The Bible In Paintings, #116: ABSALOM VIOLENTLY OVERTHROWS HIS FATHER, KING DAVID

Bing Images ^ | c. 2200 BC -- c. 95 AD | by the Father, Son & Holy Spirit

[Hebrews 11:6]

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ABSALOM VIOLENTLY
OVERTHROWS HIS
FATHER, KING DAVID

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2^ND. . S A M U E L . . 1 5 – 1 8
New International Version, emphases added
Abrdgd – the complete text is in your Bible
OR
TO READ 2^ND SAMUEL 15-18 IN FULL, Click Here
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TO HEAR A DRAMATIZATION OF IT, Click Here
TO WATCH AN OVERVIEW OF 2^ND SAMUEL , Click Here

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9 7 6 – 9 7 2 . . B. C.

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1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would stand by the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king, 3 Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” 4 And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”

5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel.

7 At the end of four years, 10 Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” 12 And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.

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DAVID FLEES

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13 A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”

14 Then David said to all his officials, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom.”

16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace.

23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.

25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”

30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up.

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5
by JAMES TISSOT
“David Quits Jerusalem”

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6
“David Flees Jerusalem”

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7
by MARC CHAGALL
“Driven from Jerusalem by rebelled again Absalom,
David, barefoot, climbed to the hill of Olives”

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9

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ZIBA HELPS DAVID

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CHAPTER 16

1 When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.

2 The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?”

Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

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10

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11

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SHIMEI CURSES
DAVID

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5 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. 6 He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. 7 As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! 8 The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!”

9 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.”

10 But the king said, “If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’”

11 Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12 It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”

13 So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. 14 The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.

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12

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13

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14

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15
by SIMON BENING
“Shimei Throwing Stones at David”

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W A R

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24 David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. 26 The Israelites and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

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CHAPTER 18

1 David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 David sent out his troops, a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, “I myself will surely march out with you.”

3 But the men said, “You must not go out. It would be better now for you to give us support from the city.”

4 The king answered, “I will do whatever seems best to you.”

6 David’s army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There Israel’s troops were routed by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.

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18

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19

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20

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and finally

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21

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֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎
֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎

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SNEAK PEEK: Next time,

ABSALOM’S DEATH

If you're sensing the Holy Spirit is suggesting
that you read ahead, we'll be in 2^ND SAMUEL 18-20

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֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎
֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎

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R E S O U R C E S

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If you'd like to see for yourself the Bing page
which yielded most of the works above, here is the link:

Absalom at the City Gate

Where no attribution appears below a work,
the source did not provide the artist's name
Works are numbered to facilitate your commenting

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Links to three masters who painted Biblical scenes prolifically:

REMBRANDT HARMENSZOON van RIJN

GUSTAV DORÉ
241 wood engravings for
La Grande Bible de Tours

JAMES TISSOT
180 watercolors depicting Bible scenes

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Links to two Bibles with comprehensive illustrations:

The Art Bible (1896)

The Maciejowski-Morgan Bible (c.1245)

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This series keeps moving from one Bible passage to another,
so here is a fascinating and enjoyable link to assist in following along:
BIBLE TIMELINE

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Finally, here are links to the
PREVIOUS 115 POSTS IN THIS SERIES
with descriptive titles to assist you in finding those which interest you

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SPECIAL THANKS
to FReeper left that other site,
who allowed God to make her His conduit
for incomparable enthusiasm, encouragement,
education, advice and technical assistance!

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NOTES ON MY SELECTION CRITERIA

Q u a l i t y The Bible and its Author are my focus, not the art:
this is The Bible in Paintings, not “Great Paintings” nor even “Good Paintings.” So, works need not be masterpieces to qualify for inclusion here—they don’t need to be housed at the Louvre nor auctioned by Sotheby’s. They only need to illustrate successfully some aspect of the Biblical text or, frankly, just tickle my fancy, which I'm asking the Holy Spirit to guide. Often, artists misrepresent the Scripture, but unless the error is material, licentious or heretical I usually include the artwork, trusting that the Spirit is perfectly capable of defending Himself. So, with such forgiving filters, it means that you're seeing practically everything I'm finding.

