A Good Mother Can Make All the Difference The Egyptians fear the mushrooming population of the enslaved Israelites. They command all the Israelite baby boys be thrown into the Nile River. However, one mother sees something special in her baby and hides him for several months. When she can conceal him no longer, she does […]
Hannah longs to have children but is childless. Adding to her misery, she’s harassed by everyone around her. Though, she is her husband’s (Elkanah) favorite wife he dismisses her infertility and fails to protect her from verbal assaults from his other wife, Peninnah, who endlessly torments her. Then, when she prays in earnest, Eli, the […]
Athaliah is an evil woman. She encourages her son, the king, to act wickedly. He does and is soon assassinated. Then Athaliah seizes control and asserts herself as queen. Her lust for power is so great, she kills all the members of the royal family, including her own grandchildren. One baby, however, is rescued by […]
Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and Leah, is the central character of Genesis 34. Though we know what happened to her and because of her, we know nothing about what she said, did, or thought. Her story begins tragically. She is raped by Shechem. Yet after his act of lust, he falls in love with […]
Rachel is an interesting character. She’s the wife of Jacob and also his first cousin. Talk about ick! We read about her in Genesis 29-31 & 35. For some reason, I’m drawn to her, but I don’t know why. We know she’s beautiful. For Jacob, it’s love at first sight. But there’s calamity when her […]
A Subtle Source of Distraction King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wasn’t so wise with his love life. In all he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Even worse, many of King Solomon’s wives were foreigners, something God prohibited because he feared they would distract his people from fully worshiping him (Deuteronomy 7:3). […]
We don’t know the name of Jephthah’s daughter, but we do lament what happened to her, all the while applauding the honorable way she accepts her fate, showing her faith and confidence in God in the process. Here’s her brief story: When the elders of Gilead ask Jephthah to lead them into battle against their […]
Michal marries David, who will later become king; her father is King Saul. Though her story starts out with promise, it ends sadly. David plays a critical role in the success of King Saul and the nation of Israel. Despite this, Saul’s attitude towards David varies greatly, with Saul often wanting to kill David out […]
A Women Takes Extreme Action to Get What Is Due Her Tamar is a victim who takes extreme action to vindicate herself. She’s the daughter-in-law of Judah. She suffers at his hand, responds with guile, and has twins with him. Later she is one of four women mentioned in Jesus’s family tree. Talk about a […]
During a long drought and famine, God sends Elijah away from Israel to the city of Zarephath in Sidon where God directs a widow, a foreigner, to give Elijah food. When Elijah reaches the town gates, he see a widow and asks her for water and bread. Though she is willing to fetch him water, […]