2 Samuel 14:1-20 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 14:1-20. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
2 Samuel 14:1-20 (NIV)
1 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom.
2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead.
3 Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.
4 When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, O king!”
5 The king asked her, “What is troubling you?” She said, “I am indeed a widow; my husband is dead.
6 I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him.
7 Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”
8 The king said to the woman, “Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.”
9 But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “My lord the king, let the blame rest on me and on my father’s family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.”
10 The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he will not bother you again.”
11 She said, “Then let the king invoke the LORD his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he said, “not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
12 Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” “Speak,” he replied.
13 The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son?
14 Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.
15 “And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will do what his servant asks.
16 Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from the inheritance God gave us.’
17 “And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the LORD your God be with you.'”
18 Then the king said to the woman, “Do not keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.” “Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said.
19 The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant.
20 Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God–he knows everything that happens in the land.”
On verses 1-20: David’s military commander Joab notices how David’s heart longs for his exiled son Absalom, and yet David refuses to bring Absalom back (v1). So Joab decides to do something about it. Joab hires a talented actress from Tekoa to enter David’s presence. She pretends that she is a widow grieving because her only two sons got into a fight, one killed the other, and now her whole clan demands that her remaining son be executed. She pleads with King David to let her remaining son live. David promises her that her son will not be harmed. Then the woman turns the tables on King David. With gentleness and tact, she points out how David himself has been mistreating his own banished son Absalom, suggesting that just as David protected her remaining son and ensured his safety, David should bring back Absalom, be reunited with him and ensure his safety. David suspects, and the woman confirms, that Joab is behind this performance.
What can we learn from this? Here are 3 verses and 3 lessons I believe the Holy Spirit spotlighted for me from this passage:
2 Samuel 14:10 (NIV)
10 The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he will not bother you again.”
On verse 10: To reassure the woman from Tekoa and give her peace, King David tells her that if anyone says anything to her that bothers her, bring that person to him and he will not bother her again. Praise God that we too have a King to whom we can bring our burdens so that we will not be bothered anymore. As Philippians 4:6-7 says:
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
So whenever anyone says anything to hurt you (an unkind word, a threat), bring that person to God, surrender to God what that person said or did. When you do, you will experience God’s peace such that the person and what they said will not bother you as much anymore.
2 Samuel 14:14 (NIV)
14 Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.
On verse 14: Here is one of my favourite verses in the Old Testament. Why? It beautifully communicates God’s heart for people. Because of our sin, all of us were estranged from God and destined to die, like water spilled on the ground which cannot be recovered. Yet God’s heart is not to “take away life”, but rather to give us life (“and life to the full” – John 10:10). God devised a way to rescue us and bring us back to Him. He sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins and to rise again from the grave. Even now, God continues to find ways to reach those who are far from Him. He won’t give up, even when they do. For that is the heart of God.
2 Samuel 14:19 (NIV)
19 The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant.
On verse 19: Sometimes God will use people to speak the truth in love to us so that we will do what He wants us to do. This happened so many times in David’s life. Previously God had sent Samuel, Jonathan, Abigail, and Nathan to speak the truth in love to David. Now God is using Joab to speak the truth in love to David. While it’s not totally clear what Joab’s motive was, God used Joab to uncover an issue in David’s heart that David needed to face and as a result of Joab’s initiative, David would finally face that issue (v21).
Thank You, Lord, for being the One I can bring my burdens to. Thank You that when I was estranged and far away from You, You sent Jesus Christ to bring me back to You. And thank You that You continue to use individuals in our lives who care enough about us to speak the truth in love to us. May we be open and receptive to what they have to say and may You use their words to launch us into the destiny You have for us. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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