“And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the LORD, in Hebron. For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD. And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing. And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom” (2 Samuel 15:7-12).
Introduction
David was warned about what was going to happen by the Nathan, “Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house” (2 Samuel 12:11). These would be some of the darkest days since his experiences with King Saul.
Hypocrisy
Our text tells us that after forty years Absalom approached his father for permission to go to Hebron to fulfil a vow. There appears to be a slight problem with the figure, for this would make him over seventy years old at this point, “David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years” (2 Samuel 5:4), but since he had not yet reigned that long, the number must relate to something else. It also doubtful that Absalom would have waited forty years to move against David. Commentators suggest two possibilities: [1] The translators made a slight typographical error so ought to have written four rather than forty. [2] The forty years dates from the time David was anointed by Samuel. If we are uncomfortable about accepting the copyist error theory, then we have no choice but to believe that there is another explanation. Several commentators, including Matthew Henry and John Wesley, suggest that the second theory is correct. “From the change of the government, into a monarchy, which was about ten years before David began to reign. So this fell out about the thirtieth year of his reign” (John Wesley). The Geneva Study Bible has a slight variation on this theory in its notes, “Counting from the time that the Israelites had asked a king of Samuel.”
Once Absalom knew that he had wide support he made his move. He also knew that he had to avoid any suspicion so concocted a story about a vow he had made. The problem was, as we have already seen, he was a master liar. The people were won over by his political promises, and David believed his religious devotion. Maybe David was hoping his son was a reformed man, but in reality Absalom was prepared to take the Lord’s name in vain if it meant getting his own way. He wanted to set up his headquarters in Hebron so needed to convince his father to let him out of Jerusalem. This also indicates that, though he enjoyed considerable freedom, Absalom had to stay within the boundaries of the city. David ought to have suspected something was amiss with Absalom’s story, especially since on a previous occasion he had duped him with something similar so that he could murder Amnon.
Hebron
It seems that whatever Absalom wanted he received with no questions asked. He considered Hebron his home since that is the place he was born. “And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur” (2 Samuel 3:2-3). Maybe being a son of Hebron afforded him some notoriety amongst the population, so basically he knew that he could rely upon his hometown to rally around him. Also, this was the place his father was crowned king (2 Samuel 5:5) before he moved the capital to Jerusalem. Is it possible that Absalom knew of an undercurrent of dissatisfaction amongst the people because of this? Announcing himself king in Hebron would both endear him to the people and open old wounds too.
Absalom sent messengers through Israel to announce that he was the new king. Since great distances are involved we have to assume that everything was synchronised so that at a specific time a trumpet would sound to get everyone’s attention before telling them the news. These spies were Absalom’s spin-doctors and public relation officers. Where these the two hundred men that followed him from Jerusalem? If they were, they did not know exactly what he was up to until they arrived in Hebron. If they were not, but simply invited to accompany him in his supposed religious duty, then he was using their number to suggest he had a greater following that he actually did, and that his support in Jerusalem was increasing.
Absalom also invited Ahithophel to attend. This man was David’s privy counsellor and considered to be very wise, but he revealed a lack of wisdom when he sided with Absalom. It is interesting that his name means “a brother of foolishness / ruin.” No doubt Ahithophel was holding a huge grudge against David while pretending to serve him in court. He was the grandfather of Bathsheba so would have hated David for what he had done to her and Uriah. He found it extremely easy to support Absalom and even called for David’s assassination (2 Samuel 17:1-2).
Conclusion
The numbers defecting to Absalom were growing every day and made the conspiracy even stronger. A coup was taking place, but it seems that David did not realise it until too late, nevertheless, he could not avoid it anyway, for this was all part of God’s punishment for his sin.
© 21/6/2010