My Lord, you have another son! Born just now.

Transcription

1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. Episode 11 - AbsALOm

2 Absalom! No! You must learn to drop your left shoulder AND your head when he comes at you with the sword. My Lord, you have another son! Born just now. Amnon day after day I ve watched you. Why are you so sad? You are the king s son! Tamar?! Your sister? Amnon, it s not love it s just lust. there must be some way for you to lure her to you... It s Tamar. I m sick I m sick in love with her Absalom s fullblooded sister? Listen, I have an idea THEN, you have an opening for his belly. Good!...And who is the mother? Amnon, what s wrong with you? I hear you re sick. I ll get the healer. No, please, father. I would just like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Welcome into this world, my brother my half-brother. I am, father. Very sick. What will his name be? How could this get any worse? Tamar is sooo beautiful. Let her prepare the food here, so I may watch her prepare it, and eat it from her hand. I don t know. David said if it was a boy, he wanted to name him Elpelet. It means god is deliverance. Send everyone out of here. And then I will eat. 95

3 Get up! Get out! I hate you! You are despicable! Come to bed with me! Get out! NO! No, don t do this brother! How could I get rid of my disgrace? NO! Sending me away would be more wrong than what you ve already done to me! Get this woman out of here! And bolt the door behind her. This is wrong. And you? You would be like one of the wicked fools of Israel! wracked with guilt, tamar covers herself with dirt. Please please, speak to the king. He will not keep me from being married to you. NOOOO! 97

4 Sister, has that halfwit brother been with you? His lust for you is no secret you know Be quiet now, my sister, he is your brother. This wrong he has done you Upon hearing the news, David was furious, but did nothing to punish his oldest do not take it to heart son; and Absalom never said a word to Amnon, but hated him for later AND WITH THAT, MEN, The time has come! AAAARGhhh!! come, you will live in my house. disgracing his sister. Tomorrow we will shear Absalom s sheep. But tonight, men, we eat, and we drink! two years later... sheep shearing time Please, father, come with us. At least let Amnon come. Father, my sheep shearers are gathered at Baal Hazor. Will you join us, and bring my brothers? No, my son, we would only get in your way. Why should Amnon go with you? Because I could use his help. Please, father Very well, then, take all your brothers But I will stay here. don t do this! Listen, men. Amnon is coming with us. There will be a feast. When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine, I will give the word and you are to strike him down. Don t be afraid. Amnon is a dead man! Kill him! I, Absalom, have given this order. Be brave. be strong. 99

5 Absalom has struck down all the king s sons! Not one of them is left! NOOOOOO!!! Oh, God, Oh God. My lord! Do not believe the rumor that all your sons are gone. Only Amnon is dead. Absalom has plotted this since the day Amnon raped his sister. absalom fled to geshur, and lived with his grandfather for 3 years. david mourned for him every day David s heart longs for Absalom. I have a plan. I want you to go to Tekoa. Just ten miles south. There is a very wise woman there. Ask anyone. They will lead you to her. Then bring her here. let it not be true. Joab, I know you by reputation, which is unsurpassed in all of Israel And how might I do that? Lord! Only Amnon is dead! I can see the king s banners Approaching on horseback! now, tell me, why Please, excuse me for interrupting, but I know your curiosity Your flattery only serves to diminish your cause, my good man. See, my lord? Your other sons! Coming now. Look! Out the window! I need the wisest woman in Israel to help the king. I ve heard of your reputation. Ohhh, but only a woman with your gift of wisdom could help the king. I want you to pretend you re in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes. Wear no cosmetics, or lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. Then go to the king and say to him what I am about to tell you 101

6 Help me, O king! I am a widow. I had two sons. They got into a fight and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. Now the whole clan has risen up against me, and wants me to hand over my only remaining son for killing his brother. They want to put him to death as well and leave my husband s legacy with no descendents. Please, may your servant speak another word to my lord the king? I m going to ask you a question. And I want you to tell me the truth. Is Joab involved in this? Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words in my mouth. But he did it, my lord, to bring Absalom back to you! What is troubling you? Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf. As surely as I live, not one hair of your son s head will fall to the ground. Speak. Well, Joab, Very well, I will do it. Go, bring Absalom back. Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant s request. Why has the king not brought back his own banished son? If it were God s son, he would devise a way so that his son would not remain estranged from him. Now, my lord, you must know that I am saying this to you because I m afraid - afraid of the one who can cut off both me and my son from the inheritance God gave us. the wise woman came to see me. But he must go to his own house. I don t want to see his face. Thank you. 103

