Ob and In:
1. A farther heart of David
5 The king gave this order to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake deal gently with the young man Absalom.”
(EBC) David’s reference to his son as “the young man” (cf. also vv.12, 29, 32) indicates, together with his words “for my sake,” something of his paternal affection in spite of Absalom’s destructive ambition, arrogance, and treachery.
2. Absalom was caught
7 The army of Israel was defeated there by David’s men. The slaughter there was great that day—20,000 soldiers were killed.8...the forest consumed more soldiers than the sword devoured that day
(EBC) The dense “forest of Ephraim” (v.6), characterized by uneven and dangerous terrain, was a battleground “where the numerically superior force of [Absalom’s] conscript army would be at a disadvantage against David’s more skilled private army, with its considerable experience of guerrilla warfare”
9 Then Absalom happened to come across David’s men. Now as Absalom was riding on his mule, it went under the branches of a large oak tree. His head got caught in the oak and he was suspended in midair, while the mule he had been riding kept going.
happened to meet=(BDB) (Niph) meet unexpectedly
(EBC) The death of Absalom brings to three the number of sons that David has lost as a result of his sins against Bathsheba and her husband Uriah the Hittite (see 12:6 and comment).
Death of Absalom had 2 contributing factors: the battle field consumed his soldiers lives and when he was caught by the tree he was met by David's man. That eventually led to his death. It was probably God's will that he was caught, but was it the will of God for his death? Was his death a result of David's sin?
3. The disobedience of the middle management
Even though the person who found Absalom wanted to obey David's order to keep Absalom alive, Joab, the middle management, did not agree. He heard the order of the king v.5, then the solider reminded him again of the king's order v.12, but out of his own will (and he was probably correct) he wanted to finish off the life of Absalom v.14-15.
Reflection: Do I experience the frustration of David to have middle management disobey my order? Am I the middle management who told my team to disobey the order of God/my superior? What would God feel if I am His middle management? Joab disobeyed David because he had his own will in fighting the war. He probably thought if he finished off Absalom the battle could be done. He did not want to wait. The sooner Absalom was dead the sooner the battle would be done. When I disobey do I think like Joab? Getting things done efficiently and quickly is my justification of disobedience?
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