David’s unbounded grief for Absalom is also because David knows that, ultimately, Absalom’s death is his fault. God had told him – chapter 12 verse 10 – ‘because you have despised me, the sword will not depart from your house forever’. And since then, David’s infant son died, his son Amnon had been murdered, and now Absalom has perished. David […]

It’s hard to even call David’s affections for his son love. If David had really loved him, he would have said hard things to him. He would have made sure Absalom had faced the consequences for the cold-blooded murder he carried out. Sadly this is a theme in the books of Samuel. We’ve seen it with Eli. We’ve seen it […]

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 […]