PART 2
2 Samuel 18
The Captains of David’s army made ready to go against Absalom’s army, but they asked ‘David to stay in the place where they had camped. He gave them orders to do no harm to Absalom, for David loved his son very much, even when he was so wrong.
It was in a great forest that the two armies met, and ever so many were lost there. Absalom was riding on a mule through these thick woods when his long heavy hair became caught in the branches of a great oak tree. The mule went out from under him, leaving its master hanging from the tree by his hair, He had seemed to have been vain of his heavy hair, and had it cut but once a year, then weighed it; but now it caused his death.
A man who saw him hanging from the tree told David’s chief captain. This man knew the king’s command, but he was a cruel man, and taking his arrows he shot Absalom and put his body in a pit, covering it with a big heap of stones. Then he blew the trumpets for the battle to stop.
Two men ran to tell David, where he was waiting at the gate for news of the battle. He asked at once about his son, and when he learned he was dead, he sorrowed greatly and there was no joy over winning that battle.
This story of Absalom is a very sad one. He had once said he would serve the Lord, but he did not. He might have been king after David if he had done right and waited, for he was the oldest son at that time. The Lord did not honor him in Israel, as He could not honor the evil sons of Eli and Samuel, even though the fathers were good men, because the sons were not honest, and did very wicked things.
David and his family and all the soldiers crossed the Jordan river and returned to Jerusalem. And David was king over all Israel until the end of his life.
The man who had thrown stones at David went to meet him as he returned, and told him he knew he had sinned.
ML 12/18/1938