P a c i n gThe pace may seem glacial to those eager to see their favorite events. My commission is to search for art on each Bible passage in sequence; if I find enough, then it becomes the next installment, even if undramatic. But where there is no art, that Bible passage goes untold here. The Bible is a thick book, as you know; but we'll get there eventually, Lord willing. Always remember:
love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control is a fruit of the Spirit!

Art is merely the Toy Department of Bible study,
so I’m just having fun here—I hope you are, too!
Thank you for your understanding.

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YES, WE DO HAVE A

P I N G… .L I S T

for "The Bible In Paintings" series

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either reply here or FRmail me.

No contracts, startup charges or monthly fees;
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[Hebrews 11:6]

At the Holy Spirit's prompting, I am surveying "Bible art" to give God glory, as many of these artists have done, and for my own amusement and learning; and I thought others might enjoy it and be blessed by it, too. My plan is to proceed methodically from left-to-right, Genesis to Revelation, as the Lord wills. Back soon with another.

The Bible encourages us to meditate on it (Ps. 1:1-3, 119:11-16, etc.); these artists have done so, and their works can assist us and enrich our own thoughts about biblical characters, incidents and concepts, and increase our faith in He who is behind it all. As you encounter and consider these images and the related Scriptures and the Spirit enlightens your understanding, please share it with us!

But it is not only oil-on-canvas that can so help us; I refer to the astonishing video series The Chosen, which strolls through the four Gospels at the most leisurely pace. The eight episodes of Season 1 are finished, and the second of a planned seven seasons is being filmed right now. I say "leisurely" because after an entire year’s viewing Jesus still has only seven of the apostles (although He's preparing to call up Thomas from the minor leagues--but Thomas is skeptical, of course). Anticipating a canvas of fifty-plus hours instead of a movie's paltry two hours, The Chosen turns the characters (especially including Jesus!) into three-dimensional humans and brings the Gospels alive--you have never seen anything even remotely like it! Here is the Official Trailer.

Here is a link for free viewing of The Chosen: “Works with your phone, tablet, and you can cast to your Roku or Chromecast.” Last fall I paid $34.98 for DVDs and ongoing internet access—best 35 bucks I’ve ever spent (I don’t recall how much our marriage license cost, but then it was 43 years ago).

[Hebrews 11:6]

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F o r . . y o u r

CONSIDERATION

ENJOYMENT

& BLESSING

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[Vaquero]

Oy

[Hebrews 11:6]

Ya

[ConorMacNessa]

Thanks very much, as always - a most impressive collection of Biblical Art!

"Dia shábháil ar fad anseo!"

[Hebrews 11:6]

You are very welcome.

[Forgiven_Sinner]

The tragic denouement of David’s adultery and murder. The death of two sons and the rape of his concubines by his own son.

David fully realized this was the consequence of his own actions. That is why he accepted the cursing of Shimei as his due punishment.

Even after his death, the killing went on. Shimei and Adonijah were killed by his son Solomon because of their rebellion.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Couldn't find art on the deaths of Shimei and Adonijah, so as enjoyable as that would have been, they won't be appearing further here.

Yesterday, I asked Mary-Lou whether David's readiness to repent is what made him a man after God's own heart. She agreed. Perhaps you have a different take.

[Forgiven_Sinner]

“Couldn’t find art on the deaths of Shimei and Adonijah, so as enjoyable as that would have been, they won’t be appearing further here.”

Both are fairly minor characters who crossed God’s anointed: Shimei, David and Solomon, Adonijah, Solomon.

Speaking of Shimei, note the willingness of David’s right hand man to go and take off his head. It was very dangerous to be rude to rulers.

“Yesterday, I asked Mary-Lou whether David’s readiness to repent is what made him a man after God’s own heart. She agreed. Perhaps you have a different take.”

Nope, I agree completely. David had his blind spots and obsessions, but when he realized his error he repented completely, totally, and permanently.

The other aspect that was after God’s heart was his delight in God’s Presence. The Psalms are full of that, especially Psalm 84 “Better is one day in thy house than a thousand days without.”

[Hebrews 11:6]

his delight in God’s Presence

Excellent point. I find that to be perhaps my own greatest motivation for repenting, because suddenly I'm missing Him, and I know perfectly well whose fault that is. Really, I think it's one of the ways where those who have get still more: He has given me a relationship with Him that is so delicious I will do anything to retain it, including repenting; the more I do, the closer we get.