Women of the Bible Part 13

Praise G.o.d: For giving us a hope rooted not in the events of this life, but in eternity.

Offer Thanks: That G.o.d has the power to restore our hope.

Confess: Any hopelessness about your life.

Ask G.o.d: To show you that he really does care about you.

Lift Your Heart Whether we suffer from s.e.xual abuse, the loss of a loved one, divorce, sickness, or financial reverses, we can sometimes feel hopeless about the future. But anyone who belongs to G.o.d will not be consigned to a hopeless end. Even if you have difficulty believing this, pray for the grace to want to believe it. As a small gesture expressing your desire, plant a bulb garden in the fall. This simple act will affirm your belief that even after the harshest winter, spring will come again with its profusion of color and new life. If fall is still far away, buy a colorful bouquet of flowers to grace your bedside table for the week ahead.

Father, plant something new in my life, a sprig of hope that will set me on a new course. Help me to live in the present, spending my emotional energies on this moment rather than squandering them on regrets about the past or anxieties about the future.

The Wise Woman of Abel.

Her Character: Rather than pa.s.sively waiting for someone else to save her city, she had the wisdom and courage to act quickly and decisively.

Her Sorrow: That her city, though faithful to the king, was besieged by his army because it had been infiltrated by a rebellious leader.

Her Joy: That she was able to successfully intercede for the town, thus averting disaster for many innocent people.

Key Scripture: 2 Samuel 20:14 - 22 Monday HER STORY.

Teddy Roosevelt once said that "nine-tenths of wisdom consists in being wise in time." After the dust settles, the storm clears, the action stops, it's often too late for wisdom to work its marvels.

Many women in Scripture stand out for their wisdom. One woman, who lived in a town at Israel's northern border, is identified solely as "a wise woman" (2 Samuel 20:16), acting quickly to save her city.

The sad stories of Bathsheba and Tamar highlighted the decline of David's household. Eventually, Absalom, David's third son, rebelled and was killed in a battle for the throne. In the midst of this political instability, a rabble-rouser by the name of Sheba, from the tribe of Benjamin (Saul's tribe), attempted still another revolt. But Joab, the commander of David's army, chased Sheba all the way to Abel Beth Maacah, in the north.

Joab had constructed siege ramps to a.s.sault the walls of Abel and squelch the rebellion. It was evident that the entire city would be destroyed unless someone acted quickly to preserve the peace.

Suddenly, a woman stood on the walls of Abel and shouted: "Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come here so I can speak to him.

"We are the peaceful and faithful in Israel," she cried out. "You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up the Lord's inheritance?" she challenged Joab.

"Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy!" he replied. "A man named Sheba son of Bicri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Hand over this one man, and I'll withdraw from the city."

"His head will be thrown to you from the wall," she shouted back.

The woman turned to her fellow citizens, urging them to act. In just moments, a man's head came careening over the wall. Disaster was averted.

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. Gruesome as it was, it kept the peace and spared lives on both sides. Through her intercession on behalf of her people, innocent lives on both sides of the city walls were spared.

Tuesday HER LIFE AND TIMES.

SIEGE.

When Joab's men gathered outside of Abel Beth Maacah, a wise woman braved the warriors gathered outside and bargained with Joab for the life of Abel's inhabitants. No doubt she and others like her were part of the reason that Abel was known as "a city that is a mother in Israel" (2 Samuel 20:19), a place to go for answers to life's difficult questions. Its inhabitants must have been shrewd as well as wise to gain such notoriety.

War was a regular feature of life for the Israelites, so much so that freedom from war gained special notice in Scripture (Joshua 11:23; 14:15; 2 Chronicles 14:6-7). Battles between opposing armies were often waged in valleys or other wide-open s.p.a.ces. Inhabitants of embattled areas would flee to the nearest walled and fortified city. In order to gain entrance and control of such a city, armies would gather outside the city walls and prevent anyone from going in or going out. When water and food became scarce or ran out altogether, the city's inhabitants would be forced to surrender.

When a city surrendered, its populace could look forward to one of two consequences: death or slavery. Often the deprivation and horror of a siege were preferable to surrender and its results. Depending on how well the city was prepared, a siege could last anywhere from days to weeks to months. An army of Egypt besieged the Philistine city of Ashdod for an incredible twenty-nine years.

Occupants of fortified cities spent much time in preparation for sieges. Strengthening the walls, gathering and storing extra food, and figuring out a way to gather and store large amounts of water required time and expertise. Some cities built long underground tunnels to allow water to flow freely into the city. Builders of these tunnels took care to disguise the water's source, for armies could then easily cut it off or use it to gain entrance into the city. Sometimes huge cisterns were dug within the city walls to catch and store rain water.

The attacking army outside a city's walls would move vast amounts of earth to build ramps to the upper parts of the city wall. From these ramps they would then use battering rams to attempt to break down the wall in that area, all the while defending themselves against the arrows and rocks and darts of the city's inhabitants. Joab's army built such a ramp and battered the wall of Abel in order to capture it and the rebel Sheba, who had taken refuge within. But rather than throwing down arrows or rocks, the wise woman of Abel shouted words of conciliation, and in so doing, preserved innocent lives.

