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SERIES K --- ISRAEL’S GOLDEN AGE --- LESSON 10

ABSALOM REBELS

ABSALOM’S REBELLION

From 2 Samuel 15:7-37

After Absalom was permitted to return home to Jerusalem, he began a campaign to win the people. He frequently went to the city gates and talked with people about their problems, refusing to let them bow before him as a prince, but showing warm affection instead. Gradually he won enough favour from the people to begin his rebellion against his father, King David. First, he went to his father King David, with an excuse to leave Jerusalem. ‘When I was in exile at Geshur,’ he said, ‘I vowed to sacrifice to Adonai if He would bring me back to Jerusalem. Now I would like to go to Hebron to fulfil that vow.’ ‘Go in peace,’ David said. When Absalom went to Hebron, he took two hundred men from Jerusalem with him, but they knew nothing of his plot to rebel. He also sent messengers throughout the tribes of Israel, stirring them up. ‘When you hear the sound of trumpets, Absalom will have been crowned king at Hebron,’ they said. At the time Absalom offered his sacrifices at Hebron, he sent for Ahithophel, David’s counsellor who lived at Giloh. Ahithophel joined Absalom’s conspiracy and it grew steadily stronger as more and more people pledged their support to Absalom. Before long a messenger rushed to Jerusalem with news of the rebellion. ‘The whole nation is joining Absalom,’ he reported to King David. David gave orders to his loyal followers in Jerusalem. ‘Hurry!’ he urged. ‘We must get out of here before Absalom arrives and tries to destroy us and the city.’ The king’s followers agreed. ‘We will do whatever you think is best,’ they replied. The king and his followers left the city as quickly as possible. The only ones left behind were ten of David’s young wives, who stayed to take care of the palace. On the way out of the city, the king and his followers paused at the last house while the servants and soldiers passed on by. These included six hundred Gittites who had come from Gath to march with the king, as well as some Cherethites and Pelethites, [the king’s bodyguard]. As they passed, David talked with the captain of the six hundred Gittites. ‘You should go back to Jerusalem and support your new king,’ David said. ‘After all, you aren’t even an Israelite and you haven’t been with me very long. Why should you wander out here and suffer with us? Go on home and may Adonai bless you.’ ‘No, as surely as Adonai and the king live, I will go wherever you go,’ the captain, whose name was Ittai, answered. ‘I will stay with you in life or in death.’ ‘Come with us then,’ David responded. So Ittai and his six hundred men went with David. As the king and his followers crossed the Kidron Brook and headed toward the desert, the people who watched wept loudly. Abiathar and Zadok and the Levites had brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem and set it down beside the road until all of David’s procession had passed. ‘You must take the Ark back to Jerusalem,’ David told Zadok. ‘If Adonai wants to bring me back to see the Ark and the tabernacle again, He will do it. But if He tells me that He no longer needs me, then let Him do what He thinks best.’ David also arranged with Zadok to find out what was going on. ‘Go quietly back to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan, said David. ‘Send me a message as quickly as you can to let me know what is happening in Jerusalem. I will wait by the Jordan River until I hear from you and then I will go into hiding in the wilderness.’ Zadok and Abiathar returned to Jerusalem with the Ark and stayed there. David went eastward, climbing the Mount of Olives barefoot with his head covered, weeping as he went. The people with him also covered their heads and wept as they went. When the report came to David that Ahithophel was advising Absalom, he was dismayed, for Ahithophel was a very wise man. ‘O Adonai,’ David prayed, ‘let Ahithophel’s wise advice be turned into foolishness!’ As the procession reached the summit of the Mount of Olives, to the place where people came to worship Adonai, Hushai, one of David’s advisers, came out to meet him. His cloak was torn and he had dirt on his head as a sign of mourning. ‘You must not go with me,’ David told him. ‘If you do, you will not be able to help me in the wilderness. Instead, go back to Jerusalem and tell Absalom that you will be his adviser, just as you have been mine. With your advice you can help confuse the advice of Ahithophel. The priests Zadok and Abiathar are there to help you. Tell them what you learn of Absalom’s plans. Then they can send their two sons Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son, to report to me.’ Hushai, David’s adviser, did as David command. He returned to Jerusalem about the same time that Absalom arrived to take over as king.

COMMENTARY

ABSALOM’S PLOT

Using the excuse of fulfilling a promise that he had made in Geshur, Absalom requested David’s permission to go to Hebron to offer sacrifices to YHVH. David did not suspect trouble, even though Absalom took two hundred men with him. As soon as he was free to do so, Absalom sent messengers throughout Israel to say that at the sound of a trumpet signal, he should be acknowledged as king. He added to his wide support among the people by enlisting Ahithophel, David’s counsellor, to his cause. When David got word of the plot, he fled Jerusalem both to escape Absalom’s forces and to avoid subjecting the city to a bloody battle. He crossed the Kidron Valley with his family and a hired army of Cretans and Philistines. The priests Abiathar and Zadok started out with him, carrying the Holy Ark, but David told them to return; they were to act as his spies in Jerusalem and send on whatever information they could gather. When David learned that Ahithophel had joined forces with Absalom, he prayed that his advice would turn to foolishness. His prayer was answered; when Absalom rejected Ahithophel’s counsel, Ahithophel committed suicide. On his flight, David met Hushai the Archite, who wanted to go with him. But David chose to send him back to Jerusalem, using him to complete his network of spies there. Hushai would pass on his knowledge of Absalom’s doings to Abiathar and Zadok, who in turn would send David the information through their two sons. Hushai arrived in Jerusalem just as Absalom was entering.

ABSALOM BUYS A FINE CHARIOT

The first signs of Absalom’s rising fame were his ownership of a chariot, horses and fifty men. These were symbols of power. If David knew anything about Absalom’s activities, he overlooked them; later Adonijah acquired the same symbols of power when he sought to become king -- 1 Kings 1:5.

HE WINS FAVOUR AT THE CITY GATE

People came to Jerusalem from all over Israel to worship and trade their wares. The city gate was a meeting place where the legal court was held. David or his appointee might have made himself available there to hear his people’s problems. In their absence, Absalom stationed himself there and gained many friends and much sympathy.

ABSALOM SEEKS PERMISSION TO GO TO HEBRON

Pretending he was grateful to be home, Absalom asked David for permission to go to Hebron and fulfil a vow he had made in Geshur. How could David refuse such a worthy request?

ABSALOM PROCLAIMED KING

In Hebron he was proclaimed king. To signal the event, a system of trumpet calls was passed from hill to hill throughout the country. At the sound, all sympathizers were to acknowledge him as king.

AHITHOPHEL JOINS ABSALOM

A respected counsellor, Ahithophel had served David. His advice was like the Word of YHVH -- 2 Samuel 16:23. For him to join Absalom was a boost for the rebel cause. He was probably the reason many other people then joined Absalom’s cause.

ABSALOM RETURNS TO JERUSALEM

Absalom was proclaimed king in Hebron, David’s old capital. Capturing Jerusalem, the present capital, was important to him. Before he could control the country, he must control the political and religious centre. Once there, Absalom symbolized his disdain for his father by molesting his concubines -- 2 Samuel 16:20-22.

ABSALOM DEFEATED

Because David had fled from Jerusalem, the city was spared a bloodbath. He went to Mahanaim, west of the Jordan River. The showdown took place in the forest of Ephraim. Many soldiers were driven into these deep woods from which they could not escape. The forest took more lives than the sword -- 2 Samuel 18:8. Absalom himself might have escaped had his hair not been caught in one of the trees.

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