2 Samuel 18: 1 – 33
The Widow Maker
18 And David numbered the people who were with him and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. 2 Then David sent out one third of the people under the hand of Joab, one third under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I also will surely go out with you myself.” 3 But the people answered, “You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us; nor if half of us die, will they care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now more help to us in the city.” 4 Then the king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains orders concerning Absalom. 6 So the people went out into the field of battle against Israel. And the battle was in the woods of Ephraim. 7 The people of Israel were overthrown there before the servants of David, and a great slaughter of twenty thousand took place there that day. 8 For the battle there was scattered over the face of the whole countryside, and the woods devoured more people that day than the sword devoured. 9 Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on. 10 Now a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, “I just saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree!” 11 So Joab said to the man who told him, “You just saw him! And why did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt.” 12 But the man said to Joab, “Though I were to receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. For in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Beware lest anyone touch the young man Absalom!’ 13 Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own life. For there is nothing hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.” 14 Then Joab said, “I cannot linger with you.” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom’s heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree. 15 And ten young men who bore Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed him. 16 So Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel. For Joab held back the people. 17 And they took Absalom and cast him into a large pit in the woods and laid a very large heap of stones over him. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his tent. 18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up a pillar for himself, which is in the King’s Valley. For he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name. And to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument. 19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run now and take the news to the king, how the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.” 20 And Joab said to him, “You shall not take the news this day, for you shall take the news another day. But today you shall take no news, because the king’s son is dead.” 21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” So the Cushite bowed himself to Joab and ran.22 And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “But whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.” So Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, since you have no news ready?” 23 “But whatever happens,” he said, “let me run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain, and outran the Cushite. 24 Now David was sitting between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof over the gate, to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked, and there was a man, running alone. 25 Then the watchman cried out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he came rapidly and drew near. 26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “There is another man, running alone!” And the king said, “He also brings news.” 27 So the watchman said, “I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man, and comes with good news.” 28 So Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “All is well!” Then he bowed down with his face to the earth before the king, and said, “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king!” 29 The king said, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what it was about.” 30 And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still. 31 Just then the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “There is good news, my lord the king! For the LORD has avenged you this day of all those who rose against you.” 32 And the king said to the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” So the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do harm, be like that young man!” 33 Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: “O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!”
What is a widow maker? In the general sense, it’s anything that has the potential to kill men, thereby making widows of their wives. If you are in the medical field a ‘widow maker is associated with the Cardiology department. It is a severe stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery, so named as occlusion thereof is classically associated with sudden death post-acute MI
In a more specific sense, widow makers are dead branches caught precariously high in trees, ready to fall on unsuspecting individuals below. This term has been used widely in the forest service and logging communities, and is even officially recognized by OSHA.
A deadly tree might sound like something that would only be found in a freak accident, but these natural dangers do more harm than you might think. In fact, about 100 people are killed each year. I remember going over this chapter that I worked with a lady whose family liked to go camping. She was fortunate to be alive in that a widow maker branch fell on their tent. I can now get some votes of confidence because I have taken a position that my style of camping out and roughing it it making reservations at a Holiday Inn.
So, if you’re camping or spending time in forested areas, you should know how to watch for potential widow makers. This is especially important for hammock camping, since these shelters are almost always placed underneath trees.
Here are some general tips on how to avoid widow makers:
If possible, do not camp directly underneath tall trees. This is the only sure-fire way to avoid widow maker branches. Try to select an area in the clear of heaving foresting.
Be extra cautious around trees that look dead or damaged. They pose the greatest risk.
If you’re in a heavily-forested area, keep an eye out for dead or broken branches in the canopy above you.
High winds and snowfall can increase the risks by weakening or dislodging branches. Take care in these conditions.
When you do notice a potential widow maker branch, avoid it. Should you spot a widow maker on your property, you may want to dislodge it carefully from a distance or hire a tree-trimmer. These professionals can cut away dead wood and remove loose branches
Indeed, some individual trees are dangerous and need work. But that does not mean they all are. Often the dangers of trees are considerably overestimated. Just what are the chances of a tree falling on you and killing you?
The chances of being killed by a tree in a public space is about 1 in 20,000,000. The total number of accidental deaths number is over 12,000 per year. About 6 of these are due to trees. So, you are 2000 times more likely to die from some other type of accident than by being hit by a falling tree.
