A Sad Victory
2 samuel 18:1-19:8a
Main Idea: Sin creates a tension between justice and mercy that is only resolved by a better King.
I. The Rebellious Son
Absalom’s rebellion has hit a tipping point and the battle lines are drawn. He has set himself “against the Lord and against his Anointed” (Ps. 2) and God has ordained his downfall (cf. 17:14).
There is a sad irony in Absalom’s death; though he tried to “set up for himself a pillar” and a lasting monument (18:18), he dies:
Brought down by the source of his pride & glory (cf. 2 Sam. 14:26; Prov. 16:18)
Hanging from a tree, a sign of being ‘cursed by God’ (cf. Deut. 21:22-23)
Being stoned to death, memorialized as a traitor and enemy of God and his people (cf. Josh 7:26, 8:29, 10:27)
II. The Ruthless General
In the face of Absalom’s sin and rebellion, Joab desires justice without mercy. Though he previously tried to reconcile Absalom & David, he now ignores the King’s request and brutally murders Absalom (18:14-15).
The narrative, typically, reports but does not evaluate Joab’s action. His act was both rebellious and rational: rebellious, in light of David’s order; rational, for the welfare of David’s regime… Here in [chapter 19] Joab seems to be right, yet in [chapter 18] he is insubordinate. Joab was wrong to defy the king’s order, yet he clearly divined what disaster David’s incessant grief would bring. Thus, Joab is wrong and right; he is rebellious and reasonable. He lacks subordination but not sense. The biblical writer allows Joab to remain an enigma.
~ Dale Ralph Davis, 2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity
III. The Remorseful King
If Joab desired justice without mercy, David desired mercy over justice with his son Absalom (18:5). David’s weakened kingdom and failures as a king caused the Lord’s deliverance on this day (18:31) to be a sad triumph, as he mourns for his son whom he loves.
There is a deeper dimension to David’s grief... How Nathan’s words must have echoed in David’s conscience: ‘The sword will not depart from your house forever’ (12:10). It is David’s guilt that inflames his grief. ... David knew that his sin had set the sword loose in his household… Perhaps David wished he had died instead of Absalom because he knew he deserved to die. Guilt has aggravated grief. So we end with a paradox: a safe kingdom, a sad king.
~ Dale Ralph Davis, 2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity
When Absalom died, David cried out, vainly wishing he could have died in his place. What David longed to do for Absalom, God accomplished for us. Jesus Christ went to the cross to die in our place, an act of love that should remind us of David’s heartfelt cry… Jesus did for us, His sons and daughters, what David could not do for his own. Absalom died hanging in a tree with a spear for his rebellion thrust through his heart; Jesus died on a tree with a spear for our rebellion thrust through his.
~ J. D. Greear and Heath Thomas, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Samuel
Ultimately, the tension of this account must be resolved by a Greater Son of David; like Absalom, Jesus is ‘suspended between heaven and earth’ as he is hung upon a tree, speared, and dies a curse-bearing death in the place of the guilty (cf. Gal. 3:13). The crucifixion of Christ is the resolution of the tension between mercy and justice (cf. Ps. 85:10)
