And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron.
The verse records David dismissing Absalom with his blessing to go to Hebron. Absalom's stated reason was a vow made while in exile in Geshur, that if he were brought back to Jerusalem he would serve the Lord, and that this vow had to be paid in Hebron. David granted the request because he was comforted by this apparent evidence of piety in his son.
The permission obtained was Absalom's crowning act of hypocrisy, assuming a cloak of religious devotion to conceal fully matured treason. That religious pretense was designed both to blind the king and to establish the confidence of the people whose minds had been prepared, so as to lead them into rebellion against the king whom God had chosen.
The verse records David dismissing Absalom with his blessing to go to Hebron. Absalom's stated reason was a vow made while in exile in Geshur, that if he were brought back to Jerusalem he would serve the Lord, and that this vow had to be paid in Hebron. David granted the request because he was comforted by this apparent evidence of piety in his son.
The permission obtained was Absalom's crowning act of hypocrisy, assuming a cloak of religious devotion to conceal fully matured treason. That religious pretense was designed both to blind the king and to establish the confidence of the people whose minds had been prepared, so as to lead them into rebellion against the king whom God had chosen.