I had a few titles for this chapter such as The attack of the Killer Trees or how about God’s secret mission – the OAT force – Operation Attack Trees
18 And David numbered the people who were with him and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.
This was the point at which David numbered and marshalled his forces, which were now seemingly considerably larger, no doubt supplemented by men from Transjordan, and loyal subjects flocking over the Jordan. Dividing them into units of ‘thousands’ and ‘hundreds’, he would set over them experienced commanders and sub-commanders who would prepare them for the battle ahead. These would all be officers experienced in fighting under all conditions. He was no longer on the run and was now ready to fight back. The situation foreseen both by Ahithophel and Hushai had come to fruition.
I want to also point out that David something wrong here in numbering his fighting men. We read in the book of Exodus our Holy Lord God’s views on taking a count of warriors, ““When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them.”
We can learn a lesson from David in that we need to constantly check in with our Master Jesus Christ before doing something we may regret later. You see as the scripture indicated was that our Holy God wanted us believers to totally trust in Him not in how many soldiers we can put on a battle field. If you took a census of available fighting men each person was to give a ransom of money to the Lord. Please note that this did not happen. Later, because David I can say was not immediately dealt with by the Lord, he will be later as we read in the last chapter of this book.
Let us just take a moment and jump ahead to see what happens. “24 Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.” 3 And Joab said to the king, “Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” 4 Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore, Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel. 5 And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon; 7 and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. 10 And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 12 “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” 13 So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.” 14 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” 15 So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. 16 And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
We now kind of get an explanation as to why our Great and Holy Merciful Master would move David to want to do a census. Our Great God will accomplish a lot of proper action. David’s act will now be dealt with by the Lord; the sins of Israel in rebelling along with Absalom in rejecting His Anointed Servant; and also the establishment of a location that God picks to honor His Name.
2 Then David sent out one third of the people under the hand of Joab, one third under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I also will surely go out with you myself.”
His forces were then divided up into three main sections, each commanded by an experienced general (something which Absalom could not match). The first was Joab, the second Abishai his brother, both of whom were totally committed to David and had been with him since his wilderness days, and the third was the noble Ittai the Gittite, the Philistine mercenary leader who had earlier committed himself to David (15.19-22). It was a fearsome combination.
3 But the people answered, “You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us; nor if half of us die, will they care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now more help to us in the city.”
‘The people’ would not allow David to risk his life in the fighting anymore. Since it was a civil war the preservation of his life was rightly seen as paramount. It was for him that they were fighting. Once he was dead there would be no point in continuing the fight, for it was not nation fighting nation, but one single nation warring over the kingship. Furthermore, they knew that if David was not with them they would be able to fight a normal battle, knowing that if they had to flee they would not necessarily be relentlessly sought out by those who knew that David was with them and had to be found at any cost. It would thus relieve the intensity of the battle on all fronts. And that brings out the folly of Absalom in personally leading Israel (on Hushai’s advice). He was making himself the target at which all efforts would be aimed, and on which the intense focus would be directed, simply because once he was dead the rebellion would be at an end.
Besides, as they further pointed out, they wanted David to be in the city so that he could direct any necessary operations in support of any section of his forces that might seem to require it. They had full confidence in his overall generalship and knew that he could be depended on to make the right decisions. Absalom might still have the advantage in numbers, but he was clearly going to be outmaneuvered on all flanks by David and his experienced generals.
4 Then the king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So, the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands.
Acknowledging his people’s love and concern, David bowed to their will. In accordance with their wish he would take his stance behind the battle area, ready to intervene if and where necessary.
Sometime would by now necessarily have passed since the rebellion began, even if only in order to give Absalom the time to gather together ‘all Israel’, and in fact, of course, many loyal men in Israel would have slipped away to join David. Not all were disaffected or dazzled. Meanwhile we have been told nothing of the initial skirmishing between the opposing forces, nor of the gathering of people in general to both sides. The concentration is now all to be on the final, decisive encounter, and Absalom’s defeat and death. Thus, the whole process which began when David’s forces marched out of Mahanaim (18.2-5) and went out into the countryside against Israel (verse 6), will come to its conclusion in the forest of Ephraim. We are told nothing of what happened in between.
