if not, there's some in the back. Lessons from the Life of David. David is an aging king now, a king in exile, actually. David has fled from his son, Absalom, who has taken the throne in Jerusalem. And David is now located in a place called Mahanaim, which is located in Jordan, where Jordan is nowadays. So it's across the Jordan River. It's out of what we'd call Israel proper today. But it was part of Israel back in the day. It was in the tribe of Gad, most likely. The exact location of Mahanaim is not known. perfectly known, but it's believed to be on the river Jebuk, a creek that runs through that area. But David's in Mahanaim. He takes a stand there. We talked about that last week. Took a stand there. He would flee no further from his son Absalom. Meanwhile, back in Israel, this by way of a brief, very brief introduction, back in Israel, Absalom is busily mustering all of Israel. It takes some time to do that, to muster all of Israel. That's what the scripture keeps saying, all of Israel, all of Israel. But it was not all of Israel. We know that because there was some who remained loyal to David and some who came to him at Mahanaim. And so it was not all of Israel, but it seemed that way. It seemed like all of Israel had gone over his advisors. I mean, what in the world had happened? Well, we talked about that a while back, but David had been an ineffectual king. for some time now, maybe the last 10 years, since his sin with Bathsheba. David was kind of hanging out, hiding out, maybe would be a better word for it, in the palace, the royal palace, and he wasn't taking an active role. as being king. Meanwhile, there's all sorts of sin and tragedy occurring within his own household. One of his sons was murdered by another son. One's daughter was raped, and blah, blah, blah. I mean, it just got worse and worse, all because of his sin with Bathsheba. David is an ineffectual father. He had let his sons rule the roost, so to speak. And his son Absalom had fled because he had murdered his half-brother. But then David, at Job's urging, had brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. And things got worse then because Absalom began to win the hearts of the people of Jerusalem. You remember he had the looks to be a king, he had the good looks, and he had the wherewithal to position himself like a king, riding in his chariot. His chariots were of no use in Jerusalem. I mean, it's on top of a mountainous country. But in the city proper, he could ride up and down the streets in his chariots with his 50 men running beside him. You know, it was all just a big show, big show. But Absalom won the hearts and minds of the people of Israel. All of Israel were following Absalom, so it seemed. And Absalom was busy mustering Israel. Following Husha's counsel, Husha's counsel which was not the best counsel for Absalom. It was foolish counsel to take all that time to muster all of Israel. He prepares for a crushing blow David, but he has all this just huge army of poorly trained forces, poorly trained. They weren't trained to work together. They hadn't drilled for a long time. They just had been gathered in a haste, but Absalom is not satisfied that his father is in exile. He wants nothing but David's blood. will suffice." Nothing but David's death. And following Hushei's advice and his own pride, Absalom decides he's going to lead the charge. Remember in the beginning, Hithepel Absalom's other counselor, Ahithopel, had wisely counseled that, go fast, go now, tonight, take 12,000, which was more than adequate, David only had 600 or so men, take the 12,000 and crush him before he crosses the river Jordan. crush him. And Ahithopel had wisely counseled, I'll lead the charge, I'll take off David's head. But Husheh had counseled, no, no, no, don't let Ahithopel get all the glory, Absalom, you want to be in charge. So Absalom says, yes, that's what I want. So Absalom's leading the, foolishly, leading the charge after David. We see the buildup. The buildup's in 2 Samuel chapter 17. That's where we ended last week. Material that I was originally going to cover last week, but I rearranged so it fit into this week's lesson. You know how that goes if you've taught before. But I've called this the buildup, the buildup, which perhaps you remember back in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Before the war started, there was a buildup. You know, we could see it by satellite imagery real clearly. I mean, Russia was massing troops not in Russia, but in Belarus. It wasn't even their own country. It was massing troops in Belarus, just happened to be on the border with Ukraine. And when questioned about that, Putin said, it's winter training, joint winter training exercises with Belarus. Really? And they were pointing out in the satellite images, what, there's hospital tents there. What do you need hospital tents for if you're having that training exercise? Well, of course, it was all a big lie, and it wasn't a training exercise at all. It was preparing for an invasion. It was a buildup. And we saw that for months going on before that. So the same thing happens here. There's a buildup, and Absalom's busy gathering his troops, and David has spies. I mean, there's people coming to him from Israel, coming out to Mahanaim for him, and they're bringing news about it, in addition to his other spies he had pre-planted there. So David is getting news back. He's understanding what's happening in Israel, that Absalom has got his troops gathered, he's preparing for battle, and what's he doing, and where's he going? We see, first of all, Absalom's folly in this buildup. Second Samuel, Chapter 17, beginning in verse 24. Then David came to Mahanaim, and Absalom passed over Jordan. So this is the build-up. Absalom is preparing his troops. And of course, he's got this big motley group of his army. He passed over Jordan, and he and all the men and all the men of Israel with him. So he's crossing River Jordan again, a formidable barrier. It takes some time to cross the river. David has got plenty of advanced warning that Absalom and his forces are on the way. And verse 25, and Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab, which Amasa was a man's son, whose name was, and we give a little bit of detail here, Ithra, an Israelite that went into Abigail, the daughter of Naash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother. Wow, what's all that about? Well, Absalom's plans, we'll talk about that in a second, were nothing but folly. Folly. After all, how could it be otherwise? David had prayed in 2 Samuel 15, verse 31. David prayed, O Lord, I pray Thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. And the Lord had answered David's prayer. The Lord had turned Ahithobel's council into absolute foolishness, and Absalom is pursuing a course of folly. Hushai's plans were, of course, full of foolishness. Hushai considered waiting. gathering all Israels, what Hushai said, he was playing on Absalom's fears. Same way it happened in Hogan's Heroes, if you watch that movie. The same thing happened, you know, they're playing on the Nazis' fears and concerns and poor old, who's the commandant there? Schultz was the sergeant, but Schlenker, Colonel Klink, Colonel Klink, yeah, Colonel Klink. Colonel Klink, they're playing on his fears. He doesn't want to get sent to the Eastern Front. I mean, Hushai plays exactly the same storyline on Absalom. He gathers, counselors gather all Israel together for a crushing blow, because David is going to fight like a bear, wounded, robbed of her cubs. But he gives David, Hushai's advice, gives David time to regroup, time to muster his loyal followers. Hushai had also counseled Absalom to lead Absalom with his long flowing hair, his good looks, a man of great boasting, but really no military talent is now leading the group. And he counseled Absalom to strike down, Hushai did, his counsel was strike down God's anointed. Well, he didn't exactly say God's anointed, but strike David down, but David is God's anointed. That's foolish advice. Hushai knew that such a quest will surely fail. You can't fight against God, all right? So you cannot strike down God's anointed. But now Absalom is determined to carry out these vile plans. It's a word. I had never heard this word before, but it's called parasite, not parasite, parasite. Parasite is the killing of your mother or father. In this case, the killing of your father, parasite. Absalom was willing and ready to stain his hands with his father's blood, the blood of a loving father who had shown Absalom nothing but mercy and kindness. Nothing but mercy and kindness and long-suffering. Nothing but his father's death at his own hands. Absalom wanted to be in front. Absalom wanted to be the one wielding the sword, taking off David's neck. Nothing but his father's death at his own hands would suffice, would satisfy Absalom now. It was all folly. We're talking about Absalom's folly. It was driven by satanic forces urging Absalom on. Right behind him was Satan pushing. After all, David was in the lineage of the Messiah. Satan knew that. Satan's been watching for centuries now. Satan's been watching because he knew the promise given to Adam and Eve. He knew that promise, and he's watching Adam's lineage, and he's watching the lineage of the Messiah, and he's traced it down, and no doubt Satan is for sure identified David as in the lineage of the Messiah. Strike down David. Kill the Messiah. Stop the threat, so Satan thinks. And Absalom is simply yielding himself to that satanic desire. Absalom appoints Amasa as Israel's general. We read that in verse 25. And Absalom made Amasa captain, the host, instead of Joab. You know, the wicked, don't always get their way. The wicked don't always get their way. I can't think of all these crazy names, but Absalom would have been much better off with Joab. as his commander. Instead he appoints Amasa. Amasa is David's nephew. He's actually Joab's cousin, but he appears to be a man of little military talent from all we can tell. And certainly he was no equal to Joab. Joab was a brilliant commander despite his numerous other faults that we'll talk about next week. But little is known of Amasa, but it was obviously a poor choice because the battle is like a, wasn't really a battle at all. So Amasa, the evidence suggests that Amasa was a poor choice as a military commander, a foolish choice by Absalom, but how could it be otherwise? when Absalom was fighting against God. How could it be otherwise? We see David's friends, Absalom's folly, but David's friends have said, Verse 26, so Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead, and it came to pass, verse 27, when David was come to Manasseh, the Shobi, the son of Nahash, of Raboth, of the children of Ammon, and Makar, the son of Amel, of Lodabar, and Brezili, the Giladite of Rogalim, brought beds and bassins, and earthly vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentils, and parched