You have your copy of God's Word. Turn to 2 Samuel chapter number 14. How much gracious heaven the Father would be thankful for this day, dear God, for the services this morning, for the need that attended this morning. We're thankful, dear God, that they were able to be here. Heavenly Father, for our membership, dear God, that is away, that is off on travels this holiday week. We just pray and ask our blessings be upon them, dear God. Keep them safe journey, safe travels, dear heavenly Father. Dear God, we pray and ask our blessings upon these, upon our number that are sick. We just pray and ask our blessings upon them, dear God, that you would give them healing and health and that they're through this time and to heaven and to the Father. that their journey to wellness will be much shorter, dear God. We pray and ask thy blessings upon the family, dear Heavenly Father. We grieve them being away, not being at home. We grieve them being sick, dear Heavenly Father. We just pray and ask thy blessings upon them with encouragement. That must be an encouragement, too, then, dear Heavenly Father. Dear God, we just pray and ask thy blessings upon our pastor and all stresses and troubles that he's testified to. We pray and ask thy blessings upon him. upon this family, upon these young people that have shown themselves together. We pray and ask dear God, our blessings upon our leaders, upon our leaders here in this city. We pray and ask our blessings upon them. Dear God, we just hear elections coming up in this next week. We pray and ask your God that you would bless it out of box, dear God, that your chosen one would be elected. We pray that you would continue to bless our first responders. We pray that you would bless them and give them safety in their jobs. So, 2 Samuel chapter number 14. 2 Samuel chapter 14. When I prepare sermons, I ask a lot of questions of the text and begin to try to make my way through the text, understand it, what is it teaching. A couple of the major questions that I always seek to ask and answer is, how does this text fit into the overall narrative of this book? For example, how does chapter 14 fit into the overall study of 2 Samuel, which ruling in the fear of God was the sermon series that we gave to this ruling in the fear of God. But not only that, how does it fit into the overall narrative of the Bible, the overall theme of the Bible, and what does this chapter teach about redemption, what does it tell us about Christ, how does it reveal the Lord to us, the fulfillment in Christ. And having tried really hard to do that well, chapter 14 is just a tough chapter. And I am not alone in feeling like I've studied it, read, learned, but probably have more questions now than I did when I began. It is not the easiest chapter to dissect. by any means. There are certain chapters and verses, man, it's easy. When David brings Mephibosheth from the land of Lodabar to Jerusalem, or when the king extends mercy to someone crippled by a fall, man, that'll preach. I mean, that preaches, but when we get a story of a woman telling this make-believe story to David, being urged by Joab and how that relates to redemptive history, it can be somewhat tough. So I hope you'll leave today feeling like you've learned something about this 14th chapter, and hopefully I do, I hope I don't make it about as clear as mud. I hope that we actually learned something from it. Our normal habit is to read like an entire block of scripture and then go back and work our way. What I want to do this afternoon is a little bit different. I just want to read a few verses, comment on them, and then go read some more and then comment on them. Because that's the only way I know to do it and try to get out of it all that is there. So today's sermon title is Joab the Storyteller. Because Joab, and remember, Joab is David's nephew. He's also the general, the leader, of all of David's armies. He would be somewhat of a trusted source. But at the same time, Joab, he is a bloodthirsty somebody. Now, don't misunderstand. David said, don't do this. He went and did it anyway. Don't kill this man. He went and killed him anyway. And the same thing is going to happen again. So one of the great questions that I've tried to ask and cannot find a suitable answer is what motivates Joab to do what he does. And we'll talk about that a little bit more in just a minute. Now, let me put your mind back in the narrative. Absalom has killed his half-brother Amnon. You remember this very ugly, uncomfortable story from chapter 13 where Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar. Two years later, Absalom hatches this plot of revenge, and in an act of premeditated murder, Absalom kills Amnon. They are half-brothers. And there is a part of us, when we read this, there's a part of us that wants to say, Yeah, good. Amnon was a low-down dirty dog for doing what he did to his half-sister. He deserved to die. Yet at the same time, we must also remember, vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay. First of all, David should have done something, but he didn't. More than that, Absalom's motives were not purely to seek vengeance for the shame brought on his sister. Amnon was also eliminating the next in line to the crown. Absalom was getting rid of Amnon, who was next in line to the crown. Absalom's motives were not all that pure. After killing his half-brother, Absalom flees to what we would call a non-extradition country. He goes up to his mother's father's land, crosses the Jordan, goes a hundred and something miles north. hides there, if you'll notice this, the close of chapter 13, verse 38, so Absalom fled and went to Geshur, that's where his mother's father ruled, his grandfather, and he was there for three