Job

Job was a righteous man... God loved him and he loved God... he was prosperous... he had a good life... all in a few days... the enemy went to God to say that Job only loved God because of what God has given him and done for him.. God knew that was not true so he allowed satan to 'test' Job.. to take everything from him slowly... even his health.. he lost his possessions.. he lost his children.. he lost his health... and on top of all that misery his wife tells him to just curse God and die.. which he still will not do... despite what he feels... or what has been done to him..

then he has 3 friends who have determined to come and ride this out with him.. off and on... and tell him that he needs to figure out what his sin is and to repent from it so that God will be good to him again... and he has thought and prayed and he is sure that he has not done anything that he has not asked forgiveness of.. he doesn't know what is wrong.. or why this is happening.. but he knows he has been true to God...

what about us... have you ever been in a situation where you have not sinned.. yet you are persecuted.. you cannot leave the situation... you get no reprieve from the pain it causes you... and you wonder where God is.. you don't doubt Him.. you just wonder why you have to go through this... it doesn't seem fair.. but God is not fair.. He did not ask you what you felt when He chose you... He just determined that you will walk through it...

and while we wonder if there is any end in sight... look to chapter 40 where the voice of God comes to Job... I have no idea how long it takes to get to 40 chapters... but I know it is a long time in my own life... and I am not at chapter 40 yet.. where God takes me out of this darkness where I cannot see and I cannot hear and I have to rely on what He said while it was still light... I have to believe that God is not a man who changes His mind as the scripture says... He will stand true to what He said and by my chapter 42... just like Job... God will restore me... at this point.. all I really need is the lights turned back on... I would be thankful for God's hand of blessing but more important to me than that would be the sound of His voice... the touch of His love... that is what I really desire to be restored... as I am sure Job did too... yet God will give us so much more than what we need if we will only be faithful till He gives us the relief that we need...

trust God.. even on the hard days... it will be to your benefit...

Elizabeth

we find the story of the mother of John the Baptist in Luke 1. she is an old woman and her husband is an old man. well past child bearing years it would seem. her husband is a priest in the temple. the angel Gabriel comes to him to tell him that God has seem his faithfulness and intends to bless him with a special child. this man, Zechariah is his name, doubts that this could be real. and for this doubt he is stricken with silence until the child is born.

it seems that Elizabeth has no such fears and she is thankful and gives God all the credit for this miracle. Luke 1:25 “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.”

she had been looked upon with disgrace because she could not have children. in those times that seemed to be looked upon as though God was not pleased with you. I guess it actually is still looked at as though something is wrong with you. maybe not a curse, but surely as an abnormality.

we often feel as we get older that we are no longer of use to God. or that He will not use us in a spectacular way. instead of doubting God, what would happen if we would all begin to believe all that He puts in our spirit? can you imagine the massive move of God that would transpire if we would just believe Him and take His promises as truth and be thankful.

God chose to use her. He chose to bless her with a favored son and she was thankful.

Judith

okay... this woman is not in the bible we read daily.. she is in the so called Lost Books of the Bible...

she is hailed as a hero.. yet I wonder...

she lived in the time when the Assyrians were attacking Israel.. she is a widow and apparently a beautiful woman... it is first stated that she lived alone, well.. she had a maid that lived with her.. she was left well taken care of by her late husband who had been very wealthy... she was to have given up the rich clothing she wore when she was married and living a meager existance in prayer and supplication... that is the beginning of the story...

in comes this general of the Assyrians named Holophernes... and the Israelites were afraid of him... and they did not go and attack him because of their fear... she hears the Jewish leaders talking and they are not talking of coming against this general who leads under the king Nebuchadnezzar... so as they are not intending to do anything about this man... she takes it upon herself and she goes out of the city gate at night... goes to the Assyrian camp.. and says she has information for Holophernes...

she has put on all her rich clothing that she used to wear when her husband was alive... made herself attractive under the guise of seduction... and is led into this man... he gets drunk... she cuts his head off and carries it back to the Israelites....

okay... here are the questions/issues with this story... that are still in question with us today... does the end justify the means?

women throughout the bible are not given leadership roles... this is just a bible fact.. I am sorry if you do not like it.. a man is to be the head... all the time.. women really were not to be outspoken like we are... they were to be in submission to a man... as are we... so... she had remained humble and lowly all that time.. which was right... then she dresses herself up for seduction... of a 'pagan' man... and cuts his head off... taking the lead role... the role of a liar.. the role of a murderer... yes... she did cut the head off of someone trying to attack God's people... but does that make it right? should it not have been a man that stepped up and led the country to victory? and while we as women like to say that men are not stepping into leadership roles... well of course they aren't.. when do we ever give them an opportunity to? are we quiet enough long enough to allow it to happen? and trust me.. GOD controls the heart of a man... when GOD was ready to step a man up to be against that general... He would have...

Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

Proverbs 7: 10 Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. 11 (She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home; 12 now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.) 13 She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said: 14 "I have fellowship offerings [a] at home; today I fulfilled my vows. 15 So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! 16 I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. 17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. 18 Come, let's drink deep of love till morning; let's enjoy ourselves with love! 19 My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. 20 He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon."

we as women need to be cautious what type of woman we are portraying... are we loud and rebellious, always trying to gain control? or are we God fearing women that allow God to be the true Head of our lives?

Zipporah

Zipporah was the wife of Moses... I have to give interpretation here because there is conflicting interpretations... the bible only has scripture about Zipporah in Exodus 4 and Exodus 18... surely you should read and determine what you gather for yourself...

Moses married Zipporah from the land of Midian.. her father was Jethro, he was a priest... Moses met her when he fled from the land of Egypt after he killed an Egyptian and was confronted about it by two Hebrews...

she saved the life of Moses... in Jewish law... the male child was to be circumcised on the 8th day... this is the outward sign of man accepting the covenant with God.. and as Moses was working on the whole freeing the people of Israel from Egypt thing... he overlooked this... and God was going to kill him.. (Exodus 4:24-26) but Zipporah, his wife.. took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and threw it on Moses' foot (although some interpret feet to mean on his genitals), covering him in the blood.. and God relented... and didn't kill him..

one of the roles of a wife is to cover her husband.. sometimes he might get so caught up in the day to day working (as providing is their role) that they often forget details.. and if we as wives don't keep them covered... God may strike them down... I don't think women fully understand the role of the wife... sometimes we feel as though our role is not as important because a man is to be the head and we desire to control everything... but that is not our position... that is the responsiblity of the man... but imagine if we are not doing our part... what God has ordained for us to do... covering him in prayer... supporting him in his decisions... (even if we don't really agree) I think women don't realize that your husband will not be all that he can be if you are not all that you are supposed to be...

then.. in chapter 18 (still in Exodus) Moses sends Zipporah back to her father... now that is really disturbing to me... because this is the last time that she is mentioned... and I am wondering if he sent her back to her father to live forever...

later in numbers 12 it says Moses was married to a Cushite woman... now I had always assumed these two women were the same woman but I am unsure if these are the same woman... I am not sure if Cush and Midian would be the same place... some scholars say they are the same woman... others say they are not...

if they are the same woman, Moses later had to deal with Miriam and Aaron being mad about him marrying a dark skinned woman and God came to the rescue and struck Miriam with leprosy... Moses prayed it off of her but it was a lesson hard learned I am sure...

my thought is that while she was not an Israelite woman she was obviously a woman that served the God of Israel.. she was a good wife... there is nothing negative written about her at all... she was a woman that covered her husband in prayer and in action... she dealt with racism and hatred from her own husband's family... above all.. .she was a woman of God...

