Women of the Bible Part 2

5. How is this incident like the previous one? How is it different?

6. Are you or is someone in your group in a desperate situation right now? Read Genesis 21:19 again. Might there be a "well" for sustenance, if only you could see it? Pray alone or together, asking G.o.d to open your eyes just as he opened Hagar's and aided her in her desperation.

Thursday HER PROMISE.

A thin young woman sits huddled in the front seat of her car. She covers her ears to block out the sound of her little son as he whimpers with cold in the backseat. Her husband abandoned her and the boy two months before. Left without resources, she was soon turned out of her apartment. The car is now their only home. It has long since seen its last drop of gasoline, and its worn interior provides little protection from the winter winds outside.

This modern-day Hagar is no further from G.o.d's promises than was Hagar herself as she poured out her sorrow in the desert. G.o.d sees her heartache, just as he saw Hagar's. Though you may not be as desperate as Hagar or her modern counterpart, you may have experienced times in your life that made you fear for the future. Whether you are living in a wilderness of poverty or loneliness or sorrow, G.o.d's promises, love, and protection are just as available to you now as they were to Hagar.

Promises in Scripture I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

-Psalm 4:8 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

-Psalm 119:50 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me.

-Psalm 138:7 38 HAGAR.

Friday HER LEGACY OF PRAYER.

What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; G.o.d has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.

- Genesis 21:17-18 Reflect On: Genesis 21:8 - 21.

Praise G.o.d: Because he is an all-knowing Father who hears the cries of his children. Nothing that happens to us can ever escape his notice.

Offer Thanks: That the Lord runs after the weak and the helpless, to show them his mercy and his plan of blessing for their lives.

Confess: Any pride, selfishness, or other sin that may have contributed to difficulties in your life.

Ask G.o.d: To open your eyes to the way he is protecting and providing for you and your children. Ask him to help you live each day, not as a slave to the law but as a child of grace.

Lift Your Heart Invite a couple of close friends to share a Middle Eastern feast with olives, figs, pita bread, nuts, hummus, tabbouleh, and your favorite drink. Pray a special grace thanking G.o.d for providing so richly for you even when you felt you were living through a desert season in your life. Share stories with each other about how G.o.d has provided even when you weren't sure he was listening to your prayers.

Hummus In a food processor blend 2 cups of cooked or canned chickpeas, drained, with % cup sesame paste (tahini), % cup lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and 2 peeled garlic cloves. Stir in V cup finely chopped scallions. Makes about 3 cups. A great dip for bread, chips, or fresh vegetables.

Tabbouleh 1. Place 3/4 cup uncooked cracked wheat in a gla.s.s bowl and cover with cold water for 30 minutes; then drain completely. (For a softer texture, cover with boiling water and let stand for one hour before draining.) 2. Add 11/2 cups chopped fresh parsley; 3 medium tomatoes, chopped; 5 green onions, thinly sliced (with tops); and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh (or 2 teaspoons crushed dried) mint leaves.

3. In a separate bowl, mix 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour over cracked wheat mixture and toss.

4. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour. Serve with a garnish of mint leaf. Makes 6 servings, about 3/4 cup each.

Lord, sometimes I feel abandoned, as though no one understands or cares about me. Please show me that you really are near and that you see and hear everything that happens. Refresh me with your presence even when I am walking through a desert experience. And help me, in turn, to comfort others when they feel hopeless and alone. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Lot's Wife.

Her Character: She was a prosperous woman who may have been more attached to the good life than was good for her. Though there is no indication she partic.i.p.ated in the sin of Sodom, her story implies she had learned to tolerate it and that her heart had become divided as a result.

Her Tragedy: That her heart's choice led to judgment rather than mercy, and that she ultimately refused G.o.d's attempts to save her.

Key Scriptures: Genesis 18:16 - 19:29; Luke 17:28 - 33 Monday HER STORY.

Lot's wife had only hours to live, though she never suspected it. She must have gone about her business as usual, tidying the house, cooking and kibitzing with the neighbors, unaware of the tragedy about to overtake her.

