2 Samuel 14: The Actress from Tekoa
1 So Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was concerned about Absalom. 2 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. 3 Go to the king and speak to him in this manner.” So Joab put the words in her mouth. 4 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!”
Joab spoke in a natural sense. Because Absalom “has slain his brother he ought to be slain according to the law, Genesis 9:6, Exodus 21:12.” (Geneva Study Bible) But: “Here we see Joab appearing on stage again: the man who always, as here, pursues his own goals. He chooses to be a party to Absalom, because for him that is the crown prince. Solomon plays no role for him.” (G. de Koning) “Absalom was, of course, now David’s heir to the throne by custom, though Yahweh had designated Solomon to succeed his father (1 Chron 22:8-10).” (Dr. Thomas B. Constable)
Joan tells the woman not to anointherself with oil. (2b) “In token of mourning: for they used anointing to seem (or indicate by symbol) cheerful.” (Geneva Study Bible)— The change of deposition comes by renewal of the Holy Spirit after mourning death. And the Holy Spirit has no place in this scheme nor its end. “In all these records of those sad events we hear not a word that David inquired of the Lord… The wisdom he used was not the wisdom from above, but the wisdom of a cunning man.” (Arno Gaebelein)
4 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!” 5 Then the king said to her, “What troubles you?” And she answered, “Indeed I am a widow, my husband is dead. 6 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. 7 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.”
“There is a similarity between the story of the woman and the story Nathan tells David after his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah (2Sam 12:1-4). There is also a difference and that is greater than the similarity. The similarity is that the woman tells a history that has not happened. Its purpose is to persuade the king to make Absalom come home again. The difference is that Nathan wanted to reach the conscience of David to bring it into the light of God, while Joab wants to persuade David to turn his conscience off by letting Absalom come back again without justice being done.” (G. de Koning)
“And now the whole family has risen up against your maidservant (as it was supposed that David’s sons were against him) 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.’ (7) "To quench the light of Israel (2 Sam 21:17) is to destroy the king's life; to ordain a lamp for any one (Ps 132:17) is to grant him posterity; to quench a coal signifies here the extinction of this woman's only remaining hope that the name and family of her husband would be preserved. The figure is a beautiful one: a coal, live, but lying under a heap of embers-all that she had to rekindle her fire-to light her lamp in Israel.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)
8 Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.” 9 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.” 10 So the king said, “Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall not touch you anymore.” 11 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.”
“‘Let the iniquity be on me’ This request of the woman recognized the guilt that rested upon any person avoiding the just punishment of murderers, but here, she stated her willingness to assume that guilt upon herself in order that it might not rest upon David and upon his throne. ‘The woman was here pleading for full forgiveness for the living son who had murdered his brother, which, of course, would be a violation of Levitical law. Anything less than full forgiveness would not help her plea for Absalom.’ [The Pulpit Comm] Then she said, ’Pray let the king invoke the LORD your God’ (11) The woman was not satisfied with David's mere promise, she requested that he reinforce it with an oath, which he did— before her application of the story to the case of Absalom.’ [International Critical Comm]— “’and do not permit the avenger of blood to destroy anymore, lest they destroy my son.’ The avenger of blood was the nearest of kin to the murdered man; and his duties are outlined in Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 19.”[The New Bible Comm] The forgiveness of such a murderer was a violation of God's commandment, a fact which the woman frankly admitted here in volunteering to accept the guilt upon herself.” (Coffman Commentary)
This was a case in which noone knew the real circumstance, like Cain and Able. Only Scriptures give us insight into that case. But the incident occurred in an open field; they were alone. So, the woman ... said ... O king, the iniquity be on me - It might be that the surviving son is innocent. “The woman's language refers to a common precaution taken by the Hebrew judges and magistrates, solemnly to transfer from themselves the responsibility of the blood they doomed to be shed either to the accusers or the criminals (2 Samuel 1:16; 2 Samuel 3:28); and sometimes the accusers took it upon themselves (Matthew 27:25).” (Jamieson) And David said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.” (11)
12 Therefore the woman said, “Please, let your maidservant speak another word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Say on.” 13 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. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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.’ 17 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.’ ”
