06 The Price of Rebellion: A Son Hung on a Tree (2 Samuel 18)

Krisan Marotta: If you're listening to the Wednesday in the Word podcast, I'm Krisan Marotta. Today we'll be looking at 2 Samuel chapter 18, which covers the death of Absalom. This is the sixth talk in our series on the Rebellion of Absalom. You can find links to everything mentioned in the talk and follow along with lecture notes by going to wednesdayintheword.com slash Absalom6. Thank you for joining us. Today we are coming to the climax of our story, the Rebellion of Absalom. And as you recall, sin and suffering and repentance have been major themes in this story. So just to remind you where we've come from and what brought us to this point, you'll recall that in chapter 13 that begin this particular episode of David's life. And in that chapter, Amnon, one of David's oldest son, rapes his half-sister, who is Absalom's full sister, named Tamar. And we asked the question, why do the consequences of David's sin fall so heavily on his daughter, who is a seemingly innocent bystander? So we basically looked at that story and said, Why did she suffer so much? And we had three answers. First, we all deserve God's judgment. So there are no innocent bystanders in that sense. We are all sinful and we all fall short of the glory of God. None of us deserve the blessings he gives us. Second, God loves us too much to change our outward circumstances without changing us inside. So he is more concerned that we become people of faith than that we have an easy life. And the suffering is often the tool he uses to bring that about. And then we also, the third point we made was that suffering is just part of living in a fallen world. We ought to expect it, and that pain and brokenness will be with us until God ultimately redeems all of creation. But that God uses that suffering to bring about our faith and to mature our faith, and that's worth everything. So in chapter 14, then we saw Absalom reunited with his father David. He had murdered his brother Amnon to avenge his sister and then spent three years in exile and then is allowed to return to Jerusalem. And we talked about the difference between true repentance and surface reconciliation. So we saw that repentance is asking for more than the removal of the external legal consequences of your sin. It is recognizing your own guilt and accepting God's grace. So it's not just going through the motions on the outside, it's a fundamental change of heart on the inside. Which, of course, David and Absalom didn't have. So then in chapter 15, Absalom's rebellion goes into full swing and he declares himself king, and David has to flee Jerusalem. And we asked, how should you respond when you sin, especially if your sin has devastating consequences for other people? So we learn from David to humbly take responsibility, to confess and repent before God, resisting the temptation to blame God or to blame other people, and then to seek help. None of us can do that, handle that alone, so to seek help and accountability. Then in chapter 16, as David is descending or descending the Mount of Olives on his way into exile, into wilderness, we looked at how you respond when you're suffering unjustly. There David is accused of sins he did not commit and is being cursed for it, and we talked about the importance of knowing both who you are and who you serve. So we looked at David's response in Psalm 143 and talked about how our hope is taking an honest look at ourselves and realizing yes, we're sinful, but also taking an honest look at God and knowing that He loves us in spite of that, and that He promised to redeem even that most darkest night and lead us back into hope and victory. Then last week in chapter 17, we looked at the intricate kind of web of events God used to restore David to the throne, and we talked about how our confidence is in God, that he is in control even if we can't see it. So all the events of the chapter were hidden from David and the other main characters, and yet God was still actively at work. So we looked at Romans 8 and talked about how we have the confidence that because of the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us, we have confidence that God brings everything about for our good to conform us to the image of His Son. So today we're gonna see how the story ends. And the question today is the cost of rebellion, and we're gonna look at how great the cost of rebellion truly is. So turn to 2 Samuel 18, either in their Bibles or in your study guides, and there are a whole stack of Bibles on the back shelf if you need one. So in 2 Samuel 18, we come to the battle between David and his rebel son Absalom. Now, if Hollywood were filming this as a movie, we would expect this chapter to be the climactic scene to which the movie is building. So this would be the shootout at the okay corral. You know, it's the scene that would this whole story would build to, all the heroes and all the villains would start to fall into place for the battle, and this would probably take the whole last half hour of the movie. You know, maybe a good 20 minutes, but probably 30. And the camera would show us, you know, every twist and turn in the battle as it progresses. So at first, of course, the rebel forces would look like they had the upper hand, and they would be forcing back our heroes, but then just when all appeared lost, the most unlikely, insignificant, least, smallest hero would suddenly find that last shred of inner strength to overcome his enemy, and the tide would slowly begin to turn as his supporters and encouragers and friends would