years. So he's been in this, what we might term non-extradition country for three years. And so now chapter 14 opens with, now Joab, the son of Zariah, perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom. Why Joab wanted to bring Absalom home is a mystery, I don't know. It's an important part. So let me just plant some things in your mind. possible that Joab simply wanted to please the king. At the close of chapter 13, verse 39, it says, the soul of King David longed to go forth into Absalom. Now there's a lot of conversation about what that should actually be translated as. The Hebrew language is very difficult there, but what it seems to make clear is that David, after some time, had sort of gotten over to some degree the death of Amnon and wanted to bring Absalom home. The problem was Absalom was a murderer. Absalom committed first degree murder. And even if he is a king's son, he is a fugitive from justice. He's been three years out of country, but when he flies back in, as soon as his feet touch the ground, he ought to be arrested and face jail time, if not death, for committing first degree murder. But it's the king's son, so should he get special treatment? Does the law not apply to people with money and authority? There's a lot of difficulty that goes into this because we know it shouldn't matter, right? It shouldn't matter whether he's a king's son or not. But we also live in America and we know people with money often get away with things they shouldn't get away with because of who they are or who they know. And it's certainly not less true in a monarchy where the king rules. And what I'm inclined to think is that David wants to bring Absalom home, but he's concerned some about the political fallout. He's my son, but yet he committed murder. Everybody knows it. What's going to happen if I just up and bring him home? But at the same time, I think David a certain understanding that Absalom is not to be trusted. So he's sort of, but, forgive me, but at the same time, that's his son. Parents, they steal yours, right? They steal yours, even if. And so David finds himself in quite a conundrum. And so Joab, for whatever reasons, whatever his motives are, seeks to get Absalom brought home. It is possible, it is possible that what motivates Joab is stability for the kingdom, or Absalom is next in line for the throne. And there is no continuity of rulership. He's supposed to be next in line. There is actually another brother, but he falls off the page, so probably he's dead. But Absalom should be the next in line for the throne. Perhaps Joab is thinking, you know, David is now, he's in his mid-50s by now. He's not getting any younger. The guy who's supposed to come over and take control is nowhere to be found. He's been gone for three years. There needs to be someone here lined up to take the throne. So maybe that's what motivates Joab. I don't know. Joab doesn't do this just because he likes Absalom. I can tell you that right now. Because when Absalom returns, Absalom calls for Joab. This is the close of the chapter. Absalom calls for Joab. Joab wouldn't go see him. And then if you've read and remember, Absalom sets Joab's barley fields on fire. Then Joab finally goes to go see him. As a matter of fact, it'll be Joab who kills Absalom. I hate to get a spoiler alert, but it'll be Joab who kills Absalom. So Joab's motivation is not his affection for Joab. Perhaps it is his affection for his uncle David, or perhaps it is a desire for continuity, stability within the empire. I don't know. I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, Joab hatches this scheme, this plot, I want to say it like this. He wants to be like Nathan. You remember Nathan the prophet who came and told that great story to David about that man who had one little ewe lamb, and the rich neighbor had all the lambs, and they killed the one, and Nathan says, you're the man. I think that's what Joab's like. We're going to follow that means of confronting the king through parable, through story. But he is not Nathan, I can tell you that. And this woman he hires is certainly no prophet like Nathan was. So I'm trying to give you all this because there's a lot to process about it, a lot to think about it. If you're in the habit of writing things down, in fact I would encourage you to write this down. Here is a sentence summary for you to take from this 14th chapter. Here it is. In order for there to be true reconciliation, there must first be true repentance. In order for there to be true reconciliation, there must first be true repentance. I don't know how far we're going to get into this, but I don't want to keep you all afternoon on a Sunday afternoon. Grandparents, when you get summoned to the hospital and they say that wonderful new grandbaby has been born, come see him or her. And you go to the hospital and they're wrapped in swaddling clothes with a little baby hat on is this beautiful new grandchild. And we go, ooh and ah. But you weren't there when mama was in 37 hours of labor. You weren't there when the beautiful ugliness of childbirth was taking place and all of the things that come along with it. Been there twice to witness it and its ugly, miraculous, glorious ugliness. I mean, I don't know how else to describe it. That's what it is. Wonderful, miracle, but not for the weak knee either at the same time. Now I'm telling you all this for this reason, as silly as it may sound. It has taken me a long time to get to that sentence I just gave you. I almost feel like I've given birth to it. And so I'm handing you the beautiful little child, all wrapped up in swaddling clothes, looking cute. But you haven't been there for all the labor pains. When all is said and done, when we get done with