed you this day from the hand of all those who rose up against you." While he doesn't mention Absalom specifically, Absalom would be chief among "all those who rose up against you," leaving the strong implication that Absalom fell in battle with the others in his army.
v. 32a: "Then the king said to the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" - Speaking directly, David wants assurance that Absalom is alive and well. Notice that he doesn't refer to him as his son but as "the young man."
v. 32b: And the Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you for evil, be like that young man!" -Once again, the Cushite responds in a positive but indirect way: Instead of bluntly telling David that Absalom is dead, he tells the king that all who rise up against him should be "like that young man," in short, they should all be dead. The inescapable conclusion: Absalom is truly dead!
Read 2 Sam. 18:33 - O MY SON ABSALOM!
33 Then the king trembled and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And this is what he said as he walked: "My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!"
v. 33: We know that David is a deeply expressive and passionate man, and have seen it expressed in many situations: When he grieved over the deaths of both Saul and Jonathan, and even Abner, the commander of Saul's army who led various attempts to kill him. His allowed his passion for Bathsheba overtake him to the extent of having her husband, Uriah, murdered. He grieved greatly when Absalom killed his son Amnon. But nothing in David's passionate life has touched more deeply than the news of Absalom's death-by the hand of his own soldiers. In terms of grief, his outcry in this verse, "My son Absalom, my son Absalom" is only exceeded in Scripture by Jesus' cry on the cross, "My God, my God why have You forsaken me" (Matt. 27:46).
ENDNOTE: David continues to grieve publicly after his soldiers return from defeating Abslaom's rebellion. Joab rebuked David and warned him that his grief could put him in danger of losing the support of his army unless he thanked them for their success, and he thereafter followed Joab's advice (2 Sam. 19:1-8). The surprise is that David does not have Joab killed for his deliberate failure to preserve Absalom's life. On the other hand, we know that David doesn't have the whole story-that Joab personally put Absalom to death. All of these consequences flowed from David's sin with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah.
APPLICATION-Accepting the Consequences of Sin
When God confronts us with the consequences of our sin, we must (1) submit to Him and (2) accept how He decides to deal with us. David confessed his sin openly in last weeks' lesson and this week he was forced to accept the tragic consequences of God's judgment-the death of his son, Absalom. This reiterates the fact that, even though God forgives our sin, He does not remove all the severe consequences. God often deals harshly with us after we've sinned in order to vindicate His own righteousness and to impress upon us the utter seriousness of what we have done. And in today's example, God dealt very severely with David-the death of an infant son, a son killed because of another son's rape of his half-sister, and the death of a son who openly rebelled against him. If we are defiant, thinking that God has no right to treat us so severely, then we haven't truly confessed and submitted to Him.
