According to Cambridge dictionary patience is; the ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed. There are a few women who come to mind when reading this definition and I’ll love to study them more in depth.
Rebekah
Rebekah is an example of yet another barren wife who will later give birth to great people. She is the wife of Isaac (Son of Abraham and Sarah) and the mother of Jacob and Esau. In this case Isaac interceded on behalf of his wife and the Lord heard his prayers.
Genesis 25:21
21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.
Not only did God hear their prayer, He even gave them a revelation of how their children were going to be
Genesis 25:23
23 The Lord said to 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.”
For a very long time I never liked Rebekah because of the way she manipulated her husband and made Jacob get his brother’s blessings instead but after reading the story again, I believe she did this because of what she heard from the Lord. She tried to take matters into her own hands instead of allowing God to take the lead.
It’s hard to decide if she truly was a patient person based on the whole story because:
- She trusted and waited upon the Lord while she was barren. She had faith that He wouldn’t forsake her
- She got scared after seeing how much her husband loved Esau and took matters into her ow hands (Genesis 25:28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.)
If her manipulation was a part of God’s plan, then it would be hard to call her impatient but if God had a better plan before she stepped in, then maybe their story would have had a better and a more peaceful outcome (Jacob wouldn’t have run away from home in fear).
Rachel
We know the saying ‘God the father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’. Apart from the fact that these three men are from the same lineage, their wives also all had issues with fertility.
Rachel was the wife of Jacob (the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham). She was also barren for a while and following the pattern we’ve seen before, she was a mother to great nations (2 of the 12 tribes of Israel).
We studied the story of her sister (Leah) previously who got married to Jacob first due to family customs. But unlike Leah’s experience, Jacob loved Rachel (it was love at first sight) and he worked for her father for 14 years so he could marry her.
Rachel was frustrated after all the hardships she and her husband had to go through (waiting for 14 years before they could marry, dealing with a jealous sister who was fruitful, and being barren for years). And although she was patient in general, there came a point where she had enough
Genesis 30:1
When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
Her patience ceased from that moment on as she gave her servant to her husband so she could bear children through her (Just like Sarah the wife of Abraham).
She begins to compete with her sister and they fight it out in a subtle manner (through the names of their children)
Genesis 30:4-13
4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her,
5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son.
6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.
7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.
12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.
13 Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
This is yet another woman whose patience can be called questionable because we acknowledge her patience for waiting for 14 years (5 110 days) before she could get married even though she knew from day 1 who her husband was, then waiting again for several years after finally getting married she before she could conceive. But then again she also took matters into her own hands while ‘waiting’ upon the Lord.
- Although she was impatience, the favor of the Lord was still upon her (Genesis 30:22: 22 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. ).
- She showed gratitude for what God did for her (Genesis 30: 23- 24: 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24 She named him Joseph, and said, “May the Lord add to me another son).
- She never stopped praying to God and believing in His power: In the verses above we can see that God heard her prayers, meaning that she kept on praying unto Him until he answered her.
Hannah
This is the story of another barren woman who later had a great child (I’m starting to see a pattern here). She was the first wife of Elkanah (whom he loved very much).
1 Samuel 1:2
2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
Although her story is similar to the other women who endured in their suffering under barrenness and matrimonial rivalry, she was the only one who promised God that she will give her child back if she was blessed with one.
1 Samuel 1:10-11
10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.
11 And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
She had a genuinely good character aside from being patient
1 Samuel 1:13-17
13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk
14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord.
16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.
When Eli, a priest, saw Hannah praying he rebuked her thinking she was drunk. Not every woman deep in sorrow would appreciate a stranger making rude remarks while they’re praying their hearts out to God and yet she was poised, polite and respectful to the priest. And in return he blessed her after realizing his mistake.
Hannah prayed until God answered her prayers but more importantly she waited for God to do HIS work. She didn’t take laws into her own hands unlike the women mentioned previously.
1 Samuel 1:20
20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
Hannah prayed to God, made a promise to Him, got an answer from God and she fulfilled her promise. Many believers fail to do this last part after making a vow to God in moments of desperation and sorrow.
1 Samuel 1: 27-28
27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.
28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
Lessons to learn from Hannah:
- She poured her entire heart out to God in humility: God knows our hearts and our thoughts but it is still important that we use our own mouths to ask for what we want (Matthew 7:7). Hannah prayed to God and told Him all that was bothering her without blaming God or being angry with Him. She was aware of the fact that we’re under the grace of God and He decides what to do for us and when He’ll do it (1 Samuel 1:11: And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”)
- She patiently waited upon the Lord: Despite being looked down on by Elkanah’s second wife and the shame of being barren, Hannah still waited on God. She didn’t get her husband to sleep with a maid, nor did she consult other gods.
- She was a faithful woman: She was connected to God on a personal level, hence the authenticity of her prayer and the response of God. She spoke to Him, made a promise and acted on her promise after God favored her. This shows the level of spiritual maturity she had.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth (Elisabeth) is the mother of the famous John the Baptist, the aunt of our Lord Jesus Christ and the wife of the priest Zachariah.
Elizabeth and her husband were devoted followers of God’s word and they were deemed righteous. Despite all their righteousness, they still had an unanswered prayer which was that of the fruit of the womb
Luke 1:7
But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
After waiting upon the Lord for years, they were finally blessed with a son. In verse 24-25 we can read how she dealt with the news of her pregnancy.
24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
I found these two verses contradictory the first time I read it because why would she hide herself for months after God chose to favor her?
Multiple theories came to mind;
- She wanted to wait until she was at the stage of a stable pregnancy and the risk of a miscarriage would be lower
- She wanted to enjoy the blessing bestowed upon her in private before sharing her news with the world
- She didn’t want to speak out yet since her husband was mute at the time (a punishment for not believing in the message of angel Gabriel.
By remaining upright and not grumbling to God in her time of bareness, she was blessed with a great child.
When her much younger cousin Mary came to visit her, Elizabeth was genuinely happy for her instead of being jealous. She neither compared the status of her own son with that of Mary nor bitter that Mary conceived at a younger age.
Luke 1: 42-43
42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Even though Elizabeth and her husband were patiently waiting upon the Lord, they didn’t stop praying until their prayer was answered and they heard from God:
Luke 1:3
3 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.
What lessons can I take from this short story?
- Being right with God: this doesn’t mean your life will be without issues, but it isn’t an excuse to stop doing that which is right.
- Have faith in the love of God; no matter how long it takes, He will answer us and not leave us in shame.
- Rejoice with other in their time of joy; the joy of another doesn’t diminish ours.
- Be humble: Elizabeth didn’t go around telling the world that her son will be John the Baptist. Instead she chose to honor God in private and enjoy the blessing she received from God in humility.
I would have loved to seen other examples of women who were patient in the bible without having fertility issues but I can also understand while these are the examples we see. Apart from giving birth to great leaders, child-bearing is an important part of womanhood. I believe this is God’s way of saying: ‘even though the world sees you as defective due to a shortcoming, I know who you are and your worth’. Any woman that can overcome barrenness, is a super woman.
I pray that the Lord will comfort us in our time of distress and that He will compensate us for all the time we’ve lost in life.
Stay Blessed x
