In today’s devotional, we reflect on the story of King David’s conflict with his son, Absalom. As the king who famously sought to protect his offspring, David faces the ultimate test of loyalty and leadership. Amidst the battle scenes and poignant personal exchanges, we consider the underlying message of perception versus reality, and the importance of viewing our lives through the lens of truth rather than sentiment. Discover how these timeless Biblical truths can transform how we perceive and respond to our own life challenges.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Continuing our journey through 2 Samuel brings us to chapter 18. We’ll listen to Faith Comes by Hearing’s rendition of 2 Samuel chapter 18, all 33 verses. 2 Samuel 18
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Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. And David sent out the army, one-third under the command of Joab, one-third under the command of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one-third under the command of Ittai, the Gittite. And the king said to the men, I myself will also go out with you.
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But the men said, You shall not go out, for if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us, but you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that you send us help from the city. The king said to them, Whatever seems best to you, I will do.
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So the king stood at the side of the gate while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom. So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David. And the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword. And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. And his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. And a certain man saw it and told Joab, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak. Joab said to the man who told him, What?
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You saw him. Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.
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But the man said to Joab, Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not reach out my hand against the king’s son. For in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, For my sake protect the young man Absalom. On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life, and there is nothing hidden from the king, then you yourself would have stood aloof.
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Joab said, I will not waste time like this with you.
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And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak. And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him. Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them. And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stone. And all Israel fled, everyone to his own home. Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar that 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 it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day. Then Ahimeaz the son of Zadok said, Let me run and carry news to the king that the Lord has delivered him from the hand of his enemies.
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And Joab said to him, You are not to carry news today. You may carry news another day, but today you shall carry no news, because the king’s son is dead. Then Joab said to the Cushite, Go, tell the king what you have seen.
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The Cushite bowed before Joab and ran. Then Ahimeaz, the son of Zadok, said again to Joab, Come on, May, let me also run after the Cushite.
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And Joab said, Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news?
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Come what may,’ he said, “‘I will run.’ So he said to him, “‘Run!’ Then Ahimeaz ran by the way of the plain, and out ran the Cushite.” Now David was sitting between the two gates, and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall. And when he lifted up his eyes and looked, he saw a man running alone. The watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, If he is alone, there is news in his mouth. And he drew nearer and nearer. The watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gate and said, See, another man running alone. The king said, He also brings news. 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. Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, All is well. And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king. And the king said, Is it well with the young man Absalom? Ahimeaz answered, When Joab sent the king’s servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was. And the king said, Turn aside and stand here. So he turned aside and stood still. And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, Good news for my lord the king, for the lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you. The king said to the Cushite, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And the Cushite answered, May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man. And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept.
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And as he went, he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son.
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Way back in 1983, when I read 2 Samuel 18, I put in my Bible reading journal, family feud, war between son Absalom and father David. 20,000 men slain. David wins war, Absalom slain, and David loses another son. Lord, help us not let our family problems get out of control. In 1997, I wrote, Though Absalom wanted David’s life, like Saul, David wanted him spared. Then I also wrote, David, what an interesting person. In 2007, I wrote, David again, indecisive. He wanted to lead his people in battle. They said no, so he didn’t go. God took care of Absalom, and after his army defeats the enemy, though it was his own son, David cries out for them rather than thanking his army for their protection. Chapter 18 reveals at least the second time that David did not lead his troops into battle. We remember the first time when he stayed home from the battle and ended up with the affair with Bathsheba. Once again, David stays home and bad things happen. He warns his commanders to treat his son kindly. But you can see that that does not happen on the battlefield. And David is nowhere to be found, so he can’t stop this from happening. It is interesting, though, how Absalom dies, isn’t it? Verse 9 says, And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head got caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth. I believe, again, this is God’s divine intervention. Remember in chapter 17, verse 14, So here’s now Absalom hanging from a tree, the fulfillment of those very words in the previous chapter. And Joab, one of the commanders of David’s army, ignores the directive of the king saying, and slays the young man Absalom. David appears to care more about his son than the fact that his army went to war where 20,000 people got killed to save his bacon, and he is more concerned when he says, Oh, my son Absalom, my son Absalom, would I have died instead of you? What an embarrassment to the army that just saved his life. I think the application from chapter 18 is this. We have to be careful not to see things the way we want to see them, but see things the way they really are. David had a warped perspective of reality here. His son was the one that caused all this problem. His son was rebellious. His son wanted to kill him. And David’s army is the one that saves his life. And yet his perspective is on his son and not on the very people that just saved his own life from his son. So I think for us, it’s just to be careful, to see things as they really are, not maybe the way we want them to be. Father, give us eyes to see, ears to hear the truth in the matters of our lives. Let us see with your eyes and hear with your ears and act accordingly. We pray in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. I love passages like this because they impact my life. I don’t read for information. I read the Bible for transformation. In other words, I can read or listen to a scripture passage, like it, set it aside, and move on with my day. I got information. The Bible offers so much more. After I read the passage for information, I read it again for transformation. I want to personalize what I read, so I get out my daily Bible reading journal and record my thoughts from the passage. What did I read? What does it mean to me in my life right now? What do I need to do to apply it to my day, my week, my life? After I read the passage a second time and journal, then I pray. What I read ignites my prayer as I pray through the concepts of the passage. After that, I pray for other matters on my daily prayer list. If you want to watch me demonstrate my personal quiet time, visit EzraProject.net and watch the Quiet Time How-To Video. All of the Ad Bible radio programs are available to you in writing. We transcribed all of Ad Bible into an 11-book series called Day by Day Through the Bible, and we did it in a unique way by authors of the Bible. You can get the complete set or a book at a time at our website, EzraProject.net. For example, there are the writings of Moses, the writings of Solomon, the writings of the minor prophets, and the writings of the major prophets, the writings of the Old Testament historical books, and the writings of Old Testament leaders. Covering the New Testament, we have the writings of Matthew and Luke, the writings of John, the writings of Paul, and the writings of Mark, Peter, James, Jude, and Hebrews. So this 11-book series covers all 66 books of the Bible, chapter by chapter. So if the radio program was on 1 Samuel, you would find the written version in day by day through the Bible, the writings of Old Testament historical books. 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