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2 Samuel Chapter 14
Absalom Returns to Jerusalem
- 2Samuel 14:1 Now
Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was
toward Absalom.
- 2 And Joab sent to
Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I
pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now
mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a
woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:
What Joab's motive is here is
debatable. Perhaps he was just tired of seeing David mourn for his
son and wanted everything to get back to normal. David refused to
make the first move. He was king and had to have law and order.
Absalom did commit murder although considering what happened to his
own sister, one might possibly understand the reason behind his plot
to kill his brother Amnon. At any rate this whole thing is a result
of David's sin which caused the prophet to come to him and tell him
these type of things would come as a result of David's sin in taking
Uriah's wife and having Uriah killed in battle.
As far as David's soul; It was right
with God and God forgave him but the influence that is brought to
his children would later cause trouble for him. We need to live as
an example to our children or they will do the same things we did.
I'm thinking that perhaps David knew this and mourned for his son
because he blamed himself rather than Absalom.
Joab's actions though by using
deception and a false story to get Absalom back is understandable
but deception is never good. A lie really doesn't do well in the
long run. As we shall see. Joab knew David was a person who reacts
to a sad sob story. He was always a person with compassion even
though he messed up a few times. His heart was soft toward God and
His word. That is one reason he would not touch Saul and do him harm
when he had the chance twice.
- 2Samuel 14:3 And
come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put
the words in her mouth.
- 4 And when the woman
of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground,
and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.
- 5 And the king said
unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a
widow woman, and mine husband is dead.
- 6 And thy handmaid
had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and
there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and
slew him.
- 7 And, behold, the
whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said,
Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for
the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the
heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and
shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon
the earth.
- 8 And the king said
unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge
concerning thee.
- 9 And the woman of
Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on
me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne be
guiltless.
- 10 And the king
said, Whosoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he
shall not touch thee any more.
- 11 Then said she, I
pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou
wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more,
lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD liveth, there
shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.
- 12 Then the woman
said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my
lord the king. And he said, Say on.
After getting King David to make an
oath and a promise that her son would not be killed, she changes her
words and pleads for the life of Absalom instead revealing to David
that this was all about him and not a real story at all. David was
wise and figured out Joab was behind this.
- 2Samuel 14:13 And
the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing
against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as
one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again
his banished.
- 14 For we must needs
die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be
gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth
he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.
- 15 Now therefore
that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it
is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid
said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king
will perform the request of his handmaid.
- 16 For the king will
hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that
would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of
God.
- 17 Then thine
handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be
comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to
discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with
thee.
- 18 Then the king
answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee,
the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord
the king now speak.
- 19 And the king
said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the
woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king,
none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that
my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me,
and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid:
Sometimes David amazes me and I can see
his heart which is one of compassion even though he has made many
mistakes. He was a man that repents and wants a strong one on one
relationship with God. He was a person that didn't want to sin. He
was weak at times in the flesh but in reality he wanted to obey God
and do the right things.
This lady pointed out David's
willingless to pardon her own son but not his own son when he killed
his brother because that brother did evil to the sister of Absalom.
Killing Absalom would not do any good now. Absalom was more
justified than her own son she pretended to have who was the only
one left to take care of her in her old age.
- 2Samuel 14:20 To
fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this
thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel
of God, to know all things that are in the earth.
- 21 And the king said
unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore,
bring the young man Absalom again.
- 22 And Joab fell to
the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king:
and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found
grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath
fulfilled the request of his servant.
- 23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to
Jerusalem.
I was thinking on these things and wondered
why Joab even cared but I remembered that
David was angry once when Joab slew Abner the one who was captain of
Saul's army for killing his (Joab's) brother. Joab killed Abner in
revenge himself so he knows why Absalom killed Amnon. 2 Samuel
chapters 2 and 3 gives us the account of those events.
-
2Samuel
14:24 And the king said, Let him turn to his own house,
and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own
house, and saw not the king's face.
-
25 But in all Israel
there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty:
from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there
was no blemish in him.
-
26 And when he
polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled
it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:)
he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the
king's weight.
-
27 And unto
Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name
was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
-
28 So Absalom
dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face.
I wonder if this
caused Absalom's rebellion against David later. Absalom was
beautiful to look upon. David avoided seeing him and just might have
set off the rebellion even though it was a fullfillment of prophecy.
Something should have been done when Amnon raped the sister of
Absalom because that is what started this whole thing with Absalom.
It saddens me to see anyone lost and end up badly.
-
2Samuel 14:29 Therefore Absalom sent
for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to
him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.
-
30 Therefore he said unto his
servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there;
go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on
fire.
For some reason Absalom blames Joab for
the reason David will not see him. Joab was probably done with his
part and left the final reconciliation up to David to settle. Joab
was probably tired of the whole thing.
-
2Samuel 14:31 Then Joab arose, and
came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have
thy servants set my field on fire?
-
32 And Absalom answered Joab,
Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee
to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been
good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the
king's face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.
-
33 So Joab came to the king, and
told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king,
and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the
king kissed Absalom.
Joab's influence was strong and perhaps
Absalom knew this and that was the reason he had Joab's fields set
on fire to get his attention. It worked at least for awhile. Absalom
is soon to change for the worse. This is a human trait that is hard
to overcome. Even though there was a reconciliation, with him and
his father, the unjust thing that happened to his sister might have
been hard to overcome. DC
2 Saumuel Chapter 14
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