She had gotten his word. She then revealed that it was about KING DAVID. “Now she respectfully asks his permission to speak a further word; and takes advantage of this to apply David's committal to his relationship with Absalom. She asks him why he had planned such a thing against the people of God.” (L. M. Grant) “For the king speaks this thing as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring his banished one home again. (13)
“For we will surely die.— This is her second argument, as she had them ready coined to her hand both for matter and form, and put into her mouth by Joab, and it is this, It is appointed for all men once to die: thou art mortal, though a king; Amnon is dead already and past recovery, 'as water spilt upon the ground, which cannot be gathered up again.' And Absalom is dead in law, and if he continue in exile, likely enough to die with sorrow; or if he be cut off for his fratricide, what wilt thou do for a fit successor? and what will become of the public welfare? will not all go to wreck and ruin?”— for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.’ (14a) Why do you give contrary sentence to your son Absalom?” (Geneva Study Bible)
“'Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.' (14b) Yes, God has devised means, but how much they cost! In David’s case there was no attempt to meet the demands of a broken law, but God’s means include this. In the person of the Son of His love, He has satisfied the demands of law and honored them by Jesus’ obedience unto the death of the Cross! He is just and the Justifier! Righteousness and peace kissed each other at the cross of Jesus.” (F. B. Meyer)
David had rightly hesitated to pardon. If he spared the life of his own son, “the foundations of law and order would be shaken throughout the kingdom.” (F. B. Meyer) Yahweh was the ruler of absolute Israel—not David. Yet she tempted him, as a mouthpiece of Satan, to apply her case to his son: “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.” (17)
2 Samuel 14: David Allows Absalom to Return to His Inheritance
18 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.”
19 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. 20 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.”
21 And the king said to Joab, “All right, I have granted this thing. Go therefore, bring back the young man Absalom.” — 22 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.” 23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 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.
““Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” “It appears from this that Joab was present for this interview, and that the king at once transferred his attention from the woman to Joab, as Joab was the actual petitioner.” (Coffman Commentary) “The king at once penetrates the woman’s disguise, and sees the stratagem. He knew Joab as 'wily and politic and unscrupulous,' but we do not know why he suspected him of this especial interest in Absalom.” (C. J. Ellicott) “Joab’s masquerade proved effective. David agreed to allow Absalom to return to Jerusalem” (Dr. Thomas B. Constable)— because of the oath. He was tricked.
“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.’ (22)— But it seems David had no power to dispense with God's laws, nor to spare any whom God appointed him to destroy.” (John Wesley)
“Absalom’s pardon, however, was not a full one; it consisted only in the permission to return to Jerusalem. He remained banished from the royal court. ‘My face shall he not see,’ says David.”(Lange’s Commentary) The king granted his son's return to his inheritance in Israel, but the longevity of it depended on his repentance and change of heart. For now: “How could he rightly express any fellowship with Absalom when the young man was still hardened in self-righteousness?” (L. M. Grant) “Even though he did not execute him, neither did David restore Absalom to fellowship with himself (2 Sam 14:24). His forgiveness was official but not personal.” (Thomas B. Constable) “David allowed Absalom’s return (to his inheritance), but forbade him his presence. The former had been done in weakness, the latter through a sense of justice.” (C. J. Ellicott)
In this whole scheme, and his being tricked into an oath without going to the LORD in prayer, king David “was acting in the character of an oriental despot rather than a constitutional king of Israel. The feelings of the father triumphed over the duty of the king, who, as the supreme magistrate, was bound to execute impartial justice on every murderer, by the express law of God (Genesis 9:6; Numbers 35:30-31), which he had no power to dispense with (Deuteronomy 18:18; Joshua 1:8; 1 Samuel 10:25).” (Jamieson, Faussett, Brown) “So David lets Absalom loose, as it were, on the people of Jerusalem. He is a young man of fine appearance and fascinating manners.” (The Expositor's Bible Commentary)
David figured it out but he didn’t discerned good and evil, in time to avoid the injustice, as alledged. “If David could discern under all coverings, and all disguise, think how open must be all the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts to His view, with Whom we have to do! Hosea 4:12-13 .” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary ) “It is true that God has thoughts of compassion toward poor sinners, not willing that any should perish [rather He wants all to come to repentance]; yet He is only reconciled to them through a Mediator, who pleads on their behalf. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, and Christ came to this land of our banishment, to bring us to God.” (Matthew Henry)
2 Samuel 14: David Forgives Absalom
25 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. 26 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. 27 To Absalom were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a woman of beautiful appearance. 28 And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, but did not see the king’s face.