suddenly rally and beat back the forces of evil. But in our chapter, it takes three verses. So instead of the battle, the narrator says, let's look at something else that's going on. In fact, he practically ignores the battle and he concentrates on two things: how Absalom met his end, and how David reacts to that. And so that's something we ought to go, okay, why? Why does he consider those two events so important? And that's the lesson we're gonna try to learn from. So, in addition to almost ignoring the battle, notice how he portrays the three main characters. And Dale Rath Davis points this out in his commentary. We've got Absalom, Joab, and David. And of the three, Absalom is central, Joab is dominant, and David is passive. So Absalom is central. You'll remember that this whole story began in 13.1 with the words, now Absalom, and ever since then he's been a driving force in this plot. So it's his reaction to the rape of his sister that starts this event in motion. When David fails to act, Absalom acts instead and kills his brother. And then the middle section of the story revolves around all the political maneuvers that get him back to Jerusalem and into his father's presence. And then once back, he begins to undermine his father's authority and steal the hearts of the men of Israel to declare himself king. And in our chapter, he is central again, but notice he neither speaks nor acts. He is only acted upon. So he is the focus of David's request in 18.5 and in verse 19 and in verse 32, deal gently with my son, and is it well with my son? He's the where all the chapter revolves around him. He's a dominant character, but he is not in control. He never speaks, he's only acted upon, and his fate is out of his hands. He is literally suspended between heaven and earth, waiting to see what would happen. Joab, on the other hand, is the most active and most in control. So when an unnamed soldier discovers Absalom caught in a tree by his hair, he runs to Joab to report the news. And Joab gathers his spears to finish Absalom off. Joab's the one that blows the trumpet to end the battle and call the people back. He's the one that sends and directs messengers to the king, giving them the words to say. And when he hears of the king's grief, he's the one that will take action again and rebuke David. And then looking ahead in the story, he's also going to eliminate his rival. So in every plot trist, we see Joab actively taking control, and he's the one that makes the decisions that move the plot forward. David, on the other hand, is passive. All we see him doing is watching and waiting. So he remains in the city rather than go out to battle. He gives a command, but it is not followed. He stands by the gate watching the troops march off. He waits by the gate watching for the messengers to come back. He questions the messengers. In every case, we see him responding to events, but he is not leading, and the outcome of the war is out of his control. And the spotlight focuses on his anxiety over the welfare of his son, especially when he learns that the price of rebellion is the death of his son. So keep that in mind as we go through the chapter, and I'm gonna kind of go through the events and what we learn from the events themselves, and then ask the questions so why David's grief? Why is that so central to the narrator? Okay, so we start in 18.1 with David organizing himself for war. I'm gonna read you 18.1 through 5. Then David mustered the men who were with him and sent over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. And David sent out the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai, the son of Zariah, Joab's brother, and one third under the command of Itai the Gittite. And as and the king said to the men, I myself will also go out with you. But the men said, You shall not go out, for if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us, therefore it is better that you send us help from the city. And the king said to them, Whatever seems best to you I will do. So the king stood at the side of the gate while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands, and the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom. So notice that the battle is imminent, and David is numbering his troops, he's dividing them into three divisions, and this is a family feud. You notice Joab is David's nephew, Abishai is David's nephew, Itai the Gittite is the only foreigner. He's the one who recently pledged his loyalty to David. And you'll recall from the last chapter that Absalom's commander is Amasa, who was also David's nephew. And he's David's uh the son of David's half-sister Abigail. So you've got cousin against cousin, and this is a family feud. All the main characters, with the exception of Ittai, are related to David. After organizing them, he expresses his desire to personally join the battle. So, unlike chapter 11, when he stayed home and spied Bathsheba on her roof, he seems ready to avoid that kind of mistake. He wants to go out, but his troops object because they say this battle is to decide whether or not you remain king. So the whole reason we're fighting is to keep you on the throne. And if David's exposed to the heat of the battle, it makes him an easy target. And that multiplies their risk and it places them in greater jeopardy. So he asks them to remain in the city, but he before they leave, he blurts out this ill-advised command deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom. Which makes me wonder if maybe he wanted to go out personally to keep Absalom safe, figuring that if he was on the