Today, I’m going to cover two books of the Bible: Judges and
Ruth. Maybe people may think that the Bible is filled with stories of men and
how women are lesser than them. However, within these two books are three
stories of women. Two of these women are examples of courage and loyalty. While
another woman is an example of what happens when greed blinds you. These women
are: Deborah, Delilah and Ruth.
Deborah was the fourth and only female of the
pre-monarchical Israel. Her story is told in Judges 4-5. She was a prophetess
of God and the wife of Lapidoth. Many Israelites came to her for counsel. After
20 years of oppression by King Jabin and his commander, Sisera, the Israelites
called out to God for help. He speaks to Deborah who sends for Barak, son of Abinoam.
She tell him that God commands him to take 10,000 men and lead the way to Mount
Tabor. At Mount Tabor, the Lord would deliver Sisera into his hands. But, Barak
is reluctant to do so without Deborah. Deborah agrees but says the victory will
belong to a woman. The battle goes as the Lord says and Deborah successfully
counterattacked the forces of King Jabin and Sisera. She would rule Israel
peacefully for 40 years. What lesson can be learn from Deborah’s example? Wise
leaders choose good helpers. Deborah was a good strategist and in Barak, she
had a commander who could carry it out. Therefore, a wise person would know
when to ask for help.
Delilah is a famous person from the Bible whose story is
told in Judges 16. Everyone seems to know the story of Samson and Delilah. She
was a woman from the Valley of Sorek and Samson fell deeply in love with her.
Samson consistently bested the Philistines and they were looking for a way to
finally defeat him. They approach Delilah and ask her to discover the secret to
Samson’s strength. She asks Samson twice and each time he tells her a lie about
the source of his strength. Delilah asks for a third and final time and he
tells her the truth. It’s his hair and while he was asleep, she cut his long
locks off. When the Philistines came to overpower him, he did not have the
strength to fight them off. What lesson can be learn from Delilah’s story? She was persistent when faced with obstacles
but she valued money more than relationships. She betrayed a man who trusted
her, leading to his capture and eventual death. Therefore, we must be careful
who we place out trust.
Ruth has a book entirely to her story. As a widower of
Naomi’s son, she had the chance to return to her family as Naomi was going to
return home to Judah. But she decided to stay with Naomi. When they reach
Judah, Ruth begins to pick from the fields of Boaz and catches his eye. It
turns out Boaz is one of the kinsmen-redeemers. A kinsmen redeemer is a
relative who volunteers to take responsibility for the extended. The law states
in Deuteronomy 25-5-10, a widow can marry her late husband’s brother but since
both Naomi’s son were died, the nearest relative could marry the widow. Boaz
takes this responsibility and marries Ruth. Ruth soon gives birth to a son named
Obed, who is the grandfather of the future king of Israel, David. What lesson
can be learn from Ruth’s story? When God is at the center of a relationship,
differences can be overcome leading to peace, love and harmony.
In conclusion, women play important role in the Bible for
good and for bad. Deborah, Delilah and Ruth are just a few examples of how God
uses women for His purpose. Deborah is an example of how God choices leaders by
His standards, not ours and that wise leaders seek help. Delilah is an example
of how greed and misplaced trust can be catastrophic and Ruth is an example of
how love and loyalty can change your life forever when you trust God to be a
part of your relationship.
