Ep. 109: Wise Woman of Abel

David removed Joab from his command of the army. He replaced him with Amasa, who was also his nephew. He said to Amasa, “Gather my troops in three days so you can hunt down Sheba.” Amasa started gathering an army, but it took him too long. He wasn’t back in three days. David said to Joab’s brother, “We must act fast if we’re to defeat Sheba. If we give him time, he’ll be a bigger danger then Absalom ever was. Go after him immediately.” Joab joined his brother, and together they quickly organized an army. They then left Jerusalem to capture Sheba. Along the way, Amasa finally caught up with them. Joab walked over to him, “Amasa, my cousin. How are you?” He then reached up with his right hand as if to draw Amasa closer and greet him with a kiss. Amasa didn’t see the knife in Joab’s left hand. Joab stabbed Amasa in the stomach. He fell to the ground, dying but not yet dead. Joab turned and left to continue his search for Sheba. A soldier stood next to Amasa and shouted, “Follow Joab if you’re loyal to king David.” As the army followed Joab, they kept slowing down as they passed Amasa, who was groaning in extreme pain. Some even stopped to look at him. Finally a soldier pulled Amasa off to the side of the road and threw a blanket over him. Then the army moved along quickly. They chased Sheba all around the country. He finally took his men to a city called Abel. Joab’s troops lay siege on the city and built a ramp against its walls. The purpose was to tear down the walls and destroy the city. As they were working, a woman yelled out to them. She was known around that area as woman of wisdom. She said, “Go get Joab so I can talk to him.” Joab came to that part of the wall and yelled, “What do you want?” She yelled back, “Are you Joab?” “Yes, what do you want?” She said, “People say, ‘Go to Abel to get the best advice.’ That’s because we know how to solve problems. So why would you want to destroy a valuable resource like Abel? Our city is like a mother to Israel.” He said, “We’re not here to destroy your city. We’re chasing Sheba, who has rebelled against David, our king. If you give us this man, we’ll leave your city alone.” The woman said, “I’ll hold you to that. We’ll throw Sheba’s head out to you.” The woman went and talked to the city officials. They trusted her wisdom, so they caught Sheba, cut off his head, and threw it out to Joab. Once Joab saw it, he blew the ram’s horn, and his army went home. Joab went back to Jerusalem, where he was once again made commander of David’s army.