7 absalom came back and lived two years in jerusalem without seeing the king s face. My lord, Joab has declined your request to meet. I am sorry, my lord I can not convince Joab to meet with you. He is he is This is ridiculous! Two years! Two years and I ve not so much as laid eyes on my father. Go, fetch Joab. I want to speak with him. Go to him again! Tell him tell him I MUST meet with him. I know! He s a fool, who doesn t know who he s dealing with! look, his barley field is next to mine. Go! set it on fire. tonight! I have missed you so much. Why?! Why did you set my fields on fire? ARE YOU INSANE!? Fine. I will ask the king but be prepared! Because I asked you twice to meet with me! Why did you bring me back from Geshur? I d be better off there! I want to see the king My father In case you ve forgotten! If I am guilty of anything, then let him put me to death! And son or NO son, you WILL pay for my barley! 105

8 within a few years, absalom prepares to overthrow his father, king david. he mounts a chariot and camps at the entrance to the city, offering help to all who come through the gates....while satan plants the seed of pride in david s heart. What town are you from? Are you coming to file a complaint? There is no representative of the king to hear your case If only I were appointed judge in the land!! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice. Go and take a census of the fighting men of Israel and Judah. I want to know how many there are. From Beersheba to Dan. I want to know the size of my kingdom. My lord, I hope that God multiplies the nation of Israel a hundred times over during your lifetime, but why does my lord want to do this? Will this not bring guilt on Israel? Just do as I say. It is I who should be giving thanks to you. Thank you after 9 months and 20 days, joab and his men return. Let me see it. But you will not know that the tribes of Levi and Benjamin are not on the list...because your command was repulsive to me. I assume you have the report? thank you for hearing our pleas I do, my lord. In all of Israel there are one million one hundred thousand men who can handle a sword. and so absalom begins winning the hearts of the people of israel

9 Why have I done this? I ve put my own strength ahead of God s. It HAS to be my pride! Last night God spoke to me. the next day, israel was visited by the angel of death LORD, God, you have taken hold of my conscience. I believe I have sinned greatly with this census. I numbered my own strength not yours. Please, oh LORD, take away the sins of your servant. I have acted foolishly. Will you choose three years of famine to come upon Israel? Oh, God my God my bowels are in turmoil. My heart aches like never before. Oh, God, what should I answer? Oh, how I have sinned I am in great distress. Or three months of fleeing from your enemies? here here is my answer. let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great. He said, Go and tell David, I am giving you three options. Choose one of them to carry out against you. Or three days of plague in your land? Just don t let us fall into the hands of men. 70,000 people from dan to beersheba died in three days. 109

10 the angel approaches jerusalem. WithdRAw your hand. David! Oh, God, I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. stop. ThAt is enough. These are but sheep. What have they done? David, the angel has just told me Tell David to go and build an altar to God at the threshing floor of Araunah. That is where God stopped the killing. I know. Let me have this site so I can build an altar to God, that the plague may stop for sure. Sell it to me at full price. Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Let your hand fall upon me and my family. My lord, we saw the angel of death. He was where you stand, at the door to my threshing floor. Look, I will even give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the oxen yokes for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this! No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing. 111

11 four years later. Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. that if the lord takes me back to jerusalem, i will worship him in hebron. go throughout the tribes of israel and say this: as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, absaom will be declared king of israel. So David and thousands from his household set out to escape in the desert. what vow? then go. go in peace. People throughout the countryside wept as David passed by two hundred men from jerusalem accompany absalom to hebron, but they know nothing of the conspiracy. go. fetch ahithophel, david s counselor. my lord, the hearts of the men of israel are with absalom. he has gathered 200 men to hebron, and ahithophel is with him. absalom has organized a conspiracy to overthrow your king. come! we must leave immediately, for he will move quickly. 10 of my concubines will remain behind to take care of the palace. zadok! take the ark back to the city! if i find favor in the lord s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. but if he says, I am not pleased with you, then i am ready, let him do to me whatever seems good to him. go back with your two sons. i will wait at the fords in the desert until word comes from you to inform me. we will bring david s wisdom to our side. and he has appointed amasa over his army. your servants are ready to do whatever our king chooses. oh lord, turn ahithophel s counsel into foolishness. 113

12 Hushai, if you go with me you will be a burden to me. But I have a plan for you. Return to the city. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. When Absalom enters the city, say to him, I was your father s servant, but now I will be yours. Once he accepts you, then I need you to frustrate Ahithophel s advice. Zadok and Abiathar will be there. Tell them everything you hear in the palace. Send their sons to me with anything you hear. Will you do this? With all that is in me, I will, my lord. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 115

