In the second half of the chapter, through to the first part of chapter 19, David is the winner – but he acts like the loser. What stops David acting like the king he should have been is his inordinate affection for his rebellious son. His desire for Absalom to stay alive seems to be the only thing that matters […]

One minute Absalom is on his mule, the next minute the mule is still running but with no rider on his back. It seems like a total fluke. But then we remember that in the words of Deuteronomy, ‘a hanged man is cursed by God’. Or as Paul quotes it in Galatians: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a […]

As is the case throughout the story of Absalom, God doesn’t intervene dramatically. Absalom isn’t struck by lightning. There’s just a ‘chance’ meeting in v9. Absalom ‘happened’ to meet the servants of David. But of course, God is overruling it all. Absalom doubtless tries to get away, and suddenly his head is caught fast in an oak tree. Now it […]