Warring Women Go for the Enemy's Head
© 2006 By Lesley Barker
Bible women who prevailed against an enemy always went for his head. This is the pattern whether the powerful woman was acting on the side of God’s people or not. The stories of Jael, the woman from Thebez, Abigail, Esther, Jezebel, Delilah and Herodias illustrate a woman’s warfare. Each of these women used specifically feminine tools and strategies like food, sex, a mill-stone, arguments, and nagging, for example, to win. God’s battle plans call for women to play a strategic, winning role that is only available to us who have embraced femininity fully, allowing it to become expressed through every fiber of our being.
Jael was married to Heber, a Kenite, who was at peace with Israel as well as with the Canaanites ruled by King Jabin at a time when Canaan ruled Israel from Hazor. See Judges 4. As usual, once the Israelites appealed to the Lord, He responded to deliver them from their oppressor. First, he sent word through the woman prophet and judge, Deborah, who delegated Barak to lead the troops against the Canaanite army that was commanded by Sisera. Barak didn’t refuse this commission but he did demand that Deborah go to battle with him. The price of her company was that “The Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman,” Judges 4:9 NRSV. After a fierce battle, Sisera fled away on foot. His path led to the front door of Jael’s tent. She lured him inside, fed him, and provided him with a bed. She even covered him with a blanket. Once he was asleep, however, she hammered a tent peg into his temple which pinned the corpse to the ground until Barak came looking for him. She used hospitality and food to disarm the enemy and then she struck one fatal blow to his head. It resulted in the deliverance of Israel from Canaan.
A certain woman from Thebez also went after the head of her city’s enemy. See Judges 9. Gideon, the man who, with only 300 men, delivered Israel from Midianite rule, had seventy legitimate sons. He also had one illegitimate son, Abimelech, the son of a woman from Shechem. Gideon died without having provided a plan for the succession of his rule so Abimelech engineered a coup. The men of Shechem were his accomplices so that, in one day, all but one of Abimelech’s brothers were killed. The survivor made a loud, compelling protest but Abimelech’s coup was successful and he ruled as though he were king, for three years until Gaal arrived and persuaded the elders of Shechem that they should overthrow him. Abimelech fought back and destroyed the city in the process. Abimelech pursued the people of Shechem to their tower. He burned it down, killing a thousand men and women. Next he went to Thebez, which must have been allied with Shechem against him, although the Scripture doesn’t say so. He gained entrance to its tower where the people had fled for safety. “But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and crushed his skull,” Judges 9:53. Grinding grain was woman’s work (See Ecclesiastes 12:3). According to the Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, 1945, p. 398, this concave basalt stone had a diameter of about 18 inches and a thickness of between 2 and 4 inches. In the center was a hole by which a peg could fit to center it on the lower stone and through which the grain could be dropped. Each house probably owned a mill to grind the grain for the family’s daily bread. It was as regular a woman’s tool as Jael’s bowl of curds and tent peg. So that he wouldn’t die at a woman’s hand, he commanded his armor bearer to stab him to death. It resulted in the freedom of Israel from an illegitimate tyrant.
When Sheba amassed an army to challenge David’s rule over Israel, he took refuge in the city of Abel of Beth-maacah. See 2 Samuel 20. Sheba had managed to divide Israel and Judah so that only Judah remained loyal to David while the rest of the nation followed the “scoundrel.” David’s commander, Joab, pursued Sheba to Abel. He besieged that city with a siege ramp. His troops used a battering ram to break down the city’s wall. This city, though, had a reputation as “a mother in Israel,” a place where people were able to reconcile their differences peacefully. A “wise woman” lived there. In fact, the city of Abel was not privy to the reason that Joab’s forces were attacking until the woman approached him from the wall. When she learned that all Joab wanted before he would withdraw was for Abel to give up Sheba, she promised that “his head shall be thrown over the wall to you,” 2 Sam. 20: 21. She “went to all the people with her wise plan. And they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri, and threw it to Joab.” One shofar blast later, the army went home. Again, the victorious results of a wise woman’s actions cost the enemy his head. She didn’t use anything other than her powers of persuasion. What man has not noticed this particularly effective feminine attribute at work?
Esther went after Haman’s head. Haman had wheedled his way into the king’s confidence so much so that he wielded the king’s signet ring. Using this authority, Haman contrived for King Ahasuerus to legislate a holocaust whereby the citizens of the Persian Empire would be allowed to kill all the Jewish people and take their property for themselves. Of course, no one knew that the queen was Jewish except for her uncle, Mordecai, who learned of Haman’s plot and left it to Esther to stop. She also acted in a thoroughly feminine way. She invited the King and her enemy to come together to two private banquets, relying on her relationship with her husband, reinforced by a gorgeous outfit, to take her side in the matter. She prepared an occasion that she knew would arouse her husband’s curiosity while pleasing him so much that she anticipated him to respond by promising to give her whatever she requested up to “half of my kingdom,” Esther 7:2. When the expected opportunity arrived, Esther was quick to expose Haman’s plot. The king became enraged and the head of the enemy’s plot was destroyed. “As the words left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face….So they hanged Haman…Then the anger of the king abated,” Esther 7:8-10 (NRSV).
