5. Women as Faithful
The next example of honorable women comes in the
stories of two faithful mothers. Both Hannah and Mary the mother of Jesus are
prayerful and devout women of God. Hannah displays a unique depth of human
faith as she prays with eager expectation to be given a son, although she is
unable to have children. The Lord hears her, which implies that her prayers
matter enough to God for him to listen to her complaint and her sorrow. Not
only does she display faithfulness in prayer and worship, but also in her
response to God giving her a son, Samuel. After she raises her son through his
infancy, she dedicates his life to the Lord, trusting him to take care of her
precious son.
Similarly, Mary’s trust in the Lord is evident in her
reaction to God’s plan for her life. Upon hearing the news that she is to be
the mother of the long-expected Messiah, Mary responds in a unique and tender
way. Without doubting that God can or will perform this miracle, her only
question is how. Implied in the question itself is the assertion that she
believes God will use her as he said: something that, for most people, would be
hard to swallow. Mary dutifully raises her son Jesus, never doubting his divine
nature throughout all of recorded scripture. In fact, it is Mary that
instigates the first miracle of Christ, prompting him to display his power and
authority. Like Hannah, Mary reveals many ways a woman can utilize the gifts of
faith God has given her.
6. Women as Valuable
One might think that a godly woman
must fit a certain paradigm, one that includes status and saintliness. However,
the next two examples are women of incredible value, not for their place in
society or sterling reputation but rather for their strength of character that
makes them unique in God’s eyes. Neither woman is Jewish, and neither is seen
as worth anything in her society, and yet both women are included in the
lineage of Christ. The first woman is Rahab, the great, great, great
grandmother of King David. This woman is introduced as a prostitute in the city
of Jericho, where she harbors Israelite spies. After hiding them from the city
guards, she speaks of the greatness of their God and his reputation and
requests to be protected when the Israelites overtake the city. Because of her
courage, she and her entire family are spared. It is incredible that a woman of
such disrepute could be seen as worth saving by the God of another nation. And
yet God, in an extraordinary act of both mercy and kindness, found her faith
sincere and her heart worth something. To the Lord, even the lowest members of
society are created in his image, and a prostitute can look just as much like
Jesus as Joshua. Rahab is mentioned in the Hebrews 11 “Hall of Faith” as one
who is justified by her faith in God. Because of her faith and value in the
eyes of God, she is not only saved, but also used as an integral part of the
lineage of the Messiah, as his great (x30) grandmother, and all without a
coveted Jewish heritage.
Our second non-Jewish woman actually has her own
book in the Bible: Ruth. Interestingly enough, Ruth becomes the daughter-in-law
of Rahab by marrying her son, Boaz. However, before that point, she was simply a
Moabite widow living with her current mother-in-law in a culture in which she
did not belong. Boaz, who is the archetype of Christ, sees Ruth as valuable and
worth redeeming despite her lowly position as a beggar in his field. He goes to
great lengths to redeem her from poverty and to restore an inheritance for her
future. In the process, he also marries her! Ruth is not only valuable in the
story’s parameters, but also in the context of all of scripture, because of the
ways her story parallels our relationship with Christ.
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