Wisdom & Courage (2 Samuel 14:20)
to change the face of the matter has your servant Joab done this thing. My lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.”
In this moment of 2 Samuel, the wise woman of Tekoa reveals to King David that Joab orchestrated her elaborate parable to help David see his own situation with his estranged son Absalom more clearly. Her words are striking: she credits David with wisdom "according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth." It's a moment where human strategy and God-given insight intersect, and where a costly truth is finally brought into the light.
What stands out is the courage it took for Joab to orchestrate this confrontation, and the wisdom David needed to receive it. True wisdom isn't just intellectual insight - it's the God-given capacity to perceive what's really going on beneath the surface of a situation, even when that situation involves our own blind spots, our own family, our own heart.
David Platt's reflection on this verse invites us to sit with this reality: God gives wisdom, but wisdom without courage often stays buried. Joab saw a truth that needed to be spoken, and he found a way to bring it before the king. David, for his part, had to be willing to hear it, to let the "face of the matter" be changed so he could see clearly.
This pairing of wisdom and courage matters in our own lives too. We may sense what God is showing us about a relationship, a decision, or our own hearts, but insight alone doesn't change anything - it takes courage to act on it, and humility to receive it when someone else brings it to us.
If you want to sit longer with this passage and let it shape your prayer life, open the Pray the Word with David Platt episode "Wisdom & Courage (2 Samuel 14:20)" right in the app - just search the title within Pray the Word or find it linked through Radical's content library to go deeper.