Absalom
(When the Smart Gets Outsmarted)
No one could have been smarter.
The handsome hulk melted the unbelieving,
From head to toe, he was the toast.
He was the grandmaster, the lamb among wolves, and a fox in the conclave of the ruthless.
It took the desperation and indiscretion of Amnon his brother, to unveil just a fraction of his potential.
He had a closet for wrongs, and took his time to nail whoever crossed his path.
Amnon dared and never lived to tell the story. When his friendship with Jonadab, – a weapons specialist and stealth bomber, came full circle, Absalom solved the riddle many strategists fail to address.
For King David’s third son, it only took two years of patience (2 Samuel 13: 23).
He knew how to get his father – a man of war, strategist and tactician whom Absalom had so studied, that he knew how to wear down his defences.
The father did not seek the face of the Lord, before releasing his children for the party of death. Amnon became the sole casualty for messing with the Don.
And Joab the soldier’s soldier, got the rough end of the rage; his barley was wiped out by the callous one who needed attention (2 Samuel 14:30-31).
Those were matters in Jerusalem, and Absalom had it all worked out.
His grasp of psychology and the art of persuasion got full expression.
David kept watch over a shell; the substance was gone. The manipulative prince cultivated allegiance and loyalty. The heart of the people was now with the impostor.
Hebron was the place of the big plot. And a second king emerged within the same kingdom.
Ahithophel – the man with the wisdom of the gods, was with the smart one. The king’s ragtag army was in tatters. Shimei never expected survival, not to imagine restoration (2 Samuel 16: 13).
But it was s pyrrhic victory for the prince, and the day of reckoning was instructive.
Ahithophel was gone, hanging himself for not having his way when it mattered (2 Samuel 17: 23). And advantage turned to disadvantage.
It’s amazing when God sides with the weak (Romans 8: 31).
It is after all in the nature of man to be strong today, weak tomorrow and maybe stronger the day after. Some are helpless today, hopeless tomorrow and something else the next week.
Call it divine orchestration: the hair which defined the good looks of Absalom became his nemesis; the overhanging tree was the noose.
Yes, the smart is a prodigy; he always has it all figured out.
That he was outsmarted at all, is one of the mysteries in a generation where wisdom has become hi-tech.
As Absalom’s body dangled, “the mule went away” (2 Samuel 18: 9)
Yes, mules abandon their owners.
The horse gets prepared for battles, but never guarantees safety (Proverbs 21: 31)
At that point, Absalom was no more the smart dude.
The army of the moment was gone, and he faced judgement all alone.
When the ungodly smart gets outsmarted, the loneliness screams.
Watch out for the next evil genius and how the story will end.
It’s always a matter of time.
@By, Nosa Owens-Ibie
May 23, 2025.
