2 Samuel 20 – The Jesus Chick

I love to read both the Old and the New Testaments of the word of God, but I sometimes struggle to understand the culture of the day. While grace is certainly present, judgment on those who were against God’s people was swift and harsh and without regard for the feelings of Momma’s of the day that would have to see their son’s die, and sometimes die with them. God was swift and He was just. Today justice is anything but. I have to wonder if I were born in the time of King David would I be the same Shari…? the tender hearted, non violent child of God. Or would I have the gumption to be the wise woman spoken of in Chapter 20 of 2 Samuel; Who orders a man killed for the vengeance of her city and the King, and then they throw his head over a wall to David’s men. That’s pretty intense!

2 Samuel 20:16-22 KJVS

[16] Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee. [17] And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear. [18] Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter. [19] I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord ? [20] And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. [21] The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. [22] Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.

They threw his head over the wall, and then they took a 😴 . The Bible according to Shari. Not necessarily a bed time story for children, 😳but truth none the less and I feel a worthy story to look at in scope of todays politics.

The story leading into this action was the treasonable behavior of Absalom the son of David. He attempted to steal the throne from his father and ended up getting his head stuck in a tree branch allowing David’s men to come by and kill him. But he was not the only traitor in the pack; so was Sheba, the son fo Bichri who Joab had come to kill. Even if it meant tearing apart a city and killing innocent bystanders in the process. For this “the woman” called him out, asking why he was going to destroy her city and a mother in Israel. I can almost hear Joab stuttering and stammering, as if caught off guard by this brazen woman who stepped upon the wall and asked how he was justifying that move? Oh to be so bold! We need more people like her who in defense of their town is not willing to go down with the ship but rather throw the traitors overboard.

We have politicians from the local level to the national level who have no problem selling their souls for their office and failing to serve the people who elected them, settling rather to cater to minority.

For Example: Nationally our idiot Government has rented a Civic Center in Dallas, Texas to house 3,000 young (teenage) illegal Mexicans that they allowed to come into the country, with or without Covid screening and without a response to the question. I am clueless as to what they would pay to rent said facility, but I can guarantee it is thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. The convention center in downtown Dallas will soon house migrant boys, ages 15-17 for up to 90 days, according to a memo to city council members. They didn’t ask the city, the just did it. A Texas Sheriff reported that “Basically, the border is open… Cartels are making a killing right now.”

Our Country’s leaders have gone mad.

And yet… when our own National Guard was told to report to Washington DC, they were housed in a parking garage, sleeping on concrete with limited bathroom facilities. Is there not something seriously wrong with this. And is this not the acts of a traitor when United States Government Officials treat illegal people better than United States Military. We need some Momma’s to climb some walls.

West Virginia State and County offices continue to be closed causing issues for residents when needing to conduct business. They’ve paid thousand and thousands of dollars, (likely millions in the state) for protective devices in their offices to protect them from a public they’re not exposed to! and yet their offices are closed. So what are we protecting them from. And why is it safe for kids to be in school but not safe for county employees to go to work. And you may be asking…. so what does that have to do with David and his army? How is that a biblical conversation?

When Absalom’s efforts brought evil threatening to this woman’s home, she took a stand on the wall and said, “We’ll take care of the problem from the inside.” If from a national, state and local effort our government is not caring for the livelihood of it’s people, how do you think that will work for us if we’re in a real battle. They put a fence around the Whitehouse to protect themselves, but refused a fence at the borders to protect their country. They’ve locked the courthouse up like Fort Knox, yet, they refuse to hear the concerns of the people. I know this is a far cry from where David’s battle had been. But when that battle started, it was a conversation between Absalom and a few disgruntled people at the gate. It doesn’t take much to start a war. And with the unstable state of our society, it certainly wouldn’t take much today.

I’m not asking for heads on a platter, or over a wall, I’m asking us all to be very conscious of the world around us, and who’s taking care of business.

David ended up back in the position he was intended for, but not without losses. I fear we’re going to have some too. But this momma is going to stand on the wall.

I love lessons in leadership. It truly is where my heart lies much of the time; seeking wisdom of God as to the expectations of leaders in a church. I’m especially interested in leadership as it pertains to women. Now I realize this differs at every church, and I know that varying denominations have varying beliefs, but I think one we will all agree on is that our church is “our church.” And how we believe is our choice. That being said, this is not about gender as much as it is about the ears on the side of every head be they male or female. One of the greatest leadership lessons learned of recent date was the 2016 National Election. The ears of Washington D.C. had been plugged with the cotton of conspiracy by Satan himself and they had long since stopped listening to the people. Unless of course you were Hollywood’s people. Which is a liberal mindset not fit to listen to and by no means should carry a greater weight than that of the rest of the country. And because they didn’t listen, the election was a shocker for them! Well, I don’t want a shocker in my church and you shouldn’t want a shocker in yours either.

That’s why it’s important to listen, rather than labor in vain.

2 Samuel 20 finds King David trying to reestablish his Kingdom having been ousted by his son Absalom who was then killed in the battle. And once that battle was over there was a man of Belial (evil ungodly man) who’s name was Sheba the son of Bichri and he refused to accept the victory of David. Sound familiar? I guess Sheba was a democrat of the day (okay, I’ll stop). This is not about politics so don’t fret! This is about one woman in her community who saved the day and one leader in David’s army that stopped to listen.

2 Samuel 20:16-20

Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee. And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear. Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter. I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord? And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.

A Woman of Wisdom

The unnamed woman, a mother of Israel (she was a leader), took her plight to the leader of David’s Army and saved her whole city. She went “in her wisdom” back to her people and they cut the head off of Sheba and threw it over the wall to Joab. He didn’t have to lift a finger, he just had to listen.

A Woman of Willingness

Much like our nation, I believe that church leadership isn’t listening to their people. There’s a battle against the church from within and without but if everyone would just listen to one another we could throw the head of Satan outside our walls and dwell in peace. Of course I speak metaphorically, but this scripture pierced my heart when I heard her plea for her city “I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful.”

In other words, “I’m not trying to cause trouble, I’m one of your people and I’m willing to serve, tell me what you need and I’ll make it happen.” Joab listened and the woman acted. That’s what will make our churches great! When leadership puts the battle into the hands of the people. The congregation knows where the trouble is. They see when a family struggles, they see when disagreements and dissention is arising in the ranks, they know when something works and when it doesn’t.

A Woman of Watchfulness

Everyone in the congregation? No. But the woman of wisdom who had kept her eye her people, not for the latest gossip, but to keep them alive! No doubt there were men of wisdom. We know who’s mature in the faith and who’s still a baby and likes to tattle. A whole city was saved because a woman without a name had the nerve to speak boldly to a leader and that leader had the wherewithal to listen.

Here’s was my lesson from this woman’s story:

She cared, and she cared deep ( she was willing to stick her neck on the line)
She went to the leaders to find out what needed to be done, and he answered.
She went back to her people and had them handle the problem. (I highly doubt she killed Sheba) but she knew who could.
She didn’t care if nobody knew who she was, her mission was to serve the people of God.

The lesson: Leaders should listen, and listeners should feel led to lead, so that everyone on the inside of the wall has a voice.

Tag: 2 Samuel 20

We need some Women on the Wall!

Who Is on the Wall?