Women in the Old Testament -

One of the greatest challenges in reading about women in the Old Testament is to avoid laying our 21st Century sensibilities and political correctness over the ancient laws of Israel. I have found it helpful to categorize the women in terms of RISK:

• women at risk
• women perceived as a risk and dangerous
• women willing to risk their lives for a person or cause

When I think of women at risk I am reminded of those who have no choice.

• Exodus 1 - The moments of silence leading up to screams of terror while their children are murdered by Pharaoh’s henchmen.
• Ruth - Naomi is particularly vulnerable. A widow without the means of support, and in a land of famine, she makes the lonely journey back to the land of her family. She is prepared to die, for she is without a husband or sons to protect her. Yet, God provides a way through her daughter-in-law, a woman who is willing to thrash out a living as a gleaner and walk as her companion.
• Ezra - the foreign wives who are sent back to their homelands during the purging of the tribes in Ezra.
• Numbers 31:9 - the nameless women who are simply listed as the “Spoils of War” in the inventory of the long march to nowhere. They will live out the rest of their lives as slaves, little more than a line on an inventory page.

One doesn’t have to work very hard to find women who are perceived as a risk. Women experienced the unfortunate prejudice of being perceived as:

• Temptresses like Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11)
• Sexual predators (Genesis 19:30-36)
• Deceivers (Genesis 39:7-20)

And they were therefore worthy of special punishment:

• Stoning for the unproven virgin (Deut. 22:13-21)
• A magical potion is forced on a woman to prove she was unfaithful (Num.5:24)
• The Witch of Endor carries Saul to his doom (1 Samuel 28).
• It doesn’t take long to fill out this list with the likes of Delilah, Queen Jezebel, Jael, Queen Athaliah, and even Tamar, who succeeds at deceiving her father-in-law and has a child in order to retain the line of her husband.

Fortunately, women were also described as leaders who are willing to risk.

• Exodus 1 - Think of the midwives in Egypt who were able to outsmart the Pharaoh and save the lives of the Jewish new-born boys.
• Exodus 2 - The birth mother to Moses floats her baby boy down the river to circumvent Pharaoh’s order and save her own son.
• Joshua 2 - Can we forget Rahab, a common prostitute who hides two Israelite Spies, saving their lives and who later saves the lives of her family by misdirecting some soldiers?
• Judges 4-5 - Deborah is both a judge and a leader in the army.
• 1 Samuel 19:11-13 - David’s first wife Michal tricked soldiers and engineered David’s escape.
• Numbers 27 - I am particularly fond of the story of the women who fought to keep their lands when their husbands were killed in war, reminding me of current situations in Africa where women battle with family members who take away their land upon the death of a husband.

Each one of these people was willing to risk, and in that risk was redemption.

Taking Risks because of Courage and Leadership

But perhaps one of the greatest examples of leadership comes from an unlikely candidate who is willing to risk her life to save a people; an Israelite orphan who is chosen by the King of Persia to be his Queen. Hadassa, later known as Esther, finds herself in a precarious position, for Haman has manipulated the king into signing a document to kill the Jews. If she chooses silence her people perish; if she speaks boldly, she is subject to death for speaking out before the king. It is “for such a time as this,” that she offers sacrificial leadership. She chooses to speak and save her people. Not only are the Israelites given back their lives, but permanent rulings are put in place to protect the Israelites and avoid further prejudice. All sorts of transgression are depicted: speaking up, intermarriage, possible deceit, authority, testimony. Esther risks these things for a God she hardly knows, and an entire race is preserved.

Taking Risks for Compassion and Faithfulness

The same willingness to risk is exhibited in the Moabite woman, Ruth. Homeless, penniless, without the protection of a husband, she is at the mercy of foreign family members during the time of Judges. She must fend for herself and provide for Naomi, her mother-in-law, who has already renamed herself “Mara,” meaning bitter. God grants her wisdom and immense strength in faithfulness. In her compassion for Naomi, she is noticed by Boaz, who in turn takes a risk in allowing this foreigner to get closer to the threshing floor. He grants her privilege, offering generous gifts. Finally, he is willing to go before the court as the kinsman-redeemer and ransom her away from another family member who has first right of refusal to marry her. By agreeing to purchase this right to be her husband he has in effect redeemed her from life as a destitute, sinful woman of the streets, instead offering her honor and dignity. Through Obed, their child, she becomes part of the royal line of King David; and later, Christ himself. It is God’s story but also a story of grace and faithfulness told through the eyes of a grateful woman.

The Old Testament in the New Testament

When I read the Old Testament, I am reminded that so much of what I read is God revealing his eternal plan. Yes, the stories are grizzly at times, full of horrific pictures and grim prejudice, but I am constantly reminded of how the strict laws and customs were transformed into stories of women’s forgiveness and transformation in the New Testament, particularly in the gospels. Consider the following:

The woman who suffers from the hemorrhage for 12 years, considered forever unclean, is healed when she touches the robe of Christ. (Matthew 9)

The Samaritan woman, married five times and living with another man, who dares to go out alone in the heat of day to fetch water- encounters the living water of Christ. (John 4)

The woman caught in adultery, ready to die when Christ calls her judges to accountability about their own sin and the stones are tossed away. (John 8)

The widow who walks alongside her dead son, destined to destitution and poverty, and Christ brings her son back to life. (Luke 7)

Women like Mary and Martha at the feet of the rabbi Jesus who are considered disciples and who testify to the risen Lord. (John 20)

Each of these stories contains a prohibition under Mosaic Law, and yet each woman is overcome with the grace and compassion of a Savior who is not afraid to risk and go face to face with any Pharisee. When I am reminded of the sacrifice Christ made, and how he came not to condemn the law but to fulfill it, then my reading of the whole story – even the hard passages of the Old Testament - begins to makes sense. I can begin to see the line that connects the two testaments, and can better understand the role of Christ. All the sacrificial laws, altars, blood, oxen, lambs and goats eventually vanish. Only the Lamb of God remains as the eternal sacrifice.

Keep reading.

Don’t give up. Every page contains a treasure.

We’re nearly half way there!

Pastor Libby