battlefield, maybe this command he he could enforce. I don't know. But unfortunately, the troops hear him, and that's death is the appropriate response for Absalom's treason. It is the price justice demands. He has declared himself king. He seized his father's concubines and said, David is as good as dead to me, and the only legal justice that can befall him at this point is death. And for David to say, bring him back alive, is really unwise and unfair to his troops. And David must know that as king, but as father, he can't bear it. I think he just can't bear the idea of losing another son. So just like he failed to act against Amnon when Amnon raped his sister, he does not want to act against Absalom as well. So then we get the three short verses of the battle itself in 6 through 8. So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, 20,000 men. The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword. So Absalom's troops are decimated. There's tremendous loss of life. The narrator kind of tells you that and then shifts right to what's happening to Absalom himself. Look at verse 9. And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. So Absalom, just like the forest itself, has defeated his followers, he's defeated by an individual tree, and his beautiful hair, which you'll recall he glorified in in 1426, now gets tangled in a low-hanging branch. His mule keeps going, and mules were the preferred mounts of kings in that day. And so he goes, the mule goes trotting on, leaving him literally suspended between heaven and earth. So he's helpless and vulnerable. So at this point, let's see, um, he's discovered. An unnamed soldier sees Absalom in his predicament, and rather than kill him, runs to Joab. So let's look at that in 10 through 18. And a certain man saw it and told Joab, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak. And Joab said to the man who told him, What? You saw him? Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt. But the man said to Joab, Even if I felt the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not reach my hand out my hand against the king's son. For in our hearing the king commanded you in Abishai and Itai, for my sake, protect the young man Absalom. On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life, and there is nothing hidden from the king, then you yourself would have stood aloof. So he's saying, basically, look, I'm not going to disobey the king's command, because you wouldn't have backed me up if the king was angry. So Joab doesn't even bother to refute that. Probably means he was right. It says, in 14, Joab said, I will not waste time like this. And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak. The ten young men, Joab's arm Joab's armor bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him. Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained him. And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones, and all Israel fled, every one to his own home. Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a pillar that is in the king's valley, for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance. And he called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's monument to this day. So we get this heated exchange between Joab and the unnamed soldier, who discovers Absalom, and the soldier refuses to kill Absalom because of David's request. Joab has no such qualms. He takes three spears and thrusts them into Absalom's heart, lodging him from the tree. And the details about Absalom's burial are significant. So in 817, when they tell you that he was buried under a heap of stones, that is the mark of a traitor's grave. So if you compare that burial to, say, Joshua 7, where Achan is buried under a large pile of stones for his sacrilege, it's the same kind of event. It's also in Joshua 8, where the king of I, after having been hanged on a tree, is buried the same way. And in Joshua 10, there are five enemy kings who were also hung on trees and thrown into the same kind of uh they were thrown into a cave with sealed with large stones. And then notice Deuteronomy 21 and 22, and if a man has committed a crime punishable by death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain on light on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day. For a hanged man is cursed by God, you shall not defile your the land that the Lord your God has given you for an inheritance. So as we go forward in this, remember that a hanged man is cursed by God. So Absalom the would-be king dies with no legacy, no son, no house of him of his own, and he's buried in a traitor's grave. But we have a small textual problem. We need to reconcile 1818 with 2 Samuel 1427. So you'll remember 1427 says they were born to Absalom three sons and one daughter whose name was Tamar, and she was a beautiful woman. And now we come to 1818, where it says, now Absalom is said, I have no son to keep my name. So the question is: if one verse says he has three sons, and now he says, I have no son, what's going on? Well, it's not an error. The most likely explanation is that his sons preceded him in death, especially since they are not named. So it's likely that they were born to him, but they did not live to adulthood, and that his daughter was the only one who lived to adulthood. So that's pretty likely the fact that their names aren't recorded, is that they probably died in childhood. Okay, so what do we make of Joab? So he's expressly disobeying the king. So was he right? Was he wrong? Did he do good or not? So I think the first thing to realize is to look at David's