Absalom’s defeat and death
So David gathers the force of all the men with him, appointing captains and generals to lead them. He sent his troops out in three groups, and he also went out with his troops. Some of the men, though, tell David not to come out, as they say Absalom’s men are only looking for him and he is worth 10,000 of them, so he should just stay behind and send help as it is needed. David says that he will do that if they really think that’s best. So the king does this. Also, he tells the three commanders/generals to “deal gently with young Absalom” for his sake. So the battle begins, and David’s men take the lead towards victory. 20,000 men die that day, a lot of them dying due to the forest they were fighting in.
In the battle, Absalom’s hair, while he is riding by, gets tangled in a tree. Absalom ends up caught and dangling from this tree. One of David’s men finds him, but instead of killing him goes and tells Joab, their commander. Joab asks why they didn’t kill him, saying he would have rewarded them! The man says that everyone heard David ask that his son be spared, and he would not betray his king by killing the king’s son. Joab, though, calls it nonsense and has his men kill Absalom. They then bury Absalom in a forest pit underneath piled up stones. Joab blows the ram’s horn to call David’s men back, and Israel flees to their homes. Absalom had, in his lifetime, built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, as he said “I have no son to carry on my name.” This monument, from them on, has been known as Absalom’s monument.
What stands out most to me is probably the fact that David asks that Absalom not be killed. We are called to love everyone. It’s easy to love some people. Some people are just really easy to get along with. They have funny stories, they’re good at listening, they’re always nice, etc. Then there are those people who we find it hard to get along with. Maybe they talk too much, or they’re boring, or they don’t ever listen to us and it’s always about them. Sometimes people just do little things that bug us. We are challenged every day to love people who we may see, without God’s love, as unlovable. Sometimes it’s even people who we USED to love, and then they changed or we changed, or something happened between us and suddenly we just can’t love them like we used to. (Also, note, I don’t mean love in any of this in the romantic sense. I mean just the general love we should show all people. Romantic love’s a whole other topic I’m not getting into on this. So keep in mind when I’m talking about love I mean friend/family love.) Now, let’s look at David. Yes, Absalom was his son. However, this kid also threw his dad out of the throne, basically threatening to kill him if he didn’t up and leave on his own (he had a rebellion ready to start a war). In fact, Absalom is STILL seeking to kill David, his father. David KNOWS this, yet he still does not want his son to be killed. After all the things Absalom has done, David still loves him as his son. So the next time you’re feeling challenged to love somebody for whatever reason, I challenge you (as I am challenging myself as well) to think of David and Absalom. No matter what wrong they may have done, even against us, we should still be able to show them love, as God still loves us so we should still love them.
Well, that shall be all! God bless! Shalom!
P.S. The reasoning for this being late is the same as yesterday's. I had it typed but my internet wouldn't let me put it up. And unlike Monday's I wasn't able to upload from school as I was home Wednesday and then Thursday was a snow day so I wasn't there either day.
No comments:
Post a Comment