The Queen of Sheba was apparently a good woman, even though she was not of Israel. The Bible doesn’t say anything negative about her, only that she admired Solomon’s wisdom.
Solomon, on the other hand, wound up with enough wives and concubines to keep him busy for years. I personally don’t understand how a man that wise could tie himself down to so many women. It just doesn’t seem, you know, wise. The Bible doesn’t even tell us much of anything about Solomon’s collection of women, except that they turned away his heart. Of course, if he had married one faithful woman of his own kingdom, that wouldn’t have happened.
We could talk about Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, but Ahab’s heart wasn’t right with God to start with, and he married this woman who was not Jewish by birth or by faith. There were a lot of men that would have done as much damage to Israel as she did if they had only been given the opportunity. One thing I will say for Jezebel: She was very faithful to her god and to her husband.
Athaliah was the mother of a king, and when the king died, she went and slew as many of the royal blood as she could find, and she ruled over Israel for several years. She missed one, and eventually he was placed on the throne in her stead (she called that treason). Certainly that was a wicked woman, but no more so than many of the men in the Bible.
Esther was a well-favored woman that became Queen of Babylon during the captivity, and she was able to use her position to save Israel from what would have otherwise been a great slaughter.
In the New Testament, of course, God chose a woman who was a virgin to bring Jesus into this world. He could have simply sprung Jesus upon us, fully grown and ready to preach, but he chose to live a human life, including being brought up as a son of Israel.
I’ve mentioned before that the Bible really tells us very little about Mary Magdalene. We know that Jesus cast seven demons out of her, and that she was one of the first, if not the very first person to see Jesus after the resurrection. Of course, that means that she is one of the few people in the entire Bible that we cannot ascribe any faults to. She was human, so she was not perfect, but we really don’t know of anything that she did wrong.
Lazarus had two sisters, Mary and Martha, who are mentioned very prominently in the Gospels. One interesting thing about them: When Jesus went to Martha’s house, the Bible tells us that Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard His teaching. Martha complained to Jesus that her sister wasn’t helping her serve. Jesus told her that Mary had chosen the better part, and that He wouldn’t take that away from her. Some people, in those days, would probably have questioned Mary even being allowed to learn from Jesus (especially if she’s not helping with the ‘women’s work’), but Jesus makes it clear that He was in favor of Mary learning everything she could.
In the Book of Acts, There are some women that are mentioned prominently: Tabitha was a faithful woman in the early church who died, and was subsequently raised from the dead. That puts her in a very exclusive club: The Resurrected.
There was also mention that Philip had four daughters that prophesied. What prophesies did they utter? We don’t know, they are only mentioned in passing; apparently their prophecies only dealt with the early church.Paul shared with a couple, Aquila and Priscilla, who went on to share with Apollos. Apollos shows up again in Corinth as a leader in the church (1 Corinthians 3:4-6). Would he have if it had just been Aquila that shared with him? I’m thinking probably not, but, of course, that’s speculation.
Solomon, on the other hand, wound up with enough wives and concubines to keep him busy for years. I personally don’t understand how a man that wise could tie himself down to so many women. It just doesn’t seem, you know, wise. The Bible doesn’t even tell us much of anything about Solomon’s collection of women, except that they turned away his heart. Of course, if he had married one faithful woman of his own kingdom, that wouldn’t have happened.
We could talk about Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, but Ahab’s heart wasn’t right with God to start with, and he married this woman who was not Jewish by birth or by faith. There were a lot of men that would have done as much damage to Israel as she did if they had only been given the opportunity. One thing I will say for Jezebel: She was very faithful to her god and to her husband.
Athaliah was the mother of a king, and when the king died, she went and slew as many of the royal blood as she could find, and she ruled over Israel for several years. She missed one, and eventually he was placed on the throne in her stead (she called that treason). Certainly that was a wicked woman, but no more so than many of the men in the Bible.
Esther was a well-favored woman that became Queen of Babylon during the captivity, and she was able to use her position to save Israel from what would have otherwise been a great slaughter.
In the New Testament, of course, God chose a woman who was a virgin to bring Jesus into this world. He could have simply sprung Jesus upon us, fully grown and ready to preach, but he chose to live a human life, including being brought up as a son of Israel.
I’ve mentioned before that the Bible really tells us very little about Mary Magdalene. We know that Jesus cast seven demons out of her, and that she was one of the first, if not the very first person to see Jesus after the resurrection. Of course, that means that she is one of the few people in the entire Bible that we cannot ascribe any faults to. She was human, so she was not perfect, but we really don’t know of anything that she did wrong.
Lazarus had two sisters, Mary and Martha, who are mentioned very prominently in the Gospels. One interesting thing about them: When Jesus went to Martha’s house, the Bible tells us that Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard His teaching. Martha complained to Jesus that her sister wasn’t helping her serve. Jesus told her that Mary had chosen the better part, and that He wouldn’t take that away from her. Some people, in those days, would probably have questioned Mary even being allowed to learn from Jesus (especially if she’s not helping with the ‘women’s work’), but Jesus makes it clear that He was in favor of Mary learning everything she could.
In the Book of Acts, There are some women that are mentioned prominently: Tabitha was a faithful woman in the early church who died, and was subsequently raised from the dead. That puts her in a very exclusive club: The Resurrected.
There was also mention that Philip had four daughters that prophesied. What prophesies did they utter? We don’t know, they are only mentioned in passing; apparently their prophecies only dealt with the early church.Paul shared with a couple, Aquila and Priscilla, who went on to share with Apollos. Apollos shows up again in Corinth as a leader in the church (1 Corinthians 3:4-6). Would he have if it had just been Aquila that shared with him? I’m thinking probably not, but, of course, that’s speculation.
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