David and Absalom - 2 Samuel 15-19
David has many sons, and one of them was named 'Absalom'. Absalom was a handsome man with a lot of hair. He was very good about paying attention to people, and he sat outside the city gate each day talking to the people who were there to see the king.
He made people feel important and by so doing, he won the hearts of people over to himself. Since he had the support of so many people, Absalom had himself crowned as king. This was troubling to David and David had to flee from Jerusalem. David sent a friend named 'Hushai' to give bad advice to Absalom.
After all the running that they did, David's army was pretty tired out. At this time, a counselor counseled Absalom to attack them, but Hushai told them to wait and gather all Israel to himself and then attack David. David's army was now able to rest as Absalom listened to the advice of Hushai instead of the other counselor. David's army became stronger and Absalom's became weaker.
Absalom did eventually attack David's army. David's forces triumphed over Absalom's and as Absalom tried to escape, he rode his animal under a tree and his hair got caught in the tree branches. He got stuck there and a man named Joab saw him and took advantage of the situation by killing him.
This was a very sad time, but at the same time it was victorious for the Israelites. David mourned for his son. But he did win a great victory that day and the kingdom was restored to him. This took place around 990 B.C.
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