Between the heaven and the earth

Title: Between the heaven and the earth
Passage: 2 Samuel 17:24-18:18
Date: 3rd September 2017
Preacher: Rev. Wong Siow Hwee

The most interesting verse in today’s passage is found in 18: 9 Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in “between the heaven and the earth”, while the mule he was riding kept on going. Walter Brueggemann explained, “This phrase (between heaven and earth) may be only a descriptive portrayal (to explain being suspended in mid-air). It is, however, an odd phrase; it suggests the narrator is speaking of more than Absalom’s physical condition. Absalom is suspended between life and death, between the sentence of a rebel and the value of a son, between the severity of the king and the yearning of the father. He is no longer living, because he is utterly vulnerable, but he is not dead. The moment cannot be sustained for long. He must either live or die.” [1]

That moment of uncertainty was eventually resolved when Joab took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart. But was it a certainty that Absalom would surely have to die? I do not think so. It was Joab who made the conclusive move to kill Absalom. But he wasn’t the only factor at work. In fact, I think the narrator was deliberate in showing that until the time of his death, Absalom’s fate was literally hanging in the air. Joab made his own decision, but David was also a critical factor in influencing the outcome. Just as how Joab eventually swayed the final outcome towards death, David was swaying Absalom’s fate towards life. To his 3 top commanders, including Joab, David said in 18: 5 “Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders. So when the first man found Absalom hanging in between heaven and earth, he spared Absalom for David’s sake. And when the man was scolded by Joab, 12 the man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my hands, I would not lay a hand on the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’ 13 And if I had put my life in jeopardy—and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have kept your distance from me.” The last line meant that if the man had killed Absalom and David had found out about it, Joab would have left the blame on the man instead of defending him. So we see two factors at work. Joab who wanted Absalom dead, and David who wanted Absalom alive.

Now if David had left such clear instructions such that the entire army knew, then why did Joab kill Absalom? The narrator is strangely silent on this matter. I think it is up to the readers to speculate. And to me, this speculation is important, because in the process, you begin to analyse all the factors that swayed Absalom towards life or towards death. Some of the bible commentators believe that Joab killed Absalom out of revenge for burning his barley field (14:30). But I’m not convinced. Nothing in the story so far has shown that Joab was vengeful. In fact, everything about Joab so far has been thoughtful and well-calculated. Taking vengeance for the sunk cost of a burnt field at the risk of offending a direct order from David does not add up. Joab did not do worthless and self-damaging things.

My personal speculation is that Joab actually killed Absalom for David’s sake. Absalom, in burning Joab’s field and in his insurrection, had shown that he was unfit to be king or prince. Kept alive, and Absalom would be a time bomb to the family and nation. Absalom had proven to be scheming and politically might be more than a match for David. Yes, Joab knew that David would be heart-broken by Absalom’s death. But David’s irrational sentiments about Absalom gave greater impetus that Absalom had to die before David could do anything. Some might think that Joab was a bloodthirsty and cold-blooded man because he was a military commander.[2] But I think it was the exact opposite.

Someone said: Generals are not romantic about war, because it’s not abstract to them. Mary Boies, who for two decades, worked with the military as a leader of Business Executives for National Security, said: “Army officers know better than anybody the limits of military hard power. Military people hate war because they’ve seen it and know both its limitations and its devastating effects.” From my observation, generals are both the last to want to go in (“Do you understand the implications of invasion? Do you even know the facts on the ground?”), and the last to want to leave (“After all this blood and sacrifice, this hard-won progress, you’re pulling out because you made a promise in a speech?”). [3]
In killing Absalom, Joab defused a ticking time-bomb. He was a David loyalist, and I believe he did it for David’s sake. And David never blamed Joab for killing Absalom.[4] I think he knew Joab did it for his sake.

Besides David and Joab, there was one more critical factor in determining Absalom’s fate there between heaven and earth: that was Absalom himself. You might think that he was just hanging there. He was helpless. He was the one in least control of his fate! But I feel the case is exactly the opposite. Absalom must take the biggest responsibility in his final fate. What do I mean by this? Absalom’s situation between heaven and earth is quite similar to the story of Aron Ralston. [5] Aron is an American outdoorsman known for having survived a canyoneering accident in Utah in 2003 during which he amputated his own right forearm in order to extricate himself from a dislodged boulder, which had him trapped in Blue John Canyon for five days and seven hours (127 hours). Aron was stuck in a freak accident. His fate lies between heaven and earth. But instead of blaming his bad luck, he took personal responsibility.