Wednesday HER LEGACY IN SCRIPTURE.

Read 2 Samuel 20:14 - 22.

1. What do you think it was like for mothers with small children in Abel when Joab's army surrounded it?

2. Why do you suppose a "wise woman," rather than one of the leading men of the city, called out to Joab? What does this say about her?

3. What do Joab's terse words in verse 17 tell you about his reaction to this woman?

4. What do you think about what the town of Abel did to Sheba? Was the bargain they struck with Joab a good one? Why or why not?

5. The facts of this story are brutal and disturbing, but the facts of life for many today are just as brutal. War, abuse, poverty, illness, or death can besiege families or towns. How can you be a wise woman in your corner of the world?

Thursday HER PROMISE.

The wise woman of Abel saw a need for immediate action, and she acted. She recognized that this was not a time to pa.s.sively wait for someone else to take the reins of leaders.h.i.+p, not a time for quibbling or wavering, just a time to do what needed to be done. Through this woman, G.o.d saved the innocent inhabitants of her city. There are times when quick action is required of us as well. We may hesitate, we may wish to go another way, we may dodge and shuffle, but in the end we must act. When we're living in obedience and close relations.h.i.+p with G.o.d, we can trust that we don't go alone. G.o.d is there, giving us the help and a.s.surance we require.

Promises in Scripture Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your G.o.d will be with you wherever you go.

-Joshua i:8 - 9 Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!

Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.

Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

- Isaiah i:i6 - 17 Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."

-Matthew 2i:i - 3 Friday HER LEGACY OF PRAYER.

If you call out for insight, and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver, and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of G.o.d.

For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

-Proverbs 2:3-6 Reflect On: 2 Samuel 20:16-20.

Praise G.o.d: For his wisdom, which far surpa.s.ses anything we might imagine.

Offer Thanks: That true wisdom has nothing to do with intellectual ability but everything to do with humble dependence on G.o.d.

Confess: Any laziness that keeps you from searching out G.o.d's wisdom for your own life.

Ask G.o.d: To help you treasure his wisdom so that you are willing to actively seek it.

Lift Your Heart Wisdom has nothing to do with how many "gray cells" you possess.You can be smart as a whip but still full of foolishness. Take a few moments to reflect on this condensed and paraphrased pa.s.sage from the book ofProverbs (3:13-18):"Blessed is the woman who has found wisdom. She has found something more precious than gold. None of her desires can compare with wisdom. For wisdom brings life, wealth, honor, and peace. Wisdom is a tree of life to be gladly embraced."

Here are a few vital suggestions for cultivating wisdom in your life: * Pray for it, remembering it is a gift from G.o.d.

* Read and meditate regularly on Scripture.

* Surround yourself with wise friends-listen and learn from them. (Consider meeting regularly with a spiritual director.) * Make quick obedience a hallmark of your spiritual life; it leads to wisdom.

Lord, you are the source of the wisdom that brings life, wealth, honor, and peace. May wisdom be like a growing tree in my life, bearing abundant fruit for your kingdom.

Rizpah.

HER NAME MEANS.

"A Hot Stone" or "Coal"

Her Character: Saul's concubine Rizpah was the mother of Armon and Mephibosheth. Though a woman with few right and little power, she displayed great courage and loy alty after the death of her sons.

Her Sorrow: That her only sons were executed and their bodie dishonored because of their father's crime.

Her Joy: That the bodies of her sons were finally given an honorable burial.

Key Scripture: 2 Samuel 21:8 - 14 Monday HER STORY.

One day a rabbi stood on a hill overlooking a certain city. The rabbi watched in horror as a band of Cossacks on horseback suddenly attacked the town, killing innocent men, women, and children. Some of the slaughtered were his own disciples. Looking up to heaven, the rabbi exclaimed: "Oh, if only I were G.o.d." An astonished student, standing nearby, asked, "But, Master, if you were G.o.d, what would you do differently?" The rabbi replied: "If I were G.o.d I would do nothing differently. If I were G.o.d, I would understand."

As told by Joanna Laufer and Kenneth S. Lewis in Inspired (New York: Doubleday, 1998), 5.

One day a woman named Rizpah was standing on a hill in Israel, watching the execution of seven men. Her grief was sharp, for among the dead were her own two sons. Executed for their father's crime, their bodies were left to rot on the hillside, despite a law requiring burial by sunset. Perhaps, like the rabbi, Rizpah wished she were G.o.d, even for a moment. Maybe then she would understand the "why" of what she had just witnessed.

It is not hard to imagine Rizpah's suffering. To watch as her body convulses in sorrow. To see her pound a fist against her breast to beat away the grief. When will she turn away from the gruesome spectacle? we wonder. But instead of fleeing the scene of her sorrow, she faces it, drawing close to bloodied bodies she once had cradled in her arms. Then she spreads sackcloth on a rock and sits down, refusing to move except to beat off birds of prey by day and jackals by night. Her vigil would last for several months - from mid-April to early October. Rizpah would not bury her grief as long as the bodies of her sons remained unburied.

