2 Samuel 18:9-15 – Live life with caution and integrity

Although inexperienced, Absalom was overconfident. Long on appearance but short on substance, he went out and confronted David’s seasoned warriors. It would have been already difficult to fight David’s seasoned fighters on the less complicated landscape, let alone the unfamiliar forest. A combination of his inexperience and unfamiliarity to the forested topography done Absalom in. Consumed with taking his father down, he was riding on a mule through the forest of Ephraim not realizing that the branches could be low and his long, bushy and thick hair could be caught by them. Unable to navigate through some low-lying boughs of a big oak tree, his thick bushy hair was caught and entangled with the low-lying branches. And the mule he was riding, meanwhile, had gone on too fast leaving him suspended helplessly in mid-air.   

A man from David’s camp spotted him but did not kill him but came and told Joab about it. The commander started to chide him for not finishing Absalom off, telling him that he would have received a handsome reward for killing the renegade. Not interested in the reward of ten pieces of silver and a belt, the man had good reasons for why he did not do it. Firstly, he heard David, the indulgent father telling Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, the three commanders, to deal gently with his son. Secondly, he could tell that Joab was not the kind of commander who would stand by him when he had to face the king. He was the kind that was likely to throw his men under the bus when he had to answer for it. Wisely, he refused to do it but dutifully reported to Joab, who then took the issue into his own hand. With three spears, he pierced through the heart of Absalom, who was suspended between heaven and earth in that great oak tree. When ten of his armor-bearers with him saw what he did, they emulated him. They took their spears and mindlessly struck Absalom and killed him. 

Misguided ambition can cause one to overestimate one’s own capability and become careless. This is clearly illustrated in Absalom’s life. He was so blinded by his ambition to secure the throne that he failed to realize battling David’s men in the uncharted territory was not wise. He was done in by his unfamiliarity with the ground and was made an easy prey to his opponents. Do not let misguided ambition make us lose sight of lurking dangers. We can also learn from these verses the need to live life with sound principles. Think of the young soldier who first discovered Absalom suspended in mid-air. He remembered David’s words to his commanders and took the words seriously. Whereas Joab could not care what David had instructed. Whether David’s instruction was prudent or not, we are not here to debate it. But we know that loyalty demands that the word of the king be obeyed. For us, followers of King Jesus, who will never give us instructions that will contradict righteous living, obeying His Word must always take precedence, whatever the circumstance!