Posts

Last Year’s It Girl

Image
I mentioned the tragic David and Bathsheba adultery-murder story in a prior post , it’s an ugly tale that still manages to shock even this unshockable generation. But, as Paul Harvey used to say, what about the REST of the story? Let’s learn some “fight like a girl” tactics from a disenfranchised wife who contended for her son’s rights in the face of some extreme circumstances. | A little backstory | I won’t go into the sordid details (you can review them in 2 Samuel 11), but we can summarize the whole mess by saying King David spied on a pretty lady taking a rooftop bath, ordered her to come to him, got her pregnant, and had her husband (one of his famous mighty men!!) murdered in a vain cover-up attempt. After being confronted by Nathan the prophet, King David confessed his sin and accepted sad death of their firstborn as the Lord’s righteous chastisement. David promised Bathsheba that Solomon, their next son, would inherit the throne. Okay, now you’re up to speed. We pick up the...
2 comments
Read more

Hidden Figure

Image
  Quiz time! Quick, name this Biblical character: Impulsive, self-important, loud-mouthed, passionate, quick with a weapon, over-confident, and actually rebukes his leader. Got it? Okay, name this one. Ready to call down destruction and judgment on his enemies, ambitious, zealous, loyal, power-hungry, one of two fiery brothers. Got it? If you said, “Easy-peasy…that’s Peter and John,” I’d have to say “Natural mistake, but, oh, sorry, here’s a lovely consolation prize!” Our mystery men are actually Joab and Abishai, brothers we meet as we move through 2 Samuel. ( You may recall my odd fascination with Joab from this post ). But it’s actually Zeruiah, their hidden figure parent, we’ll be discussing today. If you’re scratching your head at that name, let me refresh your memory. | Crazy sons of… | Anyone in earshot of King David would eventually hear him say, with gusto, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah?” At first, I assumed this was an oath of some kind, like saying ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nailed It

Image
  Is not My word…like a hammer? Jeremiah 23:29 We’ll get back to King David’s female cast members in a minute, but I want to take a quick detour into the book of Judges--which, for my money, contends with the Book of Joshua for pure blood-per-verse mayhem. We meet quite a few women in this book under jaw-droppingly awful circumstances, but let’s get acquainted with two of its more formidable females: Judge Deborah and a little-known and ostracized Bedouin named Jael. The Backstory Their combined saga kicks off as Judge Deborah gives Barak, her right-hand man, a chance for major glory in a do-or-die battle against Canaanite King Jabin and his famous 900 iron chariots. Surprisingly, Barak won’t budge unless Deborah goes with him. Now, bear in mind, this is a culture where men will BEG the handiest male in sword-swinging range to kill them rather than die by the hand of a woman, so Barak's reaction is pretty off-brand for standard OT heroes here.  However, Judge Deborah s...
6 comments
Read more

Off With His Head

Image
Yes, Joab, commander-in-chief of King David’s army, is an ambitious hothead and a ruthless, bloodthirsty warrior; Bible commentaries always peg him as a villain, but I kind of like the guy. I have been wading through 2 Samuel for months now and every time I bump into Joab, he makes me smile or shake my head in reluctant admiration. Why am I talking about a guy in my girl-power blog? Well, for starters, for a man of his time, Joab had a surprisingly modern attitude towards women (I think he gets that from his mother, but that’s another blog post for another day—soon, I promise). But today, we’re going to see him in action and study how one wise woman held up the juggernaut of his war machine with a simple request that led to a surprising reaction. (If you were raised in the south, like me, you’re probably reciting “Barbara Fritchie” right now, but it’s not quite the same.)  Okay, so here’s the scenario: Joab has tracked a scallywag upstart who set his sights on King David’s thr...
2 comments
Read more

Lessons from a Lipsticked Lady

Image
There’s a secret society that meets in ladies rooms, whether those ill-lit chamber walls are decorated with delicately floral wallpaper or scrawled with graffiti. The membership is fluid, consisting of whoever happens to be in the powder room when you arrive. The password? A simple compliment, complaint, sigh, tears or frantic cry for help like “does anyone have a safety pin??” Any of these openings uncorks a wellspring of advice, counsel, and encouragement from women who recognize a sister in distress. Despite the popular (and erroneous) understanding that women are catty and competitive, some of the best wisdom I’ve ever received has been from the highly glossed lips of a complete stranger who took pity on my current plight. It was at the height of the swing dance craze. I had wedged into the shockingly small, single-stall restroom at a popular live music venue (I almost said “dive," the more accurate, if less kind, description). I was drenched in sweat from a hilariously awful ...
6 comments
Read more

Fight Like A Girl

Image
                           Deposed queens and disenfranchised wives. Slaves and spies. Heroines and harlots. Shepherdesses, timbrel-waving dancers, unlikely leaders, desperate mothers, reckless daughters, fearless widows…. the Bible shares the sagas of women who were both emboldened and imprisoned by their biology and culture. I wanted to know how to live out my walk with God as a woman of the Word so I turned to the study of the Bible's women--the ones everyone's heard of and the quiet, powerful ones hidden behind wider stories of triumph and tragedy. This blog celebrates the wild-hearted women who crept in under the tent flaps of the patriarchy, the ones whose audacious faith was recognized and rewarded by their Maker and Master. I want to join this sacred sorority. I want them to teach me to fight like a girl for the only prize worth winning--to hear the Lord Jesus say, "She has done what she could. Well-done."...
Post a Comment
Read more