(Judges 11.)
Farther on we ascend a high ridge and then begin our descent into
the southern branch of the wady of Ajlun. After winding about for
some time among the rocks and brush in the dry bed of this wady we
finally halt at Ain Jenneh, a good, strong fountain issuing from
under a great rock. We are yet in the upper reaches of the wady
and near the present village of Ajlun. Here we lunch and rest an
hour.
Some authorities identify this region as the place where was the
"wood of Ephraim." That being true, it is the place where Absalom
lost his life. Certain it is, even to-day, that to leave the
little path that we are following would mean to become hopelessly
entangled in jungles of prickly oak and other growth. Even in the
path it is with difficulty that I keep my garments from being torn
from me.
If this be the location of the "wood of Ephraim," then here the
forces of Absalom under Amasa and the armies of David under Joab
fought in those trying days of David's exile. Only a few miles
away, at Mahanaim, David sent out his men, commanding that they
touch not the young man. Then he waited for the news of the
conflict. In the thickets of Gilead the first "battle of the
wilderness" was fought. It was a decisive engagement. Joab's
veterans of many wars were too strong for the rebel's army.
Absalom sought safety in flight, but in trying to ride hurriedly
through the wild tangle his head caught in the branches of a great
oak, and before he could extricate himself, Joab had found him and
thrust him through the heart; then Joab's ten armor-bearers
encompassed the unfortunate victim and finished the deadly work.
And then, though Absalom had reared for himself a beautiful
monument in the king's dale at Jerusalem, they took his body from
the tree and threw it into a pit near by and made a great heap of
stones over it. There was no weeping at the grave of Absalom.
With the death of Absalom the rebellion was at an end; but David's
heart was broken. He waited at the gate of the city, more
interested in the welfare of his son than in the success of his
army. Swift runners approach! In answer to his question, "Is the
young man safe?" he hears reply that pierces his heart like a
dagger. Up to his chamber over the gate the king slowly passed
weeping and bent with grief, and as he went he said, "O my son
Absalom!
