This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
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COMMENTARY ON GENESIS to the address above.
2Samuel
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.
Now we find out why David did not send for Absalom and ask him to return home. Absalom was a murderer. And David felt guilty for not requiring him to return home and "face the music."
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.
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.
Joab devised a manner by which he could perhaps restore father and son. he found a "wise woman" who would talk to the king hypothetically.
Notice the argument she presents in verse 14. We have a short life. We sin all through it. But God as provided salvation so that we will not have to suffer through eternity. God is VERY GOOD to us even though we are all as MURDERERS in His eyes. Shouldn't we be forgiving in our lives as we live them? Shouldn't we follow God's example?
All that sounds pretty good doesn't it? But, as we shall see, it is WRONG! it is ALWAYS right to forgive, but it is NOT always right to pardon from penalty.
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:
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.
David suddenly realized that someone put this woman up to the story. And then he realized it was probably Joab. Why would Joab do this? He was the son of David's sister (Zeruiah); David's nephew and Absaloms first cousin. Joab had committed murder too. David had never confronted him, but David had never forgiven him either. David just "turned his head" at the matter. Now Joab assumes David will do the same thing for Absalom.
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.
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.
David immediately turned to Joab (who was in the court) and said, "Go get Absalom and bring him home." Once again, David "turned his head" concerning murder. Perhaps the though of Uriah still haunted him. But he bent to the pressures of "society" and "do-gooders" and gave pardon to a family member.
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.
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.
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.
Absalom became "secure" in his new-found pardon. When sin is unpunished, the sinner will often become worse.
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.
David made a big mistake here by restoring Absalom through rehabilitation instead of retribution. Society makes that same mistake today.
Please continue with us in daily Bible study.
CHAPTER 14
Joab realized that David really wanted to have Absalom return home in safety, and not be judged by the law. David, after all, loved his son, and wanted him to be at thome - even if he had killed his own brother.
I remember talking to a man in prison once. He had made a profession of faith in Jesus after I had preached there. He told me that his mother had been visiting with him every weekend and telling him about Jesus and forgiveness. The man was in prison for murder. I couln't help but thing how great this woman's love was for her son.
And I believe that's they way David loved Absalom.
The woman described an incident supposedly between her two sons. She told him that one of her sons killed the other while they were arguing. And now all the family and city wanted her to turn over the murderer for judgment. If she did this, then all her "coal" would die out -- there would be no more fire in her life. If she did NOT turn him over, and "avenger of blood" might soon be sent to kill him (verse 11). She wanted to know what to do.
David told her to no longer worry about it, that he personally would take care of the manner. He assured her that he would acquit the man of his crime and that no one would come and destroy him. That's sorta like the governor giving a pardon.
Then the woman turned the conversation to David himself. She asked why he didn't do that for his OWN son.
God is ALWAYS willing and ready to forgive our sins, but He does not always pardon us from the consequences of sin. He pardons us from the ultimate end of sin (eternal death), but God doesn't always pardon us from the immediate sequence of events which follow sin.
David could have forgiven Absalom, given him and opportunity to repent, and STILL executed the proper sentence upon him.
The woman plainly told David that the reason for the story was to "fetch about this form of speech" from David. In other words, the ruse was begun to bring David to the point of pardon for his son - and perhaps for Joab too.
Joab went, but when Absalom was returned, David wouldn't see him. Now we must ask ourselves WHY?
David knew that it was wrong to judge guilty those of the kingdom who commit felonies and then to acquit his own son from the same. He knew it was not right in the sight of God to allow his son to go free from the penalty of murder. Perhaps David wanted Absalom to have an opportunity to properly repent. But it didn't happen.
"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."(Proverbs 22:15)
Absalom had three children. Then he tried to get Joab to intercede with the king. When Joab wouldn't come, Absalom set his field of barley on fire. Absalom has become haughty and demanding. He was more pround of his hair than of his honor.
Joab did come, and Absalom convinced him to once again intercede with the king. Absalom wanted access to the court- he wanted full pardon without repentance.
Absalom didn't even believe David had the heart to kill him, and he arrogantly insinuated the same (verse 32).
We do no favors for criminals (inside or outside of family) when we allo them to "get away" with crime. God's laws are not suggestions, they are absolutes. Pardon without contrition and repentance becomes a menace to society.
All we need for proof of that is to look at our United States Prison system. For far too long our justice system has been lax in quick execution of sentences. We have listened to the retoric of the "wise woman of Joab" (if you will) and given rehabilitation instead of exacting retribution.
Yes, criminals should have an opportunity to confess guilt and plead for mercy. They have that in a court of law. When judged guilty, the civil authorities should execute sentences swiftly.
And, yes, criminals should have an opportunity to confess guilt and plead for mercy from God even AFTER sentencing. But that should be provided IN THE PRISON by the CHURCH.