Women In The Bible Who Made A Positive Impact
The following biblical women can teach us a lot about faithfulness, courage, leadership, and wisdom. Their stories are as unique as the women of today, and the lessons we can learn from them just as impactful!
1 Jochebed
She is the wife of Amram, a Levite, and the mother of Aaron, Miriam, and Moses .
As a mother, she had to sacrifice and entrust her youngest sons life in Gods hand. She gave birth to him during the Israelites dark days, at a time when the Pharaoh issued a decree to kill all Hebrew baby boys in the land by throwing them into the Nile River. For three months, she courageously hid and nursed her baby. But he was growing fast and cannot be hidden soon.
With a broken heart, Jochebed had to make a drastic decisionlet go of the baby and let God take care of him. So, she made a papyrus basket, painted it with tar and pitch, tucked her child in it, and strategically put it among the Nile river reeds .
In her story, we see how God works when we entrust to Him our all. We know what had become of Moses, the baby that Jochebed tried to protect.
In Hebrews 11, Jochebed is included among the heroes of faith. Why not? Her life is one best example of how to walk in faith and with hope.
When she saved her son, little, did she know that she would impact world history? She had raised a great leader and legislator, a high priest, prophetess, musician, and poet.
2 The Slave Girl of Naamans Wife
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3 Rahab
4 Deborah
Bible Verses About Beauty And Self
Beauty and self-worth are biblical topics particularly important to women, but certainly relevant to men as well. But before addressing Bible verses about beauty and self-worth, I first want to focus on self-worth.
Our self-worth is rooted in our identities, and for Christians, that identity is in Christ.
26. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:44
27. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:5-6
That being said, the Bible verses below about self-worth talk about how we are treasured woman of God. Not only do we belong to Him, but we are also loved and cared for by Him. Our identity and self-worth is in our identity as children of God.
28. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Psalm 8:3-4
29. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17
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Bible Verses about the Beauty of a Woman
What else does God say about my beauty?
What Does God Say About Women
Every time I hear someone say the Bible paints women in a negative light or that God doesnt respect women, my heart mourns because reading the Bible has shown me the exact opposite. When reading and interpreting the Bible, its important to maintain the cultural and historical context of the text. Doing the Every Word 90-day study of the Bible has helped me keep this in mind as I read scripture, but there are many other commentaries that offer this information as well.
So considering the cultural and historical context, the laws that God establishes in the Old Testament show an incredible respect for young women, old women, mothers, daughters, sisters, and widows alike. If you compare Gods laws to the laws and statues of the other nations around the Israelites at the time, you see that God upholds a covenant that honors and protects women and punishes any injustices done to them.
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More Amazing Women From The Bible To Inspire Girls
The Bible is full of strong women who can be incredible role models for our daughters. Not long ago, we shared 5 women in the Old Testament with testimonies of faithfulness, wisdom, and strength.
But the New Testament has its fair share of women to admire. Many of these women were loved by Jesus during His earthly ministry, a sign of how men and women are equal in the kingdom of God. During the time the New Testament was written, women were not treated close to equally. And yet, Jesus loved women, taught women, and sought out women to share the Good News. Luke 8:13 lists three women who followed Jesus along with the disciples: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna. Women also played a pivotal role in the early church, serving as deaconesses , funding missionary efforts, and opening their homes to Paul and other apostles.
Here are the stories of some amazing New Testament women to share with your daughter :
5 More Amazing Women from the Bible to Inspire Girls
Find her story in Luke 1& 2
Her Strength: Mary loved God, and trusted Him. Even though she knew she would have a lot of challenges as the mother of Jesus, she praised God. Her willingness to serve the Lord is an inspiration!
Find their story in Luke 10:3842 John 11
The Women at the Tomb
Find their story in Matthew 28:110 Mark 16 Luke 24
Lydia
Find her story in Acts 16:11-15
Priscilla
Find her story in Acts 18
Women Who Ministered With Jesus
Luke’s gospel is unique in documenting that there were many women who benefited personally from Jesus’ ministry, but who also ministered to him and with himâeven to the point of accompanying him and the Twelve on evangelistic journeys. Most prominent among these is .