Years earlier she had married Abraham's nephew, and the two had ama.s.sed a fortune in land and livestock. Eventually, they settled in Sodom, uncomfortably comfortable in a city so wicked that heaven itself dispatched angels to investigate the allegations against it.

Lot, it so happened, was at the city gate at the very moment the angels arrived. Greeting the strangers, he quickly implored them to spend the night in his home, anxious about what might happen to them once night had fallen.

Lot's wife must have welcomed the strangers warmly, too, for hospitality was a sacred trust in the ancient world. Then, just before bedtime, she would have heard the voices. At first a few m.u.f.fled words and then echoing laughter and finally an ugly clamor as a noose of men tightened around the house. Rough voices shouted for her husband to open the door and surrender his guests to their pleasure.

"No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing!" Lot screamed back. But the crowd was furious for its own way. Then he attempted an appalling bargain. "Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof." But the men of Sodom would not be thwarted and rushed the door to force their way in.

Suddenly, the angels reached out, pulled Lot back into the house, and struck the men at the door blind. Then they turned to Lot, urging him, "Do you have anyone else here - sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place."

But Lot's sons-in-law thought he was joking and refused to leave.

At dawn the angels again urged Lot to hurry lest he and his wife and daughters perish with the rest of the city. Still, the family hesitated until the angels finally grabbed their hands and dragged them out, urging, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away!"

By the time Lot and his family reached the small city of Zoar, the sun had risen over the land and everything in Sodom was engulfed in burning sulfur. Men, women, children, and livestock were all obliterated. A terrible judgment for terrible sin.

But the judgment was even worse than either Lot or his daughters first realized. Safe at last, they must have turned to each other in relief at their escape and then turned again in shock, realizing one of their number was missing. They would have searched, hoping against hope, until they finally caught sight of the white salt pillar, silhouetted against the sky, a lonely monument in the shape of a woman turning around toward Sodom.

If you have ever seen pictures of ancient Pompeii, destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, where human shapes are preserved to this day by the lava that stopped them dead in their tracks, you might imagine the disaster that overtook Lot's wife.

Why did she turn, despite the angel's clear warning? Was her heart still attached to everything she left behind in the city - a life of comfort, ease, and pleasure? Did she still have family trapped in the city? Or was she fascinated by the tragic spectacle taking place behind her, like a gawking motorist at the scene of a b.l.o.o.d.y accident? Perhaps all these things combined were a glue that caused her feet to slow, her head to turn, and her body to be overtaken by the punishment G.o.d had meant to spare her. By her own choice - her very last choice - she cast her lot with judgment rather than with mercy.

Jesus urged his followers to remember Lot's wife: "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot's wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it" (Luke 17:30 - 33). Sobering words recalling a sobering story. Words meant to lead us away from the compelling illusions of wickedness and safe into the arms of mercy.

Tuesday HER LIFE AND TIMES.

SALT.

Not much of a legacy, is it? Lot's wife is remembered less for who she was-wife, mother, daughter, sister-than for what she became - a pillar of salt. Just one irresistible but forbidden glance back at what was happening behind her, and she turned into salt. Salt! One of the world's most common, and most used, chemicals.

Palestine, in fact, possessed rich salt depositories, which accounted for such place names as the Salt Sea (also known as the Dead Sea), the Valley of Salt, and the City of Salt. The Romans probably looked on Israel as a worthy conquest simply because of the salt available there.

The Hebrews used salt to season food: "Is tasteless food eaten without salt?" (Job 6:6). Hebrew women rubbed their newborn babies with salt or washed them in it: "On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt" (Ezekiel 16:4). Salt was a required supplement to any Old Testament grain sacrifice: "Season all your grain offerings with salt" (Leviticus 2:13).

