The Death of Absalom

Caught in a tree and left hanging there, helpless, Absalom dies pierced by Joab’s spear. David had pleaded earnestly for his life, yet Joab defied the king’s command and killed him, whereas one young man had refused the order, saying that not even a thousand pieces of silver would make him lay a hand on the king’s son.

His name meant ‘God the Father is peace’, but Absalom did not live up to it. From the moment he chose to avenge his sister himself instead of bringing his wounded heart before God, his judgment slowly gave way, until he went as far as rebellion and the sin of lying with his father’s concubines. The monument he raised in his lifetime to preserve his own name became, in the end, a marker proclaiming his shame and his death.

No one collapses in a single moment; the heart darkens little by little, and so it is in the spaces in between that a person must seek God in order to return to the light. David too reproached himself for his failings, yet to be alive means that there is still a chance to turn back. Living this one day by faith is what determines one’s own future and that of one’s descendants.