Hosea

Hosea was a prophet... he was called by God to go and marry a prostitute... and he really did it... and she was unfaithful to him... he even went to get her back from off another man... and he had to BUY her back...

before I even start on the spirit side of this... let's look at the human side... have you ever had someone cheat on you and sleep with another person? there are not many things that are as devastating as that... it seems to go much deeper in you than the physical betrayal... it causes you to doubt your self worth... your looks.. your value in general... it also causes you to doubt that this person ever really cared about you to begin with... we can say that it is just a physical act but when you really love someone... it is hard to push that thought from the brain into the heart... and this man is called by God to go back and get her again... does he trust her? could he possibly? does he still love her? can you imagine the amount of love and commitment it would require to actually go through this?

now spiritually... this is what each and every one of us has done to the God that we supposedly love... we keep putting the calling He has placed upon our lives on hold so that we can continue doing what we really want to be doing... this is spiritual adultery... and we expect Him to be faithful... to be there every time we call on Him... we expect Him to love us despite what we do or do not do... but are we loving anyone in that same manner that we want to be loved...

it has been said that this didn't really happen... that it is just an analogy used to help us to understand what God feels about us sometimes... I don't believe that.. I believe that each and every one of us... in our relationships in life are living out an example of what goes on with God and man... but we don't see it that way... if we take the focus off of us and onto God... what would we see? how do we treat God in comparison to how He treats us...

the story never tells us if the woman changes her ways... it doesn't tell us that she ends up loving Hosea... he may have lived his entire life fathering children that were not his in the name of the Lord... he may have lived his life with a woman that never loved him... never wanted him.. to be an example of the love of God to God's people... how many of us love God this seriously?

Bathsheba & David

The story starts out saying... in the time when kings go to war... David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army... So David, the king, didn't go... Lesson #1. Try not to be in the wrong place at the wrong time...
So this woman, Bathsheba, her husband is away at war. She is taking a bath and David sees her and likes what he sees. So far, she has no control over any of that. David sends for her, she purifies herself and goes with the men he has sent and he sleeps with her. Again, she has no control over this. He is the king. A woman at that time was less than a slave and had no rights whatsoever. He is not just a man. He is the king of the whole country. Now lets be a little real here, they say David was VERY easy on the eyes (eye candy they call it some places...) and I think David was a very appealing man in personality. He certainly had plently of women. Jonathan loved him. He had a heart after God's own heart. He was obviously a good man. So maybe this wasn't too hard to fall into. She was married though, so no matter what the case, it was wrong. He defiled himself. He defiled the woman. He brought sin between both of them and God. Wouldn't you just know the woman becomes pregnant. Now we don't know here if it was especially good and he kept going back or if God caused this to happen on the very first hit. So now, David needs to come up with another plan... Lesson #2. Don't make a bad situation worse.
So David, Mr. Slick, decides to call the husband back to sleep with the woman and deceive him into thinking it is the husband's child... Now let's look at all the ways that is horrific. 1. The child is the king's child and will never get any of the benefits due it. 2. The woman now has to be intimate with another man, yes, this one is her husband, but that is nasty either way to be jumping between men. 3. This man, if he really did sleep with the wife, would believe he has a child and it really is not his. 4. David, first you just had to have the woman, now you want to just throw her to the street. Obviously having no feelings whatsoever, ready to cast her off like an unwanted jacket for whoever would wear her next. (definitely annoyed with David right now)
The husband, being a man of INTEGRITY (where was David's integrity when needed???) does not even go home, feels too wrong because his soldier friends are out fighting so how would he be sleeping up under his beautiful wife... that he doesn't even know just got up off David... Ends up David sends the man to the front lines because he refused to sleep with the woman or even go home. Can we imagine how sick this woman must be feeling right about now? I'm am betting her feelings toward David are not so favorable right here. The man goes to the front lines and is killed. David then takes the woman back to the palace. Lesson #3. Two wrongs don't make a right.
Bathsheba goes to the palace, has a son to David. But God, (always fatal words) does not have a good feeling about all this. He struck the child with illness. David has asked forgiveness of the sin, this is the consequence to the sin. David acts like he is about to die, not eating and wailing in prayer, for 7 days, then the child dies. David then gets up. Lesson #4. There is always consequences to your sin.
So David then goes and comforts the wife, Bathsheba. Issues with this part. For SEVEN days you laid on the floor not caring that the wife is about to fall apart. Not only has she recently lost a husband, now she has lost a son too. ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR LUST AND SELFISHNESS.... He lays with her again (oh yeah, that is surely the right thing to do...) She gets pregnant again. Gives birth to Solomon. Wisest man ever born.Lesson #5. God is always good to us. His mercy endures forever.
Isn't God amazing the way He turns an ugly situation better? Thank God David repented. Thank God David married her and didn't just leave her to the wolves. Thank God He is willing to give her another son. This time a son of covenant and promise. God is good in spite of us....

