2 Sa. 18: Absalom, Absalom

2 Samuel 18:9 "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 head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going."

David sets up an army to go and fight Absalom's men. Which was Israel. And that really stuck with me, in verse 6, where it says "The army marched into the field to fight Israel." It's unfortunate that it had to come to this. David, like other nations, was used by God to keep Israel in check. In this case to demoralize and humiliate it. Who else would have? The Philistines? A neighbor? Those fatcats in Washington? Hey. Maybe Israel would just punish itself. David's final marching orders were to protect Absalom. David, in spite of Absalom's continued and brutal rebellion, wanted desparately to reconcile with him.

Well, the war is on, and 20,000 men died...Don't know if it was all Israelites, or a healthy mix of David's men. Another oddity is that in verse 8 where it says "the forest claimed more lives than the sword." What is that all about? What does that mean, the forest. Presuming Ents are merely products of fiction, I don't know else a forest kills men. Is this another in the litany of vignettes in the Bible where the land, the creation, is sort of anthropomorphized? I wonder. Maybe its the boring, Scully explanation that more people died in the woods. Not by the hand of the woods.

Absalom, in his flight gets his head caught in branches. Which would have been funny enough. Then his donkey rides away, leaving him hanging in midair. By his head. Which is borderline hysterical. Despite David's orders to keep him alive, Joab is like, "Whatever," and puts three javelins into Absalom's heart. Which...on first blush doesn't appear to be wise. Just like the soldier in the army said, "I ain't killing the king's son, especially when he specifically commanded us not to. Screw that."

Then two dudes, one, the son of Zadok the priest, and some other guy decide they want to bring the news to David. Joab didn't want one guy to go, but he insisted, so Joab's like, "Fine, run, boy." They both bring the good/bad news to David. And David weeps.

Musical Consideration: "Absalom, Absalom" Pierce Pettis