Judges 4:8-9 - Mighty warrior women

Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”  “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. Judges 4:8-9

I love the story of Deborah. Of the 12 judges God raises during this time period, only one is a woman. It is amazing to me that any women are included in this list, considering this time in history. Israel has again done evil and are in captivity. Deborah tells Barak the Lord commands him to go in to battle to rescue the Israelites. He agrees to, but only if she agrees to go. Barak must have had a great deal of confidence in Deborah and her connection to the Lord. Deborah tells him Sisera, the leader of the opposing army, will be delivered into the hands of a woman. Deborah is not talking about herself. In the heat of the battle, Sisera runs off and hides in the tent of a woman. Jael knows who he is, agrees to hide him, then when he is asleep, hammers a tent peg into his skull!

Lord, Thank you for seeing the strength and potential in each of us. Please use us in whatever way you see fit to do your will. Amen.

2 Samuel 20:22 - A wise woman stops a war

2 Samuel 20:22  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.

One woman was able to stop a war. David had returned to Jerusalem and was again on the throne. Another threat arises and his men go out to destroy this man. They lay siege to a city to get to this man and a wise woman goes to talk to the leader of David's army. She is able to solve the problem with only the loss of one life.

Lord, thank you for this example of a wise, strong, peace loving woman. Please help us to give and listen to wise, Godly advice. Amen

1 Corinthians 7:4 - Equal rights for women?

The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.

In a passage about marriage, this verse stood out to me. I am sure this was radical thinking in the culture in which this was written. We often hear about the "wives submit to your husbands" verses, but here Paul is telling both partners to submit and give authority to their spouse.

Lord, thank you for giving us marriages. Please make our marriages strong. Amen.

Genesis 2:18 - Eve

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

I am working on a lesson for our ladies class about a woman of the Bible. I chose the most obvious one...Eve.  The first woman. The first wife. The first mother. The first grandmother. Part of the first family (the first dysfunctional family). The first sinner. The first to loose a child. The verse above is the first reference to Eve.

Lord, thank you for giving us the story of creation and humankind. Please help us to learn from this story about ourselves and about you. Amen.

Acts 18:1-3 - Priscilla

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,  and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.

Tonight I am leading the discussion at our ladies bible class on Priscilla. The thing that struck me the most about this lesson is how ordinary she was. A simple, hardworking woman who, with her husband, finds a great friend in Paul while sharing in his ministry.

Lord, thank you for giving each of us a special role in the kingdom. Please help us to be open to what ever role you place us in. Amen.

Psalm 113:9 - God cares about our problems

He settles the childless woman in her home
     as a happy mother of children.
Praise the Lord.

We all have struggles in this life. In the two verses before this one tells how God helps the poor and needy and raises them up. The wonderful thing is that God cares about our problems. He sees us. He knows our pain and struggles and he offers comfort for his children, his followers. Sometimes God takes the pain or problem away and sometimes he helps us bear through it, but either way his love is evident.

Lord, thank you for caring about our problems. Please help us to always seek you when we are struggling and be willing to go through the situation with you by our side. Amen.

Psalm 68:11 - A mighty throng of women

The Lord announces the word,
     and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:

Because I am a female, I love it when the Bible speaks of women. In this verse, I can just see "a mighty throng of women" standing together, proclaiming the word, perhaps in song. A choir of women of every color and shape. I didn't really care for the word throng, so I checked some other versions to see if there was a synonym I liked better. Most of the other versions just refer to a huge group of people and don't specify women. That was disappointing. I checked the internet and found more information. (Click here.) It kind of sounds like it could go either way. Well, today I read "women" in my NIV and it was a powerful image for me, so I will just thank God.

Lord, thank you for speaking of women in the Bible. Please help us to always proclaim your word. Amen.

Exodus 38:8 - Women and mirrors

They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

This verse really stuck out to me. I didn't realize there were women who served in the tabernacle. Also, I was confused about a basin made from mirrors. I found a paper which gave me some insight. Mirrors were made from polished metal at this time, so these were just melted down and reformed. On the question of the women, it's not entirely clear as to their role, but it would make sense to me they would be responsible for changing out the water in the basin.

Lord, thank you for including details like this in your word. Please help us to each find our place of service. Amen.

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1 Peter 3:3-4 - The gentle woman

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 

Ladies, we are called to a gentle and quiet spirit. This is where we display our beauty. This is of great worth in God's sight. It is so easy to rough and loud, especially when it comes to our families and those closest to us.   

Lord, thank you for telling us where real beauty comes from. Please help us to live up to that gentle and quiet spirit. Amen.

Joshua 15:16-19; 17:3-6

Both of the scriptures listed above are stories of women. Amongst this big story of conquering and dividing land there are very few mentions of women, so they stand out. The first notable woman is offered as a prize, then bravely asks for land. The second lists the daughters of a man who has no sons, so they are given land. As a woman, I love reading stories of women in the Bible.

Lord, thank you for giving us stories of women. These special women speak to your daughters is a special way. Amen.

Luke 24:10

It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.

I love it that women played such an important part of such an important moment in the history of the world. The faith of women is a beautiful thing. Jesus loves all people including women.

Lord, thank you for loving me, a woman. Amen.