The Benefits of Wisdom: Strategy

Strategy

Then the woman in her wisdom went to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem. – 2 Samuel 20:22

Another benefit of wisdom which we will be meditating on today is strategy. Wisdom avails its possessor a strategy as to what to do to navigate various life situations.

In the context of our reference scripture today, the strategy that wisdom provides actually saved a whole city from being overrun and slaughtered by the angry army of King David under the command of Joab. It happened that while David was still trying to recover from the uprising and death of his rebellious son, Absalom, another insurgency was started by Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite.

David had no sooner returned to his palace in Jerusalem when Sheba started his own:

And he blew a trumpet, and said:
“We have no share in David,
Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse;
Every man to his tents, O Israel!”
So every man of Israel deserted David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. (2 Samuel 20:1-2)

When the army of David mobilized and went in pursuit of Sheba, he hid himself in a fortified city. But the men of David started battering the wall of that city to pull it down so as to get to the Sheba. This would also mean death for the residents of the city, as they would be regarded as accomplices, having allowed Sheba to hide in their town.

ALSO READ Benefits of Wisdom (11): Greatness and Honour

However, thankfully for the people of the city who were by now jittery and fearing the worst, they had a wise woman in their midst (2 Samuel 20::16), who braved the odds and went out to Joab offering to trade the head of Sheba in exchange for the safety of members of the community; a proposition which Joab agreed to. The woman in turn “presented her strategy to the whole city and they did it: They cut off the head of Sheba son of Bicri and tossed it down to Joab” (The Message).

This made Joab and his army retreat from battering the walls of the city. This wise woman did not just come up with a strategy that spared the lives of thousands of members of that town, she also saved them from the great loss they would have incurred on account of the invasion.

This is one of the advantages of wisdom; it helps you to know what to do and how to go about it.

You Will Succeed in Jesus Name!