Luke 8:1â3 in the Greek text is one long sentence. Its three main focal points are Jesus, the Twelve, and certain women. Jesus is traveling through cities and towns, preaching the Kingdom of God, evangelizing, and accompanied by the Twelve. Other than mentioning that the Twelve were with him, nothing more is said of them here.
The chief motive of the paragraph seems to be to bring into focus certain women, of whom there were “many”. This passage presents them as recipients of healing at different levels of need, and also as actively participating with Jesus and the Twelve, accompanying them in their travels. Luke makes special reference to the financial support of these women to Jesus’ ministry. He says there were many women. He points out that these included women who were prominent in the public life of the state as well as in the church.
Thus, it is significant that women had such an open and prominent part in the ministry of Jesus. Luke’s word for their “ministering” is widely used in the New Testament. Its noun cognate, diakonos, is variously translated “minister,” “servant,” and “deacon” ” rel=”nofollow”> Phoebe in Romans 16:1 and in the pastoral letters).
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Sarahs Legacy As A Woman Of Faith
Sarah once laughed when told that she would have a son. But her laugh was turned into a laugh of amazement, triumph and delight when Isaac was born: Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me. She also said, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age .
Who would have said to Abraham that his wife would have a child at an advanced age? Only God could have said so and also brought it to pass. And all of Sarahs children will hear her story and laugh with her through all the agesa laugh of the triumph of faith in the mighty power of God.
Sarah is truly one of the women of faith. She came to know that no obstacle is too hard for God to overcome. Nothing is too hard for God to accomplish. That is the faith she had. Is that the faith you have?
For more information on how you can have faith, please read the accompanying articles found in this Faith section of the website.
About the Author
John Foster
John Foster grew up in the Chicago, Illinois, area and began attending the Church of God with his parents in 1958.
Other New Testament Women
Since Pentecost, God has communicated personally with his people more freely, through the agency of the Holy Spirit. When Peter quoted Joels prophecy on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, he made it clear that spiritual abilities, in particular, prophecy, were now freely available to both men and women, and to the young and to the old .
The Holy Spirit gives his gifts and abilities without apparent regard to gender this includes the gifts of leading and teaching . Even staunch complementarian Mary Kassian observes, There is no evidence in the Bible that gifts are assigned by gender. While it is true that elders may possess gifts of teaching, administration, and pastoring, it is equally true that women possess these identical gifts. Kassian believes that only men can be elders, however, several women are mentioned by name in the New Testament who functioned as church leaders and ministers.
Furthermore, Rebecca Merrill Groothuis observes,
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Sarah In The Bible: A Symbol Of The New Covenant
The apostle Paul refers to Sarah as the freewoman in Galatians 4. What did he mean by that?
In the early years of Isaacs life, he was scoffed at by Hagars son Ishmael. Therefore she said to Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac . God told Abraham to listen to Sarah . Paul used this situation as symbolic of the spiritual inheritance God offers.
Gods promise was not fulfilled by Abraham and Sarahs efforts or their plan to have a child through Hagar. By a miracle God gave Abraham his promised heir through Sarah.
Sarahs prophetic words were quoted again by Paul to teach an important lesson regarding the New Covenant:
For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagarfor this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her childrenbut the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all .
The Rest Of The Story
This is one of those Bible stories thats hard to understand without a knowledge of the customs of the time.
First, I never could understand why this woman would be in someone elses house uninvited. But the hospitality of the times dictated that doors were left open and anyone could enter a home and observe the meal and perhaps eat the leftovers.
This woman had obviously heard about Jesus, heard Him preaching, and had made a decision to turn from her wicked ways and receive the gift of forgiveness and a new life. When she learned that Jesus was in town having dinner, she took advantage of the opportunity to show her love and appreciation for Him turning her life around.
If must have been a fairly large gathering for everyone to not notice the crying woman at Jesus feet. But the sight was somewhat commonplace, so besides accounting for the type of woman she was, a stranger entering someones home was no big deal. And we see from other Bible examples that anointing was a way of showing deference or respect.
Jesus goes on to mention Simon failed to greet Him with a kiss. A kiss was the ordinary greeting of respect between friends or colleagues. Then there was the holy kiss given to Rabbis. Simon had not treated Jesus as a friend nor respected Him as a Rabbi.