this chapter, this is what you've got to give. Restoration or reconciliation is impossible apart from repentance. True reconciliation can never happen apart from repentance. And though Joab schemes to get Absalom home, and he does, Absalom is unrepentant. He is not like the prodigal you read about, who finds himself wallowing with the hogs, trying to fill his belly with corn husks, who then repents and goes home. Instead, Joab circumvents the process of repentance and brings Absalom home. And it is nothing but trouble for David. Absalom's return is nothing but a problem for David. Even though David as a dad, as a king, whatever, even though he probably wanted his son back, it led to nothing but trouble. Hence, in order for there to be true reconciliation, there must first be true repentance. So Joab, verse number two, and Joab sent to Tekoa. All right, extra points for anyone who can tell me a recent character that we've talked about who is also from Tekoa. Amos is right, very good. Amos is from Tekoa, very good. So Joab sends to Tekoa and fetched thence a wise woman. And when you read that word wise, don't think about it as wisdom from above. You know, James says there's wisdom from above, but there's also a wisdom that is sensual, devilish. That's what this is. In fact, you would do well to read this word as cunning. There was a crafty, cunning woman who he's going to employ as an actress. And Joab sent to Jekoah and Phedstens a cunning, underhanded, conniving woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself, or pretend to be a mourner, and put on thou mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead. So he is hiring this woman essentially as an actress, employing her as an actress. And she's apparently pretty good at it. She's cunning, she's crafty. And he's saying, I'm gonna bring you before the king, but I don't want you to get all dressed up for the king. I want you to look like a mother who's been in mourning for a long time. Verse three, and come to the king and speak on this manner unto him. And notice this, so Joab put the words in her mouth. So that's where I get my sermon title from, Joab the Storyteller. Joab tells this woman what to say. Again, we don't really know what motivated Joab. But nonetheless, it doesn't really help. I don't know if we're ever going to get that. Have you ever wanted to do something that you really know you shouldn't do, but all it took was a nudge from the wrong person to get you to do it? You know what I mean? There's something I really want to do, but I know it's not the right thing to do. But then you sort of get a little nudge from the wrong person, and that puts you over the edge, sort of like Eve in the garden. I shouldn't do this, but then this person nudges you in that direction. Probably all of us have had something like that. And I think that's where David is. I think David is in this situation where he knows that here's what I want to do, but I really shouldn't. Justice demands I bring my son to trial, to stand to account for what he's done. But he gets a nudge, and that's what this woman is going to do. She's going to nudge him in the wrong direction, but not to his good, to his harm. Verse four, when the woman of Tekoa spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance or worship or honor to the king and said, help, O king, help, help me. I need your help." And so David is sitting in the position of judge. That's what this is about. Arbitrator, mediator between right and wrong in matters in the kingdom. Verse 5, and the king said unto her, you know, what's the problem? What illethy? And then here's her story. I am indeed a widow woman and my husband is dead. and thy handmaid. I had two sons, and they strove together in the field. They were fighting, and there was no one to part them. But the one spoke the other and slew him. So one son killed the other son. There was nobody there to break them up. One of my sons killed the other son. I don't have a husband, verse 7. And behold, now the whole clan, the whole village, the whole community, the whole family is risen against thy handmaid. Everybody's against me. And they said, Deliver him that smote his brother. Bring the remaining son that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he slew. And we will destroy the heir also. So this is an indulgent story. Again, the whole thing's make-believe. This didn't actually unfold. And so she says, and so they shall quench my coal which is left, which is just an Old Testament way of saying, it'll be the end of me. My desire for living will be gone, the burning, whatever, the warmth of life will be over. I'll have no husband, no sons, no family, nothing will be left. And shall not leave to my husband either name nor remainder upon the earth without the husband, without the sons, the name, family name. Name will die out, she'll lose her land, her property. Verse 80, the king said to the woman, go to that house, and I will give the charge concerning you. So David hears this make-believe story by this crafty woman, urged on by Joab, and he says, go home, and I will make a decision. I will render a verdict of this. The woman of Tekoa said unto the king, verse 9, my lord, O king, the iniquity be on me and on my father's house, and the king in his throne be guiltless. Verse 10, and the king says, whosoever saith aught unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more. In other words, the woman is saying, here, look, I need an answer. I need to know what to do. I don't want to hold you accountable, but I need my son to not be killed. I need my son to be rescued. I'll pay. I'll die for him if that is what's necessary. And that's really what she's talking about. Verse number nine, the iniquity be