Tuesday 19th November
Read 2 Samuel 18:4b-8
“So the king stood beside the gate while all his men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands. 5 The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, ‘Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.’ And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.
6 David’s army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There Israel’s troops were routed by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great – twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.” (NIVUK)
The wise advice Ahithophel provided Absalom was to kill David quickly and end the civil war in one stroke. The advice David gave his three commanders, in the presence of the troops, was to spare Absalom. Despite being a murderer and usurper seeking his life David the father still loves his son and would have him spared. As long as Absalom lives there can be no peace in Israel, but David’s wish is that he live regardless. The demands of justice, and common sense, conflict directly with his instinct for love. This sad story describes what happens when love and justice cannot be reconciled.
The Lord has set himself against Absalom however, so regardless of David’s wishes, the outcome for Absalom is unlikely to be good. The fate of his superior forces suggests just that. The battle described must have taken place after a series of defeats, as it occurs on the west side of the Jordan, where David’s troops must have forced Israel back across the Jordan. The author makes it clear though, just like the many battles in Judges, that nature itself is battling Israel on God’s behalf.
How do you think the troops must have felt knowing they were being asked to go into battle without being able to gain the decisive victory needed to secure peace? They must have known what justice demanded be done, but have been instructed not to deliver it. Perhaps that is why ‘the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword’…
