So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman 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. – 2 Samuel 14:2

Today's Scripture Reading (June 12, 2022): 2 Samuel 14

Preachers and communicators are always searching for fresh ways to get their message across. I remember the late Mark Beeson (Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana) taking off his suit jacket and rolling up the sleeves on his dress shirt so that he could place leeches on his arms. To be honest, over the years, I have forgotten the point he was trying to make with the illustration, but I remember the picture he drew with the leeches. Another church taught a message on hospitality with the series title "Where Everybody Knows Your Name." The church restructured the platform area for the series, decorating it to resemble the set from the television sitcom "Cheers," and the pastor preached his messages from within the bar. (It is amazing what you can do if you have the money.) Apparently, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" was a resounding disaster. I admit that I am not sure why the series failed; it seems like it should have worked. Maybe it was just the presence of something that looked like a bar that was being used as the place from which the pastor spoke.

The people who surrounded David seemed to be masters at getting the message across. They appeared to excel at bringing the King to the "gotcha" moment. They would tell him a story, and it wasn't until the story reached its conclusion and the King had reacted to the tale that he realized that the account was really about him.

And that is precisely what Joab does here with David. Joab seemed to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Nathan, who had used this tactic with David before; it was exactly how Nathan had convicted the King of his sin after he had slept with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah. The Prophet didn't come out and tell the King that he was wrong; he told him a story about a rich and poor rancher, about the rich rancher stealing sheep from the poor. After David's anger had been raised, Nathan revealed that the story was really about him, Bathsheba, and Uriah the Hittite.

Joab mirrored the Prophet. He went out and found a wise woman who he convinced to play the part of a mourning mother. Then he sent her to David with a story eerily similar to the tale of Absalom and Amnon. The hope was that David's heart would be softened by focusing on the woman's story. It is often easier to see the solution to a problem when it is the experience of someone else rather than your own. And so, Joab sent the woman to play her part in the charade and hoped that the experience of this fictitious woman would have a healing effect on the family of the King, just as Nathan's story had brought the conviction of sin to the life of King David.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalms 2 & 3