Bible Study of Women for Women

By Ivonne Haddock

This is a Bible study of women of the Bible like Eve, Sarah, Hagar, etc.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ivonne Haddock
• Release date: Jun 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201095383

Book preview

Bible Study of Women for Women

Women of the Bible

Introduction

Purpose: The purpose of this guide was intentionally created to encourage women to read about the Women of the Bible and share with others what they read. The study is my revelation of the female. This is just as well a personal revelation of the females’ role in each storyline inspired by the studies of scriptures that include the women of the Bible and their relationship to God, to Jesus and to humankind. These are not roles of the women, there are other studies dedicated to the specific roles of women.  It’s time to meet the women of the Bible whose names have been barely mentioned at church or in Bible study groups. Ask yourself, where can I find studies that focus on the women in Jesus' life? As a matter of fact, the Gospels studied and read over and over, year after year by churches, preachers or other study programs don't dedicate the time to develop the Legacy these WOMEN left us. Do you want to learn about the women in Jesus' genealogy? Do you have the answers to who was the first woman? Was the first woman Eve? Was Adam really created first? I would like to encourage women to have an open mind as you read through this study. The scriptures may be interpreted differently, if interpreted by a woman. What did the women of those times think? Were the books written by women in the first century band, were they burned? There are presently women speakers out there who deliver inspirational messages supported by scriptures of the Bible. Some of these speakers do share scriptures of women of the Bible. I ask myself, why don't we have more women listening, talking and learning and sharing the biblical- scriptures where women were meant to carry a message?

Personal: Since I was a young girl in Sunday School I was filled with questions. Many times I was told NOT to ask some of the questions I asked. And we know what happened next, I was challenged. I believe I had more questions. After many years I still had questions I wanted answers to. Then years after retirement from teaching I thought, it’s about time.  I wanted to write, but what should I write about?  After participating in Bible Study Groups where we used guides such as: A Life Guide, Bible from InterVarsity Press : David, Developing a Heart for God by Jack Kuhatschek; The Twelve Disciples, 10 Studies for Individuals or Groups; Nehemiah, The Courage to Face Opposition by Don Fields; John, The Way to True Life by Douglas Connelly, Women of the Old Testament by Gladys Hunt; Old Testament Characters by Peter Scazzero and from The MacArthur Bible Study Series: Acts, The Spread of the Gospel; Hebrews, Christ Perfect Sacrifice, Perfect Priest by John MacArthur; The Bible Study Series, Psalms, Glorifying God for Who He Is by the Wiersbe Bible Study Series by David Cook; and reading Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver, The Purpose Driven Life, What on Earth Am I Here For? By Rick Warren and others, and  reading the Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi by Kathie Lee Gifford on my own, I decided to be like one of the women we studied. I volunteered to be co-leader of our Women’s Bible Study group.  Then, I wanted to lead a Bible Study Group at my house. I wanted our focus to be mainly on women of the Bible. In our group we connected each woman to the life of Jesus, who shared with us who his Father, our God, Is, Was, and Ever shall be! Jesus was the Son of God so he was man, God as man on earth. We should NOT fear for following Jesus' teachings, he brings us closer to God. This study makes me think that Jesus was much, much closer to God than I may have believed, because I did not think BIG.  This is BIG!  To understand this you must think BIG.  The women in this study were important to the legacy leading up to the Son of God, Jesus.  All these women are important, but some we knew because their stories have been told and shared, yet others you may read/study about for the first time.  Each one of these women brings a highlight to who we are as women today.  Each woman is important to us because some men of the bible may have treated women with love, respect and care.  Each woman in this study is important because some men may NOT have loved, respected and cared for the women in their lives.  And the parts that are left out have a very interesting focus.  As you read each study I encourage you to research deeper into that woman’s life.  It has taken me a long time and times are ever changing.  I have been accumulating drafts for this study since 2014 now I am sharing it all with YOU.  And as I was formally writing this study I ran into women I had not thought about, that’s when I knew God is with me guiding me.  That’s when I thought, when should I publish, which should I include in the first publication, which should I include in the next?  God, lead me, lead me!

God's plan, PERFECT.  All was good or All was very good.  Do you know what happened?

Purpose: What this study NOT do is belittle the men of the Bible.  The Leaders chosen by God, with all due respect, are to be presented with due respect. Miriam will teach us that the criticism of spiritual leaders hurts God. Of course, God has warned us that anyone that speaks ill of a Leader of God will feel his wrath, too, BIG.  So, we will not go there! Have you heard the saying, behind every good man is a good woman, well, this is that kind of inclusion.  The men they had, are part of these women whether as a father, grandfather, brother or cousin or husband or companion.  Some of the women we study had GREAT men with them or were part of their lives in one way or another.  May the Peace of the Lord-God-Almighty be with you! A man came in God’s name to show us love and respect.  His name was Jesus.  We were lost, disconnected and God gave us his only son, John 3:16.  For God so loved the world that he gave us his one and only son, whoever believes in him shall never perish, but have eternal life. Amen.

