2 SAMUEL 18
Read 2 Samuel 18:1-33
The time for talking and for politics has come to an end. Who is to be king of Israel will be settled in battle. Will it be the popular poster boy, Absalom, who with a dynamic campaign won the hearts and minds of the people? Or will it be his father, the Lord’s anointed one, David? The whole situation is a mess. David is the rightful king of Israel and wants to defeat his son in battle. But Absalom is his son and he doesn’t want him hurt, and David said to generals, ‘Be gentle with the young man Absalom’ (v5). How is that going to work in the heat of battle? David had the grace to listen to his advisers and did not take part in the battle because he would be a target and if David were killed then everything would be over.
And it all ended in the strangest of ways. David’s army got the upper hand. Absalom became separated from his men, and his flowing locks, which had brought him so many admirers, got tangled in overhanging branches and he was left hanging there to be captured and to come to an unsavoury end. And Absalom, the usurper, who had made a monument to his own glory (v18) ended up entombed in a pile of rocks which were a monument to his vainglory and his sin in trying to overthrow the Lord’s anointed, the Lord’s chosen king.
David received the news from two messengers. The first only reported that victory belonged to David. But, despite Absalom’s disloyalty towards his father, David wanted to know about the fate of his son. The second messenger came and told the whole truth; David’s army was victorious, but Absalom was dead. David was distraught and went into mourning. Yes, he had won then battle, he was the rightful king of Israel again; but he had lost a son. It was a sad triumph indeed. In family disputes so often nobody comes as a winner.
But where was God in all this we might ask again. He is barely mentioned in the narrative. He is given credit for bringing the victory to David’s army (vv19, 28, 30) but there is a sense that he is (again) working behind the scenes to bring about his desired result. David’s army was under pressure; it was Absalom’s that was on the front foot attacking. Yet the Lord gave victory to David against the odds. And the reason, as we have seen before, is that David was the Lord’s choice as king. When Absalom took the position of king he was not only opposing his father David, he was also opposing the Lord. And opposition to the Lord leads to judgement. Absalom’s capture on the battlefield was most unusual; another sign that God is sovereign and showing that his will be done?
Sometimes God allows sinners to prosper for a while, like Absalom, but ultimately all are accountable to him. The Old and New Testaments both tell us again and again that we will be judged and that all have fallen short. Thank God for Jesus, that he took our sins upon himself on the cross, so that in the final judgement we will have nothing bad to account for!