|
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Background to the Book of Samuel This is the same as last week: to go direct to Context click above. History: xxThe story contained in the books of Samuel tells of the extraordinary change in the way Israel is governed. Up to this time, there had been various tribes who on occasions had come together to combat a threat from other nations. In each instance in the book of Judges, we are told how a person was raised by God to lead the tribes on this particular occasion. The Spirit of God settles on the person and even when this is not overtly mentioned in the story we are clear by the way the story progresses that we know God's hand is directly involved in the successful consequences. 1 and 11 Samuel tell us about the immense political and new government structures, which take place around the end of the 10th century BCE. The centre of government during the time of the judges was at Shiloh and by the time we get to the beginning of 11 Samuel, the centre of what is now an empire, has moved to Jerusalem. The voices for setting up a monarchy became stronger and it fell to Samuel, the last of the judges, to be instrumental in the forthcoming tussle between those who wanted a monarch and those who believed that God would continue to raise up leaders as required. The amount of material, which focuses on Samuel, Saul and David compared with the space given to the remainder of the Kings of Israel, is quite disproportionate. A total of fifty-five chapters are given to these three people and forty-seven chapters to all the remaining kings of both the northern and southern kingdoms. We read in the books of Joshua and Judges about the gradual settlement of the Israelite tribes into Palestine, some encroaching from the south, others from the east and the north. It was clear there was fighting with other tribes and we become familiar with the names of the Edomites and the Moabites. However, the greatest threat became the Philistines who were settled in the west of Palestine along part of the coast. Because they had achieved the art of iron casting, they were able to make wheels and other tools that gave them superiority in war. The settlement process took at least two hundred years from the time the tribes started to enter into Palestine. One of the ancient traditions tells of the conquest of Canaan by slow stages, with each tribe fighting alone or, at best, in coalition with other tribes. Another tradition tells about the invasion, which attacked first the southern hill country, where Judah and Simeon defeated Adonibezek, took Hebron, Debir, and Hormah, but could not gain control of the coastal plain. The house of Joseph invaded the central highlands and captured Bethel. To the north, the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali settled among the Canaanites, and, as they grew stronger, gradually forced them into slave labour. To the west, the tribe of Dan was hemmed in against the highlands and could not conquer the plains. Map 2 Journeys of
David (fleeing from Saul) The books of Samuel tell us how first Saul became king and was commissioned
to defeat the Philistines that were a very real threat to the survival
of Israel. Second, we follow the narrative as it tells of the gradual
disintegration of Saul's mental and physical health and the rise of David
after his defeat of Goliath. David is portrayed positively as he saves
Saul's life and negatively as he betrays his own people and fights for
the enemy, although never against Israel itself. The Philistines thought
he was doing this, but David was fighting other tribes and killing everyone
so there was no one alive to tell the Philistine commander what David
was doing. Some of the negative qualities of David's actions and character
are omitted in a later telling of his story (Books of Chronicles). It
is well that we remember he was a person of mixed motives, great faith,
courage, love, greed, need for power, who killed those in opposition to
his desires, he was cruel and had fits of anger. His grief at the death
of Saul and Jonathon is beautifully portrayed in the lament of 2 Sam 1:19ff. After David realised he was living in a more luxurious place than that of the sacred Ark he told Nathan, the prophet, he wanted to build a temple in which to house it. Nathan agreed initially, but after God spoke to Nathan he came back to David and told him that he would beget an eternal line of kings and his "house" and kingdom would be forever. His progeny would build the temple. Dates of the first 3 Kings of the United Kingdom:: xxxx Top
|
|||||||||
|
Context of 2 Sam 18:5-33 David has defeated the armies of all the surrounding countries
(2 Sam 8) and the empire is at its greatest zenith until the time of the
Six Day War in the 20th century. David is not the one to build the temple,
but has been promised an eternal house and kingdom. He is condemned for
his cold blooded murder of Uriah and the punishment forecast for is family
begins to come true from 2 Sam 13 onwards. It begins with the horrible
story of the rape of Tamar by her brother Amnon. David was told of Amnon's
behaviour and chose to do nothing because he loved his eldest son. Absalom
does nothing at that point but keeps his revenge for 2 years later. After
ordering Amnon to be killed , Absolam hides and is allowed to return to
his house in Jerusalem after 3 years with some manipulating by Joab and
the woman from Tekoa. Why David decided to flee a fortress such as Jerusalem seems peculiar. David has a foreigner, Ittai who is faithful and goes with him into exile and is the contrast to his own blood who is against him. When Zadok and Abiathar want to go with David taking the Ark and the serving Levites, David sends them back into the city. He appears to go to the summit of the Mount of Olives which is very close to the city and Absalom enters Jerusalem. David goes away in to Jordan and refuses to kill a man who curses him on his way suggesting that he does it by command of God. 2 Sam 16 demonstrates in two places the explicit fulfilment of the prophecy from 2 Sam 12. First, his household will be divided by the sword and second, a public display of disrespect will happen when his concubines are used in a public place. This appears to be a personal insult, the concubines are the property of the king and when they are used by another it is as though the king himself is shamed. The chapter immediately prior to 2 Sam 18 is the discussion about when to confront David in battle and the conflicting advice given by the servant loyal to Absalom versus that given by the servant loyal to David. Map 6 Journeys of Absalom: David's flight from Jerusalem David's army defeats Absalom's army and Absolam is killed by Joab. The following chapter has a number of stories about people who come to David after he has grieved for Absalom. It seems a little strange that after two instances of disloyalty David still appears to want Absalom alive. Behind the stories is a thread which demonstrates that the division of Israel (northern tribes) and Judah (southern tribes) is much wider than we think. In fact 2 Sam 20 makes overt this separation between the tribes and a rebellion of Israel is led by Sheba a Benjamite against David. Joab, got rid of the newly appointed army commander whom David had appointed in his stead and then with the aid a wise woman defeated the rebel Sheba before too much blood was spilt. |
