Absalom was the third son of King David. His story is a fairly long one, which is recounted in chapters 14-18 of 2 Samuel. A major part of the story concerns his attempt to overthrow David as King. He caused David to flee and take refuge beyond the Jordan River, but eventually Absalom’s forces were defeated in the battle of the Wood of Ephraim. It’s a very interesting story, but we shall only be concerned with one of Absalom’s traits – his pride.

Absalom took great pride in his physical appearance, and he was very handsome. The Bible says that no one was so highly praised for being handsome as Absalom, for there was no blemish in him. He especially took pride in his hair, which was full and luxuriant. He only cut it once year, and then weighed what was cut off. It usually weighed two hundred shekels (about five pounds). When he was in public, he rode in a chariot pulled by fine horses; he is believed to be the first Israelite to do so. Not only that, he would have fifty men running ahead of him. The people loved it, which only played to Absalom’s vanity.

There’s a saying, loosely based on Proverbs 16:18 that says “Pride goeth before a fall,” but in Absalom’s case we should say that pride was one of his hang-ups. When Absalom was still fighting David’s men, he was riding a mule through a grove of oak trees. His hair got tangled in the branches, but his mule kept on going; consequently, Absalom was left helplessly hanging. He was discovered by David’s men, and one of his commanders, Joab, stabbed Absalom to death with his javelin.

What does this say to us as Christians? Certainly, we should take this as a warning against excessive personal pride, but what does it say about taking pride in our faith? No doubt, we should value our Christianity and be grateful for God’s grace, but I feel we should be very careful about pride, or even using the word pride in this context. First, pride could be taken by others as being boastful, and when our faults and sins become known, we could be viewed as being hypocrites. Second, taking pride in our faith tends to make us satisfied with its current status. As Christians we should always be striving to become closer to God. I think we should keep in mind Micah 6:8 which tells us that we should act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. We can give thanks that He loves us unconditionally.

Jim