5 Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains orders concerning Absalom.
As the army marched forth David made a plea to his generals. Absalom was his son, and despite what he had done he loved him still. So, he begged them to treat him gently when and if they came across him, for his sake. We are told of this partly in order to explain why later in the passage a soldier was aware of the command. But as Joab knew well, if Absalom survived he would always be a danger to the stability of Israel/Judah. Yet one thing Joab never considered. How about The Lord God of Israel? He Reigns! If the soldiers in David’s maintain loyalty to David’s request our Holy God would take care of the matter how and whenever He felt like doing. So, If Absalom was spared our Bibles would have a different story wouldn’t’ it?
6 So the people went out into the field of battle against Israel. And the battle was in the woods of Ephraim.
The people then went out into the countryside to meet the host of Israel gathered by Absalom, and eventually the battle either commenced in or moved into the forest of Ephraim. Such a circumstance would favor David’s experienced soldiers, for they were used to coping with such conditions, whereas in the forest the Israelite farmers probably felt somewhat lost and out of their depth. It was one thing to make one’s way through a forest on recognized paths, and quite another to fight one’s way through one.
The important thing, however, arising from the narrative is that the forest, in which they were not used to fighting, proved a total handicap to Absalom’s forces precisely because it was the intention of Yahweh. We do not know who chose the site of the battle. If Absalom and his men did not know Gilead very well they may well have advanced through the forest because that was what they found facing them on crossing the Jordan and climbing up the other side.
7 The people of Israel were overthrown there before the servants of David, and a great slaughter of twenty thousand took place there that day. 8 For the battle there was scattered over the face of the whole countryside, and the woods devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
The result of these conditions was that the disorganized people of Israel, struggling desperately to cope in unfamiliar conditions, were ‘smitten before the servants of David’. As a consequence there was a great slaughter which resulted in the loss of twenty military units in different parts of the battle line, as the battle spread all over the country. One major reason for this is then described as being because they were unable to cope with the forest which resulted in more deaths than the actual fighting. So much for their ‘coming on him in some place where he shall be found, and lighting upon him as the dew falls on the ground’, so that ‘of him and of all the men who are with him we will not leave so much as one’ (17.12). Hushai’s ‘advice’ was coming home to roost, as he had known it would.
‘The forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.’ The point is simply that more were killed because of the difficulties caused by the thick, untamed forest than by actual, face to face combat. In other words they were the victims of the Creator. This may have been as a result of:
• Falling into ravines and hidden gorges, especially as they fled in terror from David’s men.
• Being caught up in the tangle of thick bushes, briars and undergrowth as they struggled through the forest so that they became easy targets for David’s more experienced warriors.
• Being hindered from fleeing by the roughness and tangled nature of the ground so that they were struck down from behind by David’s fitter and better trained soldiers.
• Widow makers falling upon the Israelites
9 Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so, he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on.
Spurred on by Hushai’s ‘guidance’ Absalom had himself ventured into the forest with his troops, riding on his mule. He had wanted the glory of being with his men when they enjoyed their anticipated victory. But in their inexperience neither Absalom nor his troops had considered the folly of his doing so.
As a king he had clearly not felt that he could be expected to go on foot, struggling through the forest like a common soldier (he was no trained warrior especially in these conditions). Thus, he had chosen to ride on a royal mule. But the forest had undoubtedly made it difficult for him to maintain contact with all his troops, and the mule would not have made things any easier, both in enabling his men to stay with him, and because of the rough and unfriendly ground. The result was (as a more experienced warrior would have anticipated) that he had few if any men with him when he encountered the enemy. Moreover, the presence of the mule also drew attention to who he was so that when he accidentally came face to face with a group of David’s veterans he would be recognized immediately. Presumably he then turned his mule and fled. The consequence was that Absalom was trapped by God’s forest, and became caught up in the low branches of an oak, entangled in some way by his hair. Here it was the trees and their branches that fought against Absalom, they were the killer trees. The scared mule, however, was not stopping for anything, and the result was that Absalom was left ignominiously hanging by his hair, or by his head, from the branches of the tree. In Absalom’s case he was not affected by a widow maker because this branch did not break under Absalom’s weight.
10 Now a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, “I just saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree!”
