Across thirty centuries, comes this cry of grief from David, whom God called from being a shepherd of herds to be the shepherd of His people, Israel. David had a son named Absalom. Absalom had murdered his brother because that brother had raped his sister, Tamar. After being accepted back into the family, Absalom had led a rebellion against his father, the king. That rebel son had won the Israeli army to his side. In a dramatic showdown in the woods of Ephraim, Absalom rode through the forest away from his father’s men, when suddenly his mule went beneath the thick boughs of a great oak tree, and his hair was caught in the branches. His mule went on, leaving Absalom dangling in the air. David’s men told General Joab what had happened to Absalom. They were reluctant to kill the young man be…