The Wise Woman of Abel
by
The Rev. Steven S. Bryant
_You can feel it welling up inside. Your heart pounds away. Your chest
begins to draw in shallow breaths of air at rapid pace. All your senses
heighten. Every muscle in your body becomes taught with energy, ready to
fire in action. And, at the command center of it all, your brain is
quickly calculating the best response._
The above describes the experience of the confronted. It could be the
experience of the mother whose toddler has just swallowed something terribly
dangerous. It could just as easily be the physician on call as she races to
the Emergency Room to care for a man injured in a terrible automobile
accident. It could be the pastor who is called at 2:00 A.M. to care for a
family that just lost a loved one. It could be the wife of an abusive
alcoholic who just walked through the door. Without a doubt, it is the
experience of an unnamed woman climbing up the fortress wall to see the
enemy forces that bear down upon her city.
In each case, a person is confronted with a crisis. Decisions must be made,
and made quickly. What kind of decisions will they be? Will the response to
the crisis be one of fear and panic? Or, will the response be courageous and
wise, ultimately faithful to Christ?
*Take a moment to think about the last major crisis in your life. Share with
the members of your circle the feelings you experienced when that crisis
burst into your life.*
Thankfully, we have the promise of the presence of the Holy Spirit, who
stands beside us in such moments. And, we have the witness of the Word of
God and the great men and women of faith therein who have confronted crisis
victoriously. Such a person is simply known to us as the Wise Woman of Abel.
Let’s examine her story.
*With A City Under Siege, Courage Must Rise Forth*
Every king has enemies. One of King David’s enemies was a ‘worthless
fellow” (II Sam.20:1) named Sheba. He invited all the men of Israel to
rebel against the King. Only the men of Judah remained loyal to David. Sheba
had to be dealt with. The person who could do the job was named Joab. Joab
was ruthless in his loyalty to David. If there is any doubt, hold on to your
seats and read II Samuel 20:8-12. But be advised! Little in this chapter is
the stuff of a nice sweet Sunday School lesson. This is a time of war.
Gruesome things happen in war and the Bible never seeks to sugarcoat the
events.
In due time, Joab’s troops discover that Sheba is hiding somewhere within a
fortified city, Abel. Joab orders his men to begin constructing a ramp
against the city walls, so that they could easily overwhelm the defenses,
storm the city, and eliminate their foe.
Can you imagine how it must feel to know that on the other side of the wall
there is a powerful force bent on destroying anyone and everything in order
to accomplish the mission?
For forty days in 1863, the women of First Presbyterian Church in Vicksburg,
Mississippi were under siege. Two powerful military greats, Grant and
Sherman, had come to Vicksburg, known then as the Gibraltar of the South.
President Lincoln knew that the war would only be won if Vicksburg could be
taken. And so, from positions to the North, East, and South, Union troops
shelled the city relentlessly. From the West, Gunboats on the river fired
canons with indiscriminate aim. Churches and homes were destroyed. Numerous
civilians perished. With the city totally surrounded and supply lines cut
off, people were literally starving to death.
Under such terrible circumstances, Christian women busied themselves feeding
the hungry, caring for the sick and wounded, and praying for peace. Was
there any alternative? Surely. They could have hid themselves from the rain
of cannonballs. They could have withered in fear and withdrew from the needs
around them. Whenever a crisis confronts us we have choices to make. Will we
respond with fear or courage? I’m proud to be the pastor of a congregation
built on the faith of courageous women under siege.
When the city of Abel came under siege, a solitary woman steps to the stage
of history. Tradition remembers her as the ‘wise” woman, but look at how
her courage shines! To say that she had no fear would be to underestimate
the seriousness of the situation. Any sane human being would have been
afraid. The difference for her, however, was in her obvious refusal to let
fear govern her decisions, her actions, and her response to the danger that
awaited her as well as her entire city, on the other side of the wall. Her
response is a testimony of courage. That’s the first great life lesson she
teaches us. Face crises with courage! *When the enemy, whatever form it may
take, is beating at our door, courage is the faithful response.*
Then a wise woman of Abel called from the city, ‘Hear, Hear! Please tell
Joab, ‘Come here that I may speak with you.” So he approached her, and
the woman said, ‘Are you Joab? And he answered, ‘I am.” Then she said
to him, ‘Listen to the words of your maidservant.” And he answered, ‘I
am listening.” Then she spoke saying, ‘Formerly they used to say, They
will surely ask advise at Abel,’ and thus they ended the dispute. ‘I am
of those who are peaceful and faithful in Israel. You are seeking to
destroy a city, even a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the
inheritance of the Lord?” (II Samuel 20:16-19)
With great courage, she rises above the rest of her city and takes it upon
herself to confront the threat and find a solution not only for her own
benefit, but for the sake of her entire community.