Inevitably he was soon spotted by Joab’s men and one reported back to Joab that Absalom had been found hanging from an oak by his head. None of the men who found him did anything further to him because they remembered David’s words to his generals that Absalom should be handled gently.
11 So Joab said to the man who told him, “You just saw him! And why did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt.”
Joab immediately asked the soldier why he had not slain Absalom. Did he not realize that with Absalom dead the rebellion would to all intents and purposes have been over, whilst if he was still alive he could possibly be rescued? He thus informed him that had he smitten him to the ground he would have received from Joab ten pieces of silver and the equivalent of a medal, a girdle of merit.
12 But the man said to Joab, “Though I were to receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. For in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Beware lest anyone touch the young man Absalom!’
The man, however, declared stoutly that in view of the king’s command to his generals, overheard by all, that Absalom should not be hurt, he would not have smitten ‘the king’s son’, even had he had ‘a thousand pieces of silver’ to weigh in his hand. In his view it was more than his life was worth.
13 Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own life. For there is nothing hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.”
And he added that his view was that had he done so even Joab himself would not have stood by him when the matter was reported to the king. This would be true and Joab most likely would have this soldier killed even though he would want Absalom killed. Nor did he consider it likely that David would not find out who had done it, because his spy system was such that he was reputed to know everything.
14 Then Joab said, “I cannot linger with you.” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom’s heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree.
Joab reaction was to dismiss the man from his presence and immediately go and find Absalom. And when he found him still alive still hanging by his hair, he thrust three javelins straight through his heart. Joab was no sentimentalist and he was fully aware that while Absalom was alive David’s throne could never be secure. We should recognize in this that in his own way Joab was being totally loyal to David.
15 And ten young men who bore Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom and struck and killed him.
As Absalom’s body still showed signs of twitching in the tree after Joab’s treatment, Joab’s ten aides then joined with him in finishing Absalom off. This combination of a few men was wise because when David learned that a number of men had been involved in Absalom’s death, and that in the midst of the battle, he would not feel able to target any single person, and in fact he was probably not made aware until much later of the full truth concerning everything that had happened. In this case it was probably not Joab’s intention that he should be.
16 So Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel. For Joab held back the people.
Absalom being dead Joab blew his ram’s horn and called a cessation to the fighting. He knew that there was no point in further killing when the rebellion was virtually over with the death of Absalom. Thus, he held back David’s army from further killing. He was not, despite his reputation, someone who delighted in blood being shed for its own sake, and he possibly remembered again the words of Abner in chapter 2.26. He knew that it was best, for David’s sake, to incur as little bitterness as possible.
17 And they took Absalom and cast him into a large pit in the woods and laid a very large heap of stones over him. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his tent.
The battle over, Absalom’s body was taken and cast into a ravine or great pit in the forest. Then a great pile of stones was piled on his body as a monument to the death of a traitor. Compare the similar treatment of Achan in Joshua 7.26. No name was to be preserved for him. He was to be an outcast and accursed. (There may also have been in mind the punishment to be meted out to a rebellious son as contained in Deuteronomy 21.20-21). We can have little doubt that this was on Joab’s orders Joab wanted no mourning or lasting memorial for Absalom. He wanted him to be remembered as a traitor.
Meanwhile ‘all Israel fled everyone to his tent.’ The rebellion was over, and the defeated army dispersed rapidly as the men made their way to their homes hoping that vengeance would not overtake them. ‘To his tent’ was a popular way of describing returning home.
The passage as a whole describes the sending off and arrival of two messengers, the first bringing the news of victory and the second the news of Absalom’s death. Ahimaaz was forbidden by Joab to mention the death of Absalom, and as he had seemingly not seen it himself it was only hearsay for him anyway. Thus he was justified in simply describing the victory and the general tumult that there had been around Absalom.
18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up a pillar for himself, which is in the King’s Valley. For he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name. And to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.
The thought in this verse was suggested by the pile of stones erected over Absalom’s body in the previous verse, with the thought that his inglorious end was far different from the glorious end that he had expected. He would certainly be
19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run now and take the news to the king, how the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.”
Along with his brother Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok the high priest, had constantly been David’s messenger, running between Jerusalem and David with the news of what was happening, and nearly being caught in the process. He may well have seen himself as ‘the king’s messenger’. So now he asked Joab’s permission to run to the king with the tidings of how Yahweh had avenged him on his enemies.
