2 Samuel 14:18-22
Verse 18 Then the king said to the woman, “Don’t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.” “Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said.
Now that the woman from Tekoa had asked her two questions it was now the king’s turn to ask a question of his own. This woman may have been wise but she seemed to know more about his situation than he would have thought a woman from south of Bethlehem would know. There must be more to this situation than met the eye.
With that thought the king asked a very important question, “Did you come up with this all on your own or did Joab put you up to this?” There must have been something in what she said which reminded him of his commander. This woman may be wise but other than being a prophetess she would not have worded this in such a clever way.
The woman had to be honest and tell the king that indeed not only had Joab put her up to it he had given her all the words, but then she said something she hoped would keep the king from getting mad at his friend, “He did it because he wants to see your present situation changed for you.” This woman was wise enough to let the king know it was done with purest intentions. It wasn’t done to make a fool of the king, just hopefully to help him see the truth through another means.
Instead of getting angry the king gave in and requested his son be brought back to him. He knew he wanted his son back. He had wanted that for about 3 years. Notice he turned to Joab to say he wanted his son back. Up until now it had sounded as if Joab had sent the lady to the king but now we know the commander likely had a front row seat to his production. He had been there listening to each word knowing what she was going to say next. And it had all worked according to plan.
Joab’s response to the king had him on his face in front of David. Joab seemed to have felt things were a bit strained between the two men since the events surrounding Uriah’s death and Joab’s calling David out to battle or else he would conquer the city and name it after himself. The king’s willingness to listen and take action of what he had heard showed the commander his position was safe, in fact he was commissioned to bring home the king’s estranged son. His plan had worked!
Making It Personal
Have you tried to bridge a gap between two people who were estranged? How did you go about doing that? Have you ever had someone try to do bridge the gap between you and an estranged friend?
Making It Personal Kids
Have you ever tried to help two friends patch up a broken friendship? Has anyone ever tried to help you patch a friendship with someone you were upset with? How can friendships be patched?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for this reminder of what it means to be a peacemaker. In a world that preaches peacekeeping help us know how to make peace by helping heals divisions between friends. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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