King David was forced to flee Jerusalem because of the rebellion led by his son, Absalom. King David had made some poor decisions and alienated many of those close to him; he had also taken a woman named Bathsheba and fathered a child with her, which caused major problems for him in the kingdom. Absalom had taken advantage of his father’s weaknesses and orchestrated a coup d’état to seize the throne from his father. David was able to avoid being captured by fleeing from Jerusalem, but not without consequences: many loyalists were arrested by Absalom’s forces as they were fleeing, and eventually some committed suicide because they were afraid that Absalom would capture them and kill them. With so much opposition, it was impossible for David’s loyalists to win against Absalom’s forces.
While it’s true that Jerusalem did technically fall into Absalom’s hands, the rebellion itself was a failure. David had received word that Absalom was gathering a great deal of support in the city and left the capital before being ousted. He then gathered his own supporters and returned to Jerusalem where he declared himself king again. David knew that Absalom was ruthless and wouldn’t be satisfied with simply taking control of Jerusalem and would likely try to get revenge on his father for his banishment, so he fled from Jerusalem to save himself from this fate.
The Bible states that after returning to the capital and reclaiming his throne — David was resolved to defeat Absalom and regain control of the city he’d lost.
