2 SAMUEL 18
JT David is in his own place here. He is functioning as a king and is head of his army throughout this chapter. Verse 1 says, “David marshalled the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them”.
Rem He is like a field marshal, head of a large army.
JT They are not conscripts or mercenary soldiers. They are with David. The position is very good so far. It is necessary, as conflict is before us, to recognise military principles. In the great military book,
[p. 190] that is the book of Joshua, the captain of Jehovah’s host appears and Joshua says: “Art thou for us, or for our enemies?” (Joshua 5:13). This is a false attitude to take up. The question is, Are we with Him? “And he said, No; for as captain of the army of Jehovah am I now come”, Joshua 5:14. Jehovah’s hosts are with Jehovah’s captain. The people were with David here.
Rem Perhaps that explains why they are called more than once, “servants”. “And the people of Israel were routed before the servants of David”.
JT That is a good suggestion. It is said later too, that “Absalom found himself in the presence of David’s servants”.
Ques What would be the force of their caring for David’s life in this way so that he is not in danger?
JT I think it is a rather weak position. The people are changing positions with him, they are taking control now whereas it was his business. The people said in verse 3: “Thou shall not go forth, for if we should in any case flee, they will not care or us ... for thou art worth ten thousand of us; and now it is better that thou succour us out of the city. And the king said to them, I will do what is good in your sight”. That does not seem right.
Rem There was never a definite age limit for the military men.
JT Certainly not for a commander-in-chief. In Numbers it is said they were taken “from twenty years old and upward”, Numbers 1:3, and we are on military ground now. It is a question of Jehovah’s hosts.
Rem “And the king stood by the gate-side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands”. He reviews the troops.
JT He reviewed them at the gate but did not go with them; he had let the army go once before without him and had got into trouble. He is the [p. 191] man to lead now. The whole history of this matter brings into evidence certain weak features.
Rem Divine leadership is necessary in military matters. The leader should go before, not the people.
JT These are the things that the Spirit of God makes prominent. Elsewhere other things would be put forward and these would be kept in the background, but the Spirit of God is here calling attention to certain conditions for our learning.
Rem The responsible element failed in not going to the front in the battle.
JT Yes; David’s weakness is set forth here and in 1 Kings. Chronicles gives us the bright side. The Holy Spirit gives us both sides. This was not written for David, nor is it written to make little of him in our eyes; it is written for our learning.
Rem A man says to Joab: “I saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth”, and Joab says, “Why didst thou not smite him?” Then the man reminds Joab that David had said, “Deal gently ... with the young man Absalom”.
JT The chapter brings out a combination of weaknesses. We have David starting right in marshalling his forces, that was his function, but having done that he left the matter. He appointed leaders and sat at the gate, but that was all. It was not right that the people should determine his position. And then we get this incident of the man you spoke of. What is he to do? He has the king’s command. If there is a kingdom at all, and a king, the king must be obeyed. This man is right and Joab is wrong at this point. It is a remarkable thing that the Spirit of God gives us this man’s speech at such length. He brings out the position in its principle, that the king is the king. In effect, he says, I am his servant — why should I kill his son when he told me not to? That is quite obvious. Whereas Joab cares for neither the king nor anybody else, only for himself. In a [p. 192] weak state of things let us keep by the divine principle. If we are dealing with a matter, an issue, under God, let us deal with that. You may say the king is wrong, but that is not the point. When a matter comes up people say, Look at this! and, Look at that! But that is not the point for the moment. Let us deal with the thing on hand. This man who makes a speech to Joab is saving the position from that point of view. He has done what is right. Paul said to the Corinthians, Even though you call us reprobates you do what is right. The enemy will stir up questions about this and that, but this is the point for the moment. He says, “In our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Take care, whoever it be of you, of the young man Absalom”, verse 12. I am a witness to it, he says in effect, it is not hearsay, and I am going to abide by it. He obeyed the king. What right had Joab to say, “I would have given thee ten silver pieces and a girdle”? Was he the king? He is interfering with the king’s rights. The one who brings the report is called a man: “A man saw it and told Joab”. I think he is a man too; that is, in the principle of the thing; the king is the king whatever the side-issues may be. Pay attention to the king! He is dealing with a certain thing, and this man says, “Though I should receive a thousand silver pieces in my hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king charged thee ... . Take care, whoever it be of you, of the young man Absalom”.
Rem This is helpful in dealing with a specific thing at a specific time, because after all, while Absalom deserved to die, Joab deserves to die too; but God is not dealing with everything at once.
JT If you had to deal with all these men at once the battle would go awry. The king is in command and this man is observing that fact. This is the lesson for us, otherwise the enemy gets the [p. 193] advantage and we get nowhere. That David was not fulfilling his responsibility is no warrant for disobedience to his orders by one of his men. Paul says, Whatever we be, you do what is right.
