Last week we briefly looked at David's sin. This week some of the consequences will be evident or, as the old proverb might say: "The chickens come home to roost."
David was an incredibly skillful king and a very poor father. Was it too many wives and too many half-brothers and sisters vying for a place in his favor? Each of his sons is caught up in carving out a place for himself, hopefully as heir to the throne since there was no clear line of succession.
No child was more loved by David than Absalom. His story can be found in 2 Samuel 13-19, a saga worthy of a prime-time special. Absalom was handsome, headstrong, walking by his own rules and ultimately a ruthless murderer of his half-brothers when he decided to seize power from his father.
However, there is an interesting tonsorial anecdote in this sad tale of an arrogant son.
"Now in all Israel there was no one to be praised so much for his beauty as Absalom; from the soles of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. When he cut the fair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighted the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king's weight." (2 Samuel 14:25).
Although we are not certain what the standard of weight was, Absalom surely have several pounds of hair, possibly 5 pounds forth.
And all that glorious hair is ultimately his downfall, if you remember, when it becomes entangled in the low-hanging branches of a tree as he flees during the civil war he has started to seize his father's throne. He dies there in the forest, trapped by his own vanity.
His whole story merits a reading. But why, in the midst of a gripping tale of rape and murder, of betrayal and treason, are we told of this annual laboring? Has Leviticus 19:27 already fallen into non-observance? It is an interesting point. |