Women of the Bible Part 1

Women of the Bible.

Ann Spangler.

To Judy Weaver.

Your faith has strengthened mine.

-Ann Spangler.

To my daughters, Holly and Sh.e.l.ly.

You have shown me the beauty of young women of G.o.d.

-Jean E. Syswerda.

Introduction.

Shortly after we first published Women of the Bible, a publishing colleague confided how astonished he was by the book's immediate success. After encountering it in a local bookstore, he had confidently predicted it would never sell. He smiled as he told us this, glad for our sakes that his prediction had proved wrong. I think our colleague made an understandable mistake. He had underestimated the hunger women have for authentic stories about other women who reflect their own struggles to live with faith and hope.

The Bible is so much more than a dry compilation of genealogies, prophecies, and laws. It is the story of the most important relationship in the world, the one between G.o.d and his people.The setting of this story moves quickly from Paradise to a fallen world and then culminates, after much foolishness and suffering, in heaven itself. It reveals what was, what is, and what will be. As the story unfolds, it exposes the nature of our deepest problems and the roots of our worst sufferings. Through its various characters, we recognize the tug-of-war that takes place in our own souls as we struggle to respond to G.o.d.

Sometimes the most profitable and enjoyable way to understand any historical era is to learn the stories of its most famous men and women, people whose lives both reflect and influence the times in which they lived. The popular television series Biography does just this. The series promotes itself with an intriguing tagline, a.s.suring us that "Every Life Has a Story." The same could certainly be said of the women of the Bible, whose lives reveal so much about G.o.d's character and his strategy for saving us.

Though we are familiar with Adam, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Samson, Saul, David, and Peter-a few of the Bible's most noteworthy men - many of us might fail to recognize Hagar, Miriam, Deborah, Naomi, and Esther, to say nothing of Jael, Rizpah, or Joanna. We know how the men fit into the story of salvation, but what of the women? What do their stories tell us about G.o.d's love and our own response to him?

STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK.

Women of the Bible looks at the lives of fifty-two prominent-and not so prominent-women of Scripture, offering a fresh perspective on the story of salvation. The cast of characters is long and colorful, including a parade of prost.i.tutes, evil queens, prophetesses, wealthy women, abused women, single and married women, and widows young and old. Far from being one-dimensional characters, these are real women who struggle with tragedy and sometimes create it, who risk their lives and their reputations for the sake of others, whose compa.s.sion and wisdom often save the day. Even though our culture is vastly different from theirs, we share many of their emotional responses and concerns. We agonize over infertility, worry about our children, long for a little affection, strive for wisdom, and sometimes harbor doubt about G.o.d's real intentions toward us. Their stories reveal so much about G.o.d's grace, his relentless love, and his creative ability to bring good out of the most desperate of circ.u.mstances.

This expanded and updated edition of Women of the Bible offers our readers several improvements and changes. Recognizing that many women have been using the Wednesday studies in a group setting, all fifty-two studies have been reviewed and streamlined, making them useful and relevant for groups as well as individuals. We have also added several appendices to the end of the book. These indexes and charts offer information and background on more of the women whose lives form such a vital part of Scripture.

In order to understand the significance of these women's stories, we have developed a devotional program that will help readers reflect on the life of one woman each week for an entire year. Each devotion combines five main elements: inspiration, background information, Bible study, Bible promises, and prayer. Here's how a week unfolds: Monday: Her Story-an inspirational portrait of one woman's life.

Tuesday: Her Life and Times-background information about the culture of her day.

Wednesday: Her Legacy in Scripture - a short Bible study on her life with application to your own.

Thursday: Her Promise-Bible promises that apply to her life and yours.

Friday: Her Legacy of Prayer-praying in light of her story.

By focusing on each woman for five consecutive days, we hope to offer a unique devotional program, one that encourages reading, reflection, study, and prayer focused on the main female characters in the Bible. We've purposely left the readings for Thursday and Friday shorter than the others in order to give you ample time for reflection and prayer.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK.