|||||||||
|
Insights/Message of 2 Sam 18:5-33 Literary: xxxxxI am filling in the gaps missed by the lectionary readings because it distorts the reading quite badly in this truncated form. The verses from the lectionary reading are part of section 2 Sam 18:1-19:8a (English transl) which presents the story of the battle between David and Absalom. Vv.1-4 give details about the how the army is divided and who commands which section. In this part is the conversation between David and his men who tell David he is not to lead in battle but stay at the gate because he is worth ten thousand of them. Vv.5-9 (the verses chosen for the lectionary are quite peculiar) begin with the order of David to Joab to deal gently with 'the young man Absalom". The narrator males the comment that all the people heard David's order thereby ensuring that later Joab has no excuse for what he does. The section after Absalom is caught in the tree and how Joab finds him is omitted in the lectionary readings and we have v.15 included which describes the armour bearers as the ones who killed Absalom. However, we have the curious act of Joab in v.14 in which Joab puts 3 darts into Absalom. The troops can be held responsible for his death, although David in later actions appears to hold Joab responsible. The lectionary readings then omit vv.16-30 which give the detail about how David is told of the death of his son. Joab sends a Cushite, but the son of Zadok wants to tell David and after Joab initially resists he capitulates and gives his permission. Ahimaaz, son of Zadok is the first to arrive and when David asks after Absalom he denies seeing anything. Vv.31-33 describe what happens when the Cushite arrives soon after and in answer to the same response about Absalom gives this response, "May the enemies of my Lord the King, all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man." David understood the meaning and gave way to deep grief for his son. 2 Sam 19:1-8a begins with the outpouring of grief until Joab came and it is apparent that David is aware if not at this point, later of Joab's role in the death of Absalom. However, Joab is there to tell David he needs to think of his people and not only his own grief because after all the people did fight and need to see their king. David listens to Joab and returns to the gate. Later we find that David replaces Joab with another army commander which was not a popular move. 2 Sam 18 begins with David at the gate giving instructions to treat Absalom gently and ends at the gate after hearing of his death in 2 Sam 19:8a. We have set up in this section the concern of David for his son who has
behaved badly and is a threat both to David and his kingdom. On the other
hand, we have the concern of Joab, who believes the death of Absalom is
necessary for the welfare of the kingdom. Maybe it show some weakness in the leadership of David when he puts his own needs first and Joab has to tell him how to behave as a leader. This does not mean that he forgoes his grief for Absalom, but as King he needs to behave appropriately as leader. The present monument to Absalom in the Kidron valley has been there since the 16th century. Whether this is built on an earlier monument we don't know. The theology behind the dialogue related to who will be the person to run and tell David the news of his death is interesting and not immediately obvious. Does Ahimaaz want to go and tell good news because on a previous occasion he had bad news to tell (2 Sam 17:17)? Is Joab's reluctance to send him because he is the son of a priest and doesn't want to put him in danger (2 Sam 1)? As previous readings have demonstrated a person bearing news is very vulnerable to the whims and responses of the king and can easily lose his life. In fact on this occasion Ahimaaz refrains from telling David about the death of his son, only the result of the battle. He, in one sense, fails to carry through his task. The Cushite chosen by Joab arrives after Ahimaaz and realises David does not know about Absalom and tells David in a very circumspect manner. David understands and does not punish the Cushite. One can ask the questions about a foreigner who appears to be in the Judean army: how did he get there? What status do they have? Is a slave or mercenary? There are a number of theological points we can take for ourselves from this story. The first is the deep grief at the loss of a son, even one who has betrayed his father and tried to kill him, as well as take over his kingdom. Furthermore, Absalom deliberately shamed David indicated by the story of the concubines. In spite of that David is in deep grief. David expects to be left to deal with his grief. The second theological issue is when a person is a leader and needs to give leadership alongside the need to grieve personally. This is the issue for Joab who can see the broader repercussions. It doesn't mean forgoing grief, but there are times when those in leadership`have to grief at a later time. The Psalm 130 is a beautiful expression of a person's feelings of loss and despair. The eagerness of the Ahimaaz to run and tell the news reminds me of Peter who can be so confident and yet when it comes to the moment of truth fails, as did Ahimaaz. He did not have the courage to tell David of Absalom's death. Human beings are portrayed in all their frailty in the Hebrew Scriptures. xx |
|||||||||
|
Resources/Worship for 2 Sam 18:5-33 Worship: xxxxxWhen this reading is presented there must be some way of filling in the gaps. A second reader could précis the gaps in the lectionary readings. If the emphasis in the sermon is going to be on the grief of David, the
Psalm 130 is an excellent response and is helpful to anyone who is feeling
low and in despair. The New Interpreter's Bible is another very helpful resource and published in the 1990's is more up to date than some earlier works. Anderson, A.A. 2 Samuel. WBC. Dallas: Word Books, 1989 The Dramatised Bible: ed. Michael Perry. London: Marshall Pickering: Bible Society, 1989 Web sites with helpful lectionary resources: These links were updated 23/11/06
|