Kings II 14

1 And Joab the son of Saruia knew that the heart of the king was toward Abessalom.

2 And Joab sent to Thecoe, and took thence a cunning woman, and said to her, Mourn, I pray thee, and put on mourning apparel, and anoint thee not with oil, and thou shalt be as a woman mourning for one that is dead thus for many days.

3 And thou shalt go to the king, and speak to him according to this word. And Joab put the words in her mouth.

4 So the woman of Thecoe went in to the king and fell upon her face to the earth, and did him obeisance, and said, Help, O king, help.

5 And the king said to her, What is the matter with thee? And she said, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is dead.

6 And moreover thy handmaid had two sons, and they fought together in the field, and there was no one to part them; and the one smote the other his brother, and slew him.

7 And behold the whole family rose up against thine handmaid, and they said, Give up the one that smote his brother, and we will put him to death for the life of his brother, whom he slew, and we will take away even your heir: so they will quench my coal that is left, so as not to leave my husband remnant or name on the face of the earth.

8 And the king said to the woman, Go in peace to thy house, and I will give commandment concerning thee.

9 And the woman of Thecoe said to the king, On me, my lord, O king, and on my father's house the iniquity, and the king and his throne guiltless.

10 And the king said, Who was it that spoke to thee? thou shalt even bring him to me, and shall not touch him any more.

11 And she said, Let now the king remember concerning his Lord God in that the avenger of blood is multiplied to destroy, and let them not take away my son. And he said, the lord lives, not a hair of thy son shall fall to the ground.

12 And the woman said, Let now thy servant speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

13 And the woman said, Why hast thou devised this thing against the people of God? or this word out of the king's mouth as a transgression, so that the king should not bring back his banished?

14 For we shall surely die, and be as water poured upon the earth, which shall not be gathered up, and God shall take the life, even as he devises to thrust forth from him his outcast.

15 And now whereas I came to speak this word to my lord the king, that the people will see me, and thy handmaid will say, Let one now speak to my lord the king, if peradventure the king will perform the request of his handmaid;

16 for the king will hear. Let him rescue his handmaid out of the hand of the man that seeks to cast out me and my son from the inheritance of God.

17 And the woman said, If now the word of my lord the king be gracious, — : for as an angel of God, so my lord the king, to hear good and evil: and the Lord thy God shall be with thee.

18 And the king answered, and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the matter which I ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king by all means speak.

19 And the king said, not the hand of Joab in all this matter with thee? and the woman said to the king, thy soul lives, my lord, O king, there is no turning to the right hand or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken; for thy servant Joab himself charged me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid.

20 In order that this form of speech might come about that thy servant Joab has framed this matter: and my lord is wise as the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.

21 And the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done to thee according to this thy word: go, bring back the young man Abessalom.

22 And Joab fell on his face to the ground, and did obeisance, and blessed the king: and Joab said, To-day thy servant knows that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, for my lord the king has performed the request of his servant.

23 And Joab arose, and went to Gedsur, and brought Abessalom to Jerusalem.

24 And the king said, Let him return to his house, and not see my face. And Abessalom returned to his house, and saw not the king's face.

25 And there was not a man in Israel so very comely as Abessalom: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

26 And when he polled his head, (and it was at the beginning of every year that he polled it, because it grew, heavy upon him,) even when he polled it, he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels according to the royal shekel.

27 And there were born to Abessalom three sons and one daughter, and her name was Themar: she was a very beautiful woman, and she becomes the wife of Roboam son of Solomon, and she bears to him Abia.

28 And Abessalom remained in Jerusalem two full years, and he saw not the king's face.

29 And Abessalom sent to Joab to bring him in to the king, and he would not come to him: and he sent to him the second time, and he would not come.

30 And Abessalom said to his servants, Behold, Joab's portion in the field next to mine, and he has in it barley; go and set it on fire. And the servants of Abessalom set the field on fire: and the servants of Joab come to him with their clothes rent, and they said to him, The servants of Abessalom have set the field on fire.

31 And Joab arose, and came to Abessalom into the house, and said to him, Why have thy servants set my field on fire?

32 And Abessalom said to Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come hither, and I will send thee to the king, saying, Why did I come out of Gedsur? it would have been better for me to have remained there: and now, behold, I have not seen the face of the king; but if there is iniquity in me, then put me to death.

33 And Joab went in to the king, and brought him word: and he called Abessalom, and he went in to the king, and did him obeisance, and fell upon his face to the ground, even in the presence of the king; and the king kissed Abessalom.

Kings II 14 Commentary

Chapter 14

Amaziah's good reign. (1-7) Amaziah provokes Jehoash king of Israel, and is overcome. (8-14) He is slain by conspirators. (15-22) Wicked reign of Jeroboam II. (23-29)

Verses 1-7 Amaziah began well, but did not go on so. It is not enough to do that which our pious predecessors did, merely to keep up the common usage, but we must do it as they did, from the same principle of faith and devotion, and with the same sincerity and resolution.

Verses 8-14 For some time after the division of the kingdoms, Judah suffered much from the enmity of Israel. After Asa's time, it suffered more by the friendship of Israel, and by the alliance made with them. Now we meet with hostility between them again. How may a humble man smile to hear two proud and scornful men set their wits on work, to vilify and undervalue one another! Unholy success excites pride; pride excites contentions. The effects of pride in others, are insufferable to those who are proud themselves. These are the sources of trouble and sin in private life; but when they arise between princes, they become the misery of their whole kingdoms. Jehoash shows Amaziah the folly of his challenge; Thine heart has lifted thee up. The root of all sin is in the heart, thence it flows. It is not Providence, the event, the occasion, whatever it is, that makes men proud, secure, discontented, or the like, but their own hearts do it.

Verses 15-22 Amaziah survived his conqueror fifteen years. He was slain by his own subjects. Azariah, or Uzziah, seems to have been very young when his father was slain. Though the years of his reign are reckoned from that event, he was not fully made king till eleven years afterwards.

Verses 23-29 God raised up the prophet Jonah, and by him declared the purposes of his favour to Israel. It is a sign that God has not cast off his people, if he continues faithful ministers among them. Two reasons are given why God blessed them with those victories: 1. Because the distress was very great, which made them objects of his compassion. 2. Because the decree was not yet gone forth for their destruction. Many prophets there had been in Israel, but none left prophecies in writing till this age, and their prophecies are part of the Bible. Hosea began to prophesy in the reign of this Jeroboam. At the same time Amos prophesied; soon after Micah, then Isaiah, in the days of Ahaz and Hezekiah. Thus God, in the darkest and most degenerate ages of the church, raised up some to be burning and shining lights in it; to their own age, by their preaching and living, and a few by their writings, to reflect light upon us in the last times.

Footnotes

• [a]. save.
• [b]. both.
• [c]. place.
• [d]. in health.
• [e]. thy son.
• [f]. If there is, etc.
• [g]. praised.
• [h]. from the beginning of days to days.
• [i]. years of days.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 14

In this chapter we have the good reign of Amaziah king of Judah, his victories over the Edomites, and war with Jehoash king of Israel, by whom he was taken, who died quickly after, 2Ki 14:1-16, but Amaziah lived fifteen years afterwards, and was slain by a conspiracy against him, and Azariah his son reigned in his stead, 2Ki 14:17-22, and a short account is given of the reign of Jeroboam the second, king of Israel, 2Ki 14:23-29.