QT 3/24/2023 2 Sam 14:12-21, Listen with consideration

2 Samuel 14:12–13 (ESV) —

12 Then the woman said, “Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” He said, “Speak.” 13 And the woman said, “Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in giving this decision the king convicts himself, inasmuch as the king does not bring his banished one home again.

2 Samuel 14:18–21 (ESV) —

18 Then the king answered the woman, “Do not hide from me anything I ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.” 19 The king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered and said, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, one cannot turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. It was your servant Joab who commanded me; it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant. 20 In order to change the course of things your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God to know all things that are on the earth.”

21 Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

 

NOTE: One of the things about leadership is that you do not like people telling you what to do unless you ask, especially in personal areas. It is hard to hold back the pride and listen. When you have sat in seats of honor, there is a danger in thinking that your thoughts and ideas are better than everyone else around you. Of course that is nonsense, but the sinful flesh can convince us otherwise. David is in that position. And this old wise women is challenging him. Fortunately David does the right thing. One, he allows her to speak her mind. Two, he just doesn't let her speak, but he listens such that he can even ask questions. Three, he looks for the source of the wisdom. What do I mean by that? Is it spiritual or worldly or someone's opinion? Apparently David had heard the same thing from Joab before but had not listened. He had dismissed it. Coming from a different direction, he hears it again. He guesses where it comes from but this time does not dismiss it, but considers it. He does not do quite what Joab wanted but, the fourth principle is that he takes action on what is true. It was from Joab, but the principle was based within scripture -- he needed to reconcile.

 

PONDER:

1. What am I dismissing without giving it its proper thought?
2. Where do I show arrogance in my interaction with others? It is not enough to listen but I need to consider.

 

PRAYER: Father, help me to hear others. I don't want to placate but I want to give people consideration. Which is a very nice word since it has "consider" and also the idea of reward. When we consider other's words, it shows thoughtfulness to others and is a type of reward. Help me to make that a goal today -- consideration.