Years later, David’s son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar, beginning the fulfillment of that prophecy. Amnon had sinned because he failed to control his sexual desire, much as David had failed to control his lust for Bathsheba. David found himself emotionally unable to punish Amnon, the firstborn son and heir apparent.

It was this failure of justice that set Absalom, Tamar’s brother, at odds with David. Since David wouldn’t act, Absalom did. He felt David was wrong, so he took matters into his own hands, murdering Amnon. Once again, uncontrolled sexual desire had led to murder. Once again, David had been faced with the painful results of sin. And once again, David had failed to act, unable emotionally to punish his son for a sin he himself had also committed.

Absalom fled from David, but returned three years later. At that time, undoubtedly still harboring bitterness toward his father, Absalom began to plot against him. There was an irony in the way Absalom gathered support among the people. He would "stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate" (2 Samuel 15:2), empathizing with those individuals who sought justice. Just as Absalom believed he and his sister were the victims of injustice, he convinced others that they would remain victims until he was their judge.

Once the rebellion had begun and David had fled Jerusalem, Absalom "lay with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel" (2 Samuel 16:22). It was another bitter irony for David, who so long before had taken another man’s wife. This act made reconciliation impossible. In the ancient Near East, taking the concubines or wives of the king signified a transfer of power. David could never publicly be reconciled to Absalom. And yet, because of his great love as well as his guilt, David wanted Absalom to live.

The death of Absalom is a pivotal point in the life of David. In one sense, David’s reaction to Absalom’s death defines and symbolizes the character of David. He was a man of passion, a man of great emotion. He intensely felt life’s joys and sorrows, triumphs and defeats. That passion was evident at the death of Saul and Jonathan, so many years before. Saul was another man David loved, another man who had made himself David’s enemy. Although Saul had twice tried to kill David, David remained loyal to him. More than that, David loved Saul as a father. When Saul and Jonathan died, David sang a lament praising both for their heroic deeds and for their service to Israel.

David lived with an energy and enthusiasm that often surprised or confused others. While the ark of the covenant was being transported to Jerusalem, "David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might" (2 Samuel 6:14). He rejoiced wholeheartedly, knowing that the presence of the ark in Jerusalem symbolized the presence of God in the capital of Israel. His mind and heart were fixed on that thought, not on his own dignity. Click here for illustration.

But his wife Michal, the daughter of Saul, despised David when she saw him dancing in the streets. David was dressed in the simple linen ephod of the priests, a garment she deemed unbecoming to a king. Even worse, to her he seemed undignified, "leaping and dancing" (verse 16). Michal focused on the petty and insignificant. She couldn’t understand why David did what he did. But David saw what really mattered.

In a sense, this difference in David’s attitude is what set him apart from others. David wasn’t just a passionate man, but a man passionate about the right things. Though men and women may not have seen it, God certainly did. He chose David to be king because of that difference.

Continuation of the commentary

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