We would suggest that you begin with Monday's portrait in order to understand the main elements of the woman's story. After that, you may want to read the specific Scriptures that pertain to her life, those mentioned as "Key Scriptures" in the introduction that immediately precedes her story. Though Monday's inspirational retelling at times relies on fictional techniques to bring out various dimensions of a story and the character's emotional responses, every effort has been made to remain close to the original text, drawing out reasonable implications from Scripture's account. Tuesday's reflection gives you an inside look at a particular aspect of the life and culture of the woman being studied. Wednesday's study is designed to balance Monday's inspirational account by sending you straight to the Bible so you can understand and apply the Scripture to your life. Thursday's promises take you a step further, offering Bible verses that can be meditated on, memorized, or copied onto cards that can be placed as reminders at work or at home. Friday's prayers are designed to build on everything you have already studied and reflected on during the week. By including a balance of praise, thanksgiving, confession, and pet.i.tion as a basis for prayer, this section is designed to deepen your communion with G.o.d. Some of you may prefer to skip the study sections while others may want to linger there. There is no right or wrong way to use this book. We hope that you will give yourselves permission to read it in whatever way works best for you.

Ann has written the Monday and Friday pieces, and Jean has written those for Tuesday through Thursday. Together we hope they will prove a tool that can be used either in personal prayer and Bible study or within the context of a small group. However you approach Women of the Bible, each day's reading is designed to help you slow down and soak in the Scripture so that you can savor its riches, understanding anew how G.o.d acts in surprising and wonderful ways to draw you to himself.

We owe a special debt of grat.i.tude to our editors, Sandy Vander Zicht, for her insight, encouragement, and advocacy; Rachel Boers, for her skilled and painstaking work on the original ma.n.u.script; and Verlyn Verbrugge, for his careful work on this updated edition. We are also grateful to our agent, Robert Wolgemuth, and to Sue Brower, Sherry Guzzy, and their creative marketing team for catching the vision for this book. We thank Leanne Van Dyk for her insightful theological review and comments. Few books can succeed without champions, and we are grateful that these are some of ours.

Of course, we alone are responsible for any deficiencies in the book. Whatever they might be, we hope they do not prevent you from gaining, as we have, a deeper appreciation for all the women of faith who have gone before us, living their lives in the light of G.o.d's presence.

Ann Spangler Jean Syswerda 2007.

Eve.

HER NAME MEANS.

"Life-Giving" or "Mother of All Who Have Life"

Her Character: She came into the world perfectly at peace with her G.o.d and with her husband, the only other person on the planet. She lived in Paradise, possessing every pleasure imaginable. She never knew the meaning of embarra.s.sment, misunderstanding, hurt, estrangement, envy, bitterness, grief, or guilt until she listened to her enemy and began to doubt G.o.d.

Her Sorrow: That she and her husband were banished from Paradise and the presence of G.o.d, and that her first son was a murderer and her second son his victim.

Her Joy: That she had once tasted Paradise, and that G.o.d had promised that her offspring would eventually destroy her enemy.

Key Scriptures: Genesis 1:26 - 31; 2 - 4.

Monday.

HER STORY.

The woman stirred and stretched, her skin soft and supple as a newborn's. One finger, then another moved in gentle exploration of the ground that cradled her. She could feel a warmth filling her, tickling her throat as it tried to escape, spilling out in the strong, glad noise of laughter. She felt surrounded, as though by a thousand joys, and then a touch calmed her without diminishing her joy.

Her eyes opened to a Brightness, her ears to a Voice. And then a smaller voice, echoing an elated response: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." Adam took hold of her, and their laughter met like streams converging.

The man and the woman walked naked and unashamed in Paradise. No shadows filled Eden-no disorder, discord, or fear.

Then one day a serpent spoke to the woman. "Did G.o.d really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'? . . .You will not surely die. For G.o.d knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like G.o.d, knowing good and evil."

The woman listened. She remembered the Brightness, the Voice of G.o.d that had filled her with joy. Could she really be like G.o.d? Pressed hard by desire, she took the fruit and then shared it with her husband. Suddenly darkness spread across Eden. It came, not from the outside but from within, filling the man and the woman with shadows, cravings, and misery. Order gave way to disorder, harmony to discord, trust to fear.

Soon Adam and Eve heard the sound of their Creator walking in the garden, and they hid. "Where are you, Adam?" G.o.d called.

"I heard you in the garden," Adam replied, "and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

Sin had driven its wedge inside their hearts, and G.o.d banished them from Eden, p.r.o.nouncing judgment first on the wily serpent that had tempted the woman and then on her and on her husband. To the serpent's curse he added this promise: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." To the woman, G.o.d said: "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

Then G.o.d warned Adam that after a lifetime of hard labor, his strength would decrease until his body would finally be wrapped in the dust from which G.o.d had formed him. The curse of death fell suddenly upon the new world.

So Adam and his wife were forced to flee Paradise, and Adam named her Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living. But her firstborn, Cain, became a murderer, and her second son, Abel, his victim.

