FOUR WISE WOMEN

In Old Testament days, men in general did not consider women to have exceptional wisdom, but in His Word the Lord gives a detailed account of how the actions of four different women resulted in many lives being saved. The first one is Rahab:

RAHAB … (Joshua chapter two) The Lord made a promise to Moses that He would give all the land of the Moabites into the hands of the Children of Israel, and after Moses died, the Lord confirmed that promise to Joshua.

Joshua sent two of his men into the city of Jericho to spy out the land before they attacked. When the spies went into Jericho, they entered the house of a woman by the name of Rahab. The king found out that the spies were somewhere in Jericho, so he sent men throughout the city to search for them, beginning at the house of Rahab. Rahab was told that the king’s men were on their way to her house, so before they arrived she hid the two spies on the roof among the stalks of flax which were used for her rope-making business.

When the king’s men arrived and asked Rahab if she had seen the spies, she lied and said, “Two strangers stopped here earlier today, but I didn’t know who they were. They left by the city gate just before it was being closed for the night, so if you act quickly you should be able to catch them!”

As soon as Rahab saw the king’s men go through the city gate, she went up on the roof and said to the two spies, “I know that the Lord has given this land to the Children of Israel. We have heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea for you and also how you destroyed the two kings of the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan River. When our fighting men heard about that, they lost all courage to fight, and the people of Jericho have become extremely afraid! I know that the LORD your God is truly God in heaven and in earth, and I pray that you will show kindness toward me and to all my family, and save us from death.” The spies replied, “If you promise not to tell anyone else about our business in Jericho, we will spare your life and the lives of your family members as well.”

Rahab’s house was situated upon the town wall, so she opened a window, gave them a heavy rope on which to climb down and escape and said to them: “Flee into the mountain and hide there for three days. When you see those who are pursuing you, return to the city and be on your way!” The spies answered, “We will keep our promise to you! As soon as you see that we are getting ready to enter Jericho, hang this scarlet rope from your window. When our soldiers see the rope, they will not destroy your house or any of its inhabitants.”

Because of her faith and wise actions, Rahab saved not only her own life but also the lives of all the members of her family. In the Bible, Rahab’s name is found listed among the great men and women of faith in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. Her name also appears in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:5, so she apparently married one of the spies whose name was Salmon and who is in the line of Jesus, the Christ.

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JAEL … (Judges chapter four) After Moses and Joshua died, the Lord provided thirteen judges over Israel to lead them in battle against their enemies and to provide God’s Word for them. As long as the judges were alive, the people obeyed the Lord, but after each judge died they returned to idol worship.

There was peace in Israel for eighty years under the leadership of the first two judges, but when the third judge died, the Children of Israel rejected the Lord and went back into their evil ways, so the Lord delivered them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan. The captain of Jabin’s army was a man by the name of Sisera who had nine-hundred iron chariots with which he used to control the Israelites for twenty years. When the Israelites cried unto the Lord, He provided two more judges for them … Deborah and Barak. God commanded Deborah to instruct Barak to take ten thousand fighting men to the river Kishon and He would deliver Sisera into Israel’s hands.

The Lord fought for Israel that day and destroyed all of Sisera’s chariots and his fighting men. When Sisera realized he was defeated he abandoned his chariot and fled away on foot. He came to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, and she invited him to enter. Apparently he was not afraid to go into her tent, because he knew that the Kenites were friendly toward the king of Canaan, so he accepted Jael’s hospitality. Sisera was very tired and quickly found a place where he could lie down. Jael covered him with a cloak, and when he asked for a drink of water she brought some milk and a blanket to him. Sisera said, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and if someone stops to ask if you have seen a man pass this way today, tell him NO!” As soon as Jael was sure Sisera was sleeping soundly, she quietly picked up a hammer and a tent peg, drove the peg into Sisera’s temples and pounded the peg into the ground. Needless to say, Sisera died.

For many hours Judge Barak had been in pursuit of Sisera, and when Jael saw him approaching her tent she called out: “Come in, and I will show you the man you’ve been searching for!” Barak entered the tent and saw Sisera lying dead on the ground with the tent peg firmly fastened through his temples.

The Lord used the actions of this very wise woman to destroy Israel’s enemies that day.