Eve is the first study. Thoughts from this lesson show us how easily it is to be distracted by evil and  therefore; disappoint, Our Father, God.  Was this incident the cause that severed our relationship with Our Father, God? It seems Eve completed God’s plan of creation and then... Adam needed Eve.

The Women in Our Studies deserve to be mentioned, here are the names of volume one: Eve, Naamah, Adah, Zillah, Sarah (Sarai), Hagar, Keturah, Lot’s wife and two daughters, Midrash and Aggadah, Rebekah, Keturah, Judith and Basemath, Mahalath, Rachel, Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah, Dinah, Deborah (2), Tamar, Potiphar’s wife, Joseph’s wife, Miriam, Pharaoh's daughter, Zipporah, Rahab, Jael, Sisera’s Mother, Mother of Samson, Delilah, Concubine, Ruth, Naomi, and briefly Hannah.

The names of volume two (in Progress): Hannah, Queen Vesti, Esther, Mary the Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan Woman, Woman with the bleeding, Mary, sister of Lazarus; Martha, sister of Lazarus, Merab, Michal, Abigail, Ahinoam of Jezreel, Bathsheba, Naamah, Siti Egyptian Princess, and more...

Prayer: Thank you God for the scriptures of the Bible. We humbly ask you, Lord-God-Almighty, Yahweh (YHWH), please reveal the awe and wonder of your word through the scriptures we study here today. What a beautiful name it is ... Yahweh, Elohim, Adonai, Jehovah, Allah, God-the-Father, the Alpha-Omega and as God says to Moses, I am... Close your eyes and allow The Great Spirit to be a part of you.  Amen. IHS (Ivonne Haddock Santiago) 

The Women in Our Studies Connecting Them to Us Today

Think about a woman you really know. And I mean that you know in depth. Think about women. Think about us as equal to men. I would like to say, put yourself in the shoes of the women of the bible. If you already think this way then these studies will be easy for you to go through. I wish I had thought about all this at a younger age. Well, I sort of did and I have been thinking about it for a long time, but now I am finally writing it down and sharing it with you and the world!  You see, I was brought up as a Military brat. I wanted to be like Dad. And after four females Dad stopped trying to have a boy, a boy that would follow in his footsteps. I was in the church choir as a young girl. I sang to God. My father took us to church. We were taught the things little girls should learn. My dad died in 1971, but if I had it in me then to be like Deborah or Abigail, I would have been one of the first females in the Army. I did serve in 1983, many years later. It took me time to free myself of a culture that was male dominant and stubborn and taught me to think, I can’t! You see, even at church I felt some kind of disconnect and it was because I did NOT know these women or any women like them. I thought maybe it was hard for the church to explain the roles of these women in the Bible, because not only did these women live a long, long time ago, but they also lived in a different culture. And NO, I was not brought up like Mary the mother of Jesus, or any of them! I asked myself why the stories of all these women in the Bible are not shared in church. On my own I started to read the Bible.  The more I thought about the women who were close to God and knew Jesus, the more I wanted to know. Some of these women even personally met Jesus.  So, why not include them in the gospels studied in church.  Amazing, huh! Well, each one made a difference to us in our small group. They made a difference in our lives even if they did live long long ago.  I pray they make a difference in your life. If only the church I went to told stories that included Women of the Bible, I would have made a stronger connection to my role as a woman. Don't misunderstand.  I  participated in The Catholic Daughters of America and was Vice President one year and President my senior year in high school.  We called it Sodality. I was a Jesus freak!  Mary, the Mother of Jesus was my favorite woman in the Bible and still is.  And is this why my favorite time of the year is Christmas; although, my mom died on December 20th!  Anyway, I am glad that I learned about ALL these women in the Bible.  I ask you to read this study and view it with different lenses, if you can.  Go, women, Go!  I sat down and wrote this NOW because it is time for women to stand up and take their role in life to mean something significant for we have had models for a beautiful, kind, loving and brave life since the beginning of time.  Women are taking a stand for themselves everywhere, I support the That.  Paul says in Romans that if you are single stay single and devote yourself to God and Jesus.

Questions:

Have you ever thought why our churches and the Catholic Churches and other churches do not read or share stories of women in the Bible ?

Did you know that some religions worship female saints named after women of the Bible and that some churches are named after them ? If they do, they are rare, why ? How about this in America ?

I am thoughtful. This inspirational thought of defending the integrity of these women truly came to me when a man of integrity and religion referred to Rahab as that harlot!, his expression showed me he had an attitude when he made his reference to her. Why did he not think of her as a business woman ? Why didn’t he refer to her as the great great grandmother of one of history’s greatest Kings, David ? 

What would he call the men who had many wives and concubines ? A harlot!  I guess a harlot can be male or female and there are many more of those types of men that we know and read about in the Bible.