As the years pa.s.sed, sorrow chased sorrow in the heart of the first woman, and the last we see of her we imagine her not as a creature springing fresh from the hand of G.o.d, but as a woman in anguish, giving birth to another child. Her skin now stretches like worn canvas across her limbs, her hands claw the stony ground, grasping for something to hold on to, for anything to ease her pain. She can feel the child inside, filling her, his body pressing for a way of escape. The cries of mother and child meet like streams converging. And Seth is born.

Finally, with her child cradled against her breast, relief begins to spread across Eve's face. With rest her hope returns; a smile forms, and then, finally, laughter rushes from her lips. Try as she might, she cannot stifle her joy. For she remembers the Brightness and the Voice and the promise G.o.d gave: Sooner or later, despite many griefs, her seed would crush the serpent. In the end, the woman would win.

Tuesday.

HER LIFE AND TIMES.

CHILDBIRTH.

Eve was the first woman to conceive a child, the first to harbor a fertilized egg in her womb. Did she understand the miracle taking place within her as her belly swelled and her child began to move? Did she know the wonder of love for a child yet unborn? The Bible doesn't give us those answers. But it does tell us that Eve recognized that life was in G.o.d's control. At Cain's birth she exclaimed, " With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man" (Genesis 4:1).

G.o.d's judgment on Eve -"with pain you will give birth to children"-was no doubt exactly what Eve experienced in birthing this first child. It's the process we appropriately term labor. Eve likely bore the pain and went through the entire birth with only Adam's help.

Later, Hebrew women had the help of experienced midwives, who knew remedies for common delivery difficulties. Midwives' responsibilities after the birth included cutting the umbilical cord, washing the newborn, rubbing it with salt for cleansing, and then wrapping it in swaddling cloths.

The birth stool referred to in Exodus 1:16 was probably a low stool on which the mother-to-be squatted, allowing the force of gravity to aid in the birth process. The midwife and possibly other close relatives held the mother's hands to give comfort as well as stability as she bore down.

Women throughout the centuries have borne the results of Eve's sin. Their pain in childbearing unites them in a common bond of an experience shared. The experience is an unusual combination of the earthly and at the same time the unearthly. The pains, the panting, the mess and disorder connected with the birth of a child are of the earth, of Eve herself. But what is brought forth, and the bond experienced between the mother and the child, is unearthly, something only the Creator of life could forge.

Wednesday.

HER LEGACY IN SCRIPTURE.

Read Genesis 2:18 - 25.

1. What needs does Adam have that only a woman can fulfill?

2. What does being "one flesh" in a marriage mean, both physically and spiritually?

Read Genesis 3:1 - 24.

3. As the serpent tries to tempt Eve, what desires and fears in her does he appeal to?

4. What desires and fears make you vulnerable to temptation?

5. When caught after her sin, how does Eve experience each of the following?

Shame.

Blame.

Pain.

Thursday.

HER PROMISE.

Embedded in the very curse put on Eve for her sin is a wonderful promise. G.o.d promises her, and succeeding generations: You "will give birth to children" (Genesis 3:16). G.o.d's grace and mercy are marvelously evident, even when he's p.r.o.nouncing his judgment. He promises that the human race will continue even as he announces that death will now be inevitable.

Throughout Scripture, G.o.d's grace is often most beautifully evident within his judgments. When the world was so full of sin that he had to destroy it, G.o.d's grace saved Noah and his family. When the Israelites rebelled so thoroughly that captivity was inevitable, G.o.d's grace promised restoration. While judgment fell on David for his sin with Bathsheba, G.o.d's grace gave them Solomon as a son and successor.

When you are at your lowest, on your knees before G.o.d's judgment, never forget that his grace is still at work. And that is truly amazing.

Promises in Scripture.

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

-John i:i6.

But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

-Romans 5:20 - 21.

Friday.

HER LEGACY OF PRAYER.

So G.o.d created human beings in his own image, in the image of G.o.d he created them; male and female he created them.

- Genesis 1:27 Reflect On: Genesis 2:15 - 25: 3.

Praise G.o.d: Because he created you in his own image, making you a woman capable of reflecting his love, truth, strength, goodness, wisdom, and beauty.

Offer Thanks: That imbedded in G.o.d's judgment of Adam and Eve is the promise of a Redeemer who will crush the head of our enemy, the devil.

Confess: Your own tendency to mar G.o.d's image in you by preferring your will to his.

Ask G.o.d: To help you surrender your life, so that he can fulfil his purpose for creating you.