Absalom

 

    Absalom is King David's third son.  His name means "Father of Peace".  He was historically known as a beautiful man, but his ultimate sin was defying his father.  His betrayal left to his death, but he had a story to be told even if it does not have a happy ending.

    Absalom's mother was Maacah.  She was a princess.  He father was King Tamai of Geshur.  That is all we really know about her.  Since she grew up royal maybe she felt entitled.  Maybe she raised her son to feel entitled too.

    Absalom did have good qualities like loyalty.  When his half brother (Amnon) raped his sister, Tamar, he took her in.  Rape is a horrible crime, but even worse when it happens within the family.  The worst part is when a woman was raped, she was the one that was punished.  She bore his sin as if it were her own.  No man would marry Tamar after her brother stole her virtue, but Absalom still saw her virtue and loved her protectively.

    Absalom was loyal and dedicated, but he allowed it to lead to a vengeful side.  He never forgave Amnon or his father for how he handled the situation.   Had David punished Amnon, it may had ended there but David had a soft spot for his kids.  He had a hard time disciplining any of them.  He was a great rule, but not the best father because God commands His people to teach and discipline their children to follow Him.

    It was two years after the rape when Absalom finally was able to enact his revenge on Amnon for Tamar.  He had Amnon come to a celebratorily dinner in place of David.  He told his servants to wait until Amnon was good and drunk and Absalom would give them the signal to kill his brother.  His servants must have really loved or feared him because they did as he asked and Amnon was killed.  All the other princes fled.

    I don't know why Absalom chose to do it in such a public way.  Maybe he was making a very severe point.  If so he should have filled in his other brothers so they did not fear for their own lives.  He allowed a lot of witnesses to just leave.  News got to David pretty quickly and he mourned immediately over the horror.  

    Absalom planned this for two years and then just fled.  He must not have thought about how it would all end.  Once he did he was afraid for his own life.  He went to his grandfather in Geshur and stayed for three years.  

    Once David finished his mourning he realized he missed Absalom.  While Absalom was in Geshur he thrived.  His family thrived.  He was loved, but came back to Jerusalem when David beckoned him to return and promised not to kill him.  He lived in the city for two years without seeing his father.  He had not lost his flare for the dramatic, so he got Joab's attention to get to David.  It worked and David embraced his son back into the family.

    After that, Absalom's rebellion against his father began.  It was a horrible ordeal for the people.  A good leader would have considered the people it would affect, but he wanted revenge on David for allow nothing to happen to Amnon for his crime, but banishment for him for doing something about the first crime.  What he did not get is that one sin for another sin was not the way to righteousness.

    This family civil war lasted for a long time.  David fled because he did not want to fight his son.  He understood all the cost and that no one would win in the end.  He loved his son no matter what and did all he could to save Absalom's life.  Absalom just could not see it through all his anger and hatred.  His death was due to his vanity in his looks.  It led to a humiliating death with no honor.  

    It was a betrayal to David to kill Absalom, but Joab saw it a loyalty.  He knew that Absalom would never stop.  That this war would never end until one was dead and he was going to make sure that the one was not David.  This time David was not allowed to mourn.  If he mourned the son that caused the nation so much trouble, then it would be an insult to all the men who died for him and the men that still would fight for him.  It was a horrible ending for the prince, but far worst for the parent that survived.

2 Samuel 3:3, 13, 14:25-26, & 18