The Sinful Woman wasnt trying to make Simon look bad. Im sure she never gave Simon a thought at all. All she cared about was showing her love for her Savior. Nothing else mattered.
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The Widow Of Zarephath
Jesus honors a poor widow who cast “two copper coins” into the Temple treasury. What the widow gave to God was the totality of her belongings. Women had only limited access to the Temple in Jerusalem. There Jesus found the most praiseworthy piety and sacrificial giving, not in the rich contributors, but in a poor woman.
Delilah: Bad Influence On Samson
Delilah used her beauty and sex appeal to influence the strong man Samson, preying on his runaway lust. Samson, a judge over Israel, was also a warrior who killed many Philistines, which fueled their desire for revenge. They used Delilah to discover the secret of Samson’s strength: his long hair.
Samson returned to God but his death was tragic. The story of Samson and Delilah tells how lack of self-control can lead to a person’s downfall.
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Phoebe The Helper And Deaconess
Phoebe was a trailblazer, paving the way for female ministerial work, an inspiration to those who want to go against societal oppressive constraints. To those who believe that women cannot be ministers, her work is proof that God uses women in all church positions. Phoebe is portrayed as a leader, a deaconess in the church of Cenchreae.
Although mentioned only briefly in the New Testament , her impact is great. Paul describes her as a benefactor. In its early stages, Christianity needed financial support and depended on the generosity of believers. Phoebe was likely a financial contributor to the early Christian movement.
She carried, delivered, and read Pauls letter to the Romans, something that was crucial for the formation of Christian Theology. For many Christians, including and , Pauls Epistle to the Romans is almost of equivalent importance as the Gospels .
Forming the basis of Christian Theology, a woman was tasked to deliver the letter to the Romans. Phoebe takes a chair as part of the women in history who stand out, taking up supposedly manly positions.
Mentioned alongside her husband Aquila at least six times in the New Testament, Priscilla was a leather tent maker. In Corinth, she and her husband collaborated with Paul in the business of tent making. Together with her husband, she accompanied Paul on his missionary work to Ephesus, spreading Christianity to the world.
High Number Of References To Women
According to New Testament scholar Frank Stagg and classicistEvelyn Stagg, the synoptic Gospels of the canonical New Testament contain a relatively high number of references to women. Evangelical Bible scholar Gilbert Bilezikian agrees, especially by comparison with literary works of the same epoch.:p.82 Neither the Staggs nor Bilezikian find any recorded instance where Jesus disgraces, belittles, reproaches, or stereotypes a woman. These writers claim that examples of the manner of Jesus are instructive for inferring his attitudes toward women and show repeatedly how he liberated and affirmed women. Starr writes that of all founders of religions and religious sects, Jesus stands alone as the one who did not discriminate in some way against women. By word or deed he never encouraged the disparagement of a woman.Karen King concludes, based on the account of Jesus’ interaction with a Syrophoenician woman in and Matthew 15:21-28, that “an unnamed Gentile woman taught Jesus that the ministry of God is not limited to particular groups and persons, but belongs to all who have faith.”
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Miriam: Sister Of Moses
Miriam, Moses’ sister, played an important role in the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, but her pride got her in trouble. When her baby brother floated down the Nile River in a basket to escape death from the Egyptians, Miriam intervened with Pharaoh’s daughter, offering Jochebed as his wet nurse.
Many years later, after the Jews crossed the Red Sea, Miriam was there, leading them in celebration. However, her role as prophet led her to complain about Moses’ Cushite wife. God cursed her with leprosy but healed her after Moses’ prayers.
How Should Christians View Jesus As The Anointed One Today
Jesus is the pioneer for man and should be viewed as the one who anoints. He is the greatest of these. He is the bridge that led to the holy spirit being imparted to us. He said in John 14:12, Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. The works that Jesus was doing was spreading hope, sharing love, giving healing, and these are the very things He called us to do. In John 14:26, He said, But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
As our example, we can look to his demonstration in Luke 7:45-46 as the path to carrying out this great empowerment. Here, an immoral woman from the city, apparently full of guilt, approached Jesus while he was having dinner. He shares a valuable lesson here about forgiveness when Simon questions Jesus involvement with the woman. In the verse, Jesus tells Simon, You didnt greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
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