Women in Scripture #4

One of the most fascinating things that I find when talking to people about the Bible is how people (men in particular) seem to elevate David and hold him up as an example that all should follow. Most likely they will quote the verse that calls David "a man after God's own heart." While there are certainly a lot of good qualities found in David, the reason that he gets this description is that he has a very repentant heart. Which we all should have. But what this also means is that David messed up...ALOT. I love studying the life of David because it gives me hope when I read his story. He messes up, God teaches him a lesson, he repents and tries to follow God to the best of his ability before inevitably messing up again. I like it because it reminds me of my spiritual journey.

Anyway, there is one particular incident that I find fascinating. The story is found in 2 Samuel 14:1-20. It is the story of the wise woman from Tekoa. Tekow is located in a Judean hill country about ten miles south of Jerusalem. In this particular story it is made clear that this woman is a village leader--in today's world it would be very similar to the role of a male elder.

In 2 Samuel 13, the story of the rape of King David's daughter (by her half brother) is told. David grieves that this has happened, but takes no steps (required by the Law) to address Absalom. In fact Absalom flees and it is not until three years later that David's general, Joab, comes up with a scheme to get Absalom and David back together (the story is much more detailed than what I am portraying, but I am trying to get to the part of the woman from Tekoa).

Joab's plan involves seeking this woman from Tekoa. She is to pretend to be a single mother of two boys, and one has murdered the other. (If you are having flashbacks of Nathan and David, you are not far off!) So she acts out this scenario and just like the scene with Nathan, David is forced into clear thinking.

Now to be fair, we can't exactly say this is a one to one comparison with Nathan. Nathan's account is appointed by God, this account happens because of Joab. And the overall wisdom is not realy clear, seeing as Absalom revolts four years later.

However, with that being said there are still things that point to the role of female leadership being accepted in Israel. As I said earlier, she is depicted as a village leader, which would be akin to the male role of elder. She is also depicted as a woman who is able to appropriate the fundamental cultural values of ancient Israel--the preservation of patriarchal lineage (14:7) and the people of God (14:13), and the king's obligation to protect the right of the orphan and widow to enjoy God's heritage (14:6).

Further, she is depicted in this account as being very well spoken indicating her experience in dealing with similar incidents in the past. This woman was a leader and no one had any problem with her reminding David of his duty as king. Perhaps this plan originated in the mind of Joab, but God was definitely present throughout this entire story using this woman.

Now this is obviously not making a case for women to be pastor's. That isn't my goal with all of this. My goal is to simply show that Scripture shows a God who uses both men and women. That God can, at any time, lift up a man or woman to lead God's people. We find here in this story that God uses a woman to remind David his obligations as king. Inevitably someone will say she was just submitting to Joab's orders. However, this is a weak argument in light of the fact that she is obviously a village leader (a village which I will go out on a limb and say includes men). So why would she all of a sudden need to submit to someone coming to her and asking for her help, doesn't make sense.

What this story shows me is that God uses who he wants, when he wants and we as people of God do not have the right to step in and tell people in what capacity they can serve. Last time I checked, that was totally God's call.