He cracked the whip over the eager stallions and was off like a rock out of a sling. The well-designed chariot moved in unison with each thrust of horse muscle. Absalom loved to control such power.
As if in a dream, Absalom proudly saw himself ride along Jerusalem’s streets. Gold armbands held back ripped biceps. Strong hands clamped down firmly on taut reins. His tunic, pressed back by wind, revealed a well-etched chest and firm abdomen. Absalom knew he rivaled the looks of many statues. Like a fine marble slab, he had no blemish. He grinned in the wind, Was he not praised as the magnificence of all Israel? (2 Samuel 14:25).
The handsome prince held his head high, competing with his surging stallions. The horses’ manes flowed like wheat in the wind. Lifted by the rushing breeze, the rise and fall, the ebb and flow of horsehair was regal—glorious. In concert with the stallions, the proud prince turned his head from side to side. The early morning air fought through his thick hair, cooling his scalp (verse 26). Absalom thought about Samson. Could it be his own hair was the banner to his rising glory? Reins snapped. Nostrils flared. Hoofs beat. Wheels rolled. As horse, chariot and man charged forward, Absalom looked back to see all of Jerusalem behold him.
Approaching the gate to leave the city, Absalom boldly looked to the heavens. The white-hot sun beat upon the eastern wall of Jerusalem. Emerging from the shadows, Absalom looked directly at the warring sun and saw his own face shining back. Excitement swelled up inside him. He breathed deeply. Intoxicated with fresh air, he yelled out in rage. Soon the Absalom dawn would shine on all Israel.
Just outside the city, his personal guards waited for him. Showing off his strong chargers, he swung the chariot in a tight circle, stopping quickly in front of them. Absalom threw his head back and laughed as dust coated them. The 50 men stood in confusion at his actions. They dared not show contempt, but should they laugh?
The persuasive prince jumped from the chariot primed for another day of hard work.
Stealing Israel’s Heart
Travelers to Jerusalem already approached the city. Absalom planned to meet all of them and make them his. The visitors gathered at the gates of the city to catch up on news or buy food. Absalom warmly greeted everyone. He ate with them. He talked to the big, small, rich and poor. His good looks and disarming smile were hard to resist. Absalom closely observed everyone. He made any connection possible. He knew how to win people to him.
He picked out a man obviously troubled and lost in thought and said, “Of what city art thou?” (2 Samuel 15:2). Like his father, Absalom was a great actor. He pretended to hold a sincere interest for the man. The startled man replied, “Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.” The discussion soon flowed. David’s son learned the man’s story, drawing him out. Learning he had come to the king for a judgment, Absalom got the man to state his case.
Absalom took full control and reined the man into his world. In a compassionate tone, he told the unsuspecting man, “See, thy matters are good and right …” (verse 3). Glutted with self-flattery, Absalom knew how to flatter. He assured the man that his case was just. Then came the insidious twist.
But he, the goodly Absalom, doubted if even the king could give him justice. Puzzled, the man gave Absalom a questioning look and asked, “Why can’t I get justice?” Taking the man under his arm, Absalom subtly cast doubt on David by implying that the king was so busy that he was either unable or unwilling to hear such a matter. “[T]here is no man deputed of the king to hear thee” (verse 3). David’s handsome son did his father an ugly and treacherous injustice.
In a well-rehearsed, humble tone, the sly prince told the man, “Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!” (verse 4). Absalom assured the man that he would take the time for a problem such as his. He was so believable—so persuasive. Yet, Absalom was purposefully ambiguous in order to protect himself from scrutiny. He made it appear the king was too jealous of his position and would not share the rule. And who was suffering? The poor little people. It was made clear, “You come with me, and I’ll see things get done more quickly than the aging king does!”
Day after day, Absalom worked the crowds at the city gates. Unfortunately, many men in Israel fell under the influence of his deceit. “And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel” (verses 5-6). Absalom was a master hand-shaker. Many people came to respect Absalom. Over time, Absalom gradually turned Israel’s hearts away from their beloved king.
Gloating over his own guile, Absalom knew exactly what he was doing. Looking out over the growing crowd, he thought on his actions. Hadn’t he the right to take the throne from his father? David had made many, many mistakes. As his thoughts darkened, his bitterness grew deep inside him and clenched his stomach. The noise of the crowd fell to silence and everyone froze in time as he thought back on his well-kept list of David’s wrongs.
The Spoiling of Tamar
Oh, Tamar! He breathed deeply, sighing. Absalom’s nostrils flared with his thoughts. His lovely, innocent sister, Tamar, had suffered much. Yet David, her father, did nothing! Her history was so pitiful. Absalom clearly remembered every painful detail.
Amnon, David’s firstborn and son of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, lusted for his half-sister, Tamar. Ammon knew he could never have a relationship with his half-sister, yet he made himself mentally, emotionally and physically sick over his unlawful love for her (2 Samuel 13:1-2). Jonadab, Amnon’s closest friend and crafty cousin, was the first to recognize Amnon’s ill health.