on me. Let me take his place. And you guys, I don't want you to be in trouble for ruling on this. But verse 10, David says, listen, I'm the king. I tell people what to do. Verse 10, whosoever saith anything unto thee, ye bring it to me. If somebody has a problem with my ruling, you bring them to me, and I'll deal with it. Verse 11, then she said, I pray thee, let the king remember the Lord thy God, that thou wouldst not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. So she's worried that, again, that the family, these other people, are going to seek vengeance on the son that killed the other son. And he said, As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. In other words, I will protect your son. I'm going to protect him. Now I need you to stop there for just a minute. Because what the woman is doing, she is appealing to David's emotions. She is not appealing to law or justice. She is not appealing to what is right and good. She's playing on his emotions. Now, again, we know that this is a fake story, make-believe, but David didn't know this. He thinks he is ruling in a legitimate case. But David is actually circumventing the law by saying, your son, don't worry about it, I'll protect him. Well, the son is actually guilty of manslaughter. Now, it's a make-believe story, but I'm going somewhere to stick with it. The son in this story is actually guilty of manslaughter. And you have the cities of refuge to where he was supposed to flee, lest the avenger of blood would catch him. And so she is asking him to skirt the law and just pardon her son, which is what David says he'll do. Now, if you'll stop, and this is where things get a little more complex, so stick with me. is that she is trying to draw a parallel between her two sons and what happened to them, and David's two sons, Absalom and Amnon, and what happened to them. Trouble is, this is not an apples to apples comparison, but David is being manipulated by emotion, by carnality, whatever it is, he's being manipulated. Because the comparison is not the same. Let me give you an example. In this narrative that she tells, she says, one son, my two sons were fighting, and one killed the other. And there was nobody there to stop them. Well, if we go back to chapter 13, Absalom had been plotting the murder of Amnon for two years. and tries to elicit David in on it. And he gets him drunk and then has his men kill his half-brother. So the narrative with this woman is manslaughter. Absalom's slaying of Amnon was premeditated murder, first-degree murder, which actually carried with it the death penalty under Old Testament law. So this is not an apples-to-apples comparison at all. But again, it's like David is sort of wanting to do this thing, and he's got good David in one ear and bad David on the other ear, which is he going to listen to? And this woman is now manipulating his fatherly affection, asking him to circumvent the law, and it works. Because David says, hey, Nicholas verse 11, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth, I will pardon your son, not because it's the right thing to do, but because he's moved with compassion or whatever it is. But listen, God, and this is what I'm trying to get you to see, God acts not just in compassion, but also through justice. Hang on to that for just a minute. Now notice how the woman now begins to turn this story to David, on David. Then the woman said, let thine handmaid, I pray thee, verse 12, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, say all. In other words, I got one more thing to say. The king says, say it. Now notice verse 13. Then the woman said, wherefore then, why is it, hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king to speak this thing as one which is faulty and that the king does not fetch home again his banished. Let me help you with that. In other words, you have said you'll pardon my son and forgive him, but you won't pardon your son and forgive him and bring him home? You're acting against the good of the people. In fact, she is sort of hinting that he is going against God by not bringing Absalom home. You notice this, verse 13. Why have you thought to do such a thing against the people of God? In other words, again, you're trying to point the finger, but you've got to be pointing it at yourself. In other words, you're willing to forgive my son, but you won't forgive your son. That aha moment. I hope I'm not just wearing you out. That aha moment that Nathan had when he pointed his finger at David and said, thou art the man, that would be something akin to this. In other words, this woman is trying to say, you're the man. You said that you're willing to pardon my son, but you're not willing to pardon your son? You're not acting right, David, and you're not doing right, David. You're blind. And I want you to hear her words in verse 14. I don't know if we'll even get much further than that, but I want you to get this. In verse 14, the woman says, 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. And these are actually some really beautiful words at the close of verse 14. Yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him. I'm going to try to explain verse 14. Here is what the woman is saying. David, Amnon is dead and in the ground and there's nothing you can do about it. We're all going to die. Verse 14, that's where we must end. In other words, we're all going to die and this water is spilt on the ground and can't be gathered up. Listen David, Amnon is gone. He's dead and gone and there's nothing you can do about that. But here's what you can do. God has provided a way, and here's this beautiful thought at the close of verse 14. God has provided a way in which his banished ones can be brought home. The problem