Women were godly, like Hannah and Mary.
Women were evil, like Athaliah and Jezebel. Women led men astray. Solomon’s wives led to his downfall (study 1 Kings. 11:3-4). How the king lived and worshipped influenced the life of the people. The nation followed the example of the king – walking with God, or following idols. Wives had a great influence on the kings.
God often used behind-the-scenes women in the Scripture for important events. For example, Jehosheba saved the bloodline of David by hiding young King Joash after Athaliah had killed all of the males in the family and taken over the throne of Israel (study 2 Kings 11; 2 Chronicles 22).
Unnamed or ‘hidden’ women often had important, if seemingly minor roles, such as the woman of 1 Kings 14:1-18 who gave the message of doom from the prophet back to her husband, King Jereboam. This prophecy foretold that the northern kingdom of Israel would fall and be no more. (Study this passage)
Most of the events of Scripture center around the male character because men were the leaders. We tend to focus on the lessons learned by the men, yet women were a big part of God’s plan. By studying Scripture we can learn that God loves women and does use them in His great works.
My prayer is that we will learn to appreciate the role that women have played in the plan of God through the ages. As we study the women of Scripture we can learn much of what God grants to us, and what God expects of us.
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