The Power of Being a Peacemaker – by Nicole Agnew
Earlier this year I was blessed with the opportunity to present an online teaching on a woman in the Bible through Women at Work Online Ministries. I began preparing my heart and seeking the Lord with direction and confirmation on which woman He would like me to speak on - what message of hope and encouragement He needed to bring to the W@W family.
I started with Bathsheba but very quickly realised she was not the one, I then moved onto Orpah, Esther, Racheal and the Proverbs 31 woman, but in my research none of them had that “YES, this is THE ONE” confirmation from the Holy Spirit. By this time my teaching was a short 3 months away and I was desperate for God to give me direction! One morning I woke up and thought about what I know well deep within my heart and that was the word “HEALING!”. So I began looking into the stories of women who had received healing in the Bible - and there are many… In all of my searching God lead me to the woman I eventually taught on. Her story is not about healing (in the natural sense of the word), but her story is about being a peacemaker (a different type of “healing”) in the face of adversity and dire situations… Isn’t this much like the giants we’re facing in South Africa at the moment?
Holy Spirit led, I stumbled onto the story found in 2 Samuel 20, the very short, yet profound story of the Wise Woman of Abel!
2 Samuel 20:15-22 (NIV)
“All the troops with Joab came and besieged Sheba in Abel Beth Maakah. They built a siege ramp up to the city, and it stood against the outer fortifications. While they were battering the wall to bring it down, a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come here so I can speak to him.” He went toward her, and she asked, “Are you Joab?” “I am,” he answered. She said, “Listen to what your servant has to say.” “I’m listening,” he said. She continued, “Long ago they used to say, ‘Get your answer at Abel,’ and that settled it. We are the peaceful and faithful in Israel. You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up the Lord ’s inheritance?” “Far be it from me!” Joab replied, “Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy! That is not the case. A man named Sheba son of Bikri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Hand over this one man, and I’ll withdraw from the city.” The woman said to Joab, “His head will be thrown to you from the wall.” Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bikri and threw it to Joab. So he sounded the trumpet, and his men dispersed from the city, each returning to his home. And Joab went back to the king in Jerusalem”.
After reading her story, I had one question in mind: How was this Wise Woman so calm in the face of adversity and WAR and where on earth did she get her confidence to address this army of blood hungry men? I admired the words she used, addressing a really terrifying situation. She used such few words and yet it was those words that halted the complete destruction of her beloved city.
As I began unpacking the actions of the Wise Woman of Abel, it became more and more evident to me (although it is not stated in the scripture) that this woman must have had a deep and intimate relationship with the Lord. For her to act with such boldness and confidence and being respected by the men in her city – meant she was a virtuous woman of noble character – in my mind this means she was a Godly woman, she knew her God and spent time with Him in her secret place.
I began to understand the place her wisdom came from: It’s a place where peace surpasses all understanding; it’s a place where confidence comes from; it’s a place where we are wrapped up in God and where His blessings overflow into our lives.
A few weeks after my teaching, things in our beautiful country began looking like we too are in the face of adversity. It looked like we were facing a city-destroying kind of war and that the giants were just too great to be defeated. As I mourned with my country for the suffering of innocent lives, something greater awoke inside of me. I realised that just as all the BOLD, BRAVE women we read about in the Bible, this was the perfect opportunity to stand up in our faith and speak life, to shine our God given lights, and to be the peacemakers God created us to be! We are all created for a time such as this, not just one or two special ladies, but each and every single one of us were carefully created for this generation, and placed in our countries and communities by God Himself.
Ladies, can we be encouraged through the Wise Woman of Abel to turn our focus back on the Lord, to switch our perspectives back towards the truth of His gospel and His eternal promises. Can we speak words of truth, life and healing back into the many situations we face in our lives. Can we boldly declare that God has a good plan for each of us and a great plan for our country. Can we pray for our men, and begin to speak words that will build up and not tear down, words that will see men rising up in their God given giftings and purposes.
My heart prayer for us as women of God, is that we will never grow ignorant or become desensitised to the evidence of our broken world, but that we will be wise in what we are speaking and declaring. That we will become more aware of the actions we are presenting to the world, and that we will realise the weight of the responsibility we have, knowing that our voice can change the outcome of an entire city, community, family and for generations to comes!
Proverbs 18:20-21 is one of my most treasured scriptures:
“From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit”.
Let us truly be encouraged to be found in our secret place - calling out to God; growing deeper into our relationship with Him; and growing in Godly-confidence and Holy Spirit-wisdom. May our words and actions be sweet fruit brining much joy, hope and love into a broken and desperate world, and pointing others to Jesus.
With love and blessings
Nicole Agnew
The Power of Being a Peacemaker - The Wise Woman of Abel