Perhaps you’ve heard a rumor that the God-of-the-Old-Testament didn’t value or protect women? Well, I am amazed by how very un-true that rumor is, which I am discovering firsthand during my current read-through of the Bible. Back in June, I started a 6-month reading plan (this one) using the CSB Study Bible for Women (this one). I highly recommend this study Bible; it is excellent! Jumping out of the pages at me–literally, because they have a spotlight on each one–are the women of the Old Testament. God noticed these women. Their lives are recorded. And, do you know what I notice most of all?
They are amazingly COURAGEOUS.
My word for the year! Courage! These women are just remarkable–21 women from the book of Numbers to 2 Samuel. Can you list 21 courageous women from the Old Testament? I don’t know that I could have! You better believe I’m going to tell you all about them. These women deserve to be remembered. (And this isn’t even an exhaustive list! It’s just women from seven books of the Bible and doesn’t include prominent women like the patriarch wives or Queen Esther.) Let’s learn a little about their stories, shall we?
1-5. Daughters of Zelophehad: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah (Numbers 27 & 36, Joshua 17)
* boldly asked for what they needed and took care of their family’s future
6. Rahab (Joshua 2)
* recognized the Israelite’s God was the true God, saved the spies, and was rescued from the fall of Jericho
7. Acsah, Caleb’s daughter (Joshua 15, Judges 1)
* asked her father for a field and the springs, thereby taking care of her family
8. Deborah (Judges 4 & 5)
* prophetess, judge-ruler and military leader
9. Jael (Judges 4)
* resourceful & brave: killed a military commander by putting a spike through his head
10. Abimelech’s killer (Judges 9)
* dropped a millstone on his head from a tower roof, killing him and changing the course of a war
11. Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11)
* a sad story, but still she honorably fulfilled her father’s vow
12. Manoah’s wife / Samson’s mother (Judges 13-14)
* the angel of the Lord appeared to her first and she was a faithful mother
13-14. Ruth & Naomi (the book of Ruth)
* need I write more? . . . these two women show such love, devotion & courage
15. Hannah (1 Samuel 1-2)
* prayed for a child and then courageously gave him to the Lord Side note: one of my favorite characters in the Bible.
16. Abigail (1 Samuel 25)
* acted swiftly and decisively to save her entire family from King David’s (justified) wrath, later became his wife
17. a wise woman of Tekoa (2 Samuel 14)
* the military commander brought her all the way from Tekoa to use her wit, perception & cunning to help King David change his mind about his son
18-19. two unnamed women in an intelligence network used to take information to King David who was on the run from his son (2 Samuel 17) Side note: I can’t make this stuff up! The Bible is amazing!
* one was a servant girl; the other was “the wife of a man in Bahurim” and she hid two men in a well when they were carrying an important message
20. a wise woman of Abel (2 Samuel 20)
* intervened in an attack on her city: convinced the city leaders to cut off a man’s head (“wise counsel”), threw it over the wall and saved her city
21. Rizpah (2 Samuel 21)
* bravely watched over the bodies of her dead sons to protect them from disgrace, which moved King David to give honorable burial to her entire family
Please, you must go read these stories for yourself. Such bravery, cunning, wisdom, devotion, resourcefulness and courage displayed in these women. See, God honored women and used them mightily for His purposes, as He still does today!
