SCRIPTURE: 2 SAMUEL 14
ABSALOM RETURNS TO JERUSALEM (vs. 1-33)
Joab knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. So he sent a wise woman with his instructions to meet the king. The woman dressed in mourning clothe and went to the king saying: “I am a widow with two sons. The two brothers fought with each other and one died. So the whole clan wanted me to hand down the brother killer and put him to death. They would get rid of the heir and put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth” (vs. 3-7) Then the king promised her : “Not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground” (v. 11)
Then the woman spoke to the king: “Why haven’t you brought back your banished son? Then the king knew that it was Joab who asked her to do this to change the present situation of king on Absalom. So the king asked Joab to bring back Absalom. Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. But the king refused to see him. Absalom was very handsome in appearance. He had three sons and a daughter.
After living to two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face, Absalom sent his servants asking Joab to come to him. But Joab refused. So Absalom told his servants to set fire in Joab’s field next to his field. Then Joab asked Absalom why he did this, Absalom replied: “Look, I sent word to you and said, ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there! Now I want to see the king’s face and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death” (v. 32) So Joab told the king and the king summoned Absalom. The two met and the king kissed Absalom.
THOUGHTS:
David failed to punish Amnon for raping Tamar. He did not deal decisively with Absalom’s murder of Amnon. Because he ignored sins, he experienced greater pain than if he had deal with it immediately.
Absalom was a rebellious independent young man who took matters into his hands and killed his brother Amnon. He also set fire to Joab’s field to get his attention. He was handsome and a man with ability. But because David did not discipline him, Absalom thought that he can do whatever and whenever he wanted to. Remember to discipline your children while young.
The woman told a story to encourage David to do a wrong thing to restore Absalom without first insisting on repentance. Forgiveness is only effective if we repent.