There’s an old Russian proverb: “It’s better to be slapped with the truth than kissed with a lie.”
Kisses carry messages; they are the secret code of the soul. We know of Orpah’s goodbye kiss (Ruth 1:14) and kisses between family and friends (Ex 18:7; 1 Sam 20:41). There are romantic kisses (Song 1:2) and the betrayer’s shameful kiss (Lk 22:48). We read of Calvary’s embrace where “righteousness and peace have kissed” (Ps 85:10). So, was a kiss awaiting Absalom when he returned from Geshur? No, he “did not see the king’s face” (2 Sam 14:24). It may be that David’s cold reception expressed his doubt at the lack of repentance in his wayward son. Eventually Absalom grabbed Joab’s attention by burning his barley field, and, on Joab’s insistence, David received and “kissed Absalom” (2 Sam 14:33). But in spite of the chilly reception at the palace, “In all Israel there was no one who was praised as much as Absalom for his good looks” (14:25). In a day when physical beauty is touted, remember that “man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing” (Prov 31:30), but many use their superficial beauty and affected charm to gain advantage over others. Absalom was such a man. Using political ploys and empty kisses (2 Sam 15:5), he “stole the hearts of the men of Israel” (v 6). Then, of all things, he told David he had vowed that, if he was returned from Geshur, “then I will serve the Lord” (v 8). How? By starting an insurrection and driving the Lord’s king into exile? In this, Absalom prefigures Satan and, later, Antichrist in their attempts to drive God’s King from His throne. Both coups are catastrophic. God’s King must reign! So “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way…Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him” (Ps 2:12).