13 approaching bahurim, a man named shemei from saul s family, cursed david and threw rocks at him. Get out! Get out, you man of blood! You scoundrel!! Ziba. What are you doing here? Then all that belonged to him is now yours. I will accept your gift. The LORD is repaying you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul! Leave him alone. We will need it where we are going. Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?! Let me cut off his head. And now! the LORD has handed over the kingdom to your son, Absalom! The donkeys are for the king s household to ride on. There s bread and fruit for the men, and the wine to refresh those who become exhausted in this miserable desert. Thank you. Where is Mephibosheth? He is staying in Jerusalem. My lord, I do not wish to be the bearer of bad news, but he thinks the house of Israel will be back in his grandfather s kingdom, today. Then I humbly bow, and may I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king. What could be worse than my own son trying to take my life. Let him curse the LORD probably told him to. Maybe the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I m getting from this Benjamite. 117

14 jerusalem Absalom. I must make him believe I m on his side. Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace. The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He knows their day is coming. Long live the king! Long live the king! Is this the love you show your friend David? Why aren t you with him?! No, no, the one chosen by the LORD, by these people, and by all the men of Israel - his I will be! And I will remain with you. Besides, should I not serve the son just as I served the father? So I will serve you! ahithophel, Give your advice. What is your opinion? Forget this man. Make yourself an even greater stench in your father s nostrils so that all of Israel will be strengthened. You should go and lie - in public - with the concubines David left behind. 119

15 ahithophel s advice was like that of one who inquires of god. that was how both david and absalom regarded all of ahithophel s advice. Now I would choose 12,000 men and set out tonight in pursuit of David. I would attack him while he is weary and weak. I would strike him with terror, and then all the people with him will run. I would strike down only the king and bring all the people back to you. The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all. Your people will be unharmed. the lord had determined to frustrate the good advice of ahithophel My lord, the advice of Hushai seems better than the great Ahithophel s. I agree. as do i. i believe we all agree. So now that you ve heard Ahithophel s advice, tell us should we do what he says? If not, give us your opinion. The advice Ahithophel has given this time is not good. You know your father and his men. They are fighters, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Send a messenger immediately and tell David, Do not spend the night in the desert. Cross over the Jordan now, or the king and his men will be swallowed up by Absalom s army. I want to make sure Besides, your father is an experienced fighter; he will not spend the night with his troops. Even Now, he s in a cave or some other place. my lord, ahithophel s advice is sound. i believe we all agree. Bring Hushai to me, so we can hear what he has to say. Go on, what else? If he should attack first, word will spread. People will believe he has slaughtered your troops. Then, even the bravest of your troops will melt away with fear. So I advise you let ALL Israel, as numerous as the sands on the seashore, be gathered to you, with you yourself leading them into battle. We will attack him wherever we find him, and we will fall on him as dew settles on the ground. Neither he nor any of his men will be left alive. If he runs into a city, we will bring ropes, and we will drag that city with them in it down to the valley until not even a piece of it can be found! ahithophel is disgraced and hangs himself 121

16 We will fight in the forest of Ephraim. Joab will lead 4,000 men, Abishai 4,000 men, and Ittai 4,000 men. I myself will surely march out with you! the forest of ephraim You must not go out! If we are forced to run, they won t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won t care. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Stay. It would be better if you give us support from here. AAARRGH!!! If that seems best to you, I will do it. HURRGH!! Joab, be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake. Abashi, bring Absalom back alive for my sake. Ittai, do not harm Absalom. Tell your men. YAAAHH! on this day, david s army defeated northern israel, and over 20,000 men lost their lives. 123

17 Oh my god, father s men. Joab! I just saw Absalom hanging by his hair in an oak tree! Why didn t you kill him right there!? Well, I m not about to wait for another opportunity like this. What?! You saw him? You could have given me a thousand shekels! I would NEVER lift my hand against the king s son. He told us all to protect him! AAARRRGHH!! Cut me down from here you imbecile! UUUARRGHHH! No! NO! Got to get down Why, your majesty, it will be my pleasure to cut you down. 125

18 May the enemies of my lord the king and ALL who rise up to harm you, be like that young man. My lord! Hear the good news! The LORD has delivered you today from all who rose up against you. Episode 12 - solomon Is the young man Absalom safe? Oh, my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you Oh Absalom, my son my son...