Where does that kind of courage come from?
Some might mistakenly see courage as a ‘manly thing;” something that simply
requires a surge of testosterone. Not so, according to Scripture! Courage is
first and foremost, a gift from God that comes as the assurance of the
abiding presence of Christ. Courage reminds us that we are never alone.
Courage tells us to face the crisis head on because Christ, who is the
ultimate Victor, has already fought and won the biggest battle. But courage
is also a choice.
Abraham Maslow taught that virtually ever decision in life falls into at
least one of two categories. It will either be a choice based in fear or
courage. Few of our decisions based in fear will be productive. But a
courageous decision is one Maslow called a ‘growth choice.” Decisions made
in faith and courage always move us forward in a positive direction in life,
not only for ourselves, but for the people around us. Had the unnamed woman
of Abel made a decision based solely on fear, she would have run and hid
herself and the entire community might have perished.
Another conventional perspective on courage might say this about confronting
an enemy: Real courage involves balling up the fist, and fighting to the
death. That’s an extremely narrow view of courage. Sometimes courage gives
birth to battle because there are times in life when the most faithful
response is to fight back, but that’s not the only faithful response! And
that leads to the next great life lesson the unnamed woman of Abel teaches
us: *Sometimes, true courage gives birth to wisdom.*
*In the Midst of Crisis, Wisdom Finds the Way*
She is known as ‘wise” because she sought an alternative to violence.
Authors Ann Spangler and Jean E Syswerda, in a wonderful devotional book
entitled, _Women of the Bible – A One Year Devotional Study of Women in
Scripture_, point out the following:
_’The men in this story appear to behave only in conventional terms:
mobilize the army, build a siege ramp, violently smash the city walls,
squelch the rebellion. But the woman looked for another solution, one
that would keep the peace and spare lives on both sides. Because she
acted wisely and well, interceding on behalf of her people, innocent
lives on both sides of the city walls were spared.”_ p. 194.
It took great courage to face the threat, and great wisdom to seek an
alternative in the form of negotiation. That kind of wisdom is not out of
our reach, for it, too, is a gift from God. The next time you find yourself
confronting a threat, try practicing this kind of courageous wisdom:
1. *Courageous wisdom thinks*. How many times have we found ourselves in
the urgency of a crisis making significant decisions without really
thinking them through? How many times have we said, If only I had
thought….’ And yet, how many times have we taught our young children
to ‘stop, look, and listen.” When facing a crisis, we must think before
we act. In her decision making, she resisted the temptation to rush
headlong in fear. She had to stop and think. Wisdom said to her there is
a solution to the problem…we don’t all have to die.’
2. *Courageous wisdom is concerned with the betterment of others, not
simply for the self.* Had she been thinking only of herself, everyone
might have died needlessly. But she let the gift of courageous wisdom
win the day! Wisdom asked, what’s best, not for me, but for the whole
community?’ Praise be to God for the courageous wisdom of Jesus Christ
who sought not what was best for Himself, but what was best for us.
*’…And He became obedient unto death, even death upon a Cross.”*
(Philippians 2:8) ‘…*That the world should be saved through Him.”*
(John 3:17)
3. *Courageous wisdom discerns the true nature of the threat*. What was
the true threat? There was an external threat. On the other side of the
city walls the external threat was preparing to storm the city. Soldiers
with quivers full of arrows and brandishing sharp swords were ready to
kill. But wisdom discovered a greater threat on the inside. A greater
villain had slithered inside and was hiding in the shadows. Wisdom said
that the way out of the predicament was to deal with the internal threat
first because the greater threats are always on the inside.
