2 Samuel 18:9 Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
This image strikes me as utterly absurd. Absalom was incredibly image conscious, yet he was riding on a donkey. He was, by all accounts, a handsome man, yet it was his flowing hair that caused him to get tangled up in the branches of the tree. It almost strikes me as cartoonish to envision the donkey riding out from under him, leaving him suspended, helpless, in mid air. My mind has a hard time with it.
2 Samuel 18:29 The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”
Contrast that image with the image of David—king, yet always father, worried about his son far more than his kingdom. When messengers come to bring him news, his question isn’t about the fate of the country. It’s about his son. Even after all the son has done against his father. I truly don’t know what do to with all of this—Absalom’s self-absorption and bitter end, David’s blind spot as a parent and a leader.
2 Samuel 18:33a The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept….
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. I sense a caution in this chapter. Absalom’s end is a caution not to get so caught up in self, in appearance, in vengeance or power. David’s caution seems to be not to get so caught up in our children that we fail to show them how to be good people or that we ignore other obligations. Help me to keep my eyes on You, Lord. Draw me and my family closer—to You and to each other. Amen.
2 Samuel 18:33b …As he went, he said: “Oh my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!”
Have a blessed day.
My faith, my life, my teaching–it's all a work in progress.