Ten Silver Shekels for Absalom?

David was surely the most illustrious king of Israel. From the slaying of Goliath to the adulterous affair with Bathsheba, David's life was filled with glory as well as scandal. Yet, the event which struck David the hardest was probably the death of Absalom. How many silver shekels would David have given to bring Absalom back to life? Listen... "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! "

Absalom was David's third son. In the Bible, it was mentioned that he was the most handsome man in the whole of Israel. The fact that he was handsome was one thing but the fact that he harbored ambitions to usurp his father was a matter of great treachery. So it happened that he forced David to flee Jerusalem. Absalom wasn't satisfied as he knew that so long as David was alive, he would not have total control of the people. Thus, he chased after his own father, planning to kill him in the wilderness.

The battle took place in the wood of Ephraim. On the day of the battle, it was recorded that roughly twenty thousand men were slaughtered, with more people killed by the wood, rather than the sword. Whether by a twist of fate or the hand of God, Absalom ended up trapped in the branches of a great oak tree, hanging between the heaven and the earth.

When a man saw Absalom in such a position, he reported the matter to Joab, David's nephew, one of the captains of his army. Earlier, David had instructed his men not to harm Absalom but Joab had other ideas. "And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why did thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle." (2 Samuel 18:11) Ten shekels of silver? The man replied saying that he wouldn't defy the king even for a thousand shekels! Still, Joab went ahead, thrusting three darts into Absalom's heart.

Mourning Absalom, David was a totally devastated. How would he have felt if he knew that Joab had offered to pay only ten silver shekels for his beloved son? Luckily, the top silver buyer is not Joab. If you want to sell silver, you will be enjoying the best rates for silver in the market. Check it out today!