Remarkable Women of the Bible

George Elizabeth

Description

In this inspiring look at the lives of women in the Bible, bestselling author Elizabeth George reveals refreshing models of faith for today. Stories about Eve, Deborah, Sarah, Ruth, Mary, and other women from Scripture offer testimonies of changed lives and reflections on the remarkable strengths God cultivates in women who love HimJocebed is an example of a remarkable mother, Deborah's life is an illustration of wisdom, Ruth and Naomi model pure devotion, and Hannah demonstrates sacrifice.Conveying the assurance of God's love, The Remarkable Women of the Bible provides nourishment from a woman's point of view and connects today's woman with the source of fulfillment that sustained her sisters in Bible timesa relationship with God.Adapted from Women Who Loved God.

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
• Date de parution: 15 août 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736934374
• Langue: English

Extrait

The
Remarkable
Women
of the Bible
AND THEIR MESSAGE FOR YOUR LIFE TODAY
Elizabeth George

HARVEST HOUSE TM PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
T his book belongs to
__________________________
a woman who desires to experience God s remarkable power in her life.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture verses are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Verses marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Italicized text in Scripture quotations indicates author s emphasis.
Cover by Terry Dugan Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cover photo IT Int l/eStock Photography/PictureQuest

Acknowledgments
As always, thank you to my dear husband, Jim George, M.Div., Th.M., for your able assistance, guidance, suggestions, and loving encouragement on this project.
THE REMARKABLE WOMEN OF THE BIBLE
Copyright 2003 by Elizabeth George
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
George, Elizabeth, 1944-
The remarkable women of the Bible / Elizabeth George.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-7369-0738-6 (pbk.)
1. Women in the Bible. I. Title.
BS575.G464 2003
220.9 2 082-dc21
2003012251
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, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America.
03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 / BP-KB / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments
An Invitation to a Remarkable Life
Eve-Remarkable Creation
1. Fairest of All Creation!
Sarah-Remarkable Faith
2. First Steps in Faith
3. Advanced Steps in Faith
4. Rewards of Faith
Rebekah-Remarkable Journey
5. Ready, Willing, and Able!
6. Tests of Faith
Jochebed-Remarkable Mother
7. The Heart of a Mother
Miriam-Remarkable Leader
8. A Devoted Sister
9. A Devoted Saint
Rahab-Remarkable Grace
10. A Cameo of Courage
11. A Portrait of Transformation
Deborah-Remarkable Wisdom
12. The Path to Greatness
Ruth and Naomi-Remarkable Devotion
13. Enduring Difficult Times
14. Enjoying God s Blessings
Hannah-Remarkable Sacrifice
15. A Weaving of Grace
16. Threads of Sacrifice
Esther-Remarkable Courage
17. The Beauty of Courage
Elizabeth-Remarkable Walk
18. Consecrated to God
Mary-Remarkable Life
19. Highly Favored One
20. O Worship the King!
21. A Woman After God s Own Heart
22. A Portrait of Devotion
Mary and Martha-Remarkable Love
23. Two Faces of Love
Dorcas, Lydia, Priscilla, and Phoebe-Remarkable Servants
24. Selfless Service
Queens of Remarkable Faith and Grace
A Final Look
Notes
Personal Notes
The Remarkable Women of the Bible Growth and Study Guide
A Woman After God s Own Heart
A Woman After God s Own Heart Study Series
About the Author
Books by Elizabeth George
An Invitation to a Remarkable Life
Remarkable! What a wonderful word to describe the women of the Bible! And, dear woman of faith, they-and their life-changing messages-are available to you and me today.
If you are like me, your life resembles one long obstacle course. Every day is filled with challenges. In spite of our schedules, plans, dreams, and goals, life keeps coming at us with its constant barrage of stress, problems, set-backs, and seemingly impossible situations. Truly, life can often seem to be more than we can manage on our own!
But, dear one, help-and hope-is available from the remarkable women of the Bible. You see, whatever we are dealing with, they have experienced it. They have met-and handled-the challenges of singleness, married life, and child-raising. They know about going without, about loss, about old age, about death and dying. All of the pain, the sorrow, the confusion, and the difficulties under the sun have touched their hearts. And now they live on in God s Word to instruct and encourage us as we cope with our lives today.
I like to think of each visit with these remarkable women as sitting down and having a cup of coffee with them. There they sit, in all their wisdom, ready, willing, and able to pass on what they have learned. They are more than happy to tell us how, through strong faith in God, they triumphed in their situations. Their hearts are open to you and me, and through their lives we can find great wisdom and practical help. And God has given us their lives in His Word so we can learn their life-changing messages!
Beloved, these dear women are God s gift to you and me. Whether or not you have a mother or a friend or a mentor who is available, you have the remarkable women of the Bible. Let them share with you. Let them encourage you. Let them counsel you. Let them show you the best way-God s way-to handle every day and every difficulty.
I also invite you to take advantage of the Remarkable Women of the Bible Growth and Study Guide . This helpful volume will propel you down the path toward living your own remarkable life by spurring you on as you seek to make the life-changing messages and timeless wisdom of God s corps of women of faith an integral part of your every day. The practical exercises contained in this growth and study guide are suitable for individual or group study and are for women of all ages whether married or single.
May God richly bless you as you look to Him and the remarkable women in His Word for His timeless principles for living your life today!
Eve

