Journey Through The Scriptures

King David’s leadership was key to Israel’s security and prosperity. This is why we see Joab, David’s general, going to elaborate lengths to lift David’s spirits by the return of his exiled son, Absalom. Joab knew David longed for Absalom, and yet the general realized something had to clear the way for Absalom’s return without the king losing face. So Joab devised a scheme in which a woman came to David with a problem to be solved.

Pretending her own family had also suffered the murder of one brother by another, the woman persisted in her plea until she got what Joab wanted from David: the king’s promise that the murderer would not come to any harm (v. 11). The woman then turned the tables on the king: if he would guarantee the safety of an unknown offender, how could he not extend the same protection to his own son, Absalom? David knew immediately he had been “set up,” and he perceived that Joab was behind this—for David knew Joab as well as Joab knew him! David kept his promise, and Absalom was allowed to return home. But he was apparently confined to his quarters in Jerusalem, a situation that dragged on for two more years.