This is the last in the series of Women in the Bible. Even though there are other stories about women. There’s Miriam, the prophet. “Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing” (Exodus 15:20, see also Micah 6:4).
Miriam wasn’t the only female prophet. I’ve already mentioned Deborah (Judges 4:4). There was also Isaiah’s wife (Isaiah 8:3) and Huldah, (2 Kings 22:14) at the time of King Josiah. When the book of the law was found in the temple, King Josiah could have called upon one of the male prophets, like Jeremiah, but instead he asked Huldah.
Prior to Pentecost there was Anna (Luke 2:36). After 400 years in Israel without a prophet along comes Anna who prophesies over Jesus. After Pentecost there were likely to have been many more, including Philip’s four daughters (Acts 21:9).
Then there’s a young Jewish girl who was Naaman’s wife’s maid servant (2 Kings 5). She spoke up and witnessed to the healing power of God through Elisha, and Naaman was eventually cured of leprosy.
Then there’s the daughters of Zelophehad. They had no brothers. Yet these girls had the courage to stand up for themselves and asked Moses for their share their father’s inheritance in a day when this was not done. So Moses took their case to the Lord: “And the LORD replied to Moses, ‘The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must give them a grant of land along with their father’s relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father’” (Numbers 27:5-7).
The Bible is full of stories of women who God equipped to fulfil his purposes. They often acted outside the cultural expectations of their day. They sent time in prison and deserts. They put their reputations on the line and sometimes their very lives. When we look at the stories of what women did in the Bible, we find we have no excuse for not using the talents God has given us.