Delilah went after Samson’s head in the first example to illustrate that the Enemy’s is aware of this woman’s role in battle. See Judges 16. Samson had already killed several thousand Philistines and judged Israel for 20 years by the time he fell in love with Delilah who must have been incredibly skillful in bed for him to continue to visit after she betrayed him to the Philistine rulers three times in a row. She whined, pleaded and nagged that Samson must not really love her at all since he didn’t trust her to know the secret of his strength. At length, he gave in. “So he told her his whole secret, and said to her, ‘A razor has never come on my head; for I have been a nazarite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, then my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be like anyone else,’” Judges 16:17 (NRSV). So it was: Samson was shaved while he was asleep, like Sisera, with his head on her lap. When he woke up, “the Lord had left him,” as had his strength and the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes.
Jezebel, likewise, operated as an enemy of Israel, through the head of Israel, her husband, King Ahab. She killed the Lord’s prophets and strengthened the worship of Baal throughout the northern kingdom, perhaps following her father’s agenda. He was Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. See 1 Kings 16:31ff. In fact, the bride price for Jezebel may have been for Ahab to build a temple for Baal in Samaria, his capitol city. Perhaps his decision to marry Jezebel is a clue to the character flaw of a man who has never denied himself anything no matter what the cost. She learned to manipulate him as though he were a marionette whose strings she controlled. Her actions contributed to the dishonor with which he was regarded by his own people in contrast to the way the Proverbs 31 woman’s actions only brought her husband greater honor. The way Jezebel emasculated Ahab by appearing to cater to his self-centered cravings is described in the story of Naboth’s vineyard. When Naboth refused to give the king his vineyard, “Ahab went home resentful and sullen…He lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and would not eat,” 1 Kings 21:4 (NRSV). She obviously had no real respect for her husband because her actions include belittling him- “Do you now govern Israel?” 1 Kings 21:7 (NRSV), usurping his authority by writing letters in his name, sealed with his seal, and arranging for Naboth to be murdered after being falsely accused of blasphemy. After his death, she gave Ahab the land he coveted.
In fact, Nabal had a similar personality to Ahab. Nabal’s wife, Abigail, however, was not willing to allow his self-centered narcissism to prevail when it had progressed to the point where her household was in danger of being destroyed as a result. She also went straight to the head, the king, in absolute violation of, and to counteract, her husband’s orders. She followed in the steps of Jael and Esther and prepared a feast for David and his men. As a result, after she confessed her actions to Nabal, he had a heart attack and died. She became one of David’s wives and the Scripture calls her “wise.” See 2 Samuel 25.
King Herod’s married his brother, Philip’s wife, Herodias, which made John the Baptist, who was in Herod’s palace jail, rebuke him for adultery. So, Herodias considered John a fierce enemy. How did she rid herself of this enemy? She went after his head. She threw a birthday party for Herod and sent her daughter, Salome, in to dance provocatively for him and his guests. Herod was so pleased by her performance that he offered her whatever she wanted. Coached by her mother, she asked, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter,” Matthew 14:8. Unable to get out of keeping what had been a very public promise, the king “sent and had John beheaded in prison. The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother,” Matthew 14:10-11.
This has application for women who engage in strategic intercession and spiritual warfare. When women lead in spiritual battles, it is because, in my opinion, God is calling for the head of the enemy to be cut off. Conversely, when the enemy targets a ruler, a king, or a judge, he will probably derail him or manipulate him by means of an unscrupulous woman.
This calls for wisdom. No longer should women accept that when God calls us into positions of spiritual leadership it is because the man he really wanted had refused the call. Instead, if a woman is called to a leadership role, we should ask some diagnostic questions such as the following. Have God’s people become oppressed by the rule of some enemy tyrant? Has some illegitimate authority gained control in such a way that it threatens to destroy a city or a nation? Is there a usurper that has been given refuge among us and, unless his head is cut off, the Lord will send judgment against us that will bring destruction? Has a powerful man taken a stand against the Lord or against His anointed so that the Lord is sending certain destruction our way?
If the Lord is asking for a woman to lead, He is after the enemy’s head. When she finds Wisdom’s strategy, it will not take a long time or a lot of resources for her to prevail. Just a grinding stone, a bowl of curds, a new dress, a persuasive argument, hospitality, kindness or a dance may be her winning weapon. So, “now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops,” Micah 5:1 (KJV).
