David: YHWH
Joab: Jesus (intercessor on our behalf)
– The name Joab means my Father is YHWH.
Wise woman: Holy Spirit (intercessor on
our behalf working in conjunction with Jesus)
Absalom: the prodigal son
2 Samuel 14
Absalom Returns to Jerusalem
1
Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king's heart longed for Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman (intercessor/holy spirit) brought from there. He said to her, "Pretend you are in mourning.
Dress in mourning clothes, and don't use any cosmetic lotions. Act like
a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3
Then go to the king and speak these words to him." And Joab put the
words in her mouth. (Jesus
& the Holy Spirit work together on our behalf to make intercession for
our trip home to see the King)
4 When the woman
from Tekoa went [a] to the king, she fell with her face to the
ground to pay him honor, and she said, "Help me, O king!"
5 The king asked
her, "What is troubling you?"
She said, "I am indeed a widow;
my husband is dead. 6 I your servant had two sons.
They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there
to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. (the two sons stand for us and Jesus. Like
Barabas, we are guilty in our sins like murderers. Absalom in this
passage had just murdered his brother, and needed forgiveness. Jesus
our brother laid down his life for ours) 7 Now the whole clan (Satan the accuser) has risen up against your servant; they say, 'Hand over the one who
struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of
his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.' They
would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither
name nor descendant on the face of the earth."
8 The king said
to the woman, "Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf."
(thank goodness for the intercession of the Holy
Spirit!)
9 But the woman
from Tekoa said to him, "My lord the king, let the blame rest on me
and on my father's family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt."
(YHWH our true Heavenly Father is always without
guilt. He is both Sovereign and Love in every way in all his judgements)
10 The king replied,
"If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he will not bother
you again."
11 She said, "Then
let the king invoke the LORD his God to prevent the avenger of blood from
adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed."
"As surely as the LORD lives,"
he said, "not one hair of your son's head will fall to the ground."
(God & the Holy Spirit give us protection from
Satan that we don’t even recognize at times)
12 Then the woman
said, "Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king."
"Speak," he replied. (forgiveness and protection would be enough, but
God gives us even more. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us!)
13 The woman said,
"Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of
God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king
has not brought back his banished son? 14 Like water
spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God
does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person
may not remain estranged from him. (I am
glad it’s the Holy Spirit who gets to say this on my behalf and not
me!)
15 "And now
I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made
me afraid. Your servant thought, 'I will speak to the king; perhaps he will
do what his servant asks. 16 Perhaps the king will
agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut
off both me and my son from the inheritance God gave us.' (Holy Spirit and Prodigal son)
17 "And now
your servant says, 'May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for
my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May
the LORD your God be with you.' " (testimony
and insight showing us this is no random situation, but a Holy model and
a redemption plan of God for his Prodigal son)
18 Then the king
said to the woman, "Do not keep from me the answer to what I am going
to ask you."
"Let my lord the king speak,"
the woman said.
19 The king asked,
"Isn't the hand of Joab with you in all this?" (God cannot be mocked, he knows all this and nothing
is hidden. Joab stands for Jesus in this model and he has sent the
Holy Spirit to intercede for us – again Joab means “My Father
is YHWH).
The woman answered, "As surely
as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left
from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed
me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant.
20 Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation.
(Jesus is our Savior,
boy did he ever change our current situation) My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything
that happens in the land."
21 The king said
to Joab, "Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom."
(here
is the order to bring the Prodigal back!)
22 Joab fell with
his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said,
"Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my
lord the king, because the king has granted his servant's request."
23 Then Joab went
to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.
24 But the king said, "He must go to his own
house; he must not see my face." So Absalom went to his own house and
did not see the face of the king. (I believe
that we shall see Jesus, but not the Father somehow. When we go to
be with Jesus he has a place for us. In my Father’s house are
many, many rooms/mansions, but we are not yet prepared or ready to see the
Father)
25 In all Israel there was
not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From
the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him.
26 Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut
his hair from time to time when it became too heavy for him—he would
weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels [b] by the royal standard. (God in his power makes us righteous, portrayed by
Absalom’s good looks here)
27 Three sons and
a daughter were born to Absalom. The daughter's name was Tamar, and she
became a beautiful woman.
28 Absalom lived
two years in Jerusalem without
seeing the king's face. (Two is an important number for waiting. It was on the
third day Jesus rose, Joseph waited two years after he interpreted the dreams,
Paul waiting two years to go to Rome
after his testimony, etc.) 29 Then Absalom sent for
Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him.
So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. 30
Then he said to his servants, "Look, Joab's field is next to mine,
and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire." So Absalom's servants
set the field on fire. (I believe
this has something to do with the Tribulation. Fire will be a refinement
tool for God to use with the Tribulation Saints.)
31 Then Joab did
go to Absalom's house and he said to him, "Why have your servants set
my field on fire?"
32 Absalom said
to Joab, "Look, I sent word to you and said, 'Come here so I can send
you to the king to ask, "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better
for me if I were still there!" ' Now then, I want to see the king's
face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death." (finally, after much trouble, a reconciliation with
the Father is waiting for us)
33 So Joab went
to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came
in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king
kissed Absalom. (what
Joy!!! The Father’s love and approval!)
Other References:
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/sep2006/tonye913-3.htm
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/sep2006/tonye925.htm
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/sep2006/tonye912.htm