Rem Joab brought back Absalom because of the king’s wish and then he is ready to kill him against the king’s orders.
JT He is a lawless, murderous man; he is thinking of himself. He knew Absalom was disturbing the whole position; but what he did was not right. Many would say that he did what was right. This man was doing what was right, obeying the commandment of the king.
Rem Hushai’s counsel was really to bring about the death of Absalom.
JT But not by this man, nor by Joab either. The king is the king and we must follow his command or we shall all get astray in the forest of Ephraim.
Rem This man would fit in in 1 Corinthians, not exactly as a leader but just as one of the persons who is able to judge rightly according to chapter 6.
JT Everyone in Corinth ought to have been able to judge aright: “Set those to judge who are little esteemed in the assembly”. (1 Corinthians 6:4) This man is one such, and in what he says he morally overcame Joab. Joab says, I will not stop to listen; but Joab was wrong, and I am sure he knew it, too.
Rem The fact that Absalom was taken up in the terebinth shows that God had the matter in hand, and any interference was against the king’s command.
JT No doubt Absalom would have died shortly. Even the mule did not help him, he was between heaven and earth. He is caught by his head and the mule went away. Really God had the matter in hand. Undoubtedly he would have died in the tree, but Joab must come with three spears and ten men; that is the kind of man he was.
Rem The ass was really a help to Balaam. Is [p. 194] there any suggestion, in the mule? In Balaam’s case God used the ass to speak.
JT “And Absalom was riding upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of the great terebinth, and his head caught in the terebinth, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away”, verse 9. Well, who is doing all this? As has been remarked, it was God taking him in his own craftiness. “He taketh the wise in their own craftiness”, Job 5:13.
Rem It appears that Absalom did nothing.
JT Quite so. He found himself amongst David’s servants, as if he was out of control. The whole position was out of control. Where is David’s generalship and leadership? The marshalling was good, but the people’s advice, it seems to me, was a mistake. He should not have taken the people’s advice to stay behind.
Rem There is no evidence of prayer entering into this position.
Rem It is really a democratic thought.
JT The spirit of democracy runs through the chapter. This man that brought word to Joab is really saying what is right, observing the king’s command. This is the means of preservation from democracy and radicalism, elements which you see as you run down the chapter. Joab slays Absalom in defiance of the king’s orders, though as God was doing it he could not have survived in the position he was in. Then you see another man acting of himself; Ahimaaz wants to run. That is another democratic idea. He wants to do something and Joab says, No, but gives way. Again want of leadership! The Cushite had the command to go but Ahimaaz still says: “Let me, I pray thee, also run”.
That is the idea, people doing what they want to do and there is confusion. And then at the end of the [p. 195] chapter where is David? Crying about his son! Forgetting about the rights of God in this matter.
Ques Absalom had to be buried. What is the thought in the heap of stones?
JT The allusion would be as in Achan’s case. The stones would mean that he would never be allowed to rise up again.
Ques How do you apply this scripture in regard to the recovery of the truth?
JT At the end of chapter 17 David and the people have passed over and have come to Mahanaim, and we see the principle of grace working in that different ones brought what he needed. David is right so far in his first efforts, but he is tested, I think, in allowing the people to govern him. If you apply it to the church historically it is in someone being put right and set up in his own place. We read of Josiah that “the king stood” in his place. He puts everybody where he should be. In that case everything goes well. But here David is not in his place; he misses it in taking the people’s word. They said: “thou art worth ten thousand of us” (verse 3), but that is not the point, the function was the king’s. Leadership fails in the history of the assembly.
Rem It corresponds with the so-called princes in the ecclesiastical system.
JT “Like people, like priest”; in the long run the people have their way, especially in non-conformist bodies.
Rem So that in not assuming proper leadership David really makes room for wrong leadership on the part of Joab.
JT The chapter brings out confusion although there is victory. The sequence shows that David was king. In truth what Joab said was substantially right, but he was wrong in disregarding the king. You cannot cover a wrong by a right. You must deal with each thing by itself.
[p. 196] Ques What does the forest refer to here?
JT It is the forest of Ephraim. It alludes in some way perhaps to natural feelings, the right of the firstborn. It may be that sort of thing ruled the day. Ephraim had the first place earlier, but Judah had it by divine counsel, and David was not now moving on that line. It says of Judah, “Thy father’s children will bow down to thee ... . The sceptre will not depart from Judah ... until Shiloh come, and to him will be the obedience of peoples”, Genesis 49:8,10. All that entered into this position. David represented it, but he is not acting in it. He is not up to the mark.
Ques Has lack of leadership since the days of the recovery meant an unwieldy battlefront and possibly some loss in the wood which need not have been?
