I say things I wish I could take back a lot. The burdens for souls prompts me to address a sister in peril and I try to approach the situation with wisdom. No matter how the words are arranged admonishment always tend to come across more like a battering ram and it doesn’t sound as wise as it did in my head. The more times I mess up and say “it” wrong I make those upset whom I tried to help. I want to clam up and leave my sister in their distress, “they don’t want my help, they won’t listen anyway” . Once a different wise woman said to me, “God will use my mistake to His glory”.
I’m always fascinated by the story of the ‘Wise Woman of Tekoa’
Joab said to her,” Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel; do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning a long time for the dead. Go to the king and speak to him in this manner. And Joab put the words in her mouth” 2 Samuel 14:2
The back story is David did not settle the quarrels of his children. He was an amazing king in many respects, but he did not govern his family well. Long story short, his son, Absalom was banished from the kingdom for the murder of his brother Amnon. Absalom took justice into his own hands when David wouldn’t punish Amnon for assaulting Absalom’s sister.
Who knows why David didn’t deal with things, maybe it was just easier to pretend problems didn’t exist, or perhaps he left Absalom banished from the kingdom because it was the path of least resistance. In the end David’s passiveness made matters worse.
Joab, David’s head of military and key advisor, fabricated this scenario for the wise woman to appeal to David’s sense of justice.
The Ends Justified the Means, Right??
What we have here is a lot of imperfect people dealing with a real problem in imperfect ways. David would not stand up for his daughter’s honor, Joab made up this story and the woman carried it out complete with a costume and makeup! Amnon got away with a crime (for a little while), and Absalom took matters into his own hands. Obstruction of justice served on a platter of avoidance, with a batch of lies and deceit for dessert. Yet, David sees the error of his ways and brings Absalom back. Later, we see Absalom again in another conniving manipulation, but for now, the wrongs are righted and there is peace.
God uses imperfect people to bring about his perfect will. God can use your flaws, your imperfections all you must do is make yourself available to him.
Oh, my! If you only knew how timely this post is for me. I have been struggling emotionally/spiritually for several days now. Tearful a bit (only at home, in private.) But some of the things you wrote spoke to my heart a lot today. Thank you for sharing. You spoke to my heart so much today. Helped me not feel quite so alone today. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing about the wise woman and this situation. What a quandry. I really understand why Absalom acted as he did. He wanted justice for his sister, and when he didn’t get it he took matters into his own hands. Thanks for encouraging us.