2 Samuel 14:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. And he sent a second time, but Joab would not come.

NIV: 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.

NASB: Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. So he sent word again a second time, but he would not come.

CSB: Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab was unwilling to come to him. So he sent again, a second time, but he still would not come.

NLT: Then Absalom sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for him, but Joab refused to come. Absalom sent for him a second time, but again Joab refused to come.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. And when he sent again the second time, he would not come.

Absalom has had enough of living in Jerusalem under David's restrictions. David has officially pardoned Absalom for murdering Amnon (2 Samuel 13:32). But David has not fully forgiven his son. He refuses to let Absalom rejoin the court or participate in family events (2 Samuel 14:24).

Joab convinced David to allow Absalom to return to Jerusalem. It was Joab who went to Geshur to bring Absalom back (2 Samuel 14:21–23). If anyone can convince David to reconcile with his son, it's Joab. Absalom sends two messages to Joab asking for access to David. Joab responds to neither. Some commentators think that because Joab is part of the royal court, David has forbidden him from interacting with Absalom.

Absalom resorts to extreme measures. His field is next to Joab's. So, he has his servants set Joab's barley on fire. Joab can't ignore him any longer. Absalom tells him to either take him to his father or kill him for whatever crime is keeping him away. Joab takes him, and David reconciles with him (2 Samuel 14:30–33).

Much of this story is driven by good intentions pointed in the wrong direction. Joab wanted Absalom's return because he believed it was best for the nation (2 Samuel 14:13). David halfheartedly agreed, but since Absalom murdered another of Davis's sons (2 Sameul 13:28–29), it would look awkward, politically, for David to welcome him back to the court.

Neither David nor Joab fully appreciate Absalom's ambitions.

Second Samuel 14:28–33 describes David's reunion with Absalom. Absalom had fled to Geshur after murdering his half-brother for raping their sister (2 Samuel 13). After three years, Joab convinced David to let Absalom return home, but David refused to see him (2 Samuel 14:1–27). After another two years, Absalom convinces David to forgive him. What's good for the family is bad for the kingdom. Absalom's legitimacy makes it easier for him to win the favor of the people, take the crown, and drive David into exile (2 Samuel 15).

Second Samuel 14 sets the scene for Absalom's rebellion against David. Joab wants David to forgive Absalom for murdering his brother and end his exile. Joab has a woman pretend to be a widow, who tells a story about a murderous son to convince David to pardon his own son. David brings Absalom home to Jerusalem, but not to the court or family. Joab eventually convinces David to see Absalom and the two are officially reconciled. With freedom, status, and ambition, Absalom starts a campaign to draw the people's hearts away from David and toward himself (2 Samuel 15:1–6).

Second Samuel 14 continues God's promise that tragedy will plague David's family. This is a curse for David's sin against Uriah and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:9–11). David's son Amnon raped his own half-sister Tamar. Tamar's full brother Absalom avenged her by killing Amnon, then fled to his maternal grandfather (2 Samuel 13). David thinks about Absalom, and Joab convinces David to bring him home and reconcile with him. Absalom wins the hearts of the people and takes the throne while David flees. Eventually, Absalom will be dead, and David will be a chastened man and wiser king. (2 Samuel 15–20).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.