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ABIGAIL … (1 Samuel 25:1-42) Several years before David became king of Israel, he and his 400 men found work protecting the shepherds who were in charge of the 3,000 sheep and 3,000 goats that belonged to a very wealthy but evil man by the name of Nabal. They had been working on the rich man’s property for some time and then one day David was told that Nabal was shearing sheep in Carmel, so he sent ten of his young men to find Nabal and to ask him for their food and wages that were due. When the young men found Nabal, they explained how David had been working with his shepherds and had been protecting them as well as his flocks from all possible danger in the wilderness. Nabal said gruffly, “Who is this man David whom you say is the son of Jesse of Bethlehem” For all I know, he may just be a runaway servant … do you expect me to take the bread, water and food that I’ve provided for my shearers and give these provisions to a total stranger? I’ll do no such thing!”

David’s men returned to him and reported what Nabal said, and David became so angry that he placed 200 of his men in charge of their supplies and said to the other 200, “Grab your swords and saddle up … we’re going to Carmel to kill Nabal and his entire family as well!”

Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s shepherds went to tell Abigail, Nabal’s wife, how David and his men had protected them from danger and how Nabal reacted when David asked to be paid for their services. Now Abigail was a very beautiful and intelligent woman, and she knew how evil and unreasonable her husband could be, but she didn’t want to see her family killed, so, without telling Nabal, she hastily instructed her servants to gather food and wine, load the supplies upon two donkeys and ride on ahead of her, and she would try to stop David from carrying out his plans to destroy them.

As soon as Abigail saw David coming down the road in her direction, she lighted off her donkey and lay down on the road in the path of the approaching men. David stopped to see what was wrong, and she replied, “I know my husband is a very foolish and unreasonable man and that he has refused to compensate you for your services, but please accept my apology for his actions and receive this food and wine we have brought for you. I know you are an honest and reasonable man and that the Lord has appointed you to be king over His people Israel. Surely, it should not cause any grief to you if you decide to change your mind about shedding blood to avenge the wrong Nabal has done to you.”

David replied, “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel who has sent you to meet me, and blessed is your good advice that has kept me from avenging myself! We will gladly accept the provisions you have brought to us … now, return to your home in peace.”

During Abigail’s absence, Nabal had prepared a magnificent feast that was fit for a king, and by the time she arrived home, he had consumed a great deal of wine. Abigail could see that her husband was very drunk, so she decided to wait until the next morning to tell him how she managed to keep David from carrying out his plan to destroy them.

Nabal was sober the next morning, but when he heard Abigail’s news about David, Nabal had a severe stroke and was unable to move or speak. Ten days later the Lord smote Nabal and he died.

As soon as David heard that Nabal was dead, he sent for Abigail, and she consented to become his wife,

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AN UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN … ((2 Samuel chapter 20) By applying sound wisdom, this woman was able to save an entire city from being destroyed.

King David had many enemies during the forty years he was ruler over the nation Israel, and one of them was a very evil man whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri of the tribe of Benjamin. Sheba was able to convince a number of men in Israel to forsake the king and follow him, but those men from the tribe of Judah who remained loyal to David followed Joab, David’s general, and they pursued after Sheba.

Sheba and his followers found refuge in the city of Abel. When Joab and his fighting men reached the city they began to batter down the wall of the city. A woman inside the city cried out to Joab: “Please listen to me, Joab, and hear my words!” Joab responded,: “This is Joab … I’m waiting to hear what you have to say to me.” The woman answered, “Many people including myself who live inside these walls are peaceful and faithful to the king. Why should you want to destroy the Lord’s people?” Joab replied, “My purpose is not to destroy the faithful people in Abel, but we have come to capture and kill a man called Sheba, the son of Bichri, because he is responsible for leading a rebellion against King David. Deliver Sheba to us, and we will go away.” The woman shouted back to Joab, “Stay there! Watch and wait! Sheba’s head will be thrown to you over the wall!”

By using her wisdom and good judgment, the woman convinced the people to cut off the head of Sheba, and they threw it over the wall to Joab. Joab blew a trumpet to announce victory. His men departed from the city and went back to their tents, and Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.
Written by Lois Delnay
12/07
Fallbrook Ranch Productions

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