Rebellion of Absalom, David’s Son
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Samuel 14:7
. The king’s feelings were touched and he assured the
woman of royal protection for her son.
She entreated the king’s forbearance, declaring that he had spoken
as one at fault, in that he did not fetch home again his banished. “For,”
she said, “we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground,
which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any per-
son; yet doth He devise means, that His banished be not expelled from
Him.” This tender and touching portrayal of the love of God toward the
sinner is a striking evidence of the familiarity of the Israelites with the
great truths of redemption. The king could not resist this appeal. The
command was given, “Go therefore, bring the young man Absalom
again.”
The Sad Results of David’s Sin
Absalom was permitted to return to Jerusalem, but not to appear
at court or to meet his father. Tenderly as he loved this beautiful and
gifted son, David felt it necessary that abhorrence for such a crime
should be manifested. Absalom lived two years in his own house,
banished from the court. His sister’s presence kept alive the memory
of the irreparable wrong she had suffered. In popular estimation, the
prince was a hero rather than an offender, and he set himself to gain
the hearts of the people.
His personal appearance was such as to win the admiration of all.
“In all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his
beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there
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was no blemish in him.” David’s action in permitting him to return to
Jerusalem, and yet refusing to admit him to his presence, enlisted in
his behalf the sympathies of the people.
David was weak and irresolute, when before his sin he had been
courageous and decided. This favored the designs of his son.
Through the influence of Joab, Absalom was again admitted to
his father’s presence. He continued his scheming, sedulously courted
popular favor, and artfully turned every cause of dissatisfaction to his
own advantage. Day by day this man of noble mien might be seen at
the gate of the city, where a crowd of suppliants waited to present their
wrongs for redress. Absalom listened, expressing sympathy with their
sufferings and regret at the inefficiency of the government. “O that I