orders. So his orders were clear, but they were not wise. Because he is sending people off into battle to risk their lives for him and his throne with the expressed desire that the one who's the cause of all this evil be allowed to live. That is an outrageous request to say, okay, that man that's trying to kill you, don't kill him back. What are you supposed to do? It's a request David should not have given. And ironically, you would think in the confusion, in the heat of battle, there would be no opportunity to grant clemency to Absalom. The most likely scenario is that there would be some thick fighting in which Absalom would be caught and there would be no chance to show him mercy. But in God's providence, Joab has just such a chance. He, Absalom's hanging, suspended between heaven and earth. And as usual, our narrator reports Joab's actions without commentary. So he neither condones nor condemns them, and we're left to kind of draw our own conclusions. So when I was reading through this, it's almost universal. Most scholars think that even though Joab expressly disobeyed the king's orders, he acted in David's best interest. So he did what was best for David, regardless of David's wishes. Because the death of Absalom ends the battle. Once he is dead, there's no reason to keep fighting, and that spares probably thousands of more lives. And nothing would be gained by keeping him alive. So Joab is acting what's in by doing what is best for the nation as a whole, because if he brings Absalom back, it sends a confusing message about justice, it leaves open the possibility that Absalom would attempt another coup, uh coup or another rebellion, and his death on the battlefield is politically necessary, legally required, and morally justifiable. So Joab actually, most people think he did what was right, even though it disobeyed what David asked him to do. So if God's kingdom is under attack and God's chosen king is under attack, then that enemy has to be dealt with. So, when and you think about that, every time we pray, Lord, deliver us from evil, we are implicitly asking God to judge that evil, and he must judge that evil to save his church. So one scholar explained it this way, I thought was the best way. He said, David is treating Absalom's actions as a youthful rebellion. But this is rebellion against God and king. This is not a teenage, adolescent rebellion, this is rebellion, a kingdom rebellion. So David is letting his role as father overtake his role as judge and king, and Joab remains clear-sighted and does what's what's politically necessary. Dale Ralph Davis says it this way. He said, David would treat cancer with candy. So Absalom is cancer, and you don't go into the surgeon and say, deal gently with the cancer. You say it all has to come out. You remove it all, you need complete removal, and that's what Joab does. He realizes this is evil in the kingdom, it requires surgery, and he takes responsibility for it. And you'll notice when the report comes back to David, that's what's reported. It's the spiritual spiritual reality that's reported. They say three times, the Lord has delivered you from the hand of your enemies. So Joab and the army recognize that this is a kingdom battle, this is not a teenage rebellion, this is a battle for who is God's chosen king, and it has to be treated as such. So in 19 to 32, we get the news of the report coming back to David. And I'm not going to read the whole thing, but I just want you to notice the repetition. In 1819, Ahamas, the son of Zadak, one of the priests, says, Let me run and carry the news to the king. That the Lord has delivered him from the hand of your enemies. That's how they understand the significance of this. Joab says, No, I don't want you to carry the news today because the king's son is dead, so he wants to send a foreigner who has no emotional ties to the king and let him deliver the news. Because I think he knows how this is going to hit David. Ahaz persists, says, No, let me run, let me run. And so in the end, Joab relents and sends them both. Ahamaz beats is the faster runner and he gets there first. And you notice in 1828, he says, All is well, and he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, Blessed be the Lord your God who has delivered up the men who raised their hand, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my Lord the King. So he's again saying, This is a kingdom battle. These were enemies of the king. God has delivered you. The king says, Ooh, what happened to Absalom? So Ahamas thought he was addressing the king with news of a battle, but all of a sudden he realized he's facing the father with the news that his son is dead, and he panics and demures and says, Well, I saw a commotion, but I'm not quite sure what happened. So he waits for the Cushite to arrive. And in 1831, again, you see, good news for my Lord the King, for the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all those who rose up against you. Again, reporting the spiritual reality that this was a kingdom traitor, not a teenage rebellion. David again questions, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And the Cushite answers, this is verse 32, May the enemies of my Lord the King and all who raise up against you for evil be like that young man. So he reports the news of Absalom's death without using Absalom's name and the words death. Instead, he focuses on the theological reality that this was a kingdom traitor and God has dealt with him. And finally, David understands that the price of rebellion, the price of restoring the kingdom is the is the death of a son, a