2 Samuel 14:6-10: a reflection

6Your servant had two sons; and they both fought together in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him. 7Behold, the whole family has risen against your servant, and they say, ‘Deliver him who struck his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he killed, and so destroy the heir also.’ Thus they would quench my coal which is left, and would leave to my husband neither name nor remainder on the surface of the earth.” 8The king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give a command concerning you.” 9The woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord, O king, may the iniquity be on me, and on my father’s house; and may the king and his throne be guiltless.” 10The king said, “Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he will not bother you any more.”

As the wise woman of Tekoa presents her case to David, pleading for the life of her one remaining son, David gives her his assurance of protection: whoever threatens her, he says, will be brought to him and will trouble her no more. Whoever says anything to you, the king says, bring him to me, and he will not bother you any more. The vulnerable woman, coming to the king with her need, receives his pledge of protection; she who had no power to protect herself is given the king's own assurance that she will be shielded. This is a picture of what it is to bring our need to one who can protect us and receive his assurance. The king gave the vulnerable woman his pledge of protection. Coming to the king, she received his assurance of shelter. The vulnerable found protection in the king's pledge. She brought her need to the king and received his protection.

Notice what the woman receives when she brings her need to the king: his assurance of protection. She was vulnerable, pleading for her one remaining son, with no power to secure his safety herself. And when she brought her case to David, the king pledged his protection, promising that anyone who threatened her would be brought to him and would trouble her no more. She who could not protect herself received the assurance of the king who could. This points us toward something we find in coming to God, our King. We are often vulnerable, without power to protect ourselves or those we love from what threatens; but when we bring our need to God, we come to one who can protect, and who assures his people of his shelter. As the woman brought her need to David and received his pledge of protection, so we can bring our need to God and find refuge in him. To bring our vulnerability to God our King is to come to one who can shelter us. The vulnerable find protection in coming to the King. God, our King, gives his people the assurance of his shelter. Bring your need to the one who can protect you.

That is worth resting in, for when we bring our need to God our King, we come to one who can protect us and who assures his people of his shelter, as the woman of Tekoa received David's pledge of protection. We can feel vulnerable, without power to shield ourselves or those we love from what threatens; but as the woman brought her need to the king and received his assurance, so we can bring our vulnerability to God, who can protect and who shelters those who come to him. When you feel vulnerable and unable to protect yourself, bring your need to God your King, who shelters those who come to him. Rest in the truth that when you bring your need to God your King you come to one who can protect you and who assures his people of his shelter, as the wise woman of Tekoa, vulnerable and pleading for her one remaining son with no power to protect him herself, brought her case to David and received his pledge that whoever threatened her would be brought to him and trouble her no more; for we are often vulnerable, without power to shield ourselves or those we love from what threatens, but when we bring our need to God we come to one who can protect, who gives his people the assurance of his shelter, so that we can bring our vulnerability to God our King and find refuge in him as the woman found protection in the king's pledge.

Lord, as the wise woman of Tekoa presents her case to David, pleading for the life of her one remaining son, David gives her his assurance of protection: whoever threatens her, he says, will be brought to him and will trouble her no more. Whoever says anything to you, the king says, bring him to me, and he will not bother you any more. The vulnerable woman, coming to the king with her need, receives his pledge of protection; she who had no power to protect herself is given the king's own assurance that she will be shielded. This is a picture of what it is to bring my need to one who can protect me and receive his assurance. Show me what the woman receives when she brings her need to the king: his assurance of protection. She was vulnerable, pleading for her one remaining son, with no power to secure his safety herself. And when she brought her case to David, the king pledged his protection. She who could not protect herself received the assurance of the king who could. This points me toward something I find in coming to you, my King. I am often vulnerable, without power to protect myself or those I love from what threatens; but when I bring my need to you, I come to one who can protect, and who assures his people of his shelter. As the woman brought her need to David and received his pledge, so I can bring my need to you and find refuge in you. Let me rest in that, for when I bring my need to you, my King, I come to one who can protect me and who assures his people of his shelter. When I feel vulnerable and unable to protect myself, help me bring my need to you, Lord, my King, who shelters those who come to you, finding refuge in you as the woman found protection in the king's pledge.