Songs for Tamar

Chapter Twelve

Chapter 12

Absalom's Conspiracy Begins. Tamar barely avoids consummating her love with Jesse.

Absalom took advantage of his new status among princes in Israel by standing by the city gate and listening to quarrels among men. Men bringing their sacrifices from the Plain of Sharon complained that their required tribute to the king was too high. Others complained that  king turned a deaf ear to news of bandits in Mount Carmel over to Akko and even as far as Tyre.

"Be of good courage, I'm a prince in Israel, and I will come to your aid."

Absalom then provided himself a chariot and fifty armed men to run before him as an escort. He advised Tamar and Jesse that he was traveling to Carmel on the king's business.

Tamar confided in Jesse, "Please ask to go with my brother to learn his intentions."

"Why do you fear that your brother is preparing to do wrong?" The night before they departed, Jesse sat with his harp with Tamar by his side. "Your brother's heart is in the right place, and he asks only for justice."

"My brother is patient for my sake but not so for the king. Our loyalty is to both my brother, whom I love, and to my father. I love both dearly." She paused. "Jesse, you know that you are the love of my life, whatever our situation. Because we cannot love in the flesh, I cry out for the children we will never have." She paused and kissed him. "Yet our love passes even the love of the king for Bathsheba or Abagail."

Tamar felt reassured when Jesse said, "Absalom has asked me to be his right hand, for he  knows that I will not betray the king."

The next day Absalom took Jesse and his men along the road through Megiddo and up the Valley by the Brook Kishon. It was at the old fortress at Megiddo that Absalom sat down with the elders who presided over cities from Akko to the Jordan River.

"Please bring your grievances to me. I will listen to everything you have to say that burdens you."

"Oh prince, we have no gold with which to pay our men, who come from Geshur to work our fields. So we have to pay them with the grain from our fields and the fruit of our trees and vineyards. But if the king did not demand that we pay him so much, then we could hire more workers to plant our fields and harvest our increased crops. Our newer fields would bring an increase of abundance to the king."

"What tax do you pay?"

"A fifth, oh prince."

"In the name of the king, I now make it a tenth. Pay according to your new increase next year."

The elders could not believe their ears but accepted Absalom's promise. They then spoke of bandits who came each year to plunder their fields and raid their market towns.

"Let us take up each trouble one at a time," Absalom advised.

"They make raids below Mount Tabor?"

"Let me pretend to leave your valley with my armed men. Then we will prepare to swoop down on them and drive them into a nearby valley. There Jesse will wait with ten of my men and as many men as you can provide with slings and bows. Then we will drive them into your armed men. Once captured, we will hold them for your elders."

They said, "Leave their justice to us, who live here in the valley."

Absalom said, "I also have the favor of my grandfather the king of Geshur. He will loan me more soldiers who will not busy themselves with plundering. Once I explain things to him, his soldiers will clear out the bandits near the Jordan River and the Galilee."

"You will then be safe soon enough to lie under your own fig trees," Abalom said with greater conviction.

The next day the elders sent their scouts and reported to Absalom that the bandits were pillaging the inhabitants of Endor. He waited until it was almost first light, then he took forty of his men on horseback, riding straight through their camp and drove them into the anticipated safety of the valley nearby.

The rocks that they hoped would give them refuge as they had once before, were now their deathtrap. Jesse rose up with his soldiers and with scores of slingers and pounded them without mercy. Besides many falling from the hail  of sling stones,  arrows further reduced their ranks.

Absalom's and his men rode down half of those who remained alive. Some twenty were left alive when they stood before the elders. He and Jesse stood back while the elders brought swift justice on them. They allowed only five to leave Endo alive. They were to spread the warning to other evil men who  would  dared strike fear in the hearts of those living in their valley. They would not escape the certain punishment that would fall on them.

Absalom then turned north to Carmel and Akko, where he cooperated with local elders in rounding up those preying on the weak of the land. Elders there likewise brought swift justice to the local criminals.

Absalom then took Jesse to visit his grandfather Talmai, King of Geshur. He provided him with a hundred more men. These men along with his own formed an impressive force when augmented with armed men from cities and valleys from Bet Shean in the Jezreel Valkey over to Tyre in one direction and over to Mount Hermon in another. There they cleared out the whole land of thugs, who had long robbed the local peoples.

All the North as far as Dan knew peace because of the leadership of Absalom. He thought to himself that these grateful Israelites would abandon their loyalty to King David at the right time. After all, Absalom was the prince who had saved them.

Although Jesse served Absalom well in laying this preparation for taking the kingdom for himself, Absalom pretended he was working for the king instead of himself. Jesse never suspected that he was helping Absalom usurp his own father's rule.

Tamar was always waiting in eagerness and in fear that something tragic would happen to Absalom and Jesse. Her fear for Jesse's safety rose more each time he went out with Absalom. She tried to consoler herself that her brother was bringing justice to the land. In her heart she felt there was far more behind Absalom than service to his father and king.

Absalom greeted his wife with affection but without the enthusiasm he shared with Farah.

The morning after their return, Tamar packed food and drink for the whole day and led Jesse to their romantic place overlooking the Kidron Valley. There she never tired of feeding him grapes, bread, and wine. But she carried something else with her that day. She listened to Jesse's recounting of their mission to the North. She expressed her secret fear for what Absalom had been doing there.

"My brother says he does his good because he loves Israel's people."

"Absalom does," Jesse said.

"My love, he also is working hard to be king. Let him go his way. Even if you should say what I said to the king, he would first look with favor on his beautiful son. My father would dismiss anything you would have to say. It will only be trouble for yourself and a resulting danger can take you from me."

Knowing that there was danger brewing that could come down on them, Tamar longing for Jesse that afternoon. Once more it became almost unbearable as her heart pounded harder than it had the day she had first seen his muscular body covered with sweat. That day her kisses were far more passionate than usual. She ran her hands over him far more than she felt proper. She had long forgotten Amnon's brutal abuse. How close she came to saying that afternoon that it would be no sin in Jesse for her to lead him to a quieter place and bare herself before him. Could she not but once take his hands and run them over all of  her? Absalom need never know. He was too busy undermining the king when not spending precious time with his young Tamar.

For a moment Tamar gave in to her passions and stood up and held out her hand. She would take Jesse to a well-known place. She looked down on Jesse smiling.

"What is it, my love?"

Tamar then came to her senses. She could not give in. At length her pounding heart allowed her to speak but not without difficulty.

"Play me something that will take the edge off my passion for you today."

Tamar had spoken what was true, but Jesse never knew just how close she came to causing him to lie with her that day.