A wise woman once told me ‘Art can be very inspirational depending on who looks at it’. She was right because a few minutes later, while looking at the painting of William-Adolphe Bouguereau called ‘The Holy Women at the Tomb’ I suddenly thought of how remarkable women actually are and how much they contributed to the ministry of Jesus.
This painting made me want to explore the women mentioned in the bible. I wanted to know why they were mentioned so I could understand what lessons God wanted us to learn from their stories. Instead of listing down their names with a short note next to it, I plan to study them more deeply…so this might end up being a series.
Studying these women chronologically, this week I will be looking into the lives of women who were faithful to God despite the obstacles they faced.
Faithfulness = Trust and Loyalty
Sarah
We come across the story of Sarah in the book of Genesis starting form chapter 11
30 Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.
This one sentence represents the biggest struggle Sarah faces in her life and in her relationship with God.
Early on in their life God promised Abraham and Sarah that He would make them into a great nation.
Chapter 12: 1-3
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Sarah was a good wife to her husband Abraham. They were a loving couple who listened to each other so it’s safe to say that lack of communication was the least of their marital problems. Wherever her husband went, she followed and whatever he told her to do, she did. She even listened to her husbands suggestion to act like his sister (deceit) and although she was obedient, this could have led to the sin of adultery had God not intervened.
Genesis 12:11-13
11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are.
12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”
Abraham and Sarah were getting older and yet there was no sign of the promise of God coming to pass so she decided to take laws into her own hands.
Genesis 16:1-4
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar;
2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
This led to Sarai being disrespected by her servant. She then ended up blaming Abram for her sufferings instead of acknowledging her own wrongdoings;
Genesis 16:5
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”
In Genesis chapter 18 Sarah laughs at the mention of her bearing a child (for she had already written herself off). To her the thought of giving birth at an old age was ridiculous (to be fair giving birth at 90 years isn’t too old given the fact that they lived up to the age of 200+).
Chapter 21 Sarah ended up giving birth to Isaac just as God promised but even amongst her celebration, the consequences of her previous actions were still a thorn in her flesh and she ended up chasing Hagar away even though she was the reason Hagar got pregnant.
I mentioned earlier that I would be studying the lives of women who were faithful to God so it is quite contradictory for me to start with the story of Sarah. She wasn’t as faithful as the women I will be mentioning later on but we can’t completely write her off because they’re still lessons to learn from her story.
- Trust in the Lord and be patient: we shouldn’t be taking matters into our own hands. By doing this we end up creating more problems for ourselves and then we pray to God to solve it for us. Sarah made her husband sleep with Hagar and later got angry and jealous when Hagar got pregnant with a child.
- God is faithful even when we’re not: Sarah and Abraham committed sins and weren’t perfect but this didn’t make God change His mind. They deceived others, took laws into their own hands and even laughed at God YET His promise came to pass in their lives.
- God’s time is not our time: If Sarah had given birth at a normal age, there wouldn’t be much of a miracle. God knew when the time for them to have a child was right and when that time came He delivered. Sarah and Abraham didn’t pray to God for guidance and wisdom, they heard His promised and waited but even when waiting it is important to pray and be connected to the voice of God so He can direct our steps.
Leah
The story of Leah starts from Genesis chapter 29 where Leah was given to Jacob instead of her younger sister Rachel due to their family customs even though she wasn’t the one Jacob loved and wanted to marry. When the Lord saw her misery in her loveless marriage He blessed her with many children while her sister Rachel remained barren for a long time.
Genesis 29:31
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.
Just like Sarah, Leah also gave her servant to her husband so she could bare more children for him through the maidservant (here we can see the importance of having a good role model).
There was a constant competition between Leah and her sister Rachel
Genesis 30:15
15 But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”
Other than her nightly visits to Jacob, Leah rarely gets any attention nor affection from him. This makes Leah very insecure and she tries to gain Jacob’s favor by bearing him more children. But after years of yearning for his love she finally decides to focus on the Lord;
Genesis 29:35
35 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.
