Proper 16

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33

5 The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, “Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.

6 David’s army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There Israel’s troops were routed by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.

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.

15 And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.

31 Then the Cushite arrived and said, “My lord the king, hear the good news! The LORD has vindicated you today by delivering you from the hand of all who rose up against you.”

32 The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”

The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man.”

33 The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Sermon

Sin is pervasive. I don’t always remember the truth of this. I don’t think we always remember the truth of this. Sin is like a film covering everything. But it would be a mistake to think of sin as a substance. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, prior to their disobedience, they had a right relationship with God, with each other, and with creation. But after they disobeyed and did what God told them not to, those relationships were broken. Sin is not something that adds but rather subtracts. Sin makes us less than who we ought to be. And sin affects everything.

David had sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba and then by killing her husband, Uriah. He thought he had gotten away with it, or maybe hoped he had but God spoke to him through the prophet Nathan. David was told that for his sin, there would be consequences. David was told, “‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you.” (2 Samuel 12:11) One of the consequences was the death of his child with Bathsheba. Another consequence was turmoil between his children. David’s son, Amnon, lusts and rapes his half-sister, Tamar. Absalom who had the same father and mother as Tamar kills Amnon for his actions.

Absalom then runs and hides for fear of what his father may do in response, but eventually he returns to Jerusalem. And Absalom makes a move to remove his father and take over as the new king of Israel. In fact, Absalom turns the hearts of the Israelites against David eventually to the point of building an army to fight against David and those who are left with him.

And so the nation is divided. David and his supporters on one side, Absalom and his supporters on the other. And this is more than the political contests we see today. We complain about the mud-slinging from both sides but this fight was decided by the sword.

And one of David’s most trusted advisors, Ahithophel, encourages Absalom to do two things. And he is so trusted that Absalom doesn’t even question what he’s told. He’s told first to go to his father’s palace where David has left 10 concubines and then attack his father and his troops.

Our scripture this morning brings us up on the tail end of these events. Although Absalom has rebelled and is actively trying to overthrow his father, David is still trying to make peace with Absalom. And even though they are engaged in a battle, David instructs the armies that they are to “Be gentle” with Absalom for his sake.

But David’s warriors are strong and prepared for battle and so Absalom makes a run for it, and riding through the forest, he gets caught. Some think, it’s by his hair, others by his neck. Regardless, he can’t escape. He hangs there. And a man runs to tell Joab that he has seen Absalom hanging in a tree. Joab asks the man if he has killed him and the man repeats the words of David, “Be gentle”. But Joab and his men go to where Absalom is and they kill him.

Word gets back to David that Absalom was killed and David weeps over the death of his son. And when you read through this account, there are moments where you are left scratching your head and saying, “I don’t get it.” After everything Absalom has done, his father still weeps for him. And he weeps because he stil loves his son. And in spite of everything David had done, God still loved him. And in spite of everything we have done, God still loves us. Sin has consequences. It creates problems. It breaks relationships. But Christ died to free us from sin, to fix problems, to repair relationships. And the same God who loved David, loves us.