The day came when Jonadab asked, “Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? Wilt thou not tell me?” Amnon trusted Jonadab implicitly. He replied with infected emotion, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister” (verse 4). Amnon explained he had to have Tamar but didn’t know how to bring it about. Consumed by her, he could not eat or sleep or function.
Being the cunning and conniving individual that he was, Jonadab helped Amnon devise a plan to entrap her. He carefully explained, “Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand” (verse 5). Amnon, smiling with admiration for Jonadab, put the plan in place.
Amnon pretended to be sick. Concerned for his son, David came to visit him. Knowing he was both loved and favored by his father, Amnon said, “I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand” (verse 6). Suspecting nothing evil, David sent instructions to Tamar, “Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house, and dress him meat” (verse 7). Tamar obeyed immediately. She loved to please her father.
In Amnon’s private residence, she began the delicate task of making his favorite bread. Amnon watched on. “She took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes. And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat” (verses 8-9). Tamar was surprised at his actions. Why wouldn’t he eat? She thought she had made the bread as he said.
Then Amnon did something very strange. He ordered his guards out. Amnon then said to Tamar, “Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother” (verse 10). Feigning weakness, Amnon lay on his bed and asked Tamar to feed the bread to him.
With excellent grace and beauty the princess moved to feed her oldest brother. But Tamar drew too close. The trap snapped. Amnon grabbed her and pulled her close. She was shocked. He was not weak. His strong hands hurt her soft skin. Amnon’s eyes grew wild—feral. Hers flooded with tears. Tamar trembled in fear. Amnon commanded her, “Come lie with me, my sister” (verse 11). She could not—would not! Amnon was overpowering. She could not escape. She begged her brother, “Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? And as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee” (verse 12-13).
Tamar tried to reason with Amnon. She pleaded for him to go to their father and ask for her in marriage. Knowing marriage would not be possible by law, Tamar was buying time. She looked for a way of flight. She appealed to Amnon’s conscience. He had none. Amnon would not listen. Tamar found no way to flee. Overcome with lust, Amnon savagely spoiled her.
Then, to add tragedy to tragedy, he threw her out! With a deafening finality he ordered her, “Arise, be gone” (verse 15). Amnon’s barbaric passion had suddenly turned to rabid hate.
Tamar entreated her brother, “There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me” (verse 16). Her young life was in shambles. Now, the young beauty was twice wronged. She was no longer a virgin—now never a wife. Amnon screamed for his servants. “Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her” (verse 17). His bolting the door behind her was more than she could handle. Tamar mourned her undeserved fate. She threw ashes on her head and tore her royal robes. Shattered, she rushed off to her brother’s house.
Absalom Gets Even
When Absalom saw Tamar running, crying uncontrollably, he expected the worst. His heart sunk to see her beauty masked by the tear-stained ashes. He said, “Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee?” (2 Samuel 13:20). This indicates that Absalom had always suspected his older brother’s infatuation. Fearing public shame on the family, Absalom asked Tamar to keep this all a secret. He assured his beloved sister that he would take care of the matter.
Absalom took the news to his father, David. His father was a just man. When the king heard about the rape of Tamar he was very angry (verse 21). But much to Absalom’s surprise, he did not punish Amnon. He did nothing but rant and rave. Absalom could not believe his father’s indulgence of Amnon. Absalom reasoned, son or not—heir or not—something should have been done. He never again spoke of Amnon—good or bad (verse 22). But inside himself, he planted, watered and nourished a wicked seed of hate. His hatred of Amnon far overshadowed his half-brother’s hate-filled disgust for Tamar.
From that day forward, Absalom set his own course. Craftier than Jonadab, he forged his own plan to recompense the crime against his sister. He waited, then waited longer. Absalom disciplined himself. Patiently, he lulled to sleep any suspicion of revenge for the actions against Tamar. After two full years, it came time to celebrate the annual sheep-shearing festival. Absalom was wealthy with sheep. He planned an extravagant party. It was time to ensnare Amnon. His plan was ingenious. Absalom planned to use his own father to lay the trap.
He told his father, “Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant” (verse 24). The celebration would take place at his estate in Ephraim. Absalom knew that David, the shepherd king, would have loved this festival, but suspected he would be reluctant to attend because of matters of state. He was right, David replied, “Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee” (verse 25). Absalom pressed even harder for David to come. David just could not come. But he assured Absalom it was a great idea and would he just move on so he could get back to work! Absalom then protested, “If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us” (verse 26). Absalom made a bold move here. If the king could not come, would he please send the next in line to represent the family?
Amnon Assassinated
At this point, David raised a suspicious eyebrow. He asked, “Why should he go with thee?” (2 Samuel 13:26). But Absalom pressed even harder. He reassured his father that he wanted to invite all of the king’s sons—his brothers! David finally agreed. Absalom sighed quietly. He was successful in disarming his father’s doubts.
The day came. The food was prepared. The tables were set. With a shout, Absalom greeted his brothers. At the feast, Absalom kept his cool. His brothers ate and drank. Absalom feigned a happy mood. He ate and laughed out loud. But he was awaiting his opportunity.
