ABSALOM WAS NOT WELL NAMED

 

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

 

ABSALOM WAS NOT WELL NAMED

 

2 Sam 18:33

33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! KJV

 

          David’s third son by his wife Maacah, did not live up to his name. When David sinned with Bathsheba, Nathan, the prophet, told him that his punishment would be that “the sword would never depart from his house” (2 Sam 12:10). In other words, David would not know peace but war.

 

          David named his second son Solomon, meaning PEACEFUL. He named his third son Absalom which means father of peace. Absalom is a joining of Abba and Shalom, but Absalom was anything but peaceful. The events of his life can be found in Second Samuel chapters 13 through 19.

 

          The first mention of Absalom was his revenge against his half brother Amnon. Amnon had raped Absalom’s sister, Tamar, and Absalom had him killed. He then began a three-year self-imposed exile. The “father of peace” would be known by subterfuge, murder, and pride.

 

          Absalom led a rebellion against his father. While riding his mule through a thick forest, his long flowing hair, of which he was very proud, became tangled in the branches of a strong oak. His mule walked on and he was suspended by his hair. He was killed by darts or arrows, when ten of David’s soldiers disobeyed his orders to spare Absalom. So, a life built on pride, disappointment, resentment, and subterfuge came to an embarrassing end.

 

I’m a child of the King by Harriett E. Buell

 

I once was an outcast stranger on earth,

A sinner by choice, and an alien by birth,

But I've been adopted, my name's written down,

An heir to a mansion, a robe, and a crown.

 

I'm a child of the King,

A child of the King;

With Jesus my Savior,

I'm a child of the King.

 

Thank you, Lord for changing my name, my path, and my destiny. AMEN