The word salt is used several times in the New Testament, all of them symbolic. Jesus tells us to remember that as believers we are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13; cf. Mark 9:50; Luke 14:34). Our att.i.tudes and actions can cleanse and season and purify our surroundings. When we respond graciously to someone who is ungracious, we season our world with salt. When we treat an irritable child with kindness, we season our homes with salt. When we comfort the hurting, console the lonely, encourage the discouraged, or calm the unsettled, we season our world with salt. As followers of Christ, we're saltshakers (we hope full ones!), busy sprinkling our world with the salt that flavors life.

Wednesday HER LEGACY IN SCRIPTURE.

Read Genesis 19:1 - 26.

1. In ancient culture, when Lot opened his house to guests, he guaranteed not only their comfort but their safety. The family's honor was at stake. What do you think were his wife's thoughts and feelings when he offered his daughters instead of his guests to the raiders?

2. Given what Sodom was like, why would Lot's wife hesitate leaving there?

3. Even though warned not to do so, she couldn't resist looking back. Why do you think she turned?

4. In Lot's wife, we can see ourselves looking back, regretting decisions made, mourning lost opportunities, yearning for ended relationships. Do you spend a lot of time looking back? If so, how does that affect the way you live in the present?

5. What does leaving the past behind mean for you right now?

Thursday HER PROMISE.

Earlier, G.o.d had promised Abraham he would spare the city of Sodom if he could find only ten righteous people in it, but not even ten could be found. So G.o.d sent his angels to Sodom to rescue Lot and his family (Genesis 18) from the coming destruction. Hesitant to the last minute, the angels had to take Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and lead them out of the city.

Did G.o.d know Abraham was thinking of Lot when he begged for the cities to be spared if fifty, forty-five, thirty, twenty, only ten righteous people could be found? Was G.o.d's mercy extended to Lot for love of Lot or for love of Abraham? We don't know. But we do know G.o.d's mercy was available for Lot and his family. And his mercy is available to you as well, even in the worst of times, the most difficult situations, the hardest of circ.u.mstances. He's there, stretching out his hand to lead you to safety.

Promises in Scripture The men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.

- Genesis 19:16 He will show you mercy [and] have compa.s.sion on you.

-Deuteronomy 13:17 Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

-Psalm 25:6 "I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful," declares the Lord, "I will not be angry forever."

-Jeremiah 3:12 Friday HER LEGACY OF PRAYER.

When he [Lot] hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain!"

- Genesis 19:16-17 Reflect On: Genesis 19:1- 26.

Praise G.o.d: That though he hates sin he also loves mercy.

Offer Thanks: For ways that G.o.d has shown mercy to you and members of your family.

Confess: Any tendency to ignore G.o.d's voice because you prefer to go your own way.

Ask G.o.d: For the grace never to become rigid because of your attachments or your sin.

Lift Your Heart In a society like ours, it's rare to find someone who isn't attached to creature comforts. Test your own level of attachment by taking a week-long retreat from television, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, and shopping malls. Instead, carve out a time and place in your home, even if it's only a few minutes in a small corner or a closet, for silent prayer and praise. Ask G.o.d to reveal any disordered attachments or rigidity that may have developed in your own spirit. Tell him you want to be a woman who is free and flexible enough to respond quickly to his direction.

Lord, you call me to live in the world without embracing the ways of the world. Help me to live in a way that preserves my freedom to follow you wherever and however you lead. If I should leave behind a monument, may it be a reminder to others of faith and not foolishness.

Rebekah.

HER NAME PROBABLY MEANS.

"Loop" or "Tie"

Her Character: Hardworking and generous, her faith was so great that she left her home forever to marry a man she had never seen or met. Yet she played favorites with her sons and failed to trust G.o.d fully for the promise he had made.

Her Sorrow: That she was barren for the first twenty years of her married life, and that she never again set eyes on her favorite son, Jacob, after he fled from his brother Esau.

Her Joy: That G.o.d had gone to extraordinary lengths to pursue her, to invite her to become part of his people and his promises.

Key Scriptures: Genesis 24; 25:19 - 34; 26:1 - 28:9 Monday HER STORY.

