2 Samuel 14:1-20

2 Samuel 14:1-20

[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:  [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  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  [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  neither name  nor remainder  upon  the earth.  [8] And the king  said  unto the woman,  to thine house,  and I will give charge  [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.  [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  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  [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;  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,  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:  [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. 

What does 2 Samuel 14:1-20 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Evidently Joab (David"s commander-in-chief and nephew by his half-sister, Zeruiah; 1 Chronicles 2:16) concluded that it would be politically better for David and Israel if David brought Absalom back to Jerusalem from Geshur (cf. 2 Samuel 14:7; 2 Samuel 14:13-15). Absalom was, of course, now David"s heir to the throne by custom, though Yahweh had designated Solomon to succeed his father. David had a great love for Absalom even though he was a murderer ( 2 Samuel 14:1; cf. 2 Samuel 13:37; cf. 2 Samuel 13:39). David had a large capacity to love; he loved God and many other people greatly. Often people who love greatly find it difficult to confront and discipline.
The story Joab gave the "actress" from Tekoa (10 miles south of Jerusalem) to tell duplicated David"s own problem with Absalom (cf. the story that God had put in Nathan"s mouth, 2 Samuel 12:1-4). By putting the murderer to death, the woman"s hostile relatives would have deprived her of her means of support ( 2 Samuel 14:7; cf. the story of Cain and Abel, Genesis 4:1-8). By putting Absalom to death, David would have deprived himself of his heir, which Joab evidently perceived Absalom to be. Since David promised not to execute the woman"s son ( 2 Samuel 14:11), it would be inconsistent for him to refrain from pardoning Absalom ( 2 Samuel 14:13). The wise woman urged David to remember the LORD his God, specifically, His mercy ( 2 Samuel 14:11).
"David"s reference to the "hair" of the woman"s "son" is both ironic and poignant: The hair of his own son Absalom was not only an index of his handsome appearance (cf. 2 Samuel 14:25-26) but would also contribute to his undoing (cf. 2 Samuel 18:9-15)." [1]
The woman"s references to "the people of God" (i.e, Israel, 2 Samuel 14:13; cf. 2 Samuel 14:14-15; 2 Samuel 14:17) point to popular support for Absalom and a common desire that David would pardon him and allow him to return to Jerusalem.
David had personally experienced God"s mercy and had escaped death for his adultery and murder ( 2 Samuel 12:13). The woman appealed to David to deal with Absalom as God had dealt with him, or the nation would suffer ( 2 Samuel 14:14). 2 Samuel 14:14 is a key verse in this chapter. The wise "actress" reminded David that God does not take away life, that Isaiah , He does not delight in punishing people. Rather He plans ways by which guilty people can enjoy reconciliation with Himself. The Cross of Christ is the greatest historical proof of this truth. Judgment is God"s "strange" work ( Isaiah 28:21); mercy is what He delights to display. Thus, David should be godly and make a way to show mercy to Absalom, rather than punishing him with death, according to Joab.
David knew that Joab wanted him to pardon Absalom. He sensed that the woman"s arguments had come from him ( 2 Samuel 14:18-19). Joab had written the script for the skit that she had performed ( 2 Samuel 14:19-20).
"Ironically, Joab"s demise begins at precisely the point where another woman (Bathsheba) is sent to the king by a thoroughly self-interested [2] statesman (Nathan) in order to foil the succession of the next in line after Absalom (Adonijah) and so to secure the crown for Solomon ( 1 Kings 1:11-31)." [3]
There are parallels between this incident and Abigail"s appeal to David in 1 Samuel 25:24. [4]