Absalom's revolt against his king and father left David in a tragic no-win situation. Despite his earlier order that the army "deal gently" with Absalom, there was little hope that nothing except Absalom's death would squelch this civil war and restore national security. The responsibility of David the King and the love of David the father were hopelessly at cross-purpose. There was no middle ground in which to take refuge.

This week's text finds the soldiers who had successfully destroyed the greatest single threat to the stability of David's throne and the whole nation's welfare trying to find a way to break this news of Absalom's death to their supreme commander. The two men present at Absalom's death and closest to David react quite differently to the foreboding task of informing the …