God s word of judgment against him, and David s infant son had died. It is a

Transcription

1 2 Samuel 18:4-14, The Prince and the King When we left King David last week, in chapter 12, the prophet Nathan had spoken God s word of judgment against him, and David s infant son had died. It is a watershed moment in David s life and in his reign over the nation. But in chapter 13, the scene changes, and Absalom is introduced. And as we read these chapters and their description of him, it is no exaggeration to say he was almost a clone of his father: so passionate, cunning, handsome- from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him (14:25); and charismatic, too- the hearts of Israel have gone after Absalom (15:13), so one observer told David. It appears the fortunes of Absalom are on the upswing, while David s life and circumstances have declined after the death of his and Bathsheba s child. And they fall even farther as David s eldest son becomes obsessed with Tamar, Absalom s beautiful sister- and his half-sister- he calls it love, until he overpowers and rapes her. Absalom, of course, wants revenge, but he bides his time; two years he waits, and then he has his brother killed. And he flees the country to live with his grandfather, the king of Geshur. Another three years pass before David can be convinced to let Absalom return home, and two years more before the king agrees to meet and reconcile with his son.

2 So much time passing by for a young man, but Absalom is back where he wants to be, in Jerusalem, and so, he got himself a chariot, and a band of friends to ride with him. Every morning he takes a place at the city gates, meeting those who are coming to the king s court; and there he speaks glib promises, tells them that if he were the judge in the land, justice would at last be honestly administered. Two years of this, showing off in the new vehicle, and making easy campaign promises- which he could never keep- making friends, more and more of them, until he is ready for revolution. When he goes out of town to muster his resources and volunteers, David discovers the plot and makes a quick retreat from the capital city- weeping, and barefoot, we are told. So, just days later, with no resistance, Absalom enters Jerusalem as the new king, while David is on the run, east of the Jordan, calling on his supporters, waiting for information from his spies of Absalom s strategy for war. That is where we are at the start of chapter 18: the nation at war with itself. But it s a very brief war: with David and his three experienced generals knowing ahead of time the rebel war plans, Absalom is lost. By the time Absalom s flowing hair gets caught up in the branches of the oak tree, the old king has already won back his throne. Absalom is killed, and his army routed.

3 We can tell the story in a very straightforward manner, except it isn t a straightforward story; it is complex. As complex as human emotions, fear and sorrow and anger; and the complex motivations of these main actors, lust and ambition. Can we really know what caused this well-favored man, Absalom, to go bad? He must have felt ill-used by his father, the king. The scripture tells us that David was very angry about the rape of Tamar, but seemingly never did a thing about it; it must have infuriated Absalom. For two years David never sought justice for his abused daughter, and then those two years passed and David lost another child, when Absalom killed his brother. Three more years and Absalom is summoned back to Jerusalem, but two years beyond that before David will consent to meet him. What had happened in all that time? At some point along the way, Absalom developed this scheme: to make himself noticed and beloved and followed. Was it his anger and a sense of injustice that became a desire to overthrow the king; or was Absalom simply ambitious, like his father, thinking his time had come, and that he is ready now to lead men to war? Absalom s motives are not completely clear, but David s are truly hidden from us. During almost the entire time of this narrative, the spirited, dynamic David we know from earlier passages is absent; David is disengaged and inactive;

4 more often than not in these verses he is not even named but rather called the king, as though he is someone else- surely not the man we would recognize. We do not see him interacting with any of his intimates- he does not speak to Absalom or Tamar or his son, the rapist. Everything we love about David is missing here: the victories, his certainty of God s presence; and as well the personal drive, the self assurance, the zest for life- traits he possessed in great measure (though they are the same attributes that got him in trouble). So that now he must feel like a man who has outlived his time- had maybe felt that weight of mortality for a long while: his words when Bathsheba s child died are very revealing, when David said, I cannot bring him back; he will not return to me, but I will go to him. From that point on, did all of life become a burden to him? So that now, he is a king on a throne without purpose, and overcome by failure and a sense of doom, or grief and shame. And maybe that s why the hearts of all of Israel went out to Absalom: he was what they had lost in David. Well, for us, aren t we kind of overwhelmed by David, by all the more familiar passages we read about him in scripture? He is bigger than life: we hear his name and remember he is the poet and musician and warrior; he is the

5 handsome youth so easily loved by men and women; he is the one who led the nation to victory time and again; the one who exclaimed to Goliath, today I will give your body to the birds and the beasts, and all the world will know there is a God in Israel ; and then he killed him with one smooth stone. We know David s story, and despite his sin with Bathsheba and his plot to kill her husband, we cannot help but love him: he is the man after God s own heart, and the man who won our hearts, too. We are infatuated with him, like the women who came out to sing and dance for him; he was the ideal man, with his auburn hair and beautiful face, so strong and honorable: we love him as our hero. But what can we say, to see him weakened and distraught? What is God s good news to us in David s story? Even in the violent portions of the Bible, and the death of loved ones? This is the good news: that when that part of the story is past, God is still there; still loves, and meets us in our efforts to forgive one another for all the suffering; and, as chapter 19 shows us, as we try to recreate community and a new sense of fellowship- with friends and with enemies; God loves, and meets us as we learn again how to make peace.

6 David is not just an impossible, ideal man, he is the representative for humanity. His story is our story. His experiences are not foreign to us; his feelings and longings and sufferings are just like ours; like this reading today, of the long years of shame and mourning; and now betrayal and rebellion, and the death of his fairhaired son- another one gone from him. So that the only future before him is darkness. Ever felt like that? David s anguish is profound, absolute. Kingship didn t matter any more, or power, or long life: he is at the end of meaning; he covers his face- as though he can s bear to see any more suffering, and he weeps and cries out, Absalom, Absalom, O my son! It is a pitiable scene. Is it just a good story, another epic tragedy, or can it have anything to do with us? Yes, I think it can. When we see that even in deep sorrow, David is called back to his duty, and reconciles with his people, even with those who rebelled against him. That even in his grief, he kept faith with God, so that the writer can place the words of David s psalm within the narrative (chapter 22), The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, my deliverer; waves of death encompassed me, snares of death confronted me; but in my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears, and he saved me from my enemies. This is how he is our representative, not as someone better than us because he s richer or better looking

7 or king, after all- or someone we aspire to emulate for the sake of these things- but as someone who shows us purpose and meaning and hope beyond our losses and illness and disappointments and pain; someone who doesn t desert his friends, and who gives God praise and thanks in every situation. Life is hard- don t we know it, and David knew it. We will hurt sometimes, and there may be a lot of crying involved, but we are not alone. That is the promise of God, and the truth of scripture, from beginning to end.