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2 SAM UEL 15
page 285
myself, ‘Perhaps the king will listen to me 16 and
rescue us from those who would cut us off from
the inheritance* God has given us. 17 Yes, my
lord the king will give us peace of mind again.’
I know that you are like an angel of God in discerning good from evil. May the Lord your God
be with you.”
18 “I must know one thing,” the king replied,
“and tell me the truth.”
“Yes, my lord the king,” she responded.
19 “Did Joab put you up to this?”
And the woman replied, “My lord the king,
how can I deny it? Nobody can hide anything
from you. Yes, Joab sent me and told me what
to say. 20 He did it to place the matter before you
in a different light. But you are as wise as an
angel of God, and you understand everything
that happens among us!”
21 So the king sent for Joab and told him,
“All right, go and bring back the young man
Absalom.”
22 Joab bowed with his face to the ground in
deep respect and said, “At last I know that I
have gained your approval, my lord the king,
for you have granted me this request!”
23 Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king gave
this order: “Absalom may go to his own house,
but he must never come into my presence.” So
Absalom did not see the king.
Absalom Reconciled to David
25 Now Absalom was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. He was flawless from
head to foot. 26 He cut his hair only once a year,
and then only because it was so heavy. When
he weighed it out, it came to five pounds!* 27 He
had three sons and one daughter. His daughter’s
name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful.
28 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years,
but he never got to see the king. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for
him, but Joab refused to come. Absalom sent
for him a second time, but again Joab refused
to come. 30 So Absalom said to his servants, “Go
and set fire to Joab’s barley field, the field next
to mine.” So they set his field on fire, as Absalom had commanded.
31 Then Joab came to Absalom at his house
and demanded, “Why did your servants set my
field on fire?”
32 And Absalom replied, “Because I wanted
you to ask the king why he brought me back
from Geshur if he didn’t intend to see me.
I might as well have stayed there. Let me see
the king; if he finds me guilty of anything, then
let him kill me.”
33 So Joab told the king what Absalom had
14:16 Or the property; or the people. 14:26 Hebrew 200 shekels
[2.3 kilograms] by the royal standard. 15:7 As in Greek and
Syriac versions; Hebrew reads forty years. 15:8 As in some
Greek manuscripts; Hebrew lacks in Hebron.
said. Then at last David summoned Absalom,
who came and bowed low before the king, and
the king kissed him.
Absalom’s Rebellion
After this, Absalom bought a chariot
and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him. 2 He got up early
every morning and went out to the gate of the
city. When people brought a case to the king
for judgment, Absalom would ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him
their tribe. 3 Then Absalom would say, “You’ve
really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the
king doesn’t have anyone to hear it. 4 I wish I
were the judge. Then everyone could bring their
cases to me for judgment, and I would give them
justice!”
5 When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them. Instead, he took them
by the hand and kissed them. 6 Absalom did this
with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people
of Israel.
7 After four years,* Absalom said to the king,
“Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the
Lord and fulfill a vow I made to him. 8 For while
your servant was at Geshur in Aram, I promised
to sacrifice to the Lord in Hebron* if he would
bring me back to Jerusalem.”
9 “All right,” the king told him. “Go and fulfill
your vow.”
15
• Conflict
2 S A M U E L 15:1-12
Absalom wanted to be king. The only way
he could do that was to take the kingdom
away from his father, David. Conflict
usually begins when we don’t get what
we want. It almost always begins with
selfish motives. You probably don’t want
to rule a country, but how often do you
find yourself wanting to rule over people’s
lives, desiring your way over theirs, wanting something they have (a good job,
marriage, friendship, or even something
as mundane as a part in the church choir)?
You know you are in conflict when your
daydreams about something you want
(a possession, a position, a relationship,
etc.) are always connected to feelings of
animosity toward a certain person. How
should we handle these selfish feelings?
We can start by learning to be content
with what we have. Decide that you will
work toward earning the things you want
and not foster resentment against those
who already have them.