"Shortcuts"
• 1.17.16 •
Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro
- The days described in these latest chapters
have proven to be difficult days for the King of Israel. His son, the crown
prince Amnon, gave in to his lust for his own sister and raped her.
- In spite of knowing about this, David did
nothing for two full years, prompting Absalom to act out in revenge. He
conspired to kill him and then fled to his Grandfather's Kingdom in Geshur.
- Over that period of time, David having
mourned the loss of Amnon, turned his heart toward his son in exile. Let's pick
it up in verse 1.
Text
• II
Samuel 14:1-3 : "So Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was
concerned about Absalom. And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman, and
said to her, 'Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel; do
not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning a long
time for the dead. Go to the king and speak to him in this manner.' So Joab put the
words in her mouth." : Being the commander of
Israel's army, as well as David's older "nephew" gave Joab
unprecedented insight into David's personality.
- There were the deep sighs and
the constant comments raised regarding Absalom's welfare. It probably didn't
require a psychology degree. It's easy to see when a family member is down.
- The issue is that Absalom was a
fugitive who chose exile in the face of his crime and David was the King who chose
to allow that to continue.
- Regardless of the personal
sentiment involved, David could really only send for him if he planned to
prosecute him. For Joab, there is tension, as the King's indecision threatens
the Kingdom.
- Absalom is the rightful heir and
the longer he is absent, the more his personality speaks over his crime. Joab
wants him near and wants the King to make a decision regarding his status.
- He employs this wise, or crafty
woman from Tekoa, a village outside of Bethlehem, asking her to act out a
little play that he's written for David's audience.
•
II Samuel 14:4-8 : "And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she
fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, 'Help, O king!'
Then the king said to her, 'What troubles you?' And she answered, 'Indeed I am
a widow, my husband is dead. Now your maidservant had two sons; and the two
fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the
one struck the other and killed him. And now the whole family has risen up
against your maidservant, and they said, ‘Deliver him who struck his brother,
that we may execute him for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will
destroy the heir also.’ So they would extinguish my ember that is left, and
leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the earth.' Then the king said
to the woman, 'Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.'" : Kings represented the final voice of authority in the land, so
they often heard these cases.
-
The woman quite literally throws herself into the scene, falling before and
paying homage to David, whose sympathy is aroused by the similarity of her
story to his own.
-
Like David, the woman has also been touched by grief and loss due to a fight
that wasn't anticipated. Like her family, David's conscience screamed for him
to respond for the sake of justice.
-
For this woman, her situation was made worse by her widowhood. A male child
would carry on the family name and provide his mother with security.
-
Without her surviving son's ability to carry on the family name, her chances
were grim.
-
David assures her that he will rule, presumably with favor upon her in time.
She presses the issue a little further. Verse 9.
•
II Samuel 14:9-11 : "And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, 'My lord, O king, let
the iniquity be on me and on my father’s house, and the king and his throne be
guiltless.' So the king said, 'Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall not
touch you anymore.' Then she said, 'Please
let the king remember the Lord your God, and do not permit the avenger of blood
to destroy anymore, lest they destroy my son.' And he said, 'As the
Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.'" : The
widow has covered every contingency. She tells him not to take any blame for
this action, but to let it fall upon her family.
-
David reassures her that she will be undisturbed. She continues and asks that
the "avenger of blood" be kept at bay, which would have been the
designated family member for justice.
-
David calms her concerns and explicitly promises her son's safety. "As the
Lord lives" is the language of an oath. Not one hair would fall to the
ground! The King has become quite soft!
- When Nathan brought his parable to
David's court, he was met with a severe response from David, bordering on
injustice, ordering death to a man who stole a single lamb!
-
Here, he excuses a case of manslaughter without much persuasion. He offers the
woman the security despite the righteousness of the case, an injustice on the
other side of the spectrum!
•
II Samuel 14:12-17 : "Therefore the woman said, 'Please,
let your maidservant speak another word to my lord the king.' And he said, 'Say
on.' So the woman said: 'Why then have you schemed such a thing against the
people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is guilty, in that the
king does not bring his banished one home again. For we will surely die and
become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet
God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones
are not expelled from Him. Now therefore, I have come to speak of this thing to
my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. And your maidservant
said, ‘I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the
request of his maidservant. For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant
from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the
inheritance of God.’ Your maidservant said, ‘The word of my lord the king will
now be comforting; for as the angel of God, so is my lord the king in
discerning good and evil. And may the Lord your God be with you.’" : The woman sees that Joab's plan is working well. The King is
very amicable and she precedes to move in to address Absalom.