The sun was dipping beyond the western rim of the sky as the young woman approached the well outside the town of Nahor, five hundred miles northeast of Canaan. It was women's work to fetch fresh water each evening, and Rebekah hoisted the br.i.m.m.i.n.g jug to her shoulder, welcoming its cooling touch against her skin.

As she turned to go, a stranger greeted her, asking for a drink. Obligingly, she offered to draw water for his camels as well. Rebekah noticed the look of surprised pleasure that flashed across his face. Ten camels could put away a lot of water, she knew. But had she overheard his whispered prayer just moments earlier, her astonishment would have exceeded his: "O Lord, G.o.d of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac."

A simple gesture. A generous response. A young woman's future altered in a moment's time. The man Rebekah encountered at the well, Abraham's servant, had embarked on a sacred mission-to find Isaac a wife from among Abraham's own people rather than from among the surrounding Canaanites. Like her great-aunt Sarah before her, Rebekah would make the journey south to embrace a future she could hardly glimpse. Betrothed to a man twice her age, whose name meant "Laughter," she felt a sudden giddiness rise inside her. The G.o.d of Abraham and Sarah was wooing her, calling her name and no other, offering a share in the promise. G.o.d was forging a new nation to be his own people.

Isaac was forty when he first set eyes on Rebekah. Perhaps his heart echoed the joy of that first man, "Here at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!" So Isaac and Rebekah entered the tent of his mother Sarah and made love. And the Bible says that Rebekah comforted Isaac after the death of his mother.

Rebekah was beautiful and strong like Sarah, yet she bore no children for the first twenty years of her life with Isaac. Would she suffer as Sarah did the curse of barrenness? Isaac prayed and G.o.d heard, giving her not one, but two sons, who wrestled inside her womb. And G.o.d told her: "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."

During the delivery, Jacob grasped the heel of his brother Esau, as though striving for first position. Though second by birth, he was first in his mother's affections. But his father loved Esau best.

Years later, when Isaac was old and nearly blind, he summoned his firstborn, Esau. "Take your quiver and bow and hunt some wild game for me. Prepare the kind of meal I like, and I will give you my blessing before I die."

But the clever Rebekah overheard and called quickly to Jacob, suggesting a scheme to trick the blessing from Isaac. Disguised as Esau, Jacob presented himself to his father for the much-coveted blessing.

Isaac then blessed Jacob, thinking he was blessing Esau: "May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."

Isaac had stretched out his hand and pa.s.sed the choicest blessing to his younger son, thus recalling the words spoken about the two children jostling for position in Rebekah's womb. The benediction thus given could not be withdrawn, despite the deceit, despite Esau's tears, and despite his vow to kill Jacob.

Afraid lest Esau take revenge, Rebekah persuaded Isaac to send Jacob north to find a wife from among her brother Laban's daughters.

As the years pa.s.sed, Rebekah must have longed to embrace her younger son, hoping for the privilege of enfolding his children in her embrace. But more than twenty years would pa.s.s before Jacob returned. And though Isaac would live to welcome his son, Rebekah would not.

When Rebekah was a young girl, G.o.d had invited her to play a vital role in the story of his people. He had gone to great lengths to pursue her. Like Sarah, she would become a matriarch of G.o.d's people, and like Sarah, her heart would divide itself between faith and doubt, believing that G.o.d's promise required her intervention. Finding it difficult to rest in the promise G.o.d had made, she resorted to trickery to achieve it.

The results, mirroring her own heart, were mixed. Though Jacob indeed became heir to the promise, he was driven from his home and the mother who loved him too well. In addition, he and his descendants would forever be at odds with Esau and his people, the Edomites. Two thousand years later, Herod the Great, who hailed from Idumea (the Greek and Roman name for Edom) would slaughter many innocent children in his attempt to destroy the infant Jesus.

Yet G.o.d was still at work, graciously using a woman whose response to him was far less than perfect, in order to accomplish his purposes.

50 REBEKAH.

Tuesday HER LIFE AND TIMES JEWELRY.

"Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms." ...

Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah.