Interview with Old Testament Figures – Absalom: There are certain stories in the Holy Bible that irritate me to no end. One of them is that of Absalom, King David’s son. Though we do not sit in judgment against anyone through this channel, I must confess that I totally resented Absalom for rebelling against his father. Nevertheless, we would give the young man an opportunity to tell his own side of the story. The most important thing about these interviews is that we are able to learn from the different experiences shared.
Shepherd Heart: Thank you for honouring our invitation Prince Absalom.
Absalom: I am glad to be here.
Shepherd Heart: Kindly give our readers a pen portrait of yourself.
Absalom: I was born to King David, my father, by Maacah from Geshur. My mother had only two of us, my sister, Tamar and me.
Shepherd Heart: Thanks Prince. As I said in the introduction, I used to resent you for daring to rebel against your father. Many people in our generation have only witnessed few of such family betrayals, hence, our condemnation of your action. We are not here to judge you; after all, the deed was done hundreds of years ago. We would be glad to hear your side of the story.
Absalom: I do not have much to add to the Biblical account, except that I completely underestimated the loyalty of my father’s troops. My advisers gave me the impression that everyone was fed up with his perceived misrule, and that I stood a chance of overthrowing him without much effort.
Shepherd Heart: But what was your own assessment? You had interacted with your father all those years and should have known that he was not an ordinary person. Did you not know that God had a soft spot for King David?
Absalom: I was not particularly religious.
Shepherd Heart: That is difficult to understand. The King’s life revolved around God, except for his indiscretion with your stepmother, Bathsheba. How could you have had such a father and not be interested in spiritual things?
Absalom: (Laughs) I was more in tune with the realities of life at that point in time. Besides, many of my friends wanted me to be king and I could not wait for my father to exit the scene naturally.
Shepherd Heart: I see. Was your mother part of the conspiracy against your father?
Absalom: What son drags his mother into a coup d’état? Of course, she was not aware of my intrigues. I am sure she would have kicked against the plot because she loved my father.
Shepherd Heart: Now, we come to the strained relationship between you and your stepbrother, Amnon. I totally abhor what he did to your sister, Tamar. It was reprehensible that he could force her into an incestuous union with him. How was it possible for you to kill him in cold blood? Did you not have any filial relationship with him at all?
Absalom: Did he accord my sister any filial consideration? Only those from the Middle East can appreciate the nature of humiliation he meted out to Tamar. I did what I had to do to avenge her.
Shepherd Heart: Did you not trust your father to handle the issue objectively?
Absalom: My father would have possibly banished him from his palace, but that would not have been a sufficient punishment for his heinous crime.
Shepherd Heart: Back to the rebellion against your father. Would you have actually killed him to be king?
Absalom: Absolutely. Is that not the expected outcome of every coup d’état? I must confess that my inordinate ambition so blinded me that every inhibition I had about the propriety or otherwise of murdering my father flew out of the window.
Shepherd Heart: Would you have pursued that course if you had the benefit of hindsight?
Absalom: No human being would dare to disobey God if he had the means of knowing the cost of his poor choices.
Shepherd Heart: I beg to disagree with that assumption. The Holy Bible contains specific instructions from God on how humans should relate with Him and each other. The Holy Scriptures were available during your time. Why could you not wait for God to anoint you king instead of plotting to murder your own father?
Absalom: The mistake I made was in allowing some people in ancient Israel to convince me that I had the answers to all the problems plaguing the country. I now know that I betrayed my father’s trust and deserve the judgment I got.
Shepherd Heart: What counsel do you have for young people like you in our generation consumed by inordinate ambition?
Absalom: A productive relationship with God is key to having good success. Some humans think that they must destroy others before they can get to the top, possibly due to the deception of satan and his demons. If you believe that God created you a unique being, you would not desire another man’s glory or endanger other people’s lives to fulfil your purpose on earth. I wish with all my heart that someone had drummed this into my mind. It would have prevented me from destroying my life and destiny.
Shepherd Heart: Thank you very much Prince. We all make mistakes. The most important thing is for us to learn from them, if they did not cost us our lives as yours did. Other people can also learn from our experiences, to prevent them from making a shipwreck of their lives. We appreciate your candour and pray that our readers will take your counsels to heart in their own interest. Thanks once again for sharing your side of the story with us.
Absalom: Thanks for having me. I enjoyed the discussion tremendously.