Absalom had instructed several key servants, “Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant” (verse 28). No matter whom he spoke to that night, he kept an eye on Amnon. Then the moment came. His oldest brother’s speech was slurred. Now! Absalom shouted, “Kill Amnon!” The assassins pounced on him. His blood flowed out like the wine he had drunk. Absalom stood over his brother and watched him die. Tamar, the weak and innocent victim, was finally revenged. She would never see his face again.
Absalom would never forget that day. For a brief second his thoughts were interrupted. The noisy crowd moved into full motion. He turned around and glanced through the gates back into the city. Realizing that he was not far from his father’s palace his thoughts shifted to the events after Amnon’s execution.
Tamar’s life may have improved, but his grew worse—far worse.
Absalom in Exile
Seeing their brother executed, the king’s other sons fled for their lives. While on the way back to Jerusalem a false report reached David that Absalom had killed all of his sons. The king was devastated. He fell to the ground and tore his clothes. The whole palace descended into chaos. But Jonadab assured David that the news had to be wrong. He explained, “Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king’s sons are dead: for Amnon only is dead” (2 Samuel 13:32-33).
Jonadab had known of Absalom’s plan. The shrewd Jonadab appears to have been as intimate a confidante with Absalom as he had been with Amnon. He assured the king that all of his sons were not dead. As Jonadab spoke with David, the watchman announced that many people were quickly approaching the city. David’s worst fears were soon answered. All of his sons did return except Amnon and Absalom. All those present were in tears for Amnon. David wept loudly. David recognized that Nathan’s dire prophecy about his family was coming to pass. The mental pain of it all was unbearable. David would mourn for Amnon every day, for a long time.
Fearing retribution from the king, Absalom fled to his grandfather, Talmai, in Geshur (verse 37). He was well protected there. The Soncino Commentary suggests that David did plan a retribution march against Absalom but reversed his decision. Verse 39 could read, “David desisted from going forth against Absalom.” This could very well explain why Absalom had to remain in Geshur for three years (verse 38). We know that after some three years of exile, David’s heart softened toward Absalom. But at the same time, Absalom’s heart grew hard as stone against his father.
Joab’s Strategy
Joab was intimately aware of David, his thoughts and motivations. He knew David was angry with Absalom. However, he also knew that the king missed the boy. David longed to have Absalom back in Jerusalem but could not bring himself to welcome him home. Joab laid out a plan to bring Absalom home to Jerusalem.
Joab knew that David could not resist an emotional tale about family. The king had a tender heart. Joab knew that David needed just the right push and he would bring Absalom back. Joab hired a “wise woman,” meaning a really good actress (2 Samuel 14:1-2). Together they schemed up a story requiring a judgment from the king. The woman was schooled in dramatics. She entered the palace and fell on her face before the king and cried out, “Help, O king.”
David replied, “What aileth thee?” (verse 5). Acting distraught, the woman said, “I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead. And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him. And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth” (verses 5-7). The woman told a heart-rending story. Her husband was dead. One son was dead by the hand of the other. And all of the relatives were calling for the lawful execution of the other son. But the woman would not reveal the whereabouts of the other son. The emotionally-torn woman feared for her life.
David, obviously moved by the story, said unto the woman, “Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee” (verse 8). David agreed to protect her, overlooking the law of blood-revenge. However, that was not enough. The woman continued, “My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father’s house: and the king and his throne be guiltless” (verse 9). Drawing deeper on David’s emotions, the woman stated that the guilt for not seeking blood-revenge would fall on her house. David understood and insisted that he would still protect her. He replied, “Whosoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more” (verse 10). Still not satisfied, the woman pressed the king again.
Growing a little irritated, David was forced to listen. Turning on deep emotion, she said, “I pray thee, let the king remember the Lord thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son” (verse 11). Drawing David further in, she requested specifically that he protect her son, who was worthy of death. Somewhat exasperated the king replied, “As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.” But the story was not yet over.
The woman, coached specifically by Joab, was ready to drive home the point. Boldly she said, “Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king” (verse 12). Sighing, David replied, “Say on.” The woman continued, “Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? For the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished. For we must needs die, and are as water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid … I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid. For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the Lord thy God will be with thee” (verses 13-17). While listening to the woman’s story, it began to have an all-too-familiar ring for David. Her story was really his and Absalom’s story.
David looked intently at the woman and asked, “Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee” (verse 18). Was the scheme now discovered? The woman said, “Let my lord the king now speak.” The king asked, “Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this?” The woman answered and said, “As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid: To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth” (verse 19-20). Joab’s scheme was uncovered. Everything was out in the open. David recognized what Joab had done. His judgment for the woman could be applied to Absalom.
David gave the order for Absalom to return to Jerusalem (verse 21). But Absalom was not allowed to see the king (verse 24). Absalom returned to Jerusalem. There was no celebration. His father gave him no warm greeting. For two years, he was essentially a prisoner in his own home. Absalom set out a new plan.