Women of The Bible ~ Winter Blog Bible Study ~The Series

Welcome to Women of The Bible ~ The Series

This is a 7 week Bible Study of the women in the bible. We will post a new lesson every Tuesday until we have completed the study. You are welcome to comment and send your questions and suggestions to our email shared at the end of our lesson. Get yourself  comfortable, ask a friend to join and let's begin.

Lesson 3: Women of The Bible ~ The Series

Ruth ~ Mahlon's Wife / Naomi's Daughter In Law

Her name means friend. Ruth was the wife of Mahlon, Naomi's son. She was a Moabiteiss, a Gentile hated by the Jews because they were said to worship other gods and were unclean. Most times if a believer married a foreigner, the believer eventually began to worship idols too. Ruth began her life in Moab and later moved to Israel. There was no king or authortity figure at that time and everyone did what they felt was right in their eyes. She married Mahlon and wasn't like the other Moabites, she was the opposite. She assimilated into the Jewish culture and accepted God as her God. During this time the people followed the custom of Levirate marriages. This meant that if a woman’s husband died, leaving her childless, the husband’s brother or closest male relative had the responsibility of marrying her to raise up an heir for the deceased of the woman. Ruth gave up her own country, people, and gods in order to follow Naomi. She made sure that she and Naomi ate By gleaning in the fields. The people talked about her being a Moabite. But Boaz being impressed with her and how she cared for Naomin had told her to harvest as long as she liked. He told the workers to leave more for her to gather. Later she married Boaz and became an ancestor of both David and Jesus through her love , loyalty, and kindness.. 

Land rights were also passed on under the Levirate custom, land was supposed to stay in the family from generation to generation. God laid down laws for the provision of the poor. Those with fields were to leave the corners un-harvested so that the poor could harvest a small portion for food. This provided food for the poor and also made sure that they worked for their food. 

Ruth is known as one of the most godly women in the Bible. God honored her decision to leave her own country, she is one of the most prominent women in David’s and Jesus’ genealogy. It's a special thing that Ruth was one of the few Gentiles in the entire Old Testament that gave up their lifestyle, people, country, and idols in order to follow God. 

Weaknesses: There are no weaknesses recorded though she obviously must have had some.

Strengths: Numerous strengths can be seen in Ruth’s life 

Ruth ~ 3:11 ~Boaz said, “for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence”.

Proverbs ~ 22:1 ~ Ruth was respected for being a godly woman, which is better than being famous or wealthy.

Loyalty  Ruth ~1:16-17 

This proclamation is probably the deepest expression of loyalty in the Old Testament. Ruth willing to give up everything she knew in order to follow Naomi into a foreign country: her family, her people, her home, her country, her gods, her position in society (Gentiles were normally looked down on in Jewish society), and her chance to be re-married.

Obedience

Ruth ~3:1-5 

Ruth followed Naomi’s advice down to the letter. She didn’t trust herself, her own opinion, or her feelings, but followed the older and wiser Naomi, her mother in law, even in such an important matter!

Love

Ruth~ 2:10-11 Ruth~ 4:15 

Ruth showed great love to her mother-in-law. At any time she could have left Naomi and pursued her own goals, but she didn’t. She cared and provided for Naomi to such an extent that it was well-known throughout the town. The people even said Ruth was better than seven sons to Naomi!

Diligence

Ruth ~ 2:3 

Ruth was a very diligent young woman. She went out to the fields to harvest food for herself and Naomi. She worked hard throughout the days to sustain them. She didn’t wait for help to come to her and Naomi, even though they were poor.

Lessons we can learn from her life

God always cares for His people and honors their decisions to follow Him and put Him first. Ruth made a huge sacrifice to do what was right. God blessed her for that. These blessings don’t always come on this earth, but for her and Naomi they did. God never forgets His children or forsakes them!

Race is not important in God’s sight. Historically people, even believers, have placed a high emphasis on skin color and ethnicity. It is not important in God’s sight. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. Don’t let people’s outward appearance affect your judgment of them.

Deborah ~ Prophetess / Judge of Israel / Wife of Lapidoth

The name Deborah comes from the Hebrew Dvōrah, meaning "bee, wasp, wild honey bee. She was the only female judge of Israel named in the Bible. She had a special place where people knew to find her. A tree between towns in the hill country of Ephriaim. Her discernment was well known throughout Israel. She was a bold woman, she told Barak she knew what God wanted him to do which was gather 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun to defeat the enemy. Barak told her, if you go with me I will go. She told him she would go with him, but let him know that he wasn't getting any rewards because he would not be the warrior to kill the enemies, God gave that to a woman named Jael, and the battle was won. Deborah's story has 2 treasures:

1. The song she and Barak sing together

2. Deborah's obedience resulted in peace for the Israelites.

We aren't given any weaknesses or about Deborah, but we are given her strengths:

Strengths

1. Brave

2. She was a leader

3.Obedient

4. She spoke truth

5. She had wisdom

6. Discernment

A lot of times in life we have to use wisdom, discernment and be obedient. That means being brave enough to listen to the voice of God and being strong enough to follow the instructions He gives us. Deborah acted in all of these in that she used her wisdom, and she was bold enough to tell Barak the truth. That he wasn't the reason the battle would be won. It would be a woman, named Jael.

This concludes lesson 3 of our "Women of The Bible Series" Tuesday Winter Bible Study. We will post again on next Tuesday February 11, 2025. Please send any questions, comments, or suggestions to admin@urbeauty4ashes.com or if you're on blogger leave them here. Thank you for reading and remember I love you with the love of the Lord. Until next lesson, be blessed. 💞☺️💞