_’…Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against
King David…hand him over, and I will depart from the city.” And the
woman said to Joab, ‘Behold, his head will be thrown to you over the
wall.”_ (II Samuel 20:21)
And so it happened. We can focus on the gory details or we can seek to
discover where the story intersects our lives. That very point is found in
the truth that our greater threats reside on the inside. Once the inner
threat was rooted out, the external threat blew its trumpet in retreat. (II
Samuel 20:22) It simply faded away. This is perhaps the most valuable lesson
the wise woman of Abel teaches us. *Root out the internal threats and the
external threats, which seemingly loom larger, just might dissipate!*
What is the internal threat to us all? Sin. Sin which manifests itself in
many self-destructive ways. Hunt for it. Find it hiding and root it out.
Dare I say it? Kill it and throw it over the wall of your life. But don’t
stop there!
Jesus once told a story about man who made great strides in ridding his
inner life of its dark demons. (Read Matthew 12:43-45) The good news is that
we do have the ability to make progress in eliminating the inner threats. By
God’s grace, we can identify the sin that lurks inside and do battle with
it. But we must remember that when we remove something unholy which had
taken up space in our lives, we must fill that now empty place with
something Holy. Otherwise, we leave ourselves vulnerable to an even worse
condition.
Think and pray about these questions:
What is my biggest inner threat?
Do I have the faith and courage to root it out and do battle with it,
claiming Christ’s victory over all my sin?
Do I have the wisdom to seek to put in its place the Spirit of Christ?
4. *Courageous Wisdom chooses her battles carefully!* With the greater
threat having been determined, the wise woman of Abel then chooses which
battle to fight. Fight an entire army that surrounded the city, or fight
one enemy at a time? The answer was very simple.
There are times in life when it feels as though the whole world is against
us. Problems are mounting at home, at work, even at church. Some have to do
with personalities clashing. Some have to do with money. Some have to do
with unmet expectations, etc. It may feel at times that nearly every
relationship in our life seems strained. At times like these, the burden
upon us seems so overwhelming that we feel as though we’re being crushed.
But the wise woman of Abel teaches us to objectify our problems. Don’t see
your problems as an army surrounding you. Choose wisely and deal with one
problem at a time.
John Claypool tells the story of a young girl who had a real problem with a
recurring nightmare. In her dream, she is running through a dark forest of
trees. The crooked limbs reach out to grab her. She runs seeking a way out
of the forest. And suddenly she stops in a clearing. Ahead of her is an
horrific dragon moving towards her with piercing red eyes and ghoulish
fangs. She turns to run away in the opposite direction, but there too,
stands another dragon as awful as the first. Again, she turns only to find
another dragon. Totally surrounded, with the dragons closing in she screams
for her life and wakes up in tears.
Night after night the terrible dream plagued the young girl. Her parents
struggled to know what to do to help her rid herself of the nightmare.
Finally, her father said, ‘Darling, I want you to pray, and I’ll pray with
you, that God would help you in your dream to fight the dragons.” That
night, sure enough, the same little girl was racing frantically through the
same dark forest, with the same scary trees reaching out to grab her. She
stops in the same clearing and directly ahead, she sees the same dragon,
fangs and all. But this time the dream was different. In her hand she held a
sword *and her dragons were all lined up single file!*
The next morning she came down to the breakfast table looking cheerful and
well rested. Her parents asked, ‘Tell us, what happened. Did you have the
nightmare?” She sat up straight in her chair and smiled, ‘Oh yes. I had the
dream, but this time it was different. All my dragons were lined up, and I
realized that I only had to fight them *one at a time.”*
And so it is with you and me. We don’t have to run and hide. We don’t have
to cower in fear. When if feels like the weight of the world is upon you and
an army of problems surround you, stand with courage. Stand with wisdom. For
Christ stands with you to help you defeat your greatest threats one at a
time.
For use as a closing prayer, the great hymn of Martin Luther:
*’A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”*
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing,
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is He,
Lord Sabaoth His name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us;
The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth;
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still,
His Kingdom is forever. Amen*.*