son hung on a tree. And it is a cost he cannot bear. So I want to pull in, I'm gonna we're gonna look at 33, and I'd like to pull in 19 verses 1 through 8. They're in your study guide for next week, but they fit more appropriately with this story. So we're gonna um look at them today. So look at 1833 and then 191 through 4. And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son. And it was told Joab, Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom. So the victory that day turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard that day the king is grieving for his son. And the people stole into the city that day as people who steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle. And the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, my son, my son. Notice the fivefold repetition of my son in verse 33, and then the trifold again in 194. David, this news hits David like a ton of bricks, and he should remain at his post to welcome back all the people that have risked their lives for him, and instead he seeks to escape from public view, he climbs to the chamber over the gate and weeps loudly for his son. Oh, my son, my son, would that I have died instead of you. So for David, the life of another son is too much for him to bear. Bruce Walk summarizes it this way in his commentary on this. He says, Heretofore in this section of the book of Samuel, David has been blind and indecisive about his son, but nevertheless a man of faith who looks outward and is concerned with the kingdom of Yahweh. But now he becomes a man who, apart from faith in Yahweh and prays, looks inward and yearns for the well-being of his sons more than for the kingdom of God. He goes from bad to worse. He wishes that he who represents Yahweh and the Torah had died instead of his spoiled and incorrigible son, who despised God in his moral absolutes. He feels no concern for the kingdom of that the kingdom of God has been restored. He is concerned only with his misfortune as a father. And I think that's the theological reality. David has lost sight of his role as king and as God's chosen king, and he is thinking only as a father at this point. So Joab realizes the damage the king's grief can do to the kingdom, and he takes action, because at this point the army is unrewarded and the nation is without a leader. So he, in look at 5 through 8 of chapter 19. Then Joab came into the house of the king and said, You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life, and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives and your concubines, because you love those who hate you, and you hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that the commanders and servants are nothing to you. For today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. Now therefore arise, go out, and speak kindly to your servants. For I swear by the Lord, if you do not go out, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now. So the king then the king arose and took his seat at the gate, and the people will told, Behold, the king is sitting at his gate, and all the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled, every man to his own house. So Joab gets the report that the king is weeping and that David's grief has cast a pall of shame over the army, and that probably the returning troops can hear David wailing in the tower, and he says, David needs a reality check, and I'm going to give it to him. And David, as we said, has let his role as father take precedence over his role as God's chosen king, and that places the kingdom in danger. And rather than kind of gently coax him out of his depression, Joab comes in with brutal honesty, and he says, Look, you are putting those to shame by loving those who were trying to kill you and hating those who were risking their lives for you. And he threatens that unless David takes his place at the gate, everyone will desert him. There will be no support left for him as king. So David does resume his place, but there appears to be a rift between David and Joab that never heals. Now, I think the narrator is painted Joab as the better servant of the kingdom in this chapter. Even though he disobeyed the king's orders, he was willing to deal with the evil that was confronting God's kingdom without compromise and without caving into emotions. Remember, Absalom was really was his cousin too. So he this is still a family feud. Joab has probably not the same loyalties as a father, but he is part of the family. And he realizes to preserve the kingdom, to preserve the throne of David, Absalom must be killed, and it's a sacrifice David is not capable of making. So that leaves us with the question: why does the narrator give us so much information about David's grief and David's state of mind? Because clearly he wants us to see it. I mean, a mere historian would have said David grieved when he heard the news, period. Just the facts. That's all we needed to know. I mean, you think about the New Testament where it says Jesus wept. That's all the information we get. And yet here the text tells us David's state of mind and practically allows us to hear his wailing and weeping, and then to the long speech to tremble in fear of the consequences for the kingdom. So the question is, why? Why is that so important to the narrator? So I think we have to look back first at the words of Nathan the prophet in 12.2. Remember, Nathan, when he judged David for his sin with Bathsheba, he says, Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. So I think part of the problem here is David is guilty and he knows it. And it's