2Samuel 15:1 ¶ And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2 And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. 3 And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. 4 Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! 5 And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. 6 And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
Absalom begins his campaign to overthrow his
father’s rule over Israel. First, he gathers a small paramilitary force to him
which gives him some muscle like the notorious brownshirts in Hitler’s early
days in Germany. He then tries to usurp his father’s authority by making
decisions in the gate which is where the king would sit to judge affairs.
Genesis 19:1 ¶ And there came two angels to Sodom at even;
and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and
he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
Lot sat in the gate
indicating that he had become a judge in Sodom to judge disputes and help
manage the city’s affairs. Sitting in the gate as a position of judgment is
defined in the Bible. It was a place to meet with the elders of a city.
Deuteronomy
21:19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and
bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
It
was a place of the king’s authority.
2Samuel
19:8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto
all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the
people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent.
1Kings
22:10 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat
each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance
of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.
He puts himself up as a sort of advocate for
those who claim to not be represented before the king. In this Absalom made
himself out to look like the people’s savior. Anyone who had a beef with the
established authority of King David and in fact, many people, began to look to
Absalom for justice, which authority he was stealing from his father. As I have
noted before in reference to talking about Christ the son of a king came in the
name of the king and had, in effect, the authority of the king. Absalom is a
sort of perversion of this as he comes in the authority of the king but without
the king’s consent or permission and in fact is like Satan rather than Christ
acting in opposition to God setting himself in God’s place over mankind as the
“god of this world”. See Lucifer in Isaiah 14 and the reference to the god
of this world in 2Corinthians 4:4.
2Samuel 15:7 ¶ And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the LORD, in Hebron. 8 For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD. 9 And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron. 10 But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. 11 And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing. 12 And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.
Here is the reference that makes us realize
we sometimes can have the wrong narrative and timeline in our heads when
reading the Bible narrative.
2Samuel 3:3
And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and
the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
Absalom is born from Maacah, the daughter of
Talmai king of Geshur of which David had made a great slaughter.
1Samuel 27:8 ¶ And David and his men went up, and invaded
the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of
old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of
Egypt. 9 And David smote the land, and
left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and
the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish.
That slaughter played its part in the bitter
fruit that Absalom bore forty years later. So, the narrative is not about
Absalom undercutting his father’s authority for 40 years but is about something
happening as a result, a justification, and as a consequence of something that
happened 40 years ago.
As we can see in this passage Absalom has
made his alliances and allegiances and brought his traitors into his fold and
now he has enough support, it appears, to overthrow King David, his father.
2Samuel 15:13 ¶ And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. 14 And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. 15 And the king’s servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint. 16 And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house. 17 And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off. 18 And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king. 19 Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile. 20 Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee. 21 And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. 22 And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him. 23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
David is now made aware of his son’s treason.
It is interesting to note how out of touch leaders can be with regard to the
feelings of their people. His intention is to flee with the loyal members of
his administration from Jerusalem. He left ten women, concubines, to maintain
his household. This shows that he fully expected to return. They got to safety,
part way away from the city before resting. Various units of loyal Philistine
mercenaries refuse to leave him as they are very devoted to the king’s person,
these Pelethites, Cherethites, and warriors of the Philistine city of Gath,
called Gitites. This heroic war leader had gathered to himself even those who
would have been his enemies had it not been for his charismatic personality and
personal courage.
Proverbs 16:7
When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at
peace with him.
They passed over the brook Kidron at the
lowest point in David’s reign as Jesus passed over that same brook to go to the
garden where He was arrested. See John 18:1.
2Samuel 15:24 ¶ And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were
with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of
God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the
city. 25 And the king said unto Zadok,
Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of
the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his
habitation: 26 But if he thus say, I
have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth
good unto him. 27 The king said also
unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in
peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of
Abiathar. 28 See, I will tarry in the
plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me. 29 Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark
of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there. 30 And David went up by the ascent of mount
Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot:
and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and
they went up, weeping as they went up.
Zadok the priest and the Levites brought the Ark
of the Covenant out of Jerusalem denying Absalom this most important symbol of
God’s approval. We met Abiathar back in 1Samuel 22:20 when he escaped from
Saul’s slaughter of the priests.
It was the Kohathite Levites’ responsibility
to carry the Ark from place to place.
Numbers 3:29
The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle
southward. 30 And the chief of the house
of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of
Uzziel. 31 And their charge shall be the
ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the
sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service
thereof.
Numbers 4:29
The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the
tabernacle southward. 30 And the chief
of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan
the son of Uzziel. 31 And their charge
shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the
vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the
service thereof. 15 And when Aaron and
his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the
sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall
come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These
things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the
congregation.
However, David wanted the Ark kept in its
place as a sign to him that he would return. Remember General Douglas MacArthur
said in World War Two as he retreated from the Philippines in the face of the
brutal Japanese conquest, “I shall return,” which he did. This rallied the
Filipinos to resist the Japanese. David also sent the priests back indicating
his determination to return. This would be not government in exile but would be
an active struggle to return rightful authority to Israel, of course, as David
acknowledged, if God would give His blessing to David’s return.
David ascends the hill called Mount Olivet or the Mount of Olives
mourning at Absalom’s rebellion. It plays a significant part in the end of
history as per Zechariah 14:4 when Christ returns. Jesus sat on it when he
talked about end times in Matthew 24. It is where He was arrested before His
crucifixion as per Matthew 26:30 with the Garden of Gethsemane at the base of
it. So, interestingly, God’s king ascends Mount Olivet in mourning, Christ
speaks of the end of history from it, is arrested on it, and ascends from it,
and will land on it.
2Samuel 15:31 ¶ And one told David, saying, Ahithophel
is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray
thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. 32 And it came to pass, that when David
was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold,
Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his
head: 33 Unto whom David said, If thou
passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me: 34 But if thou return to the city, and say unto
Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy
father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant:
then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. 35 And hast thou not there with thee
Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing
soever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to
Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36
Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok’s
son, and Jonathan Abiathar’s son; and by them ye shall send unto
me every thing that ye can hear. 37 So
Hushai David’s friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.
Here a tactic is devised to confound the treasonous
counsel of Ahithophel who, while being at one time a loyal help to David, has
decided that Absalom is the safest bet for the future and the person to pitch
his tent beside, in a manner of speaking.
1Chronicles 27:33 And Ahithophel was the king’s counsellor: and
Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion:
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