Women of the Bible  

A Study 

by Christina Weigand  

Published 2009  

Published by Filbert Publishing,  Box 326 Kandiyohi, MN 56251. USA.  

© 2009 Christina Weigand. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.  

Manufactured in the United States of America.  

This is not a free e-book. Please do not distribute it freely without explicit permission from the author and/or publisher.

About the Author

Christina is a freelance writer specializing in spiritual and inspirational topics. She has had articles published in online ezines Just for Mom, Sisters in the Lord, and Keepin' On. Her article entitled Baby... Again! appeared in ParentLife magazine. An article entitled Why I Write appeared in Once Upon a Time a magazine for children's writers and illustrators and an article entitled Lent: A Season of Hope appeared in the winter 2006/2007 issue of Evangel.

She currently works on a regular column in Extreme Woman entitled God's Crazy Quilt and Christian Books for Women entitled God was at the Wedding, Where is He Now?. Many of her early work can be seen at Faithwriters.  

Table of Contents  

Introduction ~~ 6 

Eve ~~ 7 

Sarah ~~ 12 

Hagar ~~ 17 

Rachel ~~ 20 

Leah ~~ 25 

Delilah ~~ 29 

Naomi ~~ 32 

Ruth ~~ 37 

Michal ~~ 41 

Bathsheba ~~ 46 

Elizabeth ~~ 51 

Mary ~~ 55 

Mary Magdalene ~~ 62 

Conclusion ~~ 66 

Bibliography ~~ 67 

Introduction 

It is only by God’s grace that this study reached your eyes. I am God’s instrument and through His words in this study He hopes to touch your heart and soul with His wonderful, engaging power.

When I started this project several years ago I was in a very different place in my life. Like the women in this study God led me down a rocky, but ultimately rewarding path. Satan threw up his road blocks and almost won out a few times in the form of my giving up. As with the women you will study, he did not want me to be successful. He used things like my marriage, my family and my gifts from God to wage his battle. With God’s love I am still a mother and grandmother, still a wife, still a writer of God’s powerful word and still God’s child. Daily I give myself to God and struggle to obey Him, but it is in the struggle that I see God’s glory manifested. Let us join our hearts and together make this journey. God is waiting.

Eve: The Mother of Us All 

The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: This one shall be called ‘woman’ for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame. (Genesis 2: 22-25, NAB) 

Introduction: 

            The Bible does not tell us a lot about Eve, but the little bit of information we do get, paints a picture of how our faith in God should be.  Eve, in spite of her sin never gives up on God and He returns her faithfulness by never leaving her.

            Eve had it all and Eve lost it all. Who would blame her for losing her faith and trust in God and yet she did not.  Even after she was banished from Eden and became the mother of a murderer, she still maintained her faith. How often do we as women lose our faith over much smaller things?

Scriptures: 

Genesis 2: 21-25,

Genesis 3: 1-24

Genesis 4: 1-2, 25, 5: 3-4 

The Study: 

I.                   Genesis 2: 21-25

 God made Adam a partner.  He made an equal for Adam, someone to share in his dominion over the animals, to share his life with.  God created these two in His own image and had a close relationship with them.  We can only begin to imagine what this time must have been like.  Long walks in the garden chatting with God, no shame or embarrassment over their nudity.  Eve did not wonder, am I too fat or I am having a bad hair day.  All was perfect, the way God wanted life to be like for His children.  Their relationship was the perfect marriage, marriage as God ordained it.

Eve was Adam’s equal, his helper, another human like him, yet unlike him.  Eve was especially created from Adam’s rib, closest to his heart, signifying the closeness of the relationship between man and woman.  Theirs was a marriage truly made in heaven, signaling we cannot be all God intended us to be until we become with Him. God used Adam and Eve to establish marriage as a divine institution.

                  Question to Ponder: 

1. What is my view of marriage?  Do I see it as a divine institution established by God or as a secular institution that is easily dissolved if I am unhappy? 

II.         Genesis 3:1-8

God gave Eve the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and make a decision.  When the serpent approached her, she had this ability.  Eve chose to listen to and engage the serpent in a dialogue.  By making this choice, she started a journey down the path of evil.  She was no longer following the will of God.  Once in the discussion the serpent was able to plant seeds of doubt.  Eve began to think about what she did not have. 

Then like us, her eyes left her blessings and lingered on the deprivation Satan had planted.  She began to question God.

Eve and Adam sinned by succumbing to the temptation and questioning God.  Her sin introduced a barrier between Eve and God, and between Eve and Adam.  The unity they shared was shattered and conflict became a part of their lives.

                   Question to Ponder:  

1.            Do I begin to doubt God and all He has given me in favor of things

        of the world, Satan has put before me?

III.               Genesis 3: 7-16, 4: 1-2, 4:25

Eve and Adam had sinned.  Their firs inclination is to hide and deny what they had done.  Adam blamed God and Eve. Eve blamed the serpent.  When they accepted responsibility for their sin, the world they had enjoyed ended.  Like Eve, we need to accept responsibility for our sins and face the consequences of our actions in faith.  Eve never faltered in her belief that God would never forsake her, and to affirm her faith He never left her.  Eve also reminds us to forgive ourselves and be an example of forgiveness for others. Eve rose above her transgressions

thereby revealing the Father.  She shows us faith in the Son of God will save us.

                   Questions to Ponder: 

1.     When faced with transgressions and hardships do I give up on Jesus

         in favor of my own futile actions?

2.      Do I decide God is no longer with me when I have sinned?

3.      Do I face the consequences of my sin and forgive myself as God

         forgives me?

4.            Do I accept responsibility for my sin or try to shift the blame

         elsewhere? 

Conclusion:  

Because of the relationship Eve shared with God before and after the fall, we have inherited the desire for oneness with God.  Eve showed us the right place to search, but it is up to us to follow her lead and look for the same oneness with God that we seek in others.  Only when we do this are we truly fulfilled in our relationship with God.

Prayer: