Image from biblereadingarcheology.com
The king gave orders to Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.’ And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom. So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword. Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him. Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, ‘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.’ The king said to the Cushite, ‘Is it well with the young man Absalom?’ The Cushite answered, ‘May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.’ The king was deeply moved, and 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 that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!’ (2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33)
May this be a wonderful Wednesday for you and yours, dear friend is my prayer. May time spent with God and His word speak to our hearts and needs; we seek to be more like Jesus in all our dealings.
A long engraved image in my head is one from a children's Bible picture of the hair of Absalom caught in an oak tree. It was an image that just struck me as sad. I shared a few Sundays ago about my desire to have long hair and at the time of my first seeing this image I could not image such hair, having a flat top on good days. The only thing my hair caught in those days were the hands of those who wanted to rub it. Yes, it feels like a brush; get away!
The story of King David and his life continues. After his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, and the chilling words of the prophet that the sword would never leave David's house, this comes true; Absalom felt he could better lead Israel and sets up a rebellion against his own father. David's army was far superior and with that thinking, the opening verses of today's passage has the king asking his generals to "deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom." This fell on deaf ears. A rebellion was a serious thing no matter who was doing it, and the generals and their armies were determined to deal with it in a way that sent a message to others who might harbor similar thoughts. The battle was fierce and David's army defeated the rebels; twenty thousand men were killed. The battle then spread throughout the country and more victims fell to the army's swords and arrows. The young man Absalom was forced to flee and as he fled his mule goes under an oak tree where his thick hair gets caught in the low lying branches of the oak, and the mule went riding off. Ten of General Joab's armor-bearers found him, surrounded him, and killed him. A messenger goes with what he believes to be the good news to the king.
David mourned the loss of his son. The sin of having disobeyed him to the point of leading an uprising against him mattered not; David loved Absalom and mourned his death. His own life was spared, yet the love of this father for his son could not see beyond the loss that was now present in his life. The story gets interesting in the next chapters (I couldn't wait and read ahead!). It speaks in the present passage, of the love most parents have for their children. It takes a lot for fathers and mothers to reach a point where they begin to not love their children. Many were the things I did against my dad that got me some talking-to's and some shouts of disapproval, but never did they reach the point of my believing my dad did not love me. I know it was my father's deep love of God and his desire to be a man of prayer and faith that kept our relationship strong. The lesson we learn is to trust God to provide to us the love, wisdom, strength we need to faithfully deal with challenges that may come to us as parents or grandparents. I am thankful I never brought my dad more than he could handle. I knew enough to steer clear of the greater ills out there; I said no to drugs, even alcohol, tobacco, and the list goes on and on. Some parents cannot say that; their children may have crossed some delicate lines and only God's grace can help parents and children in those situations. All matters between parents and children should begin and stay handled with prayer.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, bless my children and the little ones around me. I ask that You bless me with Your wisdom, peace, patience, and love. May the difficult decisions that come my way be blessed with Your strength, to deal in ways that affirm our faith in You and the sanctity of life. Always allow us to deal with things with Your mind and eyes. This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! May we truly be God-like today in all of our relationships.
Eradio Valverde
