“‘That’s not how it is. Rather, a man from the hills of Efrayim, Sheva the son of Bikhri, has raised his hand against the king, against David. Just turn him over to me, and I will leave the city.’ The woman said to Yo’av, ‘All right, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.'”-2 Samuel 20:21
When we last left off, the CHAKOM ISHAH (wise woman) had just verbally slapped Joab upside the head with powerful persuasion based on Torah.
She told Joab to reconsider attacking one of Israel’s peaceful cities to capture just one man.
Joab humbly responded with the common, “Heaven forbid!” and made it clear it wasn’t his intention to destroy the whole city.
It was just that there was a rebellious rascal named Sheva, the son of Bikhri, who had raised his hand against the king, and he had to be dealt with.
The wise woman further demonstrates she has a sound head on her shoulders by asking Joab…
“Why didn’t you check with us first before going all hog wild crazy on us?
How do you even know if we are with this Sheva scoundrel?
Ya feel me, Joab?”
The above is a paraphrase, but I think you get the woman’s drift.
And it is solid drift.
Her reasoning is based on Torah, specifically the following verses:
“When you advance on a town to attack it, first offer it terms for peace. If it accepts the terms for peace and opens its gates to you, then all the people there are to be put to forced labor and work for you. However, if they refuse to make peace with you but prefer to make war against you, you are to put it under siege.”-Deuteronomy 20:10-12
Joab had no objection to the good sense the woman was laying down.
He tells the wise woman…
“Very well, turn Sheva over to us and we’ll cease our attack.”
The woman replied, “No problem, homie.”
And that was that.
Sheva’s head was summarily removed from his shoulders and thrown over to Joab.
Then Joab blew the shofar, signaling the end of the battle.
After that, everyone disbanded and returned home.
Hence, what could have turned into an ugly conflict costing many lives ended with the removal of one man’s head.
That’s why I think describing this incident as Sheva’s rebellion is a bit of a stretch.
It was really about one man, a Benjamite, having a hissy fit over David becoming king.
So what takeaway can we extract from this?
Simple.
The woman preached Torah to an arrogant and feisty Joab.
God’s wisdom penetrated Joab’s brain.
The result?
What could’ve turned into a bloody conflict ended in peace.
By the way, this is exactly how Israel and the IDF deal with their enemies.
Israel always offers peace.
Israel wants peace.
But if their enemies won’t have it…
And instead, retaliate with suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism.
Then they can expect divine wrath to arrive at their doorsteps with deadly heat-seeking missile precision.
Ya feel me?
Done.
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