Psalm 31:1-3a — I’m writing late today and can say the LORD was thinking about days like this when He pressed on my heart the beauty and message of this Psalm.

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures, reading here and there, somewhat listless. I was pondering a theme that has appeared in my personal devotions about the practical side of faith. The devotion posted on Wednesday (3/4/26) is an example: GOD THROWS STONES. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, see MEANS OR MAGIC? 1/13/26. Each of these devotions emerged from reflections that go way back into the beginnings of my Christian faith. Today, the Spirit guided my thoughts to 2 Samuel 14, to what the wise woman of Tekoah said to David:

2Samuel 14:14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

The wise woman of Tekoa presented a case to David: her husband had died, and left his widow with two sons. They got into an argument, and one son killed the other. Her family was enraged and demanded that the living son should suffer the penalty and be killed for his crime. This would leave her bereaved of her husband, and now also both her sons, and her husband would have no seed remaining in the earth. She petitioned the King to have mercy on her and keep her last living child from being taken. David had pity on the plight of this widow and promised to protect her son from the “avengers of blood” (2 Samuel 14:5-11).

The phrase, “yet doth he devise means,” stirred the thoughts of my heart. This wise woman counseled the King, and advised him to consider that even God, who certainly knows that we are but flesh that dies, and are as nothing but water spilled on the ground, in Whom there is no respect of persons, nevertheless, GOD doth “devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him” (2 Samuel 14:14).

The message was intended to move David’s heart to have pity upon his own son, Absalom, whom the King had banished from the kingdom, to “devise means” by which his banished would no longer be expelled from him. After this, David confessed that he had banished his son for the same crime charged against her son, and though he would extend pity and mercy to her son, he did not extend that mercy to his own.

The King discerned that Joab had recruited the wise widow of Tekoa to present this case before the King, in a conspiracy to move David to bring Absalom from his banishment. He called Joab to his throne and commanded him to bring Absalom back to Israel, with assurance that he would not be killed for taking the life of his half-brother, Amnon, because Amnon had forced his sister Tamar (2 Samuel 14:18-20; see 2 Samuel 13:1-20).*

The wise woman mentioned devising means to restore the banished in the context of revealing the plot Joab hatched to provide David with an excuse, or a rationale, to justify bringing Absalom home from exile. This began with Joab noting that David pined for his son, Absalom (2 Samuel 14:1).

Let’s look at the wisdom of the wise woman’s words: God, she said, deviseth means by which to recover His banished. What means did GOD devise to recover the banishment of Adam’s seed from permanent exile in the fires of Hell? He provided a sacrifice, a Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), His own Son, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Along the still waters, I considered the point! God did not “magically” dismiss the sins of man in order to recover His banished. He did not merely dismiss sin and its penalty, death. He took upon Himself the penalty and paid our sin debt in full (Romans 6:23; 5:8).

He devised means. The word devise ( חָשַׁב֙  Kaw-shab’) literally refers to the plaiting, or interweaving, of three strands entwined into one rope. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, plaited together to form the rope He would cast out to mankind that “His banished be not expelled from Him.”

God “deviseth means.” He coordinates His resources to accomplish an objective. Another word assists our understanding of devising. It’s to interpenetrate. I know it’s not a word commonly used, but see how this word contributes to our understanding of what it means to devise: Interpenetrate means to “mix or merge together.” For example, concepts, ideas, and thoughts are merged together into a plan of action to proceed toward an objective. Multiple concepts interpenetrate like “fibers of meaning interpenetrate every strand of sound” to merge the orchestra of one hundred players to present a single, full, and magnificent musical experience.

In the valley, I knelt in the shadow of His Cross as the “music” of God’s great love washed over me. “At the Cross, where I first saw the light,” “On a hill far away, on an old rugged Cross,” “Were you there when they crucified my Lord,” “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,” with the crescendo, “Up from the grave He arose.”

He “deviseth means” by which this song is to be “sung” to the world: “Go ye therefore, and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15), “teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19), “repentance and remission of sins” (Luke 3:3; 24:47), by the “foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21), so he sends us into the world (John 17:15),  as His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), to be “witnesses unto [Him]” (Acts 1:8), till this “Gospel of the kingdom [is] preached in all the world for a witness to all nations” (Matthew 24:14).

Then Jesus declared the essential duty of every disciple, the devised means by which we must fulfill our part: “If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

At the table, He Who devised means to save me, and Who called me to be a part of His devised means to spread the Gospel “song” to the world, anointed my head with His oil, filled my cup with His grace, and bid me follow Him into the harvest: Goodness and mercy following close!

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live asap:

https://rumble.com/v76sor6-shepherds-pasture.html

[*The story is a tragedy! David was manipulated by Amnon to send Tamar into a trap. Not willing to execute death upon his son, Amnon, he thought to keep the matter “in the family.” Tamar’s life was ruined. Absalom sought vengeance for his sister and conspired to kill Amnon, even in the presence of the King. David declined to attend the feast, and Absalom slew Amnon.

Who could not think Absalom was justified? Nevertheless, the sin of Amnon was done in secret, and the revenge of Absalom was done in public. It forced the entire vile episode into the light of day. Now David would be required to execute the death penalty on Absalom, but could no sooner kill Absalom than he could kill his son, Amnon. He decided to banish Absalom from the Kingdom.

Joab saw that David longed for his son Absalom (2 Samuel 14:1). He “devised means” to have him returned from banishment. The wise woman of Tekoa was used by Joab to help the King “devise means” — find an excuse — to restore Absalom to the Kingdom. Was David’s judgment in error concerning the young man? Anyone who knows the rest of the story of Absalom would have to conclude that Absalom was ambitious for the throne, and he who would kill his brother to avenge his sister would kill his father to take the throne. Yet, David loved Absalom and sought to protect him from death, even in his attempt to overthrow the King and take the throne (2 Samuel 15:7-19:10). Hear the broken heart of David for his son, Absalom when he received the news that he had been slain: “And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18:33).]