1
When Joab son of Zeruiah learned that the king’s heart longed for Absalom,
2
he sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He said to her, “Pretend to be in mourning; put on mourning clothes, do not anoint yourself with oil, and act like a woman who has long been mourning for the dead.
3
Then go in to the king and speak to him in this way” — and Joab put the words in the woman’s mouth.
4
When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and bowed down, saying, “Help, my lord the king!”
5
The king asked her, “What is the matter?” She answered, “Ah, I am a widow, for my husband is dead.
6
Your servant had two sons; they quarreled in the field, and because there was no one to separate them, one struck the other and killed him.
7
And now the whole clan has risen against your servant, saying, ‘Hand over the one who struck down his brother, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed, and so that we may also destroy the heir.’ Thus they would put out the last remaining ember of my family, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”
8
Then the king said to the woman, “Go home; I will give orders concerning you.”
9
The woman of Tekoa said to the king, “Let the guilt be on me and on my father’s house, my lord the king; but the king and his throne are innocent.”
10
The king said, “If anyone says anything more against you, bring him to me, and he shall trouble you no more.”
11
She said, “May the king remember the LORD your God, so that the avenger of blood may not multiply destruction and they may not destroy my son.” Then the king said, “As the LORD lives, not a hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”
12
Then the woman said, “Please let your servant speak one more word to my lord the king.” He answered, “Speak.”
13
The woman said, “Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? By speaking this word, my lord has made himself guilty, in that he does not bring back the one he has banished.
14
For we must surely die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises means so that the banished one may not remain banished from him.
15
So now I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, because the people have frightened me. Therefore your servant thought, ‘Let me speak first to the king; perhaps the king will grant the request of his servant.
16
For the king will hear me and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who seeks to destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of God.’
17
Your servant also thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will surely bring rest, for my lord the king is like the angel of God, discerning good and evil. And may the LORD your God be with my lord.’”
18
Then the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide from me what I am about to ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.”
19
Then the king asked, “Is Joab involved with you in all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, it is not possible to turn aside to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. Indeed, your servant Joab commanded me; he put all these words into the mouth of your servant.
20
In order to change the appearance of the matter, your servant Joab has done this. But my lord is wise, like the angel of God, and knows all that happens on the earth.”
21
Then the king said to Joab, “Very well, I grant this request. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”
22
Then Joab bowed with his face to the ground and worshiped, asking a blessing for the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that my lord the king is favorable toward his servant, because my lord has granted the request of your servant.”
23
Then Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24
But the king said, “Let him go to his own house; let him not come into my presence.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not come before the king.
25
Now in all Israel there was no one so highly praised for his beauty as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head there was no blemish in him.
26
When he cut the hair of his head — at the end of every year he cut it, because it became too heavy for him — he weighed the hair, and it weighed two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.
27
To Absalom were born three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.
28
After Absalom had lived in Jerusalem for two full years, without coming before the king,
29
then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king. But he would not come to him. So he sent for him again a second time, but he would not come.
30
Then he said to his servants, “See, Joab’s field is beside mine, and there is barley there. Go, set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
31
Then Joab arose and came to Absalom at his house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”
32
Absalom answered Joab, “Look, I sent to you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king to say, Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to remain there still.’ Now therefore I want to come before the king. If there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.”
33
Then Joab went in to the king and told him this. The king called for Absalom, and he came in before the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Absalom.
💔🕊️🤝 Summary of 2 Samuel 14 – Joab’s Scheme to Bring Absalom Back
2 Samuel 14 describes an unfinished reconciliation between David and Absalom. After Absalom killed Amnon and fled, Joab devised a crafty plan so that David would allow Absalom to return to Jerusalem. He used a wise woman from Tekoa to deliver an implied message, echoing the rebuke of the prophet Nathan earlier. In the end, David allowed Absalom to return, but did not want to meet him face to face. This is a story of half-hearted reconciliation, political manipulation, and an unhealed family wound.
📌 1. Joab Designs Reconciliation (verses 1–3)
➡️ Joab, seeing that David’s heart longed for Absalom, laid a plan with a wise woman from Tekoa
➡️ He told her to disguise herself and speak to David with an allegorical story
🎯 Sometimes people use indirect tactics to open a closed heart.
📌 2. The Woman of Tekoa Tells Her Story (verses 4–17)
➡️ She told how her two sons quarreled and one killed the other
➡️ Now the townspeople want to punish the remaining son — the only heir
➡️ David was moved and said that the son must be protected
➡️ Then the woman connected that story with Absalom
🎯 As with Nathan before, a parable was used to reach David’s conscience.
📌 3. David Realizes This Is Joab’s Plan (verses 18–20)
➡️ David suspected it and asked: “Is Joab’s hand behind this?”
➡️ The woman admitted it, and David understood that Joab wanted to reconcile him and Absalom
🎯 Truth is hard to hide when the heart is open to the voice of the Lord.
📌 4. Absalom Is Brought Back but Not Received (verses 21–24)
➡️ David finally agreed to call Absalom back to Jerusalem
➡️ But he forbade Absalom to come before him or see his face
🎯 Reconciliation without restored relationship is only a false peace.
📌 5. Absalom’s Appearance and Charisma (verses 25–27)
➡️ Absalom is described as very handsome and charismatic, with his famous thick hair
➡️ He had three sons and one daughter named Tamar
🎯 Outward appearance does not guarantee spiritual or moral maturity.
📌 6. Absalom Forces a Meeting with David (verses 28–33)
➡️ Two years in Jerusalem without meeting his father left Absalom frustrated
➡️ He burned Joab’s field to force his attention
➡️ Finally, David met Absalom and kissed him as a sign of acceptance
🎯 Without honest resolution, forgiveness can become nothing more than a formality.
📖 Main Teaching
- Ignoring family conflict only prolongs the wound
- Sometimes God uses indirect means to touch a hard heart
- True reconciliation requires restored relationship, not merely symbols
- Charisma and outward appearance do not reveal the heart
- When leaders do not deal with old wounds, future ruin can grow (this will be seen in the next chapter)
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“The father saw his son from afar, and his heart was moved with compassion…”
➡️ Unlike David, God restores the relationship fully with the returning child.
“God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation.”
➡️ We are called not only to restore, but to reconcile completely.
“Be kind to one another… forgiving one another…”
➡️ Forgiveness is not merely symbolic; it must touch the heart and the relationship.
“If you bring an offering and remember that someone has something against you… be reconciled first.”
➡️ Restoring relationships is important in true worship.
🕊️ “Let the king not be guilty concerning the man who has sinned.” – 2 Samuel 14:13
🕊️ “You are like an angel of God.” – 2 Samuel 14:17
🕊️ “Let Absalom return to his house, but let him not see my face.” – 2 Samuel 14:24
🕊️ “Absalom kissed his father’s hand.” – 2 Samuel 14:33
