2 Samuel 18:1-18   (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 18:1-18.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

2 Samuel 18:1-4 (NIV)
 David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
 David sent the troops out–a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, “I myself will surely march out with you.”
 But the men said, “You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It would be better now for you to give us support from the city.”
 The king answered, “I will do whatever seems best to you.” So the king stood beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands.

On verses 1-4:  David organizes his troops and volunteers to personally march out with them, but David’s men tell David, “You must not go out…Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand to us.” (v3)  So David stands beside the gate while his troops go out and fight Absalom’s army in the forest, many of them giving their lives for David’s cause (v4-8).

Why did David’s men insist that David stay behind and not go fight with them?  They wanted to protect their leader.  What lesson can we learn from this?  Protect your God-given leaders.

To be a leader in God’s kingdom is to serve God and others.  However, too many churchgoers treat their God-given leaders poorly.  Rather than protect them or treat them with special care, they will be quick to criticize them and quick to make many demands of them, as if their leaders have nothing better to do than to answer their beck and call.  Let’s learn to protect our God-given leaders, to be willing to take the hit ourselves than to let our leaders take the hit.  When you need some help from a leader in your life, go ahead and ask, but be sensitive and respectful of their schedule, and be patient and understanding if they cannot meet your needs right away.  That is the Christ-like thing to do.

2 Samuel 18:5 (NIV)
 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.

On verse 5:  Even after all that Absalom had put his father David through, David’s heart was still for Absalom.  The same goes for God your heavenly Father.  God’s heart is always for you. Even when we are at our worst, God still cares for us and doesn’t want to see us perish.

2 Samuel 18:6-8 (NIV)
 The army marched into the field to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.
 There the army of Israel was defeated by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great–twenty thousand men.
 The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword.

On verses 6-8:  Here we see the experience of David’s men paying off.  A number of David’s most senior officials were with David decades ago when David was running for his life from Saul.  They were used to hiding and fending for themselves in the forest.  In contrast, it appears that Absalom’s army was not as experienced in this environment so they were defeated by David’s troops despite greatly outnumbering them.
What can we learn from this?  Having experience in the environment you’re in makes a huge difference.  You can read and study things in a textbook, but nothing replaces real life experience.

2 Samuel 18:9-18 (NIV)
 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 head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
10  When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”
11  Joab said to the man who had told him this, “What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels of silver and a warrior’s belt.”
12  But the man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’
13  And if I had put my life in jeopardy–and nothing is hidden from the king–you would have kept your distance from me.”
14  Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this for you.” So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree.
15  And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.
16  Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them.
17  They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.
18  During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, “I have no son to carry on the memory of my name.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.

On verses 9-18:  While riding a mule, Absalom’s hair gets caught in a tree.  Absalom had the most coveted hair in all of Israel (2 Samuel 14:25-26), but now his hair had put him in great danger.  Then in one of the most horrendous, tragic acts in the Bible, Joab brutally kills Absalom.  Joab plunges not one but three javelins into Absalom’s heart (v14).  Then Joab’s 10 armor bearers strike Absalom (v15), throw him into a pit and pile rocks over him (v17).  The killing of Absalom was totally against the orders of King David, who insisted that they be gentle with Absalom and protect him (v5, 12).

What can we learn from this?   Centuries after Absalom the son of David was killed while hanging from a tree, another son of David would also be killed while hanging on a tree.  But what kept that later son of David on the tree was not his hair, but his love for you and me.  Like Absalom, Jesus hung on a tree and his body was pierced with a spear.  But unlike Absalom, this son of David was not killed for his own sins, but for our sins.  Unlike Absalom, this son of David would rise again.  Unlike Absalom who, at the time that he set up a monument to himself, had no child to carry on the memory of his name (v18), this son of David would leave many sons and daughters to carry on his name, including you and me.

Thank You Lord Jesus for dying on a tree to save me from my sins.  It was not your hair that kept you on the tree, but my sins and your love for me.  Just as David’s men told David to stay behind while they went ahead and gave their lives for him, so You went ahead and gave your life for me so that I could be protected.  Thank You for Your love like no other.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

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