Mary Magdalene

This might be a controversial one...
Who really was Mary Magdalene?
Biblically... Per Luke 8:1-3 Mary was the woman that Jesus sent seven demons out of. She, along with some other women, financially supported the ministry of Jesus and the disciples. It is also stated in all four of gospels that Mary Magdalene was at the cross when Jesus was crucified. It is stated that she went to the tomb the next morning to anoint the body of Christ with oils and spices and He was gone. She is the first person He appeared to. She tried to hug Him and He told her that she couldn't touch His body because He had not yet ascended to the Father. He told her to go tell the disciples that He has risen. That is what we know from the bible that we read.
Here is where the controversy could start. This is a woman that was with Jesus and the disciples much of the time. If you look closely at the picture done of the Lord's supper, the person next to Jesus, with the red on, appears to be a woman. Of course this could be just the artist's interpretation. And from my personal viewpoint, that woman looks as though she could be pregnant. That is just my opinion. When the bible was being put together, religious leaders were very selective in what they put into our bible. Their reasons might have been pure. Part of the reason stated is so that people do not have doubt in their faith. Part of the reason may have been to lead people in the way they 'see'. There are many other ancient manuscripts that can be read and much of them agree with our bible.
Mary Magdalene wrote such a manuscript and some of it was burned so that you cannot determine what is really said. I have read what is in this manuscript, or what is left of it. Some of it is conversation between her and Jesus before He ascended. Basically in this writing all that is said that He told her was to go and teach the teachings that He had taught them. Teaching people about God and teaching that Jesus was the Messiah. Peter was angry with her and told her that Jesus would not have appeared first to a mere woman and that He would not have told her to go tell the good news because she was a woman. That right there doesn't sound all that far fetched to me.
Now there are also writings stating that Mary and Jesus were married. There is supposedly documentation of a daughter born and that Mary Magdalene and Jesus are the parents. There is no biblical basis for this story or this belief. There are churches that are said to have ancient documentation of these things. People sometimes have a hard time believing this story to be possible. Somehow they feel it would make Jesus sinful. I am not really understanding that idea. Why would Jesus being married and having a child with his wife make him sinful? I think it might be the catholics that are against this as they also feel that priests are to be celibate. (we can see where that is getting them...) I don't know if any of this is true or if it is folklore. I don't have a problem with Jesus loving a woman and marrying her. I don't have a problem with him having a child. I don't think any of those things make Him wrong or less pure. If anything, that would be a sign to me that God really does not desire for any of us to be alone. The thing that makes that story somewhat believable to me is that she was at the tomb to anoint him. It is written that in those days the only one that could have gone to the tomb would have been the next of kin. Which would be the wife. Or the mother. If she saw Jesus first, then what would have made them let her into the tomb?
The thing that bothers me is that He told her to go and tell the story. Some people feel that is a basis for women to being called into ministry/preaching. I have a problem with that. I am not telling you that I am right, only that scripture tells me that women are not to be in a position of authority. I believe there are women who are called to evangelize and to teach. I just don't hear the whole pastor thing. Again, I am not saying I am right. I am just saying this is what I read biblically. Women tend to make emotional decisions, myself included and that can sometimes cause problems if you are in a position of authority.
One thing is certain. Mary Magdalene was a servant of Jesus. She put her money where her heart was, into His ministry. There is nothing written anywhere that would lead you to believe that she was not a good woman, a Christian woman.