From this point on she finds joy and happiness (the love of man cannot be compared to the love we receive from God).
Lessons to learn:
- The position given by man is irrelevant: Although man made her second, God made her first. Leah is forever recognized as the first daughter, the first wife of Jacob and the first to mother his children.
- Focus on your blessings: Leah didn’t find true happiness until she stopped comparing herself to her sister Rachel. She was jealous of the love her younger sister received from her husband. She tried to gain her husbands love through different means but she found true joy in the love she received from God.
- God has a plan for us: Leah and Jacob didn’t plan to get married to each other and their marriage wasn’t without complications but Leah was honored by God. She ended up being the first wife of Jacob and her children led half of the tribes of Israel. Her son Judah was the ancestor of King David and from this same lineage Jesus Christ was born.
- Worship God at all times: Leah was grateful to God for making her fruitful. She was focused on the Lord and was faithful to Him. The names of her children are a tribute to God and her way of glorifying Him.
Ruth
Ruth is one of the few women who have a book named after them. Ruth was a woman who lost her husband and her home and was sent away by her mother-in-law.
She depicts true loyalty and love
Chapter 1:16-17
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
The love and kindness she showed Naomi (the mother of her late husband) after being sent away, is what led to her being favored amongst men. People loved and respected her for her character.
Chapter 2:10-12
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”
11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.
12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
Naomi who received love and care from Ruth urged her to find a good home in return and through this, Ruth was able to remarry and bear a son. Naomi indirectly gained a grandchild who was in later the grandfather of King David.
Lessons to learn:
- Importance of faith: Ruth didn’t abandon Naomi when the situation seemed hopeless. She never wavered and kept going, knowing all would be well at the end.
- Hard work pays off: She worked hard to earn what she wanted instead of waiting for someone to take care of her. Boaz noticed this and favored her even more. She never felt entitled and was always grateful for whatever she received.
- Good character brings blessing: Ruth was a very obedient woman. She listened to the advice of her mother-in-law. She was a humble woman full of integrity and this opened many doors for her. If Ruth was a proud woman who felt better than those around her, her story would have had a different ending.
Eunice
Eunice is the mother of Timothy, the disciple of Apostle Paul. She is a great example of what motherhood should look like.
The bible doesn’t say much about her but this doesn’t reduce her importance. We learn about her through Apostle Paul
2 Timothy:1-5
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.
4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.
5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
She listened to an important command from God and 2 000 years later we are still talking about her. From her story we can learn about the importance of teaching children about God from a young age.
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Thanks to her teachings, her son Timothy is later chosen by apostle Paul to help spread the gospel.
She was a strong woman of faith; converted from Judaism to Christianity together with her mother. Despite what people thought of her or the persecutions she would have gone through as a former jew, she remained faithful to the God she served.
The foundation she instilled in her son prepared him for his journey as a servant of God. Timothy learned about faith through his mother and his life was a reflection of her teachings.
Lessons to learn from her story:
- Raising children in a Godly way: it takes courage and determination to raise children up in a certain way. Eunice didn’t allow the world and her surroundings to decide how she would raise her child. She followed the instructions given by God and stood by it.
- Live what you preach: Eunice didn’t only teach her son the way he should go. She also showed him how a Christian should live. Children learn from the behaviors of adults and not only by the words of their mouth. Apostle Paul talks about the ‘sincere faith’ of Timothy which he got from his mother and grandmother.
- Trust in the Lord: Timothy’s father was a Greek and his mother and grandmother were originally Jews before they converted and yet they remained steady in the lord and didn’t use their circumstances or family issues as an excuse to cut corners. She raised her son in a way that would please God and left the rest into the hands of God.
These women were by no means perfect but even in their imperfections, God showed them mercy. They were blessed in various ways and overcame their challenges.
Faith in the Lord is extremely important but even in times when we lose our faith, God doesn’t give up on us.
Each story has a good and a bad side to it but the Lord has a plan for us all;
Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
As long as we remain faithful to the Lord and keep our eyes set on Him, He will take care of us and provide for our needs.
Stay Blessed x
