The End of a Cursed One

As the battle between David’s men and Absalom’s swirls through the woods of Ephraim, Absalom himself encounters a group of soldiers loyal to his father. This is a terrifying situation for him, for he is no warrior. He has no way of knowing that he isn’t in any real danger because David has commanded his men to spare him. He can only assume that these mighty men will come after him to rob him of his life. Therefore, he turns and takes flight on a mule. But he cannot flee from divine justice. His mule carries him under a terebinth tree and his head becomes caught in the fork of a branch. The mule then runs on and Absalom is left hanging in the tree, a potent symbol that he is under God’s curse (Deut. 21:22–23).

One of David’s men witnesses Absalom’s plight and reports what he has seen to Joab, fully expecting the general to “deal gently” with the king’s son. Joab, however, is furious, saying he would have rewarded the man with money and a belt (which may indicate a promotion in rank) if he had finished Absalom off. But this soldier honors the wish of his king. Far from being cowed by Joab’s bluster, he declares that a reward one hundred times greater could not have moved him to violate David’s request. If he had done so, he says, he would have “dealt falsely against my own life”; in other words, he would have put his life at risk, for David surely would have learned of his deed, and Joab would not have protected him from the king’s wrath. But Joab is in no mood to listen to this rebuke. He brushes by the soldier and rushes to find Absalom himself, whereupon he thrusts three spears through Absalom’s heart. After that, 10 of Joab’s armorbearers (less scrupulous than the other soldier) hack Absalom’s body with their swords. Joab and his men then toss Absalom’s body in a pit and cover it with rocks, a disgraceful burial that befits an enemy of God (see Josh. 7:26). Absalom’s life is over, and so is his rebellion.

Why was Joab so eager to see Absalom dead, despite David’s clear request? His personal motives are not clear, but there can be no doubt that he did the will of God. As Matthew Henry writes, “While he broke the order of a too-indulgent father, he did real service to both his king and country, and would have endangered the welfare of both if he had not done it.”