Day 71: 2 Samuel 20:14–22

“I am a peaceful person, one of the faithful in Israel, but you are trying to destroy a city that is like a mother in Israel. Why would you devour the Lord’s inheritance?” (v. 19).

When people begin to bicker, they provide an opportunity for slick troublemakers. In this case his name was Sheba. He sounded a trumpet and called the Israelites to a rebellion against David. All the men of Israel followed him.

Once again David was faced with a civil war.

He sent Amasa, the new commanding general, to gather the army of Judah. But when Amasa returned, he found Joab waiting with the army ready to march. Joab took his cousin Amasa by the beard as if to give him the customary kiss of greeting and stabbed his rival, leaving him to bleed to death in the road. (We can’t seem to get rid of Joab, can we? We may as well accept him as a permanent figure in this story, whether we like him or not!) So under new leadership, the army pursued Sheba to the city called Abel Beth Maacah. Joab laid siege to the city and prepared to break down the wall.

As the plot thickened, one woman was willing to become more than a spectator to imminent disaster. She negotiated a solution to the problem. At her urging and persuasion, the inhabitants tossed the head of Sheba over the wall, and Joab lifted the siege. As a result, an entire city was spared.

Let’s allow her a moment’s glory. We don’t even know her name. She wasn’t looking for recognition. She was looking for her city’s salvation. An entire village could have perished because one person, Sheba, was such a troublemaker.

I know a woman whose son was openly pursued by a homosexual college professor. Her son could have been easy prey for the shrewd predator. The professor had confused many other young men, but no one was willing to confront him. The woman tried to enlist her husband’s support. He did not want to get involved. She tried to enlist her pastor’s support. He did not want to get involved. She finally approached the dean of students and an investigation ensued. Many people came forward, and mountains of evidence emerged. The professor never again pursued another young man on that campus. The woman’s son is now a devoted husband and father. He credits his mother for having snatched him and others from the jaws of a ferocious lion.