Most of our modern day churches were/are led by men. No women; as Paul put it, (scriptures about this are shared in the study later, later on) women can not be leaders in the role of the early church. but they certainly were.  Fact is, women did write. Historians know that many scrolls during those times were burned, because women were forbidden to write. Some believe women were definitely persecuted, not allowed to do/not do many things one of which was, to write or not to write. Therefore; these scrolls were destroyed. (Just as the question: which of Paul’s scrolls were published? Paul wrote a lot more than is shared in the Bible.)  (Paul’s epistles.) So, let us ponder on this question: don't you think God would reveal himself to men as well as to women? We will have some examples for you.  In Women of the Bible, A Visual Guide To Their Lives, Loves and Legacy by Carol Smith, Rachel Phillips and Ellyn Sanna (Barbour) 2011 under Section 3-Women’s Roles and Jobs, p. 131, And archaeological evidence points to women who held such synagogue titles as priest, leader, elder, and mother.  Women were priests back then, then... are you surprised.  This was a good find.  I actually love this book.

My emphasis is that the Bible stories can not be told leaving WOMEN out. Oh, so many women have given us this study, The Study of Women of the Bible for Women Through Scriptures. This has made my project onerous; indeed, eye-opening, inspiring and lovely.  And I would like to share my work with you. Of course, some of you will not agree with me on certain observations, but that’s okay.

This study has been an inspiration because I have heard it and have always believed it, WOMEN are far more important than men have set women to believe. We must believe in ourselves.  Generations have oppressed women. This has been an eye-opening era because my eyes review these stories and relate them to Jesus' life and reveal how important women are and how women are respected and should be respected and how some women are honored. Inspiring because as I researched some of their stories, I found myself deeper and deeper into the stories.  The stories revealed things I did not know. This is a new way to study the scriptures of the Bible. Interpretation is yours and yours alone, but I pray God be your guide.  I pray I have eyes to see what I have missed before.  Jesus loved, honored and respected women. This is shown throughout these stories. 

In God’s creation. In the beginning. A woman, Eve, gives birth. This is very significant, far more than we have been led to believe. Ladies and gentlemen, the beginning of everyone's downfall was NOT caused by ONE woman.  How narrow-minded!  Adam fell also.  Yes, Eve meaning mother of all living.  She is given a lot of credit, isn't she? How much importance are you giving her?  The victimization of Eve, Eve’s creation was clearly an important part of God’s plan for humankind.

Focus on the one thing man can NOT do.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Conception happens when both sperm and egg join. If you have ever watched the Movie, Look Who’s Talking you would agree that God is there during conception, how else would these two find each other.  I’m not a gynecologist.  I’m actually a retired teacher.  I will have quotes to show you that God has a hand in our conception and more.  What an honor for a woman to carry a life within! (Within-hold onto that word for a moment, a life within- God within you) Throughout the Bible Studies we will note where women felt it was a blessing to fulfill their motherly role. It was a blessing to conceive, it was a blessing to have a child. It was a blessing for the man as well as the woman.  But, women who were barren, on the other hand, believed they did NOT have this gift or opportunity or blessing. Some we will see pray vigorously to God for a child. I do believe that a woman who conceives is blessed in a special way. A woman who gives birth is also blessed in a magnificent way. 

Now I tap into my inner thoughts and I, Do Not Fear, expressing my thoughts during these studies because I feel God has led me to this. I do believe.  I, also, believe many women have these intimate thoughts and feelings and we need to share them.  You think about God for nine months, I hope you do.

Men do Not have, and will not have, the conception, pregnancy and childbearing experiences.

Think of the women you really, really know, think about the different character of each woman. We are going to get together and talk about US.  Some of the women you know have the same characteristics of these women.  God and us.  God loves us.  Jesus loves us.  We need to love one another.

The bottom line, God loves us, Jesus also loves us, because HE loved us. Not only did they show love for women, but showed respect and they protected women. There were times where women did daring things, they were protected by GOD. GOD was close to them heart and soul.  God is not necessarily faraway, you can always have him close to you.  We have an advocate in Jesus.

And, I am not a man, but I know men do not understand women, or don’t want to.  Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus (1992) by John Gray proves it, it made the bestseller list.  How about, Women Are From Venus, Men Are From Mars, anybody? Not written yet!

Man refuses to acknowledge the significance of the beauty of women, who are beautiful-in reference to character.  Women are beautiful outside as well as inside. Men may recognize the outer physical beauty for themselves, for vanity.

After Genesis 1:27 I had questions why, as well written as the scriptures in the Bible are, why was I left with some confusion while reading the first couple of chapters of the Bible specifically between Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:21-23, and 3:12. After studying Eve we still had unanswered questions.

As we studied Sarah, beautiful Sarai, we learned how much stress she must have felt as her husband, Abram, Abraham shares God’s whispers with her. As we studied Ruth and Naomi, we learned how brave these two women of their time were and how love and loyalty kept them together no matter their differences. Ruth and Naomi's words are recited during many weddings. ...I will never leave you. As we studied Saul’s daughters, Merab and Michal,