Joshua had promised to live in peace with the Gibeonites, but Saul had murdered many of them during his reign, attempting to annihilate them. As a result of Saul's oath-breaking, Israel suffered a famine for three years running. In retribution, the Gibeonites had asked David for seven of Saul's male offspring. David surrendered Saul's two sons by Rizpah and five grandsons by Saul's daughter Merab. Blood was spilt for blood.

Scripture doesn't say whether Rizpah's sons shared their father's guilt. But like all mothers whose children have perished by violence - those in Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, Iraq, Afghanistan, our own inner cities, and even our suburbs - Rizpah must have understood the terrible link between sin and death. One person's sin is a cancer that spreads. By refusing to hide her grief, by living out her anguish in public, Rizpah gave meaning to her sons' deaths, making the entire nation face the evil of what had happened.

Finally, the rains came. Finally, the king's heart was touched. Hearing of Rizpah's loyalty and courage, David ordered the remains of the executed to be buried. He even ordered Saul's and his son Jonathan's bones to be reclaimed and buried.

Scripture doesn't say that G.o.d ordered David to hand the men over to the Gibeonites in the first place, or even that the famine ended when they were executed. Instead, as Virginia Stem Owens points out in her book Daughters of Eve, the Bible indicates that G.o.d answered prayers on behalf of the land after the dead were given a decent burial. David's act in honor of the dead may have signaled an end to Israel's divisions. Finally, the land could be healed and the Israelites could reunite under David's leaders.h.i.+p.

Rizpah made the people look at the cost of sin. Like many women in ancient cultures, she had few rights and little power. But her persistent courage gave meaning to her sons' deaths and helped a nation deal with the sin of its leader. Her story is tragic; her response, memorable. Perhaps because of her, other mothers in Israel were spared a similar grief, at least for a time.

Tuesday HER LIFE AND TIMES.

BURIAL.

Rizpah's vigil at the side of her dead sons has love as well as ritual or custom as its source. To allow these sons, these beloved though grown children, to be ravaged by the animals in the area was unthinkable to this mother. So Rizpah kept her lonely vigil, warding off the birds that would peck at their flesh and the animals that would try to drag their bodies away.

As it is today, burial in biblical times was an occasion for showing love and respect for someone who had died. Loved ones usually buried the dead the same day as the death took place, or at least within twenty-four hours (John 11:17, 39). Family members washed the body, anointed it with herbs and spices, then wrapped it in a cloth (John 11:44). The burial itself frequently took place in a cave or in a tomb hewn from the rock that is so prevalent in Palestine. The same cave or tomb would be used by many members of one family (Genesis 49:29-32).

In New Testament times, official mourning for the dead began with the playing of the flute as soon as the death took place. These mournful flute players not only played throughout the preparation for the burial, they also accompanied the procession to the place of burial and continued to play during the official time of mourning, usually seven days (Matthew 9:23). Professional mourners were often also present, accompanying the family to the grave site and staying with the family afterward, adding their wailing and tears to the family's (Jeremiah 9:17).

Even Jesus, present at the creation of the universe, wept at the death of his friend Lazarus (John 11:1 - 43). In his human nature, Jesus understood the finality of death for those who go on living. He partic.i.p.ated in the customs of the day and wept with Lazarus's friends and family. But in his divine nature, Jesus also understood the transitory nature of life and the fact that death is not an appalling conclusion but a glorious beginning.

Wednesday HER LEGACY IN SCRIPTURE.

Read 2 Samuel 21:1 - 14.

1. The killings pretty much wiped out Saul's male descendants. Why would David order such wholesale executions?

2. Rizpah's vigil probably lasted several months. What do you think she went through during that time? What kept her going?

3. What do you think induced David to gather up these bones and bury them?

4. What hard or risky thing can you imagine yourself doing with the pa.s.sion and determination of Rizpah?

5. How is G.o.d's love for you like Rizpah's love for her children?

Thursday HER PROMISE.

Rizpah's consistency and tenacity is a lesson for all who are inclined to give up when the going gets tough. Out of love and a need to do what was right, she stuck out bad weather, cold, fatigue, and wild animals to protect her dead sons. Finally, someone in authority took notice and did something. Her faithfulness was rewarded, and she could rest.

G.o.d promises the same to us. He asks us only to be faithful and to leave the rest up to him. Whatever the situation-harsh parents, unloving spouses, rebellious children, financial difficulties, sickness, or death-G.o.d knows and will uphold and provide in his time.

Promises in Scripture The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.

-2 Samuel 22:25 For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.

-Psalm 37:28 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compa.s.sions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

-Lamentations 3:21 - 23 Friday HER LEGACY OF PRAYER.

Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds of the air touch them by day or the wild animals by night.

-2 Samuel 2i:io Reflect On: 2 Samuel 21:8 - 14.