Context No. 3717 of 4322 · 2 Samuel
Context · Reflection
2 Samuel 18:18-22: in context
18Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar which is in the king’s valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in memory.” He called the pillar after his own name. It is called Absalom’s monument, to this day. 19Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me now run and carry the king news, how the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.” 20Joab said to him, “You must not be the bearer of news today, but you must carry news another day. But today you must carry no news, because the king’s son is dead.” 21Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen!” The Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran. 22Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, “But come what may, please let me also run after the Cushite.” Joab said, “Why do you want to run, my son, since you will have no reward for the news?”
A poignant note is set beside the account of the battle: Absalom, in his lifetime, had set up a pillar to keep his name in memory, saying, I have no son to carry on my name. He built a monument to himself, grasping after a remembrance his life could not otherwise secure.
The irony is heavy. The man who rebelled against his father and reached for a throne, so anxious to be remembered, is remembered chiefly for his rebellion and his tragic end. There is a lesson here about the human longing to be remembered, and the vanity of trying to secure our own memorial by monuments to ourselves. Absalom's pillar could not make his name honorable; only a life well lived can do that. Those who grasp anxiously at their own lasting fame often find it slips through their fingers, while the truly memorable are those who lived for something larger than their own name.
Am I anxiously grasping to secure my own memory and fame, or do I live for something larger than my own name, trusting God with how I am remembered?
Sources
- 2 Samuel 18:18: "Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar... for he said, I have no son to keep my name in memory."
- Proverbs 10:7: "The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot."
- Ecclesiastes 2:16: "For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no memory for ever."