is she is not appealing to justice. She is only appealing to mercy. And God is a God of both mercy and justice. Now hear what I'm trying to say, and I hope I can say this well. God has indeed devised a means by which those who are banished can be reconciled. But it's not at the expense of justice, but it is through an act of justice. In other words, at Calvary, righteousness and peace kissed each other in the bosom of Jesus Christ. At Calvary, God extended both mercy and justice. When Jesus Christ took our place and bore our sins, he absorbed the righteous, holy, the justice of God, in order that we might be the beneficiaries of the mercy of God. And what this woman is asking David to do is to set justice aside and only extend mercy. But listen to what I'm trying to say. In order for there to be true reconciliation, there must be true repentance. Or, in order for you to be reconciled, truly reconciled to the King, you must first find true repentance. You can't be brought home, rightly brought home, by just an act of mercy. In order for us to be made right with God, there must be mercy and there must be justice also. And that justice demands that we repent of our sins. Now I want to give you this just as a side note. When it comes to your human relationships, this is also true. In order for you to be made right with the king, to be reconciled with the king, you've got to repent because the king's got nothing to repent of. The king has nothing to repent of. We are the ones that must repent. But when it comes to your human relationships, listen, There cannot be true reconciliation between parties unless there is first true repentance. You can forgive someone who's wronged you, and you should. But reconciling is bringing back together, and there cannot be reconciliation until there is first repentance or a change of behavior. And such is the case when it comes here. This woman wants You know, in behalf of Joab, she wants David to bring Absalom home, but not through an act of justice, not to hold him to account, but just, let's just circumvent justice. Let's just forget about that, and let's just show mercy. But that's not who God is, and that's not how God operates. And the fact that David allows it to happen, and it only causes him suffering Let's go to a couple more verses and then we're going to be done. We'll come back and finish it up. Verse 15, Now therefore I am come to speak of this thing unto my Lord the King, and it is because the people have made me afraid. She goes back to her story now. People have made me afraid. They're going to kill my son. And the handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king. It may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid. 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. Then the handmaid said, the word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable, for as an angel of God, and I'm just gonna say it like this, she's kissing up, in a very polite way, you're like an angel of God in all your wisdom. She's manipulating him. So is my lord the king to discern good and bad, therefore the lord thy God will be with thee. Then the king answered and said unto the woman, now here's where David's starting to see through this little charade. That's the word, charade, whatever it is, that. Then the king answered, verse 18, he said, 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. And the king said, it's not the hand of Joab. In other words, didn't he put you up to this? Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, is thy soul livid? My lord the king, you can't hide nothing from you. That's what she's about to say. None can turn to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king has spoken. For thy servant Joab, he bade me, and put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid, 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, know all things that are in the earth. And so now the king, David, turns the conversation from this woman to Joab, who just so happens to be there in the throne room for all of this. The king says to Joab, behold, now I have done this thing. Go therefore, these are really actually some haunting words, close to verse 21, go therefore and bring the young man absolutely here. So he gets his way. Whatever his motives were, Joab gets his way. David acquiesces again, this is not right, it's not just. David will make some concessions to distance himself, but nonetheless, it's still not right. The only way that he should truly be brought home would be to face justice and to acknowledge his wrong and to repent and ask for forgiveness. I wish we would process that in our own homes and in our own lives. Joab, verse 22, and I'm gonna stop. Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself and thanked the king. Joab said, today thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, and that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant. Joab manipulates, for whatever his motives were, again, I don't know, Joab manipulates David, to get him to do what he wants. But here's the thing that you need to get. Absalom never repented. Absalom never was held to account nor confessed his crime. And because of him being wrongly restored, It is nothing but problems for David moving forward. So Joab, the storyteller, tells the story, but he gets it done, unfortunately, actually for David and really for the whole nation of Israel. They'll suffer the cause of this. In other words, doing things God's way are best, which requires for there to be reconciliation. There's got to be repentance. There's got to be repentance. I hope that you learned something. I hope I haven't muddied it up too much. We'll stop right there and pick up the good Lord willing next Sunday.