The Word
Women have played many important roles in the Bible. Some were queens, maids, servants, foreigners, prostitutes and slaves. In this study we will outline just a few of the many examples found in the Bible.
Ruth was a young woman of Moab. She married a man named Chilion, who was an Israelite living in Moab. After about ten years Chilion died, the same as both his father and brother. This left Ruth and her sister-in-law, Orphah, alone with their mother-in-law, Naomi.
Naomi had no husband or sons to care for her, and she was living in a land that was not her own. So, she decided to return to Israel and finish out her life there. This was a hard decision for Naomi. Without a husband, she was left with no one to care for her. The custom would have had her son, the eldest, care for her, but she had none. Naomi would have had no one to care for her. She would have to fend for herself. The public welfare system of the day was non-existent. She would have starved to death in the country she was living, Moab, because she was a foreigner, a Jew. So Naomi decided to return to Israel:
"When she heard in Moab that the L-rd had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there." (Ruth 1:6)
Naomi told her two daughters-in-law to return to their father's homes because she could not provide husbands for them, being too old. Orphah left for home after considering the matter and saying her farewells. Ruth, however, did not leave:
"At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her." (Ruth 1:14)
Now comes one of the most touching moments in the Bible. Ruth decides to sacrifice her future to take care of her aging mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth makes the following statement:
"But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your G-d my G-d. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the L-rd deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."" (Ruth 1:16-17)
Ruth's dedication to Naomi was unconditional. So the two women return to Israel and Ruth goes out to glean in the fields for food. But, as G-d had really ordained, Ruth found herself in the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi.
Ruth 2:3 "So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech."
The details are too lengthy to include here, so I suggest you read the little book of Ruth yourself. However, there are some details that I would like to point out. First, Boaz and Ruth do get together and become husband and wife. Second, Naomi sells her property and is able to support herself on the proceeds. Third, Ruth has children, and Naomi gets the grandchildren she longed for.
Ruth 4:13-17 "So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the L-rd enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the L-rd, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth." Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David."
And, not only was Ruth the great-grandmother of King David, but the L-rd Yeshua HaMashiach was also a son of David, through the virgin Miriam, who was also a descendant of King David. G-d works His will though seemingly unrelated events, but they are really not unrelated, to G-d.
"Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided." (Judges 4:4-5)
Deborah was a prophetess and a judge over Israel. Not all the prophets were men, and Deborah is one of the women mentioned in the Bible who was a prophetess. In addition to holding the office of prophetess, she was also the judge over Israel. To be a judge over Israel was one of the highest honors G-d could place upon a person. Deborah was chosen by G-d as a judge. The office of judge was not exactly the same as it is today. A judge in Israel was a representative of G-d. Israel was a theocracy at that time. In other words, G-d was the ruler and king. So, a judge answered to G-d. The judge was not a priest, whose job it was to act as an intercessor between G-d and man. The judge was responsible for matters pertaining to the civil and criminal law, as established by G-d.
During the period of time when the Jews were exiles from the land of Israel, they were residents of all nations. The Persian empire was a world power following the reign of the Babylonians. After many years of captivity the Jews continued to live and work in the other nations. Esther was a young Jewish woman whom G-d chose to protect and preserve the lives of all Jews. Esther, through a series of event, became queen of Persia.
Esther risked her life to expose an evil plot, by Hamon, to murder all the Jewish people. Her courageous action not only saved the Jews but led to the destruction of their enemies. Her story can, and should be, read in the book that bears her name.
Miriam was chosen by G-d to be the one through whom the Savior of the World would be born. Isaiah, the prophet, foretold the event a thousand years before:
"Therefore the L-rd himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)
Elsewhere in this book, I have dealt with the term virgin and the fact that it means exactly what it says, virgin. The original Hebrew word that is used is almah
From Strong's Concordance: 5959. 'almah, al-maw'; fem. of H5958; a lass (as veiled or private):--damsel, maid, virgin.
This high honor is without a doubt one of the highest honors ever given to a mortal.
Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001 by James E. Ball