I’ve known a several guys who’ve lost their head over a woman (I worked among students for many years). Most of the time things turned out pretty well, and many of these infatuations blossomed into strong marriages. But occasionally, a train wreck occurs.

Sheba, described only as a troublemaker, launched a new rebellion as David struggled to regain his footing after the debacle with Absalom. Sending his best, David’s men cornered Sheba and his boys in a walled city called Abel Beth Maakah.

As they began to batter down the walls, a wise woman called from the other side for Joab, the commander, hoping to save her city from destruction. She discovered that all Joab wanted was to get his hands on Sheba—hand over this one man, and I’ll withdraw from the city.

The unnamed woman’s response? His head will be thrown to you from the wall. Outraged at Sheba and his rebels, this woman immediately grasped how to save the innocent townspeople and her family caught in the crossfire.

The woman shared her plan with the people, who quickly chopped off Sheba’s head and lobbed it over the wall. Joab hefted the grisly trophy, the destruction halted, and peace returned to the city.

Sheba lost his head in the bargain—a small price to pay. Occasionally common sense prevails. Be grateful when it arrives. Pray for folks like this wise woman from Abel Beth Maakah to join you within your walls.

2 Samuel 20 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Jason Abdilla

Duress exposes our true nature. David fled Jerusalem just ahead of his son, out to overthrow the king. Many of David’s former supporters joined the rebellion. David’s security vanished. He journeyed to the wilderness in mourning—barefoot and head covered.

With his world crashing in, David shared this thought: If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back…But if he says, “I am not pleased with you,” then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.

Even in disaster David deferred to the Lord. What better evidence revealing David as a man after God’s own heart? Throughout this experience David turned to the Lord again and again. Rather than curse God, he clung to God.

I’m not sure I could have faced such travail and continually looked to the Lord. But many do, and I’m always impressed. May the Lord develop within me a heart reflecting these words of David’s written during his desert time:

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

2 Samuel 15 & Psalm 63 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann

We’ve been told our entire lives to be careful who you go to for advice. Consider our social media universe, spouting ignorance like a rogue firehose. As I follow politics I watch people gain positions of trust who simply should not be there.

Jonadab was such a person. An advisor in King David’s court and David’s nephew, Jonadab was a very shrewd man. This word shrewd can also be translated crafty.

Jonadab connived a plan where Amnon, his cousin and son of the king, played sick in order to get his half-sister Tamar alone. With everyone out of the house, Amnon raped Tamar. This horrible tragedy led two years later to Amnon’s murder by his brother Absalom. The fallout cascaded for years.

At the time of Amnon’s murder, Jonadab still served as an advisor to the king. Somehow he slipped any responsibility associated with Tamar’s defilement. Crafty people find ways to deflect blame. They tend to stay in their positions long after the exposure of their true colors.

Maybe the family connections helped Jonadab hang around? Certainly his cagey personality served him. But Amnon’s malignancy ate away among the wise and godly people surrounding David.

Beware the slippery advisor—you’re not the person they most care about. In service of self, you’re just a means to an end.

2 Samuel 13 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Kyle Glenn

Cries for justice sound out constantly in our world, and rightfully so. Humankind finds new ways to harm one another with every generation. But on what basis do we appeal for justice?

Ethan the Ezrahite, a young man in David’s court, wrote of the ultimate source of justice: Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

The ruling seat of God rests on twin foundations of righteousness and justice. Truths found in the Word of God lead us to virtue. Without the Lord, without his Scriptures, without the transcendent, upon what does one base a sense of justice and righteousness?

Marx called religion the opiate of the masses, and built a governing system on the will of the elite. Hitler built another on power, and Freud moved our ideas of justice and right living toward sexual liberation. Neither these or any other philosophies rejecting God resulted in human flourishing. Today the idea of self as center dominates, yet justice remains ever elusive.

With no ultimate standard, we devolve into base creatures, interacting with one another like snarling dogs. Choose a better way. Build on the right foundation. Walk in the light of the Lord.

Psalm 89 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Angel Luciano