pulse. I think that's a vegetable. And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kind for David, and for the people that were with him to eat. For they said, the people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty. in the wilderness. We see David's friends. It's another rather vivid contrast that we've seen quite a few of in this chapter, vivid contrast. David's friends begin to arrive in Mahanaim in contrast to the bloodthirsty vengeance and the suicide of Ahithopel in Absalom's camp. There's kindness. and consideration in David's camp. What a contrast, you know, between the disaster that's unfolding in Absalom's camp and the order and organization in David's camp. It's a world that's ruled by Satan. We live in a world ruled by Satan, but overruled by God. And we still see those contrasts today. A world that's ruled by Satan, but overruled by God. God says, nope. Not going any further, Satan. That's it. Don't touch that church. Don't touch that individual. Don't touch... Wow. And there's this contrast where we see disaster on one hand and we see peace and safety and security on the other. A contrast. We see these three men arrive. They bring lavish and needed gifts. Shelby, a citizen of Ammonite. That means foreigner. A foreigner has come. Someone who's not of Israel. David has shown kindness to his brother, Hanan. Some chapters earlier, David had sent some messengers to Hanan expressing his sorrow over Hanan's father's, his father's death. And Hanan had mistreated David's messengers. And Hanan had sent them back with their beards half cut off and their garments half cut off in disgrace and embarrassment, and it led to war between Israel and the Ammonites. Hanan's brother. Hanan's brother, Shelby, is here. Surprise, surprise. Returning David's kindness. David's kindness. The Lord didn't let David's kindness go unnoticed. Now, the Lord wanted to put the Ammonites in their place. There's no doubt about that. But David's kindness toward Hanan was not unrecognized. And now Shelby, in an act of free will, brings this lavish gift back. Accompanied by, or maybe separate, they came separately, I don't know, but make here, a man who has sheltered Mephibosheth after Saul's death, and Brazili, who's a wealthy man, he's gonna show up again, believed to be in his 80s now. Not too old, you know, this is lessons from the life of David, so we need to pick up on some lessons here, I hope you're listening. But Brazili, at 80 years old, was not too old, to help minister to David. You know, you're never too old to serve the Lord. Never too old to serve. David didn't compel any of these men. He could have, as king, he was still king after all, he could have said, hey, we're taking a tribute here, and we're, you know, out of your houses, we're taking over. That's what armies sometimes do nowadays. They throw people out of their houses, they take over, this grocery store, that's ours, bring all the food into our camp. David didn't compel anybody. He didn't plunder, he didn't say, we're hungry, send some soldiers out to get some food, like maybe they did in the South, in the Civil War. But his friends, rather, gave freely, freely, in token of the appreciation of allegiance. An example is provided here. I think of the balances that God maintains between losses and gains. between disappointments and blessings. You know, a disappointment perhaps comes your way. Look for a blessing coming your way next. The Lord balances those out. We see that balance being played out here. If a man's foes be those of his own household, indeed that was the case with David. If a man's foes be those of his own households, friends are raised up from unexpected places. I remember the Ammonites, of all places. I mean, David had just finished a war against the Ammonites near Shelby, comes with this very generous gift. If a man's foes be those of his own house, friends are raised up from unexpected places. Therefore, let us not, another lesson, I suppose, let us not dwell unduly on the former, that is, on the foes from our own household, and let us not fail to give thanks. for the latter and gratitude for the friends that are raised up from unexpected places. Again, this balance between blessings and disappointments. The battle, point two in your outline, the battle. And that begins in chapter 18. And David numbered the people that were with him and sent captains of thousands that, whoops, turned too many pages, sent captains of thousands. No, that's no good. All right, we'll try again. And David numbered the people that were with him and sent captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. And David sent forth the third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and the third part under the hand of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and the third part under the hand of Ittai, the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also. We see, first of all, the counting, the counting. As Ahithopel had foreseen, Ahithopel had wisely foreseen, the delay on Absalom's part had allowed David to strengthen his forces greatly, greatly, because now David has enough that he needs to count them. He's mustering his troops, and he's saying, okay, 10, 20, 30, 40, or maybe it's more 100, 200, 300. He's counting his troops, and there's a lot. Not as many as Absalom, by no means, but David is mustering his forces. He divides them in three groups. It's a proven strategy that's worked many times. I mean, there's a central