Bible women who prevailed against an enemy always went for his head. This is the pattern whether the powerful woman was acting on the side of God’s people or not. The stories of Jael, the woman from Thebez, Abigail, Esther, Jezebel, Delilah and Herodias illustrate a woman’s warfare. Each of these women used specifically feminine tools and strategies like food, sex, a mill-stone, arguments, and nagging, for example, to win. God’s battle plans call for women to play a strategic, winning role that is only available to us who have embraced femininity fully, allowing it to become expressed through every fiber of our being.
Jael was married to Heber, a Kenite, who was at peace with Israel as well as with the Canaanites ruled by King Jabin at a time when Canaan ruled Israel from Hazor. See Judges 4. As usual, once the Israelites appealed to the Lord, He responded to deliver them from their oppressor. First, he sent word through the woman prophet and judge, Deborah, who delegated Barak to lead the troops against the Canaanite army that was commanded by Sisera. Barak didn’t refuse this commission but he did demand that Deborah go to battle with him. The price of her company was that “The Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman,” Judges 4:9 NRSV. After a fierce battle, Sisera fled away on foot. His path led to the front door of Jael’s tent. She lured him inside, fed him, and provided him with a bed. She even covered him with a blanket. Once he was asleep, however, she hammered a tent peg into his temple which pinned the corpse to the ground until Barak came looking for him. She used hospitality and food to disarm the enemy and then she struck one fatal blow to his head. It resulted in the deliverance of Israel from Canaan.
A certain woman from Thebez also went after the head of her city’s enemy. See Judges 9. Gideon, the man who, with only 300 men, delivered Israel from Midianite rule, had seventy legitimate sons. He also had one illegitimate son, Abimelech, the son of a woman from Shechem. Gideon died without having provided a plan for the succession of his rule so Abimelech engineered a coup. The men of Shechem were his accomplices so that, in one day, all but one of Abimelech’s brothers were killed. The survivor made a loud, compelling protest but Abimelech’s coup was successful and he ruled as though he were king, for three years until Gaal arrived and persuaded the elders of Shechem that they should overthrow him. Abimelech fought back and destroyed the city in the process. Abimelech pursued the people of Shechem to their tower. He burned it down, killing a thousand men and women. Next he went to Thebez, which must have been allied with Shechem against him, although the Scripture doesn’t say so. He gained entrance to its tower where the people had fled for safety. “But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and crushed his skull,” Judges 9:53. Grinding grain was woman’s work (See Ecclesiastes 12:3). According to the Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, 1945, p. 398, this concave basalt stone had a diameter of about 18 inches and a thickness of between 2 and 4 inches. In the center was a hole by which a peg could fit to center it on the lower stone and through which the grain could be dropped. Each house probably owned a mill to grind the grain for the family’s daily bread. It was as regular a woman’s tool as Jael’s bowl of curds and tent peg. So that he wouldn’t die at a woman’s hand, he commanded his armor bearer to stab him to death. It resulted in the freedom of Israel from an illegitimate tyrant.
When Sheba amassed an army to challenge David’s rule over Israel, he took refuge in the city of Abel of Beth-maacah. See 2 Samuel 20. Sheba had managed to divide Israel and Judah so that only Judah remained loyal to David while the rest of the nation followed the “scoundrel.” David’s commander, Joab, pursued Sheba to Abel. He besieged that city with a siege ramp. His troops used a battering ram to break down the city’s wall. This city, though, had a reputation as “a mother in Israel,” a place where people were able to reconcile their differences peacefully. A “wise woman” lived there. In fact, the city of Abel was not privy to the reason that Joab’s forces were attacking until the woman approached him from the wall. When she learned that all Joab wanted before he would withdraw was for Abel to give up Sheba, she promised that “his head shall be thrown over the wall to you,” 2 Sam. 20: 21. She “went to all the people with her wise plan. And they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri, and threw it to Joab.” One shofar blast later, the army went home. Again, the victorious results of a wise woman’s actions cost the enemy his head. She didn’t use anything other than her powers of persuasion. What man has not noticed this particularly effective feminine attribute at work?
Esther went after Haman’s head. Haman had wheedled his way into the king’s confidence so much so that he wielded the king’s signet ring. Using this authority, Haman contrived for King Ahasuerus to legislate a holocaust whereby the citizens of the Persian Empire would be allowed to kill all the Jewish people and take their property for themselves. Of course, no one knew that the queen was Jewish except for her uncle, Mordecai, who learned of Haman’s plot and left it to Esther to stop. She also acted in a thoroughly feminine way. She invited the King and her enemy to come together to two private banquets, relying on her relationship with her husband, reinforced by a gorgeous outfit, to take her side in the matter. She prepared an occasion that she knew would arouse her husband’s curiosity while pleasing him so much that she anticipated him to respond by promising to give her whatever she requested up to “half of my kingdom,” Esther 7:2. When the expected opportunity arrived, Esther was quick to expose Haman’s plot. The king became enraged and the head of the enemy’s plot was destroyed. “As the words left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face….So they hanged Haman…Then the anger of the king abated,” Esther 7:8-10 (NRSV).
