2 Samuel 18:1 - Meaning and Application

We are not told exactly how David raised an army here or what reinforcements came to him. It is likely that many people came from all parts of Israel, at least from the nearby tribes, to help him. In time, he was able to stand against Absalom, just as Ahithophel had expected.

I. David’s army was counted and arranged (2 Samuel 18:1-2). He had, no doubt, first committed his cause to God in prayer, since that was his comfort in every trouble. Then he took stock of his forces. Josephus says there were only about 4,000 men in all. David divided them into regiments and companies, put proper officers over each group, and then placed them in the usual way, on the right wing, the left wing, and the center. He gave two of these groups to his experienced generals, Joab and Abishai, and the third to his new ally Ittai. Good order and wise leadership can sometimes serve an army as well as great numbers. Wisdom teaches us to make the best use of the strength we have and stretch it as far as it will go.

II. David’s friends tried to keep him from going into battle himself. Absalom had been misled by false friends who pushed him into danger and fed his pride more than his judgment. David’s true friends would not let him go, remembering what they had heard about Ahithophel’s plan to strike only the king. David showed his love for them by being willing to risk his life with them (2 Samuel 18:2), and they showed their love for him by refusing to let him do it. We should never take offense when people disagree with us for our own good, especially when they are trying to protect us.

They would not let him expose himself, because, as they said, he was worth ten thousand of them. In that way, rulers ought to be valued by their people. For the sake of their safety, subjects should be willing to risk themselves. They also did not want to give the enemy the joy of seeing his fall, since that would delight them more than the defeat of the whole army. And David could still be useful by staying in the city with a reserve force, where he could send reinforcements if needed. A person may serve best in a place that is not the most dangerous one. The king accepted their reasons and changed his mind (2 Samuel 18:4): “Whatever seems best to you, I will do.” It is no wisdom to be stubborn in our plans. We should be willing to listen to reason, even from those below us, and let good advice guide us when it is right. Whether the people thought of this or not, God’s providence wisely arranged that David would not be on the battlefield, because his tenderness would surely have led him to spare Absalom, whom God had decided to destroy.

III. David gave a special command about Absalom (2 Samuel 18:5). When the army was drawn up, Josephus says David encouraged them and prayed for them, but also told them to be careful not to harm Absalom. What a picture of kindness in return for evil. Absalom wanted David only to be struck down. David wanted Absalom only to be spared. Nothing shows the contrast between them more clearly. Never was a son’s hatred for his father more unnatural than Absalom’s. Never was a father’s love for his child stronger than David’s. Both did their utmost, and both showed what people can be like, how badly a child can treat the best of fathers, and how kindly a father can treat the worst of children. It seems meant to reflect, in some way, humanity’s wickedness toward God and God’s mercy toward humanity, and it is hard to say which is more astonishing.

“Deal gently,” David says, “with the young man Absalom for my sake.” He was young, rash, and impulsive, and David hoped his age might excuse him. He was his son, and David loved him. If they loved David, they must not deal harshly with him. This command also shows that David expected to win. Since he had a good cause and a good God, he did not doubt that Absalom would be at their mercy, so he asked them to spare his life and leave his punishment for later.

Bishop Hall comments on this in a striking way: “What does this misplaced love mean? This unfair mercy? Deal gently with a traitor? Of all traitors, with a son? Of all sons, with Absalom? That worthless favorite of such a good father? And all this, for your sake, whose crown and blood he is hunting? For whose sake should he be pursued, if not for yours? Must the very cause of the quarrel become the reason for mercy? Even in the holiest parents, nature may show a harmful tenderness, a deadly indulgence. But was this not a picture of the boundless mercy of the true King and Redeemer of Israel, who prayed for his persecutors and murderers, ‘Father, forgive them’? Deal gently with them for my sake.” When God sends suffering to correct his children, his charge is also, “Deal gently with them for my sake,” because he knows our weakness.

IV. David won a complete victory over Absalom’s forces. The battle took place in the forest of Ephraim (2 Samuel 18:6), so called because of some memorable action there by the Ephraimites, even though it was in the tribe of Gad. David chose to meet the enemy at a distance, before they could reach Mahanaim, so that he would not bring trouble on the city that had kindly sheltered him. The matter was settled by a direct battle. Josephus says the fighting was very fierce, but in the end the rebels were completely defeated, and 20,000 of them were killed (2 Samuel 18:7).

They suffered rightly for their treason against their lawful king, their dislike of such a good government, and their ungratefulness toward such a good ruler. They also learned what it meant to follow a usurper, one who had won them over with kisses and soft words only to lead them into ruin. Where were the rewards, honors, and golden days he had promised them? Now they saw what it means to take counsel against the Lord and his anointed, and to try to break their bonds.

God showed that he was fighting against them in two ways. First, they were defeated by a small force, almost certainly far fewer than their own. Second, the very flight they hoped would save them became the means of their destruction. The forest, which they had sought for shelter, destroyed more than the sword did. When they thought they were safe from David’s men and said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past,” God’s justice still followed them and would not let them live. What shelter can rebels find from God’s judgment? Pits, bogs, tree stumps, thick brush, and, as the Chaldee paraphrase understands it, the wild beasts of the forest, likely killed many of the scattered and confused Israelites, besides the 20,000 who fell by the sword. In this way God fought for David, yet also against him, since all those killed were David’s own subjects, and his kingdom was weakened by their death. The Romans would not allow a triumph for victory in a civil war.