WHY DID DAVID FLEE FROM ABSALOM? (II SAMUEL 15:13-18)

We human beings often act from a variety of motives and some may not even be obvious to ourselves. So in weighing the various possible answers to this question, there is a good chance that several or all of them may have had a part in determining David's flight from Jerusalem when he heard that Absalom and his army were approaching.  Let's start with the two reasons that David himself expresses in verse 14:

    1. “We will be lost if we stay here.” One would expect that the walled city of Jerusalem would be an excellent place to be in case of a hostile attack, but in this particular situation, that may not have been the case.

        a. Payne: “...he was quick to assess the strategic situation...he needed time more than anything else.” That becomes obvious during the subsequent events where David goes around gathering together a loyal army.

        b. Davis: “It was also wise: if David remained in Jerusalem, how could he tell loyalists from waverers? By going into exile he could be sure that only avid supporters would accompany him.”

        c. Baldwin: “David ordered the immediate evacuation of the city, because he was in no position to defend it.”

        d. In addition, I would add that David's military background had taught him to be much more comfortable fighting on open ground instead of being cooped up in a city. “His years as a fugitive from Saul had given him valuable experience. He knew the best escape-route and took it.” (Payne)

        e. Finally, one can only successfully hold out against a protracted siege if one has carefully prepared ahead of time to guarantee adequate food, water, military force, and ammunition. There had been no threats from foreign powers in some time, and so David had gotten a bit lax in that respect.

   2. “The city will be destroyed.” A number of commentators feel that this second expressed motive is paramount in David's mind. He knows that the inhabitants will suffer greatly and wants to spare them the pain. Thus, Hertzberg says, “The king decides to evacuate the city, not only to save himself and his men, but also so as not to expose Jerusalem to the devastation which would take place were it really besieged and captured.”

    3. David had been away from actual fighting for so long (see II Samuel 11:1) that when he heard of the approaching army, it was so unexpected that he simply panicked and ran away. This is an unlikely motive to ascribe to David and flies in the face of the careful plans that David takes soon afterward to prepare for his eventual victory and return. It is, however, a bit inexplicable that although David obviously had a good spy system in place, he somehow did not find out until that very moment that Absalom had been openly planning a coup for literally years right at the city gates. I think that he knew but would not admit the fact to himself, much as Samuel ignored his sons' outrageous and sacrilegious behavior.

    4. David was afraid that a direct encounter between Absalom and himself might result in Absalom's death, and he couldn't face that possibility. In favor of this motive, which I have yet to see anyone but myself propose, is the fact that David had earlier refused to take any serious action against Absalom for the cruel and calculating executions he had carried out. Also, David's subsequent orders to his army not to harm Absalom if he is captured, coupled with his moving poem given after his death, show that he was still David's favorite child in spite of all that he had done.

    5. David feels that God may have turned against him and wants to replace him with Absalom instead. David certainly seems to express this possibility in vv. 19 where he actually calls Absalom “the king.” Tsumura expresses this thought when he says, “Perhaps one factor is that he realizes that the rebellion is partly the result of his sins. He does not know how far the Lord intends to punish him.” (see the prophecy in II Samuel 12:10)

        McCarter adds, “In David's attitude toward the disposition of the ark and the chief priests [vv. 25-26] we see a king prepared to submit fully to the divine will.”

        Davis agrees: “David says his restoration (should there be such) does not depend on whether he has Yahweh's furniture but on whether he has God's favor...This is not weak resignation but robust submission.”

        Baldwin: “For David it was an act of faith to send the ark back, and it was at the same time an act of surrender to whatever the Lord saw fit to do.”

        Satterthwaite: “Unlike Saul, David refuses to cling to power or to try to compel God to support him.”

The rather broad consensus above expressed for this possibility has caused some like Gunn to state: “At critical moments David seems to allow choice to rest with others, especially Yahweh.” But that would be to ignore completely some caveats expressed concerning Possibility #5.

        First, there is consideration of Psalm 3 which, if the superscription is accurate, was composed concerning this critical time in David's life. Verses 7-8 of that psalm, as Jacobson puts it, “both express the psalmist's trust that the enemies are wrong, that God can deliver the psalmist, and also place the future squarely on God's broad shoulders.”

        Tsumura: “However, as he does consider the rebellion wrong, he is willing to use prayer and the human opportunities God gives him.”

        Hertzberg: “He humbly bows himself under the bitter blow and leaves the future to the Lord, without, however, neglecting to take what steps he can.”

        Davis: “To share such a Davidic faith in or grip on Yahweh's sovereignty does not stifle but releases human resourcefulness and ingenuity.”

In conclusion, total trust in God does not lead to complete passivity and eliminate any necessary action on our part.

One final quote from Beale and Gladd concerning New Testament application is in order:

“In David's exile and suffering...David was still a king exercising rule over the remnant of Israel who followed him and conducting battles and winning victory over the enemy...David fled from his son in the suffering of exile despite the fact that he was king of Israel at the time. This may be a foreshadowing of what happens in the New Testament with Christ the son of David, and his people who are reigning as kings in the very midst of suffering and persecution.”