-
The NLT does a great job of capturing the sentiment that she shared with the
King.
•
II Samuel 14:13 NLT : "She replied, 'Why don’t you do as
much for the people of God as you have promised to do for me? You have
convicted yourself in making this decision, because you have refused to bring
home your own banished son.'" : The Tekoan was right. David implicated himself in rendering
this decision.
-
Why wouldn't he bring Absalom back? Why wouldn't he do for his own son what he
had promised to do for hers? Why would he not bring his banished one home?
-
Her logic is exactly what David wants to hear. He had given an executive order
to save this woman's child. He could simply do that for his own son. After all,
life is short!
-
She describes life aptly as her metaphor of water hitting the dry ground speaks
clearly to a person living in the middle east. Nobody can recover water when it
meets the parched ground.
-
The reality of the regret of not reconciling after the grave has taken a
relative is very real. I'm sure that David considered this often, especially as
he aged.
-
David had used executive privilege and life was short. She presses further and
tells him that reconciliation is the godly thing to do!
-
"God devises means so that His banished ones are not expelled from
him!" This is a true gem, a New Testament truth hidden here in the Old
Testament.
-
God indeed goes to great lengths to bring His banished back to Himself! She had
been afraid to say these things to the King, but expected him to be able to
discern right from wrong!
•
II Samuel 14:18-20 : "Then the king answered and said to
the woman, 'Please do not hide from me anything that I ask you.' And the woman
said, 'Please, let my lord the king speak.' So the king said, 'Is the hand of
Joab with you in all this?' And the woman answered and said, 'As you live, my
lord the king, no one can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that
my lord the king has spoken. For your servant Joab commanded me, and he put all
these words in the mouth of your maidservant. To bring about this change of
affairs your servant Joab has done this thing; but my lord is wise, according
to the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that is in the earth.'" : Now that the entire episode has played out, it's obvious to
David that Joab had set him up.
-
Can you see Joab standing sheepishly in the corner, kicking at dirt with his
shoe?
- The woman admits to it easily.
She tells him that she believed that this little drama would help him see
things in a different light.
- He has seen it in a different
light and Joab has ushered in a change of affairs. Unfortunately, the King may
not have acted according to wisdom. Verse 21.
•
II Samuel 14:21-24 : " And the
king said to Joab, 'All right, I have granted this thing. Go therefore, bring
back the young man Absalom.' Then Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed
himself, and thanked the king. And Joab said, 'Today your servant knows that I
have found favor in your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled
the request of his servant.' So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought
Absalom to Jerusalem. And the king said, 'Let him return to his own house, but
do not let him see my face.' So Absalom returned to his own house, but did not
see the king’s face." : Listen to David's
resignation. "Oh all right. You win. Bring back Absalom." David bows
to his own heart, which longed for Absalom.
-
He bows to his own guilt, which was stirred over his inaction over Tamar's rape.
He bows to the manipulation presented by the Tekoan woman, and the pressure of
his General.
-
There is no sense of prayer or wisdom gained from the Lord. Simply, it seems
that David is through fighting himself. He wanted to do this, but he should not
have done it this way.
-
The woman was right. Life is short. But she failed to take into consideration
that Absalom had cut another man's life shorter.
-
Reconciliation between David and Absalom personally, in terms of their family
relationship, was only one dynamic. She ignored David's responsibility to judge
his own son's crime!
-
And while God does devise means, He never violates His own character to bring a
person into alignment with Himself! David failed to consider that here. Joab
however, gets what he wanted.
-
David can barely get out the words before Joab is on his way to Geshur to
retrieve Absalom.
-
David is willing to bring Absalom back but is not ready to resume a relationship
with him.
-
Absalom will be allowed to return but not to a place of honor, which he will
not abide.
•
II Samuel 14:25-30 : "Now in all Israel there was no one
who was praised as much as Absalom for his good looks. From the sole of his
foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. And when he cut the
hair of his head—at the end of every year he cut it because it was heavy on
him—when he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels
according to the king’s standard. To Absalom were born three sons,
and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a woman of beautiful appearance.
And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, but did not see the king’s face. Therefore
Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him.
And when he sent again the second time, he would not come. So he
said to his servants, 'See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he has barley there; go and
set it on fire.' And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire." : The author presents a stunning profile when it comes to
Absalom. Physically, he was a specimen without equal.
-
Nobody received as much praise as he did for his looks. Absalom was a handsome
and vain man, as he annually cut his hair and weighed it against 5 pounds of
silver!
