God works way out to bring exile back

2 Samuel 14:1-14

2 Samuel 14:1-14, So Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was concerned about Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman, and said to her, “Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel; do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning a long time for the dead. 3 Go to the king and speak to him in this manner.” So Joab put the words in her mouth. 4 And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, “Help, O king!” 5 Then the king said to her, “What troubles you?” And she answered, “Indeed I am a widow, my husband is dead. 6 Now your maidservant had two sons; and the two fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him. 7 And now the whole family has risen up against your maidservant, and they said, ‘Deliver him who struck his brother, that we may execute him for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we

will destroy the heir also.’ So they would extinguish my ember that is left, and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the earth.” 8 Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.” 9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord, O king, let the iniquity be on me and on my father’s house, and the king and his throne be guiltless.” 10 So the king said, “Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall not touch you anymore.” 11 Then she said, “Please let the king remember the Lord your God, and do not permit the avenger of blood to destroy anymore, lest they destroy my son.”

And he said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.” 12 Therefore the woman said, “Please, let your maidservant speak another word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Say on.” 13 So the woman said: “Why then have you schemed such a thing against the people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring his banished one home again. 14 For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.

Context

Chapter 11 David and Bathsheba, Uriah gets murdered. Chapter 12 Nathan encounters David. David failure as a father. Chapter 13. Amnon raped his half-sister, Tamar. Amnon murdered by his half-brother Absalom. Absalom escapes from the palace in Jerusalem fearing his father might kill him.

There is a law in Israel known as blood vengeance.

Genesis 9:5-6, Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.

Numbers 35:19, The avenger of blood himself shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.

Deuteronomy 19:11-12, “But if anyone hates his neighbour, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the

elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. They require blood for blood. David loves his son Absalom yet his role as king and the rule he did not want him to be in Jerusalem.

Joab knowing the heart and the pride of King David he devises a scheme. Joab uses a Juridical Parable! Definition: A parable that is delivered as a third-party case where the audience renders judgment and then are exposed to the reality that they are the perpetrators of the crime and so have judged themselves.

We see in the book 2 Samuel there was another Juridical Parable by Nathan in 2 Samuel 12. Here in chapter 14 a wise woman from Tekoa. Wise women turn to David this is about you. The wise women teach David 2 things. 1. Death happens to everyone.

2. You are not acting like God whom you represent here. David is the king of Israel representing God for His people but not acting like it. V 14, For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.

Bad news

We do not act like God. We do not forgive like God. We do not love like God. Christians means be like Christ! We may come to church, read Bible, preach, and teach but we fail!

Good news

God is not like us! God, we serve is not like you! God does not look at people as we interpret the verse like we do and want them to die.

God does not need your help to make judgement. God has dealt with sin on the cross.

Romans 5:20-21, Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God’s grace much bigger than your sin!

God will do anything for you to accomplish His plan in your life. 1. God will direct your path. God had a plan for your life. God has a will how you ought to live. God has a desire to you live.

Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

We have a propensity or a bad habit straying away from God’s will.

Isaiah 53:6, All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. All of us have desire and wandered away from the God’s will. All of us behind our Bible wander away from God’s will.

When we wandered away from God’s is not a good place to be in.

Proverbs 14:12, There is a way that seems right to a man,

But its end is the way of death. But God sees you when you wander, and He finds a way to bring you to His original plan. God will direct your step to bring you back to His original plan.

How does God get you back?

• a) Blessing.

Even in your wandering you will find the blessings of God. Even when I was disobedient God did answer my prayers.

Luke 5:8-9, When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; Some of us will keep wandering.

• b) Blocking.

When God tries to get your attention by blessings then He moves to blocks.

Psalms 124:1-8, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,” Let Israel now say— 2 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, When men rose up against us, 3 Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us; 4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul; 5 Then the swollen waters Would have gone over our soul.” 6 Blessed be the Lord, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. 7 Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

Acts 9:3-4, As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

Still, some of us wander.

• c) Breaking.

Whatever your strength or whatever you hold on to God strips you completely. What you are holding will be removed completely. God lets you break you rock bottom so that you are left with no one, but God. Then God takes you and builds you up again. Remember the story of the Prodigal son in Luke 15?

2. God will Deliver you. God will always help you to find a way to get you out of what you get yourself into!! It does not matter how far you had gone down the path, but God will pull you out of the mess you had put yourself in.

Peter got himself in such a bad place, but the Lord went after him.

Matthew 26:33-35, Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples. Exactly that is what happened. Peter dug himself a bigger dumb, yet Jesus was looking for him.

Mark 16:6-7, But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”