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43. David's Victory
and Return to Jerusalem.
In the meantime
Absalom had taken possession of the royal throne in Jerusalem and then,
bold as he was, followed his father across the Jordan with a hostile
army. In such blindness God allows wickedness to find its punishment.
David brought his valiant and faithful army to battle against him and
commanded the captains: ‘Deal gently with Absalom the young man,’ the
faithful, pious father!
He himself stayed in the city and did not go out with them. The enemy
army lost the battle; it was in a forest and suffered a terrible defeat.
Absalom fled. But as he fled, he got caught under an oak tree with his
beautiful long hair. The mule on which he was riding ran out from under
him, so that he could not get loose, and so he hovered between heaven
and earth in terrible fear of death, until Joab, David's captain, heard
about it and rushed over. A man of war whose path had led him past the
oak came and told the captain of the field what he had seen in the
forest. The captain said, ‘If you saw that, why did you not strike him
down? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt.’
But the pious and wise man of war replied, ‘If you had weighed a
thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I would not have laid my hand on
the king's son, for I have heard the king say, ’Beware lest anyone harm
the boy Absalom. But Joab said, ‘I cannot stay with you.’
So he took three spears and thrust them through Absalom's heart while he
was still alive by the oak. So this too was repaid. He who disturbs his
father and drives away his mother is a shameful and cursed child. Honour
thy father and mother, that it may go well with thee!
But at first the good king was not very happy about the news of victory
because his son had been killed. No, he cried out incessantly: ‘Oh! My
son Absalom, would to God I could die for you! O Absalom, my son, my son!’
That is how much the king loved his son even after his misdeed and after
his death. God has put this in the hearts of parents, so that they can
love their children and forget their ingratitude. I will never grieve
such love.
But when the news of David's victory came back across the Jordan,
suddenly everything changed again. First the men of Judah, David's
fellow tribesmen, came with great joy to greet their king and bring him
back to his throne in Jerusalem. Then the hopeless Shimei came, full of
fear and despair, and prostrated himself before the king to express his
displeasure. So the tide turned. Premeditation and hindsight have
brought great suffering to many.
But David showed him mercy. He said to Shimei: ‘No harm shall come to
you!’ Barzillai, the faithful man, came again to wish his king luck in
his victory. David wanted to take him with him to Jerusalem to thank him
for his loyalty. But Barzillai asked for no other thanks than to
accompany the king to the Jordan. He was an eighty-year-old man who
could no longer taste what he ate or hear what the singers sang. He
wished to die in his city and at his father's and mother's grave. But he
commended his son to the king's mercy.
Then the king kissed goodbye to the honest old man who had proved his
love and loyalty in such a way. Of course, true love for God and man is
its own reward and desires no other. David took Barzillai's son with him
to counsel him and to reward his father's faithfulness in his son. David
then returned to his throne in Jerusalem with joyful company and lived
to a ripe old age. He was one of the most powerful and famous kings of
his time. Israel was never more powerful than during his reign. But when
he grew old and weak, he handed over the reign to his son Solomon and
died and was buried in the castle of Zion.
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