Absalom brings matters to a head with a battle against David and his forces. David is forced to fight against his own son.
David’s prayer for help
Psalm 40:13-17, 70:1-5
His prayer of praise
Psalm 27
His cry for help
Psalm 69
The Lord our protector
Psalm 121
Absalom is slain
2 Samuel 18:1-18
Before we get into the action, we have several more Psalms. Psalm 27 is poignant - it talks about the abandonment of family, and how even if this happens, the Psalmist will still trust God. David’s son has abandoned his example and put his trust in his own abilities, which can be even crueller than being disowned by one’s parents, yet David still looks to God.
The choice of battlefield is curious - the armies seem to be fighting in a forest rather than an open plain. David is hoping that Absalom can be captured alive. And he nearly was. Undone by the forest, he is left hanging in a tree, and Joab decides to ignore his orders from the king and kills him then and there. Perhaps he was thinking what an arrogant young fool he was - even erecting a monument to himself. Perhaps he is thinking that David is soft concerning him, and for his own good he needs his general to do the hard thing. Whatever his thoughts, Absalom is dead and buried, and the revolt is crushed.
I always find Joab a fascinating character...he pulls so many strings, and David in the end warns Solomon to watch out for him. You can see why.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment on my blog - good to meet another person blogging the bible! Well done for getting this far - will be interesting to read your posts.
Thanks for stopping by, Lucy. I was ready for a little encouragement!
ReplyDeleteThe world needs a few people like Joab, but mostly they scare me to death.
This days's readings made me wonder where David's army came from. One moment he is fleeing to Mahanaim with some followers and his guards, the next he is organising a big army. My guess was from the outlying tribes, those east of the Jordan and some of those north of Ephraim.
ReplyDeleteYes, you could be right. My guess too is that more people remained loyal to David than the text suggests. There will be a natural tendency to paint David's situation as black as possible, so that when he wins through his triumph is all the more wonderful. Perhaps he could still call on a substantial fighting force.
DeleteHowever, the key for me was realising that David didn't see this as a victory, but a tragedy.