that guilt that fuels his grief. Nathan assured David that his life would be spared, but the infant son born of adultery would die, and we saw that in 1214. Then Amnon was murdered in chapter 13, and now Absalom in chapter 18. Now it's true, Absalom and Amnon are guilty of their own sins, but I think David knows it's his guilt that unleashed this sword, that unleashed this whole chain of events. So when he says, Would that I have died instead of you, he's saying, Would that God had just taken my life and spared my sons in all this trouble? So what does that teach us? I think the first thing it teaches is that God's anointed king is a suffering king. And in that sense, he is foreshadowing Jesus. Recall that Isaiah, when he prophesies about the Messiah who would come, he says in 53.3, he is a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. And there is no easy life for God's servant. He is a suffering king and a suffering servant. And then more importantly, the price of restoring the kingdom is the death of a son hung on a tree. And it is a price David cannot bear to pay, but it is the price God pays for us. Because we are the rebels. We look at this story and we think, oh, we want to put ourselves in David's shoes, think of ourselves as the king, but we are the rebels like Absalom. We are the ones who have turned our back on the true king and want to be God. So we've said, you know, thanks God, but I'd rather be Lord of my own life, not you. I'd rather do things my way. And the price of our rebellion is the death of a son on a tree, but not our son, it's God's son who's going to pay that price. Today is Ash Wednesday, and it's kind of fitting that we did this story as Easter approaches. In fact, there's a I meant to announce there's an Ash Wednesday service at noon in the worship area, and you're all welcome to stay, and there will be child care for it. So as we kind of work into the Easter season and start thinking about what the cross meant, I hope you remember this story of David, because if you think start thinking about Jesus' final weeks and his uh the events that lead toward Easter and the resurrection Sunday, notice in the story we are given everyone's perspective but God's. So we're drawn into the story of Jesus' death and resurrection from almost every perspective but the Father's. We see, like when the angel appears to Mary, we get her song of praise. When Joseph learns his fiance's pregnant, we see his doubts and fears. When the angels burst into the night sky to tell that the birth of a newborn king, we get to hear their joy and feel their news. And then when Jesus is betrayed and by Judas, when he's denied by Peter, we get the details of that. We get the news that his disciples have scattered and left him alone, and you can almost feel the betrayal. We get the details that the crowds are shouting to crucify him, and feel that despair as he is beaten and mocked and crucified. And then, of course, it culminates in this anguished cry, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me as he hangs on the cross? A sacrifice for our transgressions. But where do we see what the Father went through during all of that? It's not in the New Testament, but I think here in David's story we get a glimpse of it. We get a glimpse of what that price really is and how much it costs, what it is like to sacrifice a son for someone else's rebellion. And so I think that's why the narrator's given us David's grief. He's letting us see what this price costs. So in David, we get the tiny glimpse of kind of the enormous cost God was willing to pay to buy us out of our slavery to sin, and it's a price David cannot bear to pay, but God does. So in 1833, when he says, Oh my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, oh my son Absalom, you can think that's what the Father did for us. So, in light of that, I want to close by looking at John 3.16. It's probably the most uh famous verse in the Bible, but I want you to think about it in light of the Absalom story and what we've just talked about. So if you have your Bibles, turn to John 3. Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus. He's just told Nicodemus that you have to be born again. And Nicodemus is marveling, how could that possibly be? How could anyone be born again go into the womb a second time? And Jesus responds to him this way by looking at a story from the Old Testament. So in John 3, 14 and 15, he says, and as Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. Now, of course, as good Bible students, we have to go, okay, what happened with Moses and the servant in the wilderness? And that story is in Numbers 21. So you can turn there if you want, but keep your finger in John, because we're coming back to John. So in Numbers 21, Moses has led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. They are wandering in the desert, and God has given them manna. And we read in 21, 4, 5 through 6, from Mount Horde they set out by way of the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom, and the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses. Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there's no food and no water, and we loath this worthless food. So I don't like the manna, apparently. So in 21, 6, then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people so that many of the people of Israel died. So here's the situation: God's delivered them from slavery. He is supernaturally providing for their physical needs with the manna, and they don't like it. They are impatient and ungrateful, and they grumble against God and despise his gifts. So they rebelled, essentially, and God responds to that rebellion by judging them, sending them a plague of poisonous snakes, whose venom is described it's it's literally stinging like fire. That sounds pretty grim, I think. But the people repent. So look at seven through nine. And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that he may take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people, and the Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. So Moses made a bronze servant and set it on a pole, and if the serp if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze servant and live. So they sin, and God judges them, and they cry out for mercy, and God says, I will give you a way of escape. I will give you a way out of this. And the way out is Moses makes a bronze servant, sets it on a pole, and anyone who's bitten need only look at this serpent lifted high up on this pole and be healed. So that's what Jesus is quoting in John 3. So let's go back to John 3 and look at that. So Nicodemus says, How can someone be born again? And Jesus answers, just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. So how do you be born again? You look at the Son of Man who is lifted up. So he's drawing the analogy. He's basically saying, Look, you are a people who are snake-bitten. So you have this poison. We are just like the people of the Exodus. We have this poison that is spread to every corner of our being, our mind, our body, our soul, and it is sin. And God has given us a way out of that sin and a way of escape. And the only way of escape is to look at our substitute serpent, so to speak. Look at the one who is lifted up on the cross. So just as the serpent was lifted up and you look to him and were healed, so the Son of Man will be lifted up, and you have to put your trust in him to be healed. And then we get the famous verse 316 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Now you know the context of that. But notice the word order. It doesn't say whoever believes in him shall live. It says whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. The negative comes first. And I think he's drawing the parallel to the exodus. He's saying, Whoever believes in the one who's lifted up will not perish because you're perishing. Just like the people in the Exodus were gonna die because they had been bitten by snakes, they had the poison, and there was no hope. You are in the same situation. We are people who are snake-bit. We are dead in our sins, and we are perishing, and without a cure, there is no way. We will surely die without a cure. But there is a remedy, there is a way out of this, there is a way to be born again, as Jesus says, and that is believe in the one who is lifted up on the cross in your place. So all of us are perishing. Left to ourselves, we would die in that wilderness of our own making. The poison of sin has spread throughout our bodies, and apart from the cross, we have no hope. We might as well have been bitten by deadly snakes. So the price of our rebellion is the death of a son hung on a tree. That's the price of restoring the kingdom, is the son will be lifted up on our behalf. That's the good news of the gospel, that God loves us so much, so deeply and so profoundly, that he would make the sacrifice to lift up, to crucify his only begotten son. So what you see is David did not have that kind of love. Ultimately, he is not the king we need. And that's one of the questions we've been asking throughout 2 Samuel. Is this the king we need? And the answer here is no. When the test comes for David, his grief overwhelmed him. He let his role as father overtake his role as king, and the price was too painful for him to bear. So he goes weeping to the tower, O Absalom, my son, my son. He's not the king we need. We need another king. We need the king of kings who is perfect and blameless and willing to make that sacrifice on our behalf, to send his only begotten son to die in our place. So the price of rebellion against God and restoring his kingdom is the death of a son on a tree. It is a terrible and enormous and costly price, but one our Heavenly Father paid for us. And that's what's so amazing about grace. So I think David's grief gives us a glimpse into the price that our Father paid for us. And Peter summarizes it this way in 1 Peter 2.24. He himself bore our sins in his body on a tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. And then Paul in 1 Corinthians he says, You are not your own. You are bought with a price, and now we see the price. So may God teach us to humbly and gratefully appreciate the price he paid for us. And let me stop there and pray for us, and then I'll give you a chance to ask some questions and respond. Father, as Easter approaches, we come before you marveling at what you were willing to do. And as we get a window into David's grief, I just ask that you would teach us to appreciate what you did for us, the price you paid, and how much it cost. And that we would understand that we were rebels just like Absalom. We'd turn our back on the kingdom, like the people of Exodus, we are snake-bit with sin. But we thank you that in your mercy and in your grace and in your profound love, you provide a way out for us. And that way out is the death of your son and the resurrection. And we pray that if anyone here does not know that love, that um she would see it now, that you would open her eyes to the truth, um, to not only her own sin, but how much you love her and are willing to go to bring her back to the kingdom. We ask all these things in your name. Amen.