force that goes forth and two flanking forces to protect the central and maybe to allow the forces to pivot, to encircle, pincher move. I learned that from watching the movies on Russia and Ukraine, too. Putin's pincher move didn't fail, by the way. He was trying to do his pincher move, but anyway, it's a proven technique. David musters his forces. Josephus, a Jewish historian, estimates that David had perhaps, I think he's Jewish, maybe he's not, Josephus. Anyway, estimates that David had perhaps 4,000 men. So it's a considerable increase from what he had before, the 600, but a small number. compared to Absalom's force of, quote, all Israel, perhaps numbering 100,000 or more. That's 20 to one. 30, yeah. Anyway, it's a lot, more than 20 to one. I'm doing my math real quick. David must use his forces wisely. David girds on his sword. but some of the vigor of old. The king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also. But the people answered, thou shalt not go forth. For if we flee away, they will not care for us. Neither if half of us die, will they care for us. But now thou art worth 10,000 of us. Therefore now it is better that thou succor us out of the city. Wow, David here is confident of the outcome, girding on his sword, his trusty sword, Excalibur. No. Wrong story, sorry. But maybe he had a name for his sword. But David's gird on his sword. David, after all, had committed his cause to God. And the news he had received that Ahithopel's council had been defeated was certainly an answer to his prayer. in his language that we studied last week and the week before in Psalm 42, Psalm 43, especially at the end, his language bears witness to his confidence and his hope. I don't think David had any doubt what the outcome of the battle would be, that the Lord would fight for him. He'd be restored. And yet, Another lesson, strong faith of David, girding on his sword here, did not produce carelessness or sloth. He wasn't saying, hey, I have faith, therefore, I need to do nothing. No, it's not a sign of lack of faith if we prepare. It's not a sign of lack of faith if we prepare. If we think, well, the Lord's coming again soon, I believe that. But that doesn't mean I should prepare for my retirement. In case I'm wrong, it doesn't come again soon. I should set aside money to save so my family's protected, buy life insurance. There's lots of decisions we need to make that are good decisions that don't mean you don't have faith. Strong faith does not produce carelessness or sloth. David acts here with diligence and wisdom. He's numbering his troops. He's getting them in order. He says, I know the God, the outcome's already been determined, but I need to do my part because my part is gonna be part of the outcome. My part is part of the outcome, foreordained. David places his men under his most experienced generals. He's got three generals here of considerable experience. You see, refusing to employ all lawful and prudent means of defense is presumption. It's not faith. Refusal to deploy all lawful means of defense his presumption. Let's not be, stand on the middle of the road, say, I have faith that I'm not gonna die. Well, guess what? You're going home to be with the Lord real soon, probably. David had some advantages here over Absalom, six significant advantages. First of all, David, and his troops, wisely deployed, could choose a place of engagement. After all, Absalom is the one who's advancing with his force of 100,000 and trying to keep all them in order and stuff. He's the one advancing. David can choose anywhere for his battle. I mean, between the River Jordan and Mahanaim, he could wall himself up in, I don't know if it was a city, but whatever it was, or he could, that's a considerable advantage, being able to choose your place of engagement. David had that advantage. He could choose the time. of engagement, I mean, when Absalom least expects it. That was the best time, probably, when he least expects it. All to his advantage, David needed to maximize the effectiveness of his small force. His desire was that he go with him. He said that in verse two, I will surely go forth with you, myself also. Although he was in his 60s, I hate to say this, but for David's age, it was an old man. Now our age, 60 is like the new 30, so we're okay, Brother Ted. But David was getting up there in age, in his 60s. But David wasn't lacking in courage. David knew it was his sin that caused this situation. And he didn't want to stand by and wait while others fought and died for his sin. So David girds on his sword. Undoubtedly, David hoped that his presence might shield his son, Absalom, from harm, as we'll see in his commands, in his instructions in a few minutes. David's failure as a father, though, to properly discipline Absalom continued to manifest himself. David is trying to protect His son, even now, as his bloodthirsty son comes with his sword in hand, ready to take off his father's neck, David is trying to preserve his son's life. David's yielding, verse four, really. And the king answered and said unto them, what seemeth you best, I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds, and by thousands. As the people left the city of Mahanaim, David yielded. The people had objected. They said, it would be better that thou succor us out of the city. Pray for us, David. Stay in the city and pray for us. I mean, you're our last resort. If we're all dead, then perhaps with your small force you have left, you can