Paved With Good Intentions

There is an interesting section in II Samuel Chapters 13-19 involving one of David's sons named Absalom. Starting in 13 David's daughter Tamar is raped by David's son Amnon (Yes that would make Amnon and Tamar brother and sister). Now David gets mad over this but does not kill Amnon because he is David's first born, but this is unacceptable to Absalom (as it should be). We see this same sort of instance earlier in Genesis with the rape of Dinah in ch. 34. Jacob did not want to seek vengeance but his sons Levi and Simeon saw other wise. Now, in my neighborhood in Midland it is a Ghetto to the max and there used to be several rapes in the area and it was very distributing to me and I have a very particular hatred for not only the act but the one who did it as well. I am working on this hate, but all of that to say when Absalom took it upon himself to kill Amnon I did not shed a tear for Amnon, nor will I ever I think. It disturbed me most of all that David did nothing. I understand it is his son, but if not death, there should have been some very very heavy repercussions! So Absalom kills Amnon and goes into hiding from fear of David. Absalom starts off with some good intentions, I think, by avenging his sister. But somewhere along the way those intentions take a hard left and he decides he should be king instead of his father David. I dislike that he did this, but part of me can see why. I mean David did absolutely nothing to Amnon when he raped his sister, David's daughter. I know the world is a man-centric world and sons, especially first born sons, are everything, but daughters are children too and for his daughter to be raped by her own brother is an immense travesty. So for David to do nothing about it is really a slap in the face to the already deeply shamed Tamar, something Absalom could not stand for and this I think is what really led him to believe that he should be king and if that is the case then that is not the worst logic. Absalom eventually goes into civil war with David and everything becomes a mess. He eventually dies very oddly, by getting caught in a tree and is killed by Joab while he hangs there helplessly. If we remember, Deut. 21 tells us that anyone who is hung on a tree is cursed, i.e. one of the many reasons the Jews do not hold Jesus as the Messiah since he died on a wooden cross; a tree in other words. The whole thing plays out like a very tragic drama, something Shakespeare would write. It is more sad that Absalom started out good (as good as one can be in that situation) and then it all just went down hill. Who needs a Soap Opera, when you have the Bible!

Kalos Elpis

Kelly M. Doolittle