“That boulder did what it was there to do. Boulders fall. That’s their nature. It did the only natural thing it could do. It was set up, but it was waiting for us. Without you coming along and pulling it, it would still be stuck where it had been for who knows how long. You did this, Aron. You created it. You chose to come here today; you chose to do this descent into the slot canyon by yourself. You chose not to tell anyone where you were going. You chose to turn away from the women who were there to keep you from getting in this trouble. You created this accident. You wanted it to be like this. You have been heading for this situation for a long time. Look how far you came to find this spot. It’s not that you’re getting what you deserve – you’re getting what you wanted. Understanding my responsibility for my circumstances placates my anger.” [6]

Absalom might have seemed completely helpless hanging in the tree. He might have seemed to have landed in the situation out of bad luck, just like Aron. But Aron took personal responsibility for his situation. And if you consider it, Absalom was just as responsible for ending up stuck hanging midair in a tree. All his decisions and actions led him to that place. Not only that, his actions also influenced David’s words and Joab’s actions. He wasn’t helpless in the tree. He was instrumental in forcing Joab’s hand to kill him.

I would like to point out one final factor in Absalom’s situation between heaven and earth. And this factor was also expressed by Aron Ralston. He expressed it about 4 days into his situation: he said, “Somewhere inside my mind, I know I won’t survive tonight in Blue John Canyon. I accepted this statement with a peaceful sense of acknowledgement that I am not in control of the situation. If my time is up, then it is up, and there’s not a thing I can do to stave it off any longer. And if my time isn’t up, then it’s not, and there’s nothing further I need to worry about. But I think the former is much more likely than the latter. I understand that this is the end, that I won’t survive the night, and the thought does not stir me, because I have stopped fighting for control. It’s not apathy or resignation, it’s more like I’ve let go of a spiritual burden. I feel like I’ve recognized a great truth: Some other marvelous force is in control and has been all along. Give it whatever name I want, all I know for sure is that I don’t have to sweat it out anymore, because I’m not in charge.” [7]

Reading his book, I gathered that Aron Ralston is not a religious man. But in that moment of truth, he recognized the God in control. He was not in charge. What he was saying seems at odds with his earlier statement about his personal responsibility of his situation. It seems like a contradiction to be fully responsible and yet saying that God is in charge. But I think when you are there between heaven and earth, you will realize that this is reality. You must take responsibility for your own life. Yet you must also learn to let go in letting God take control.

Brothers and sisters, I believe there will be times where it seems like your fate is hanging in the air, between heaven and earth. Maybe you are between jobs. Maybe you are waiting for a medical test result. It is a moment of vulnerability because your fate seems to depend on the decisions and actions of others. There are some who will respond to their situation with whining. I am so unlucky. Nobody is on my side or understands how I feel. I also struggle with such discontent. I feel that it is other people’s problems that made my life difficult. I feel helpless, and I can only respond with complaints about my life. But as I prepared today’s message, I see new perspectives from looking at life’s hanging situations. First, I think it is important to understand the factors at work, but even more important to take personal responsibility. Like it or not, I chose the path to take. I triggered the way people respond to me and influenced their choices about me. However, though I must take responsibility, I am ultimately not in full control. I must learn to trust my fate in God’s hands. God may hang me in the air and let nature take its course. God may also choose to bring salvation. Above all, let this become your prayer:

Psalm 143: 8 Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
9 Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.

In our lives of ups and downs, we must rely on God to walk the right path. That is our responsibility. Even before life’s difficulties and enemies, we shall not be afraid. But nonetheless, I cannot deny that there may come a time when we are between heaven and earth. It wasn’t just Absalom, but David as well. Let our prayer be like David’s. O Lord, “may your Spirit lead me on level ground”.

[1]Walter Brueggemann, 1 &2 Samuel (Interpretation), p 319
[2]See 2 Samuel 11: 25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.”
[3]http://www.peggynoonan.com/can-kelly-conquer-the-white-house-chaos/
[4]See his main accusation of Joab: 1 Kings 2: 5 “Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He didn’t mention Absalom.
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aron_Ralston
[6]Aron Halston, 127 hours: Between a rock and a hard place, p 107-108
[7]Aron Halston, 127 hours: Between a rock and a hard place, p 247