King David’s son Absalom turned out to be trouble. With a combination of vanity and hunger of power, Absalom decided that he should have the kingship instead of his father, and he tricked the people of Israel into supporting him. David actually had to flee from Jerusalem, mourning the painful betrayal by his own son.
Soon war broke out between David and Absalom. David had no choice but to fight, but he made his wishes clear with regard to his son. The young man was not to be killed. No matter what Absalom had done, David still loved him and was determined to spare his life.
As the battle progressed, David’s army took the upper hand and put Absalom’s followers to flight. Absalom, riding along on his mule, ended up in major trouble. He always had an obsession with his hair, so it is more than a little ironic that his hair (probably highly styled) caught on the branches of a big tree. The mule kept right on going, leaving Absalom hanging by his hair.
This would have been funny (and rather is in any case) but for the results. One of David’s men noticed Absalom’s predicament and hurried to tell David’s commander, Joab. Joab asked the man why he didn’t kill Absalom outright. He would have had a fine reward. But the man remembered David’s orders; he wouldn’t touch the king’s son for any money.
Joab, disgusted, grabbed three darts and put them directly into Absalom’s heart as the young man hung helpless from the tree. Some of the young men in Joab’s company finished off the prince and threw his body in a pit in the forest. Joab thought he had won a great victory, but he was forgetting something important.
When David heard that his son was dead, he broke down and wept, crying out, “O my son Absalom, my son, my Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” The army’s victory crumbled, and the men crept back to the city like dogs with tails between their legs. The king’s grief shamed them.
But Joab was more disgusted than ever. He approached David with a dose a reality. David’s servants had saved the king’s life and reign by their courage that very day, yet David appeared anything but grateful. Joab essentially told him to stop carrying on and go out and talk to his people with gratitude and encouragement. Otherwise, the king would have no people by nightfall. Joab even dared to tell David, “I perceive that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased.”
It was harsh, but there was truth to it. Yes, Joab had disobeyed the king’s orders, but apparently he didn’t regret it. And he did have a point about David’s less-than-kingly behavior. The situation was complex and dangerous. If Absalom had lived, what would David have done? Simply let him go? No, rebellion could not be ignored; it had to have terrible consequences, as troubling as that may have been.
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