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Additionally, he was a family man with three sons and a gorgeous daughter that
he named after his sister Tamar. The world was impressed with Absalom.
-
The only other person who had such physical acclaim might have been Saul! There
is a hint!
-
In spite of growing popularity, Absalom couldn't get in to see his Father. It
had been five years since his conspiracy ended Amnon's life. Absalom is still
in exile within the land of Israel.
-
At the fifth year, Absalom attempts to see Joab who wouldn't see him, so as any
good neighbor would do, he burned his field to get his attention!
•
II Samuel 14:31-33 : " Then Joab
arose and came to Absalom’s house, and said to him, 'Why have your servants set
my field on fire?' And Absalom answered Joab, 'Look, I sent to you, saying,
‘Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, 'Why have I come from
Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now therefore, let me see
the king’s face; but if there is iniquity in me, let him execute me.' So Joab
went 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. Then the
king kissed Absalom." : This young man has no
remorse. David was likely just glad to be alive after his sin. Absalom thinks
that the world revolves around him.
-
He's deeply insulted when Joab honors the King's request not to see him and
he's petulant enough to force Joab's hand by burning his field.
-
Absalom even throws down the gauntlet at David. "If there is any iniquity
in me, let him execute me!" There was and he should have been! He has not
remorse or regret.
-
David again gives in and allows Absalom back into his presence. As a King, this
was a dangerous action on his part.
-
He is allowing a known conspirator into his presence and not for punishment,
but for absolution. You can only imagine the thoughts that were going through
the public's mind.
-
But as a Father, one can easily relate to wanting to kiss his son again, to
bring him back into good graces. What should be a dream ending is only the
beginning of a nightmare!
• II Samuel
15:1-6 : "After this it happened that Absalom provided himself with
chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. Now Absalom would rise early and
stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a lawsuit
came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, 'What
city are you from?' And he would say, 'Your servant is from such and such a
tribe of Israel.' Then Absalom would say to him, 'Look, your case is good and
right; but there is no deputy of the king to hear you.' Moreover Absalom would say, 'Oh,
that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause
would come to me; then I would give him justice.' And so it was, whenever anyone came
near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and kiss
him. In this
manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So
Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel." : Absalom is back in the high life. He gathered a princely
entourage which ran with him through the city.
-
He made sure to position himself at the city gate, where all of the legal
transactions were transpiring. He provided a sympathetic ear while casually
dismissing David's care for justice.
-
Absalom played the part of the people's champion, feeling their pain and acknowledging
the validity of their cases. He shook their hands, looked into their eyes and
kissed them like a relative!
-
He did this long enough to secure the loyalty of the men of Israel. Their
hearts turned from David and looked toward Absalom.
•
II Samuel 15:7-12 : "Now it came to pass after forty
years that Absalom said to the king, 'Please, let me go to Hebron and pay
the vow which I made to the Lord. For your servant took a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria,
saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to
Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’ And the king said to him, 'Go in peace.' So he arose and went to
Hebron. Then
Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, 'As soon as you
hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’ And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from
Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything. Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s
counselor, from his city—from Giloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the
conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom continually increased in
number." : What happens to an unrepentant
conspirator when you give them enough time? They conspire yet again!
-
Scholars are divided over this textual variant in verse 7. It can mean that Absalom was forty when he began this or that it
was the 40th anniversary of David's annointing by Samuel.
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Some manuscripts say that this campaign had lasted 4 years. Any of these may be
the case, but it was at this point that Absalom made his move.
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Listen to how he couches his request. He had taken a vow before the Lord!
-
David again believes beyond the evidence! Absalom is able to gather his
followers in the place where David had been King at the beginning of his reign!
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The two hundred that gathered to him had no idea what was happening, but when
Absalom brought out Ahithophel, the full scope of the conspiracy became known.
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Somewhere along the way, Absalom and Ahithophel had begun to exchange notes.
We'll examine this a bit more next week.
Conclusion
- David has
engineered his own trouble by giving in to soft sentimentality, but restoring a
man to a place without seeking to know their true level of repentance.
-
David had devised a means to bring Absalom home, but he had done so at the
expense of justice. This is very unlike His and our God!
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God has devised one means, one way to bring His banished ones home. You and I were once
banished because of our sinful nature and actions.
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Jesus Christ became our representative, absorbing the justified wrath of God
upon Himself. God devised that means and did not ignore justice. Because of
Jesus, He satisfied it!
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Because of Jesus, there is no need to accept banishment! Instead, there is an
invitation to come home and thank Him for making the way!
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