hold out in Mahanaim. But David yields. It's another sign, I believe, of a repentant heart, softened by the Lord. After all, David was king. His word was law. But David listens, and he acquiesces. He changes his mind. You know, another lesson, I suppose. We ought to be willing to hear reason. We ought to be willing to hear reason, even if it's from our inferiors. Wow, sometimes we're reprimanded by our own children, are we not? We have to be willing to hear reason, even if it be from our inferiors. We must allow ourselves to be overruled by their advice when it's for our good. Listen to advice. Don't be so stubborn and pig-headed. It's David here, the king. God had determined to destroy Absalom in this battle, but God's providence, I believe it's also part of God's providence that David here yields to the advice, to the concern from his troops, his people, but providence wisely ordered that David would not be in the battle scene. David would not be present when his son Absalom would be put to death. We see in David's charge, verse five, And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Nittai, the three generals, saying, deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. In case there's any doubt about who the young man is, it's Absalom, my son, Absalom, Absalom, I'm concerned about. And all the people heard, all the people are there. And so the forces are gathered when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom. So the people went out into the field against Israel and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim. We see that the charge, David commands his generals in the presence of all the people. So great was David's love for his wayward son who sought his life. It was a love that Absalom was utterly unworthy of, unworthy of. We see the power. I don't know if there's anywhere else in scripture. We see the power and the depth of human affection for a son, for a child, a wayward child. And David, even here, said, deal gently with Absalom. But David's love for his son pales in the shadow of Christ's amazing love for us, pales. It's just but a pinch. Wow. We see the carnage. Verses six or eight. So the battle was in the wood of Ephraim, and the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter that day of 20,000 men, for the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country, and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured. We see the carnage, and no details are given for you battle fans. My dad fought in World War II, and for years, I don't, I was growing up, I didn't really think about it, but my dad read World War II books. I mean, he was like engrossed in them. He was always, at nighttime, he was always, Civil War II, he was interested in Civil War, but World War II in particular, he wanted to know where he had been. He traveled all around Europe, but they didn't tell him where he was. And when he wrote letters back, they were censored and stuff like that with Sharpies. I don't know what they had in those days. So he had all his letters that his mom had saved. So he was going through those letters. And he did put it together. And I have his book. He wrote it. Well, it's not really a book. It's a binder, a thin binder. But he put together his. as best he could figure, his journeys through Europe during the war. But he was very interested in what happened, the battle tactics and things like that, all the details of the battle. But there aren't any details here, no details. Israel's defeated. 20,000 perished in the battle, 20,000 of Israel. Perhaps another 20,000 in the wilderness. We don't know whether that 20,000 is all-inclusive, or that's who perished in the battle, and there's more who died in the wilderness. It says more died in the wilderness than in the battle itself. It's confusion and disorder on the side of the apostate Absalom. Although Job was indeed a brilliant commander, and although the place of conflict was undoubtedly well chosen, it's clear to a discerning eye This victory was of the Lord. The Lord himself fought for Israel. And just like in the days of, what's his name? I'm having a mental block. Moses and... Joshua. Joshua, this is the days of Joshua, and those hailstones came down, you know, biggest cannibals. Incidentally, a hail ball, scientifically speaking, can get that big. Biggest cannibals came raining down. They were aimed at the other forces, though. They missed Israel. You'd think, well, how'd that hail ball miss me? But it got him. Really. Well, the Lord was fighting for... The Lord was on their side. Here the Lord Himself is fighting against Israel. The battle, the woods, the bogs and the mires, the wild beasts, perhaps it rose up for the slaughter. Everything is fighting against Absalom. Now, I'm only going to speculate here, but I believe that this was an ambush. That's my own personal belief. With a troop of 4,000, you don't, like, meet them head on. I believe they ambushed them in this wood that's called Ephraim, the wood of Ephraim. I believe, personally, just thinking about it, Absalom's forces were strung out, going through the wood, this thicket. You know, there are maybe only two abreast, four abreast. winding path here, and Job's forces attack seemingly from everywhere along the sides of the path. The same thing happened to England in a war with Scotland. The British had a vastly superior force, and they were ambushed by the Scottish and wiped out. because they were swung out. The British couldn't even get