"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.’ (25) But nature had spent all her strength, saith one, in trimming his body; his soul she had left altogether untrimmed, as appeareth by his ambition.” (John Trapp) In my theology, the soul is the whole person, but I can still respect the jest of this comment. He had an outward beauty but lack that of the hidden man. This section gives “information about Absalom that helps us understand why he was able to win the hearts of the people. He was not only handsome but also a family man. 'A strong growth of hair (v. 26) was a sign of great manly power . . .’ [Keil and Delitzsch]
‘What Absalom proudly considers his finest attribute will prove to be the vehicle of his ultimate downfall (cf. 2 Samuel 18:9-15).’ [Youngblood] How often this proves to be true… Absalom was attractive physically, but not correspondingly attractive to God spiritually, because he put his own ambitions before God’s plans. In these respects he was similar to Saul.” (Dr. Thomas B. Constable)
“‘To Absalom were born three sons.’ Their names are not given, from which it might be supposed that they died in infancy, and this is made sure by 2 Samuel 18:18, where Absalom is reported as saying, ‘I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.’” (C. J. Ellicott)— “and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a woman of beautiful appearance.” (27)— name after her aunt, whose honor Absalom had defended. In his mind, her name was a memorial of his great act.
“’And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, but did not see the king’s face.’ "This slight severity was designed to bring him to sincere repentance, on perceiving that his father had not fully pardoned him, as well as to convince the people of David's abhorrence of his crime.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)
29 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. 30 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.
31 Then Joab arose and came to Absalom’s house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”
32 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.”
33 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.
“’Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him.’ (29) Not being allowed to appear at court, or to adopt any state, the courtiers kept aloof; even his cousin did not deem it prudent to go into his society.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown) “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. (30) The wicked are impatient in their affections, and spare no unlawful means to accomplish them.” (Geneva Study Bible) “Absalom’s behavior was based in the extreme. Beauty of body and deformity of soul often coexist in the same individual. A flower-covered grave may hide gross corruption. See in his case an illustration of what would happen if sin could be forgiven apart from repentance and regeneration. Justification without sanctification would turn heaven into hell. There must be deep soul-work, if we are to come forth into the light of the love of God.” (F. B. Meyer)
“‘Now therefore, let me see the king’s face; but if there is iniquity in me, let him execute me;’ (32) signifying he chose to die, rather than to live such a life he did: but of being put to death he was not much afraid; presuming partly upon his innocence, thinking that the killing of his brother was no crime, because he was the aggressor, had ravished his sister, and for it ought to die.” (Gill)
But again, this was self righteousness at best. "'So Joab came to the king and told him; and when he David, had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king,' as a token of the usual homage paid to the sovereign, but not as a mark of penitence; 'and the king kissed Absalom'. So the matter was patched up, sincerely enough on the part of David, but without this spirit on the part of Absalom." (Paul E Kretzmann) King David "believed him to be a true penitent; and smarted for his credulity.” (Trapp)
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