20 And Joab said to him, “You shall not take the news this day, for you shall take the news another day. But today you shall take no news, because the king’s son is dead.”
But Joab demurred, pointing out that the news that had to be taken was not all good, because the king’s son was dead. It would be better to leave it to someone else. No one quite knew how the king would respond.
21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” So, the Cushite bowed himself to Joab and ran.
So instead Joab called on a Cushite, of North African descent, to take the news to David. He had presumably had no part in the killing of Absalom.
22 And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “But whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.” So Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, since you have no news ready?”
But Ahimaaz was persistent. He wanted to be the first to take the good news of the victory to David. So, he asked permission to run after the Cushite. Joab, however, pointed out in a fatherly way that there would be no joy in the message for the one who took to the king the tidings of his son’s death.
23 “But whatever happens,” he said, “let me run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and outran the Cushite.
Ahimaaz was still persistent despite Joab’s arguments, and in the end, Joab gave his permission. The result was that he was a better runner and outran the Cushite. I think if I had been picked to go and tell David about his son’s death I would have been jogging at a slow pace.
24 Now David was sitting between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof over the gate, to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked, and there was a man, running alone.
David was meanwhile highly and nervously awaiting news of the outcome of the battle, and especially of the safety of his son, and was therefore sitting in the courtyard of the gate-tower to which any news would inevitably first come, and from there he sent a watchman to the wall on the roof of the gate-tower to report anything that he saw. The watchman stood there constantly surveying the horizon and after a while he spotted a man on his own, running towards the city.
25 Then the watchman cried out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he came rapidly and drew near.
So the watchman shouted the news down to the king about the running man, and the king declared, ‘If he is alone it must be because he brings news of what has happened’.
26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “There is another man, running alone!” And the king said, “He also brings news.”
The watchman then spotted another runner some way behind the first one. And he called to the gate-keeper, who informed the king. The king’s response was, ‘he must also be bringing tidings’.
27 So the watchman said, “I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man, and comes with good news.”
As the first runner drew closer the watchman recognized him from his method of running, and called down to the king that it looked as though it must be Ahimaaz. That gladdened David’s heart because he knew Ahimaaz for a good man, and he realized that a messenger like Ahimaaz would only have been sent by Joab with good news.
28 So Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “All is well!” Then he bowed down with his face to the earth before the king, and said, “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king!”
The king then presumably went to the outer gate in readiness to receive the messenger, and when Ahimaaz saw him he called out, “All is well”. And once he had reached the gate he bowed low to the king and informed him that Yahweh had given him victory. Those who had rebelled against him had been suitably dealt with by Yahweh his God.
29 The king said, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what it was about.”
The king then put the question that was tearing at his heart. “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz declared that he had seen a great tumult but had not known what it was.
30 And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So, he turned aside and stood still. 31 Just then the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “There is good news, my lord the king! For the LORD has avenged you this day of all those who rose against you.”
The Cushite then ran up and cried out, “Tidings for my lord the king, for Yahweh has avenged you this day of all those who rose up against you.” He may well not have been aware that Ahimaaz had already brought the good news. They may well have come in different directions.
32 And the king said to the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” So, the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do harm, be like that young man!”
The king then asked the question that was eating at his heart. “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite replied discreetly, reminding the king that Absalom had been his enemy and had risen to do him hurt. He had probably been well coached by Joab. Then indirectly he indicated that Absalom was indeed dead, along with his other enemies.
33 Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: “O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!”
The king was deeply upset by the news and went up to a room in the gate-tower, weeping as he went and crying out “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died for you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
The heart-rending words were a reminder of a father’s love for his son. They were similar in intent to his words when he heard of the death of Saul and Jonathan and issued his lament. There too he had mourned and wept and cried out in his distress.
We can probably, however, see in this depth of grief for a treacherous son David’s own stark awareness of why it had happened. He was being made to face up to the fact that it was because of his own great sins that Absalom was dead. Because of those sins Yahweh had not allowed Absalom to live, any more than He had allowed the infant son born to Bathsheba, or Amnon, to live. Here was a further fulfilment of YHWH’s words through Nathan, ‘now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house’ (12.10). While already forgiven David was reaping the consequences of his own sins.