their cannons aimed. So same thing I believe happened, Absalom wiped out because of an ambush. This word of Ephraim is a bit of a challenge for some people. You see, there's people out here in this world, when you say this, the word of God is without mistake, without error. There's not an error in here, error-free. Well, as soon as you say that, there's somebody who takes that as a challenge. Oh, yeah, I'm gonna find some errors. They could be amateurs, they could be professionals. By professional, I mean someone who's well-knowledged and learned in the scriptures, or they're just gonna be an, but everyone seems like it's trying to take pot shots at the word of God, looking for problems. It's, aha, I see a problem right here, the word of Ephraim. We already know they crossed the Jordan River. They're in the land of Gad. They're not in Ephraim. So there's a mistake here. Ephraim is where David grew up. So it's the other side of the river. What's this wood of Ephraim? Well, if you look in scripture back a few hundred years, maybe not quite that far, but there was a big battle where the Ephraimites had crossed the River Jordan into Gad and had fought against some of the Gadites and 40,000, 42,000 of the Ephraimites were slain on that day. I believe that that wood, the wood of Ephraim, is where the Ephraimites died, perished. It probably was a treacherous place. Maybe it had been a wild place because it was obviously overgrown with trees, trees especially, and brush. I believe that's where the battles fought. And so there's not a mistake. into scripture, but you'll find people who are trying to jump on everything they can find. Every little statement, the battle was scattered over all the face of the country. Verse nine, and Absalom met the servants of David, and Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak. He was taken up between the heaven and the earth, and the mule that was under him Went away. Oops. It was a blunder. I called the blunder. It was Absalom's biggest blunder, may I say. Absalom's final hours were recorded. God deals with him here in an open showing for all to see, apart from the slaughter of the 20,000 of his countrymen. Absalom here expects a quick and easy victory. But he sees his army decimated before his eyes, fleeing wildly on either side. And Absalom apparently meets some of David's servants. He says he met, not apparently, he does, Absalom met the servants of David. He sees these armed men. perhaps coming up over the hill. Absalom panics, I believe. They were under a charge not to hurt him. Everyone was under the same charge, don't hurt Absalom, don't hurt Absalom. Absalom had like immunity, but he didn't know that. He flees, he flees, caught by a low oak branch. How in the world did that happen? Possibly caught by the neck, maybe the oak tree is shaped like a fork and he's caught like this as his mule gallops out from under him. More likely, I believe, he's caught by his long hair. You know, who said God doesn't have some sense of humor about him? Absalom's hair was his pride. And that's what got him killed in the first place. That's what led to all his problems, was his pride. And so as he's galloping along, his hair's flowing back. You know how oak trees have this all rough bark and stuff like that? His hair goes. And now he's hanging from his hair, upside down. Now, why didn't he get his Bowie knife out, if he had a Bowie knife, and go whoosh, get himself a haircut? I don't know. But I guess he didn't have a Bowie knife, or maybe everything fell when the mule galloped off, and he has nothing, nothing. He's hanging there, and he can't free himself. What a blunder. What a blunder. It appears he's fleeing a panic. This mule is the preferred mount of a king in his day. Royalty often rode the mule. It was because horses were hard to ride. Bridles hadn't been invented, or the Mongolians were inventing them at the time, but they hadn't yet invaded Europe. Bridles weren't invented. Stirrups weren't invented. It was difficult to ride a horse. And a horse was hard to control without a bridle. So mules, much tamer, safer animals, except in this case, would have been better if Absalom was not on the mule. Not on the mule. Wildly, mules aren't easily spooked. So I think the person being spooked here was Absalom. Absalom, who is galloping his mule, let's get away from David's forces, and he gallops wildly into this wild wood, a wild place. Absalom is firmly held, suspended between heaven and earth, a fit for neither, awaiting his fate, unable to free himself, deserted by his countrymen for a few brief hours. Absalom's given a final opportunity to repent. A final opportunity, wow. Absalom's last hours, how does he spend them? Not repenting from all we can see in scripture, not repenting, perhaps cursing. Cursing God. As the Lord said of Jezebel, Revelations 2, verse 21, I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not. Sadly, no hint is given that Absalom repented. He died. We can only assume that he died as he lived, defiant and impenitent. David's tears were wasted, his prayers were wasted on Absalom, one of the darkest pictures of fallen human nature, unable to free himself, deserted by his friends and countrymen. Absalom is compelled to wait until someone comes to end his life. And so news came to Joab of Absalom's fate. And we'll talk about that next week. Joab didn't do well either. All right. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Our most gracious heavenly Father,