Learn from the compelling lives of several women in Scripture.
Peter Nguyen/Unsplash
In her book More Than Enchanting, Jo Saxton examines Scripture to explore what it means to be an influential woman. In doing so, she unpacks the lives of several women whose stories are included in the Bible. In doing so, she suggests, we might “understand our callings . . . resonate with their voices, identify with their stride, and see something of our lives in theirs.” This week, consider these questions as you reflect on the lives of several influential women in Scripture. (To have these and future devotions emailed to you for free, click here.)
Monday, November 7, 2016
Exodus 15:20–21
“Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced. And Miriam sang this song: ‘Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea.’”
Miriam: A Pivotal Prophet
When God spoke through the prophet Micah to remind them of his faithfulness to them in times past, he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam” (Mic. 6:4, NIV).
Broken by the curse of slavery, the Israelites had cried out to God for generations for liberation from the oppression of the Egyptians. The brutality began when Pharaoh became afraid of the sheer number of Israelites in the land. He ordered that every newborn Israelite boy should be killed immediately. When Moses was born, his mother knew it was merely a question of time. So she placed him in a basket on the Nile, hopeful and prayerful that her son would escape. When Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses, a young woman stood watching and waiting. Bravely she approached Pharaoh’s daughter and arranged for her baby brother to be nursed by their mother.
Years later she stood with her brother again, this time to lead God’s people out of Egypt into their freedom. The passage above from Micah teaches us that, many generations after the Exodus, Miriam is clearly seen as a key leader among God’s people at this definitive stage of Israel’s history. She is also described as a prophetess—one who communicates God’s heart, perspective and counsel on a situation and (to use Paul’s definition in 1 Cor. 14:3) comforts, encourages and strengthens the community. In addition, Miriam is a worship leader, leading God’s people with Moses in music and dance after the Egyptian armies are finally defeated in the Red Sea (Ex.15).
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Judges 4:4–5
“Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time. She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment.”
Deborah: A Victorious Leader
The era of the judges was a turbulent one as God’s people lived a cyclical pattern: disobedience to God, foreign invasion, crying out to God in distress, and finally God raising up a leader to bring deliverance. One of those leaders was a woman called Deborah.