JT That is the lesson to be learned. Things are allowed to go to the ground. Things come up and we have more or less right thoughts, but then to carry them through requires right leadership. That is where the weakness was. David marshalled his forces, reviewed them and appointed captains, but he was not there, and consideration for Absalom may have entered into this.
Rem David should have known that God worked through Hushai’s counsel so that David had time to marshal his forces, showing how God was behind the scenes in his favour.
JT And if he had been in the spirit of Hushai’s counsel he would have seen that time was graciously given to him of God to have an army. But an army needs a captain, a leader, and he should have been that leader. That is where the miss was, I think. He is allowing Joab to get in, a man who is disputing his rights. We are on military lines now; Hushai had done his part and saved time for David, and now the army is here and David leaves it to be led by [p. 197] others. Then Joab comes in to challenge his rights.
Ques Do you think David’s sympathy for Absalom warped his mind?
JT I suppose he really did not want to go. The test was whether he would really go the whole length against Absalom. It is said in the world that, ‘The voice of the people is the voice of God’. That is a lie. The people tell him, “thou art worth ten thousand of us”; that, although showing respectful appreciation of their king, tended to weaken the position.
Rem Generally speaking, poor leadership is occasioned by disregarding the rights of God.
JT This man in verse 10 is dealing with one thing, the king’s command. That is all that is in his mind. We should be saved from uncertainty and confusion if we kept on this line.
Ques How do you apply the king’s command in our local assembly matters?
JT In whatever is to be done that is according to God you take counsel together and decide that something should be done in the name of the Lord for the good of the saints and the honour of God.
The next thing is that leadership has its place in what is done.
Rem And when the local assembly has acted we should adhere to whatever is done.
JT The trouble often is persons seen out of proportion. The man at Bethsaida saw men as trees walking. We have here one of these trees. It is an important tree. “And Absalom was riding upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of the great terebinth and ... he was taken up between the heaven and the earth”. It is a remarkable thing, “the great terebinth”. It must have had distinction; God put it there. The mule too was used in dealing with Absalom. Absalom was overthrown and the rebellion put down but the great [p. 198] principles of God suffered. Also there was such unnecessary loss of life. We cannot but grieve over the loss of saints.
Rem And now the people are all ready to run off, but Joab seems to detect all that.
JT No part of Scripture gives a better outline of Joab than this. Why had he brought Absalom back earlier in the history? Was it because he liked Absalom? No, but to ingratiate himself with the king. It was he that had put the words in the wise woman’s mouth. Here again you can see that he is thinking of himself and disregarding the king. When he comes back and victory is complete he says: “Thou hast put to shame this day the faces of all thy servants who have this day saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives and the lives of thy concubines; in that thou lovest them that hate thee, and hatest those that love thee. For thou hast declared this day, that neither princes nor servants are anything to thee; for today I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died today, then it would have been right in thine eyes. But now arise, go forth, and speak consolingly to thy servants; for I swear by Jehovah, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night”, 2 Samuel 19:5 - 7. Now there is a rebellious man. That man is wrong at heart in spite of the fact that what he was saying is in a sense right. He is wrong at the very core; he is disregarding the king, the anointed of God!
Rem Yet he was on the right side, but one would not like to be on the right side in the way Joab was on it.
JT Joab is a clever man, but cleverness relied on by itself aids the enemy; he sees in a way things that are to be seen, but here is a position that is testing him. He is already a murderer and there are other things against him, and now he is disregarding [p. 199] David. What follows explains the force of all this. He is disregarding the man that God has anointed although that man is now marked by weakness. Joab knows he rebelled against the king in slaying Absalom; in spite of his cleverness he is really exposed. The man that stood up and spoke firmly to him is the man who is guarding the position, because rights entered into David’s position; he is the king. Most people would say Joab was right, but David was God’s man; you cannot be right by overthrowing God’s man. Things may seem to go against one whom God puts forward in His service, but He will not allow anyone to displace him.
Ques What is the meaning of David’s position “between the two gates”, verse 24?
JT I think we must keep before us that these chapters are dealing not so much with David as a type of Christ but rather as a type of His representatives in the church’s history and their weaknesses. The Lord has put them there. There were those whom the Lord especially used, like Samuel and Joseph, who failed in detail, but God will never give up those whom He has anointed and who in the main are faithful to Him. He will stand by them. Joab is a clever, crafty man and he is using a position of weakness for his own aggrandisement. Joab is not fit to lead the people of God, clever as he is. He becomes a murderer again, according to the next chapter.
Ques Would you say that Joab was acting in the light of the last chapters of Judges, when there was no king?
JT Yes, doing what was right in his own eyes. The Lord will not allow the king to be ignored even though his commandment may not be according to the truth. He must be maintained.
Rem It would be a lesson to us as to this matter of rule. We must admit that there are times when [p. 200] collectively we show a measure of weakness in doing something, but still, let no one take advantage of that as Joab would.
