Suspended Between Justice and Mercy

 

Scripture

2 Samuel 18:1-17

18 Then David mustered the men who were with him, and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. ² And David divided the army into three groups: one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.” ³ 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.” ⁴ 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. ⁵ The king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.

⁶ So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. ⁷ The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. ⁸ The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword.

⁹ 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. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. ¹⁰ A man saw it, and told Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” ¹¹ 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.” ¹² But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying: For my sake protect the young man Absalom! ¹³ 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.”

  ¹⁴ Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” He took three spears in his hand, and thrust them into the heart of Absalom, while he was still alive in the oak. ¹⁵ And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him.

¹⁶ Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained the troops. ¹⁷ They took Absalom, threw him into a great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Meanwhile all the Israelites fled to their homes.  (NRSV)

Devotion

"Hanging between heaven and earth."  This line describing the predicament that David's traitorous son Absalom is haunting.  The battle the throne of Isreal--the battle that Absalom set into motion when he organized a coup to overthrow David--is raging in the forest of Ephraim.  David has been convinced to stay back in the city of Mahanaim, where he will be safe. Absalom, by contrast, has made himself vulnerable by coming to command his troops himself. 

 Commentators like Walter Bruggeman point out that there is seems to be a supernatural element at play as the forest of Ephraim itself  "claim[s] more victims that day than the sword."    These strange words imply that God has influenced Creation itself to enter the fight.  And that means that God himself has a part to play when Absalom's hair becomes trapped in a tree and his mule walks out from under him.  And that's where Absalom remains...dangling from the tree by his hair and completely at the mercy of whoever finds him.  

Absalom is literally suspended between Heaven and Earth.  Life and Death.  Will the young man be dealt with gently (as David requested), or will he come to the violent and bloody end that traitors and threats to the thone could expect?  With the battle now clearly won for David, will retribution or mercy rule the day?  God lets the people decide.  As the argument between Joab and soldier who first finds Absalom makes clear, it isn't an easy decision to make. 

Just because we may not be engaged in physical bloodshed doesn't mean that we don't have our own times when are faced with the same choice that faces the soldier and Joab.  We have moments when we find ourselves poised to win against someone who has hurt or threatened us and/or the things we hold most dear.  Whether those moments occur on a national scale, at work, in an organization that we care about, or amongst our own friends and families, we have a choice to make.  Will we mete out the punishment that someone so richly deserves...or will be merciful enough to deal gently with them as we hold them accountable for their actions?

In the case of Absalom, Joab opted for swift and brutal execution followed by a dishonorable burial right there in the forest.  This far from gentle or merciful act was a politically astute move that not only got ride of Absalom as a threat but turned him into an example for others.  Still, David's howls when he learns of his son's death makes it clear that is not what he wanted.   He has lost a son, and Joab's actions have stained his kingship with yet more blood.  Joab will go on to kill yet more people for their perceived defections...even in times of peace.  Eventually, he will come to his own violent end and be remembered as one whose actions brought guilt to David and his descendants  If only Joab had only dealt gently with Absalom and taken him back to David for judgement, perhaps Israel could have avoided some of the violence and grief that were still to come could have been avoided.

When the decision is ours to make, I pray that we choose to be merciful in our treamtment of others.  Yes, people must be held accountable for their actions.  But when we are too harsh in our punishments--too unforgiving in our judgments, then we perpetuate the very problems we hope to solve.  It is only when justice is tempered with mercy that we can reach reconciliation and build the type of Kingdom that God wants.

Prayer 

God, you are so merciful that you turned our murder of your only son into an opportunity for forgiveness for all our sins.  Help us temper our desire to punish others with the spirit of your gentleness, so that people may be held accountable for their actions in a healthy manner.  Inspire us to be more like you--both just and merciful--so that all your people can be reconciled with  both you and one another.  Amen.