Delilah went after Samson’s head in the first example to illustrate that the Enemy’s is aware of this woman’s role in battle. See Judges 16. Samson had already killed several thousand Philistines and judged Israel for 20 years by the time he fell in love with Delilah who must have been incredibly skillful in bed for him to continue to visit after she betrayed him to the Philistine rulers three times in a row. She whined, pleaded and nagged that Samson must not really love her at all since he didn’t trust her to know the secret of his strength. At length, he gave in. “So he told her his whole secret, and said to her, ‘A razor has never come on my head; for I have been a nazarite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, then my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be like anyone else,’” Judges 16:17 (NRSV). So it was: Samson was shaved while he was asleep, like Sisera, with his head on her lap. When he woke up, “the Lord had left him,” as had his strength and the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes.
Jezebel, likewise, operated as an enemy of Israel, through the head of Israel, her husband, King Ahab. She killed the Lord’s prophets and strengthened the worship of Baal throughout the northern kingdom, perhaps following her father’s agenda. He was Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. See 1 Kings 16:31ff. In fact, the bride price for Jezebel may have been for Ahab to build a temple for Baal in Samaria, his capitol city. Perhaps his decision to marry Jezebel is a clue to the character flaw of a man who has never denied himself anything no matter what the cost. She learned to manipulate him as though he were a marionette whose strings she controlled. Her actions contributed to the dishonor with which he was regarded by his own people in contrast to the way the Proverbs 31 woman’s actions only brought her husband greater honor. The way Jezebel emasculated Ahab by appearing to cater to his self-centered cravings is described in the story of Naboth’s vineyard. When Naboth refused to give the king his vineyard, “Ahab went home resentful and sullen…He lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and would not eat,” 1 Kings 21:4 (NRSV). She obviously had no real respect for her husband because her actions include belittling him- “Do you now govern Israel?” 1 Kings 21:7 (NRSV), usurping his authority by writing letters in his name, sealed with his seal, and arranging for Naboth to be murdered after being falsely accused of blasphemy. After his death, she gave Ahab the land he coveted.
In fact, Nabal had a similar personality to Ahab. Nabal’s wife, Abigail, however, was not willing to allow his self-centered narcissism to prevail when it had progressed to the point where her household was in danger of being destroyed as a result. She also went straight to the head, the king, in absolute violation of, and to counteract, her husband’s orders. She followed in the steps of Jael and Esther and prepared a feast for David and his men. As a result, after she confessed her actions to Nabal, he had a heart attack and died. She became one of David’s wives and the Scripture calls her “wise.” See 2 Samuel 25.
King Herod’s married his brother, Philip’s wife, Herodias, which made John the Baptist, who was in Herod’s palace jail, rebuke him for adultery. So, Herodias considered John a fierce enemy. How did she rid herself of this enemy? She went after his head. She threw a birthday party for Herod and sent her daughter, Salome, in to dance provocatively for him and his guests. Herod was so pleased by her performance that he offered her whatever she wanted. Coached by her mother, she asked, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter,” Matthew 14:8. Unable to get out of keeping what had been a very public promise, the king “sent and had John beheaded in prison. The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother,” Matthew 14:10-11.
This has application for women who engage in strategic intercession and spiritual warfare. When women lead in spiritual battles, it is because, in my opinion, God is calling for the head of the enemy to be cut off. Conversely, when the enemy targets a ruler, a king, or a judge, he will probably derail him or manipulate him by means of an unscrupulous woman.
This calls for wisdom. No longer should women accept that when God calls us into positions of spiritual leadership it is because the man he really wanted had refused the call. Instead, if a woman is called to a leadership role, we should ask some diagnostic questions such as the following. Have God’s people become oppressed by the rule of some enemy tyrant? Has some illegitimate authority gained control in such a way that it threatens to destroy a city or a nation? Is there a usurper that has been given refuge among us and, unless his head is cut off, the Lord will send judgment against us that will bring destruction? Has a powerful man taken a stand against the Lord or against His anointed so that the Lord is sending certain destruction our way?
If the Lord is asking for a woman to lead, He is after the enemy’s head. When she finds Wisdom’s strategy, it will not take a long time or a lot of resources for her to prevail. Just a grinding stone, a bowl of curds, a new dress, a persuasive argument, hospitality, kindness or a dance may be her winning weapon. So, “now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops,” Micah 5:1 (KJV).
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