JT God sometimes allows a crisis on account of the truth amid great weakness; He is moving in His own way. If those whom He has fitted to serve are unfairly treated He is concerned about it. He will stop the whole proceedings to assert His rights in the matter. That is the point here. David is king, and if I am to do what is right I shall observe that.
Joab thinks that David is a weak old man who is thinking only of his son. But Joab is sinning. He goes off himself and ten of his men. He is a party leader who is taking advantage of his position.
Rem And perhaps is a coward underneath.
JT Attention has been called to the fact that God is acting, because this “great terebinth” must mean something, the mule going away must mean something, and the fact that Absalom is caught by his head must mean something.
Rem The man who brought the message to Joab did what was right. He would not take advantage of the position for his own ends.
JT I think this man has a place in the book of Jasher. He does what is right even though against natural wisdom. He is very like Urijah.
Ques You mean that David suggested that Urijah could go to his house but he would not?
JT He had one thing before him. He said: “The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields”, 2 Samuel 11:11. I am not going to be otherwise, that is what he says in effect. What we need is men.
Rem In a crisis it might be easy to detect Absalom the usurper, but it may be hard to detect Joab, who is apparently faithful to the Lord and His interests, but has himself in mind.
[p. 201] Rem We can read this chapter and get the lesson objectively before us and yet to-morrow fail in the practical thing.
JT It is something to be taken to heart by us all. Later on Joab slays Amasa, and we saw from chapter 20 that Joab is before David in the mind of Joab’s young man, thus showing what is underneath. Later Joab takes sides against Solomon, showing that he is utterly exposed.
Ques I suppose there are times when the saints are marshalled?
JT You will always see it as a conflict arises. You will see the host being marshalled if you are spiritual.
Rem Ahimaaz served well in the secret service but in public service he failed.
JT Running was not his work. He belonged to the secret service but now he wants to do something else on his own account. Joab tells him, “there is no news suited to thee”. He had no message.
Rem He was thinking of David’s feelings for he knew Absalom was dead.
JT The Cushite had no regard for that. He is another man to keep your eye on, his race is in mind. He has no great distinction at all; he is not concerned about David’s feelings, he tells him the truth.
Ques How would you help a brother who wants to preach and cannot preach?
JT Well, Ahimaaz is in measure adjusted here; the king says, “Turn aside”. He is for the moment discarded, for the king has put him there and he has to wait until the other man comes. He was of another race, so that he would not have the same distinction in the minds of David and Joab. Joab says “my son” to Ahimaaz, but not to the Cushite.
But he is the messenger; Ahimaaz is disgraced.
Ques Do you think we ought to be able to say [p. 202] this to a brother before he runs? Sometimes a brother wants to speak and he is not qualified.
JT Joab in this incident suggests one who is responsible in certain features of the service of God — as Paul selected Silas instead of Mark (Acts 15:40). One who has responsibility in asking brothers to preach somewhat corresponds. All such should be most careful against personal motives. The very important lessons here, I believe, are in the man who spoke to Joab about Absalom, and in this Cushite; these are the men to have your eye on in this chapter. Each in his service is a model.
Ques Would Paul be an example of this?
JT The Lord told him to go to the city. At times the brethren must regulate you, which is a very important word for the young brothers. We must pay attention to the brethren! Do not be always saying, ‘I have got something from the Lord’. The chapter is not to bring out the glories of David. It is to bring out what God does in spite of weakness in the leading man or men and how right principles are asserted in two obscure persons. One is called “a man” and the other “the Cushite”. They have right thoughts. The book goes right through to bring out what a king ought to be and it finishes with that in chapter 23. David himself by the Spirit of God tells what a king should be, and that is very refreshing looking backward into the book here.
Rem These inconspicuous men are in contrast to the monument Absalom had built for himself. Instead of having our eye on church buildings we want to have our eye on these men.
JT It is better to have sons as a memorial.
“I have no son”, Absalom says. Paul had sons! Absalom had had sons but they must have died, that is, they did not come to anything.
Ques Would Joab obscure the judgment of God on [p. 203] Absalom?
JT He interfered with what God was doing. Some glory would have come out of the battle if it had become manifest that God Himself slew Absalom. Absalom said he had no son, although we are told earlier that he had sons. Nothing for God came out of this man. This monument reared up by himself in the king’s dale is but a testimony to his vanity.
Rem Satan sought to have David slay Saul.
JT He was ignominiously slain by the Philistines. Antichrist will not be slain by man, God will destroy him. Absalom is a type of antichrist as he is known in Christendom now. He is a son of perdition. True Christians have Jerusalem above as their mother, that is, a heavenly system, not a mere human religious organisation, of which there are many in Christendom. Jezebel’s children are killed with death. Morally she is left childless. The “male son”, of Revelation 12 is over against Jezebel and her children.