2 SAMUEL LESSON 15


     We will begin this lesson in II Samuel 14:1 "Now Joab the son of
Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart [was] toward Absalom."

     The heart of David was the heart of a father. David loved
Absalom, in spite of what he might have done. Joab was David's nephew,
by his sister, Zeruiah. Joab is around David enough, that he knows his
feelings.

     II Samuel 14:2 "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:"

     Joab wanted to get David to show some emotion about Absalom. This
plot with the woman had to be done perfectly, to keep David from
finding out, and punishing the woman and Joab. "Tekoah" is the town
this wise woman comes from. The town is about 6 miles out of
Bethlehem. She must be able to convince David, that she is truly a
mourner of long standing, to be able to talk to David. She is to
pretend to have been mourning for the dead a very long time.

     II Samuel 14:3 "And come to the king, and speak on this manner
unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth."

     "Joab put the words in her mouth" is saying he told her exactly
what to say.

     II Samuel 14:4  "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."

     The word "obeisance" means depress, or prostrate. This means she
fell on her face to the ground before the king. She was showing
extreme respect for the king. She asks David for his help.

     II Samuel 14:5 "And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And
she answered, I [am] indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead."

     This speaks highly of David, that he would even hear her. We must
remember that this whole story is made up. She is a good actress and
David believes her.

     II Samuel 14:6 "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."

     This should sound familiar to David, because one of his sons,
Absalom, had killed his oldest son Amnon.

     II Samuel 14:7 "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."

     We hear a sad story from this woman of how the people of her
tribe want to kill her remaining son for killing his brother. She
beautifully describes how the fire of her life will be completely put
out, if they kill her surviving son. He is the last son in her family
to carry on the family name. In a case like this, she has appealed to
the highest court. A king has wide privileges pertaining to this. If
he speaks the word, the boy will not be killed.

     II Samuel 14:8 "And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine
house, and I will give charge concerning thee."  II Samuel 14:9 "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."

     She has appealed to the highest court in the land. What a
beautiful job, she has done with her acting. She even goes so far as
to say the penalty for any sin regarding this would be on her
shoulders, and not on the kings. She has made this seem very real. She
is asking for a full pardon for her son. In reality, she is asking for
a full pardon for Absalom.

     II Samuel 14:10 "And the king said, Whosoever saith [ought] unto
thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more."
II Samuel 14:11 "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."

     This assurance for the safety of her make-believe son, is an
assurance of the safety for Absalom. She did mention the fact, that
the law said a murderer should not live. David, by his own words, has
pardoned this fictitious son.

     II Samuel 14:12 "Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray
thee, speak [one] word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on."
II Samuel 14:13 "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."

     She has said a very dangerous thing. The king could have her
killed for this deception. The people of God, in this, is the bereaved
mother. She says that she was speaking for the people, when she
represented this story to David. Most every one would understand why
Absalom killed Amnon. It was the law of the land, if someone raped
another, they were to be killed. Tamar was Absalom's sister. He had
every right to kill her attacker.

     II Samuel 14:14 "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."

     She is saying that, there is no way to bring Amnon back. He
should allow Absalom to live at home with the family. God restored
David to right standing. David should do the same for Absalom.

     II Samuel 14:15 "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."

     Joab and some of the others had been afraid to speak to the king
about this. They hired this woman to speak for them. She thanks David
for hearing her, and appeals to his forgiveness and grace.

     II Samuel 14:16 "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."

     In her behalf, the king has authority to let her go in peace. She
appeals for him to restore the inheritance to his son Absalom.

     II Samuel 14:17 "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."

     David has figured out what is going on. She will be satisfied
with the decision that David makes, because she knows it is right. He
is guided from above. The LORD will direct David in his decision.

     II Samuel 14:18 "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."  II Samuel 14:19 "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:"

     In verse 18, David tells her to tell him the truth. He then
realizes, and gets her to admit that Joab put her up to bringing this
message to him. Joab told her exactly what to say. She said it so
well, that it was a while, before David realized that this was
directed to him.

     II Samuel 14:20 "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."

     She is flattering David, that he discovered these were the words
of Joab in her mouth.

     II Samuel 14:21  "And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have
done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again."

     David tells Joab, that he has given his word to let Absalom go
free. It is time to go get him.

     II Samuel 14:22 "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."

     Joab had used this woman to do something he knew he would never
be able to convince David to do. Now that he is found out, he falls on
his face before David. He has allowed Joab's plan to work.

     II Samuel 14:23 "So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought
Absalom to Jerusalem."

     We remember that, Absalom was gone three years, before he
returned to David's home. Joab brought him home.

     II Samuel 14:24 "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 loved Absalom, but did not want to see his face to remind
him of what he did to Amnon. His house was like an apartment in
David's house and grounds.

     II Samuel 14:25  "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."  II Samuel 14:26
"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."

     Verse 25, above, speaks of a very handsome man. He had lived as a
king's son, so he had no cuts and bruises. "Polled" means shaved. His
hair was so thick and heavy to carry around, that he shaved his head
once a year. His hair that he cut off weighed about 6 pounds.

     II Samuel 14:27 "And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and
one daughter, whose name [was] Tamar: she was a woman of a fair
countenance."

     Absalom named his daughter for his sister, Tamar. His sister,
Tamar, had been very beautiful, and so was this daughter. His three
sons are not named, because they died at a very early age.

     II Samuel 14:28  "So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem,
and saw not the king's face."
     This is hard to believe with them living in such a close area.
David did not want to see Absalom, and the king's word was obeyed.

     II Samuel 14:29 "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."

     This, again, is very strange. Joab had gone to a lot of trouble
to get him back to Jerusalem, and now, will not speak to king David
for him.

     II Samuel 14:30 "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." II Samuel 14:31 "Then
Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto [his] house, and said unto him,
Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?"

     Absalom did this to get the attention of Joab. He had asked him
to come and he had not. This would make him come. Joab came
immediately to find out why Absalom burned his field.

     II Samuel 14:32 "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's answer is understandable. Why had he come back, if his
father will have nothing to do with him? Really, Absalom had done no
wrong, because he was taking vengeance for the disgrace of his sister.
Besides that, David had pardoned him. He wants to see David.

     II Samuel 14:33 "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."

     When Joab carried the message to David, he gave Absalom audience.
After over five years, the father accepted his son Absalom.  Absalom
bowed to David as his king, and David kissed him as his father.















                        2 Samuel 15 Questions


1.  The king's _________ was toward Absalom.
2.  What relation was Joab to David?
3.  "Tekoah" is the __________ this woman comes from?
4.  It is about _____ miles out of Bethlehem.
5.  Who put the words into the woman's mouth?
6.  How did the woman approach the king?
7.  What does "obeisance" mean?
8.  What question did the king ask her, as she fell before him?
9.  What does she tell David that is made up?
10. What did the king do for her?
11. What surprising statement does she make about the king?
12. Who does the bereaved mother in her story represent?
13. What is she saying in verse 14?
14. What does she say, the king is as in verse 17?
15. Who had sent her with this story?
16. What did David tell Joab to do for Absalom?
17. What was one negative condition of him coming back?
18. What did Absalom do once a year, because he had so much hair?
19. What did Absalom name his daughter?
20. How many sons did he have?
21. Why were their names not given?
22. What did Absalom's daughter and his sister have in common, besides
    their names?
23. How long did Absalom dwell in Jerusalem, and not see the king?
24. How many times did Absalom send for Joab, and he did not come?
25. How did he get Joab to come?
26. What did Absalom want Joab to do?
27. When Absalom bowed before king David, what did his father do?