August 11, 2024 Sermon
Sermon title: “The Death of Absalom”
Scripture: 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, and 31-33
(Other lectionary suggestions include Psalm 130, Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2, and John 6:35 and 41-51.)
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
5The king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom. 6So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. 7The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword. 9Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.
15And ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him.
31Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, “Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.” 32The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.”
David Mourns for Absalom
33The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
When I told Harlane today’s sermon title, “The Death of Absalom,” she said, “Who’s that?” He was one of David’s sons who revolted against his father and wound up getting killed by David’s soldiers. Why is the story of Absalom important? It may not be! But it’s a sort of “the chickens come home to roost” story that some of us may have first learned in Sunday School. And it’s a great visual of how Absalom died: as I learned in Sunday School, Absalom was riding his mule under a tree when his hair got caught in the branches and he was torn off his mount! So, as he was there swinging helplessly, David’s soldiers came and killed him, in spite of David’s pleas to spare his rebellious son.
When I say “the chickens came home to roost,” we have to realize that wonderful King David was a complicated person. Earlier in 2 Samuel we could have read about how David lusted after Bathsheba and brought her into his bed. She conceived, and when she told David she was pregnant, David tried to have her husband Uriah the Hittite sleep with her - but he would not! So, David arranged for Uriah to be placed on the front lines where he was killed. Nathan the prophet upbraided David for his actions, and David repented. Did he seriously repent, or did he realize that everybody knew about it? It’s hard to say, but David did repent and God forgave him. But God also said that there are consequences to one’s actions, and even though forgiveness is part of the deal, so are the consequences. And God told David that his household would suffer greatly because of his dastardly deeds.
Absalom isn’t the only casualty. One of David’s other sons, Amnon, raped his half-sister Tamar, and Absalom killed Amnon for doing that! God was right: David was going to have one heck of a dysfunctional family, and David was responsible! One Scripture translation has God saying, “the sword shall never depart” from your house, David, and trouble will raise up within your own house.
One thing we can say about King David is that he did not understand the concept of “tough love.” When his son Amnon violated his half-sister Tamar, David did nothing! Not that we approve of violence, but Absalom killed Amnon because it became obvious that David was going to do nothing! Harlane and I have a relative whose grandson messed up in college and got into some substance abuse problems. He straightened himself out with a LOT of family help and MONEY. But Harlane and I used to laugh when the grandmother would keep saying, “He’s a good boy.” Maybe so, Granny, but he’s also a drug abuser! David’s problem - or ONE of David’s problems - was that his love for Amnon got in the way of seeking justice for his OTHER child, Tamar. According to the Rev. Lauren E. Miller of Peace Lutheran Church in Charlottesville, VA, “This lack of accountability leaves Tamar a disgraced woman, Amnon an unpunished felon, and Tamar’s brother Absalom an angry vigilante.”
When Absalom kills Amnon and runs away, David again “declines to enact justice by holding Absalom accountable....David’s indiscriminate favoring of his sons and refusal to discipline them leads to further trouble upon Absalom’s return. Absalom has all the markings of a modern politician: good looks, a loving family, and the skills to work a crowd. He begins to win the favor of the people.”
Before David knows what’s happening, a conspiracy is launched and he has to flee Jerusalem to save his own life.
Says the Rev. Lauren Miller, “Yet again, David’s paternal indulgence has led to trouble not just within his own house but throughout the whole of Israel. The entire land is plunged into the chaos of civil war. Sides are taken, traitors are exposed, military strategy is employed. Finally, the troops are ready for the great and carefully planned battle. David wants to join his men in the fight, but they insist he stay back, believing he is too valuable to risk in combat. So, David sends the army off, and must wait in agonizing anticipation to hear the result of the attack. But just before they go, he gives a final order to his three military commanders: ‘Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.’ Deal gently. Even after all he’s been through, after all the pain and turmoil Absalom has caused, David still cannot bear the punishment of a son who has done wrong.”
Where are you in this? Do you side with the loving parent side of David? Or are you on the side of David’s general Joab, who thinks the best thing is to eliminate Absalom? In any case, Absalom is killed, and Joab is just a little irritated at his boss David for grieving over his son. For Joab, lots of soldiers have risked their lives for David and his kingdom, and here HE is mourning the loss of the one who started it. There is no right answer to this dilemma. David fights to keep his kingdom, but he loses his son Absalom. What a choice!
David’s rule is vindicated, but his son is dead. In his grief, David calls out Absalom’s name FIVE TIMES! He even says he wishes he could have taken Absalom’s place. We are caught in the painful tension between love and justice, mercy and duty. Says the Rev. Ms. Miller, “we are reminded that doing the ‘right’ thing, the ‘loving’ thing, cannot always be so easy to ascertain. David seemed to think that love meant no consequences for wrongdoing. Joab believed that punishing a traitor was the only right thing to do. But neither of these paths truly honored the complexity of the situation, and the result was a heartbroken, guilt-ridden king.”
You and I must struggle, too, with the tension between love and justice. And you and I may grieve the results of our choices. And maybe that’s why the story of David is so important to hear, because his story is OUR story. He wasn’t perfect, and neither are we. Amen. Any questions?
Pastor Skip