Remarkable Creation
EVE
Chapter 1
Fairest of All Creation!
Eve was the mother of all living.
G ENESIS 3:20

I wonder if there s a person on the face of the earth who hasn t heard of Adam and Eve, the first two people on the face of the earth? It seems that even a preschooler s education begins with the remarkable story of Adam and Eve.
As the first woman in the world, Eve enjoyed many firsts. And, as you ll soon see, it s not easy being first!
First Woman
God s first words about the creation of mankind are these: So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:27). We can t help but wonder, How did it happen? Here s a short version of the creation of the fairest creation of all, Eve!
Creation was complete. (Well, almost!) God had been busy for six days creating His beautiful new world. Now the stage was set. God s magnificent scenery stood finished and in place. His sun, moon, and stars lighted up His perfect planet. All creatures great and small enjoyed a perfect environment.
Yet all the universe stood at attention, awaiting God s final creations. At last God presented His masterpieces to the rest of nature. First the man Adam, formed by God from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). Then-finally and dramatically-the woman Eve, made from one of Adam s ribs and presented by God to Adam as bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh (verses 21-22).
For now let s focus on the fact that God created Eve, deemed by poet laureate John Milton as the fairest of creation. Devised by a perfect God, Eve reflected His divine perfection in her femaleness.
What can you do to join with Eve and revel in your lovely womanhood and femaleness?
Accept your remarkable femininity -There s no need to feel inferior, second-class, or second-rate. No, woman was God s last, most beautiful creation. It was only after God presented woman that He proclaimed His creation was very good (Genesis 1:31). Adam and Eve were alike, yet they were different from one another. One was male and one female (Genesis 1:27), yet together as well as individually they reflected God s image and His glory. Remarkable!
Begin to cultivate your remarkable femininity -This entire book is about the lovely, gracious, glorious, beautiful, prized-by-God women of the Bible. As you read along, allow God s truth to permeate your understanding and transform your view of yourself as a woman until it matches the high value God places on His women.
Commit to excelling in your remarkable role as a woman -As God s woman, be the best of the best (see Proverbs 31:29)! Delight in God s perfect design and plan for your life. He created you as a woman! As such, you join Eve s exalted position of fairest of creation.
First Wife
Eve had the dual distinction of being the first-ever woman and the first-ever wife! Catch the scene: As God surveyed His creation on that historic sixth day, He noticed that there was no helper to complement the man, Adam. Up until this point, God had noted that it was good with each added day of creation. But in the case of Adam, God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him (Genesis 2:18).
Eve, my new reading friend, was God s answer to Adam s incompleteness. Eve s number one role-and the purpose for her creation-was to complement Adam and to be a helper to her husband-to be a wife. This means Eve was created for a position of honor, being born to life s loveliest, most lofty throne of glory: the glory of man (1 Corinthians 11:7). The first wife reflected the glory of the first husband.
First to Fail
So far so good until the perfect world that God created was thrown into sin and chaos by Eve s inability to withstand the temptations offered up by the serpent (Genesis 3:1-6). She listened to the tempter, ate of