None can deny that the number of women mentioned by name in the Bible is far fewer than the number of men. If in this way a shade is drawn over much feminine activity, the greater publicity of the male reveals his coarseness and brutal instincts. Such thoughts come to mind when searching for an angle from which to write about people in our daily readings in July. The portion from the First Book of Samuel is mainly very depressing and sordid. Men are not seen at their best in this period of history. We must not be deceived. As a whole, Christadelphians know little about “nature in the raw” as it exists in 1964. Today there is a deceiving refinement; the differences between then and now are those of appearance only.
Therefore we will let the ladies dominate the scene as we travel through the pages of Scripture. We select six and take a closer look at them. The first, Michal, daughter of Saul was a victim, if we may use the term, of her times, as was the late Mr. Nehru. Neither had any say in their marriages. She became David’s wife as though she were a prize—as in fact she was. It was designed that her sister, Merab, should be David’s wife. Instead she was given to another man. But David had to risk his life to become the king’s son-in-law. Nevertheless it is written, she “loved David” and that love was demonstrated when she was brought into conflict with her father. Saul was seeking David; she put a dummy in David’s bed and he escaped by being let down from the window. In his anger Saul took Michal from David and gave her to a man named Phaltiel. After Saul’s death David decided he must have Michal back with him. It is a tragic occasion. Obviously Michal meant “all the world” to Phaltiel. “Her husband went with her along weeping behind her.” But the word of the king was law. Phaltiel returned. Michal’s cup of sorrow was filled when she saw David “dancing before the Lord”. The King making himself a spectacle; where was his dignity? “She despised him in her heart.”
In Abigail we have a different type of woman. When we first read of her she is “a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance”. We notice the order of the words. She was already married; the wife of a wealthy, selfish and churlish man, Nabal. By her wisdom she prevented David wreaking vengeance on her husband with whom she appears quite out of sympathy. Nabal died quite suddenly and ere long she became David’s wife. One imagines she appealed to David’s finer qualities, and probably would have understood his spiritual side more than his other wives—even to his dancing. Before Nabal’s death, when pleading for clemency from David on her husband’s behalf, she showed her understanding and appreciation of God’s purpose. One feels her kind are scarce in the earth.
With the witch of Endor we face yet another type—one who lived dangerously. A woman of calm outward appearance — underneath a schemer. In plain words, she was a witch. Some people enjoy the life that is led in evasion of the law of the land. There are risks and there are rewards. But the reward of the witch was not one in which the world might join in rejoicing. Her pleasure was furtive. For her kind there was no mercy. Death was the penalty for mistakes, for discovery. We know nothing personally of the woman. This we do know, that something happened quite beyond her powers. The prospect of the presence of the great Judge of Israel filled her with fear. Did she really think she could communicate with him? There appears to be phenomena in the world we cannot understand. Some people appear to have strange powers—but for the child of God “sufficient for the day is the evil thereof” must be the guide. The future is in the hands of God. Faith trusts Him, “the same yesterday, today and for ever”.
It would seem that the most straightforward explanation of the incident is that the woman and Saul received a vision of Samuel. We are not told that the woman heard the voice which communicated to Saul his doom. To her credit, the woman did her best to alleviate the anguish of the king. It was too late, but she bears a share of the ignominy of Saul by her very existence as a witch.
Jeremiah’s life seems singularly devoid of women. He may have been a bachelor. There are no indications. That God foreknew him is told to us by the words of chapter 1. 5, “Before thou tamest out of the womb I sanctified thee . . .” Had his mother conveyed to her son some of the qualities that were found in so sterling a character? It could be said quite freely of the mothers of Jesus and John the Baptist that there was something to be handed down. We like to think that the prophet’s mother had a share in the greatness of Jeremiah.
We renew acquaintance with the woman with the “issue of blood” in Matthew chapter 9. The records of Luke and Mark provide a little more detail and emphasise the plight of the woman. For 12 years she had suffered from this blood disease. Hers was a hopeless case. All her money had been spent in pursuit of a cure, but all in vain. She would face the future with a dismal prospect. Life held little for her. Then Jesus came to her town and into her life. She had heard of his miraculous powers, but felt she could not face him. Embarrassment had long been with her. But she did not need to ask his help. She was convinced. The problem was to get near him! “If only I could touch the hem of his garment!” In her condition it may have been more difficult. But faith will always triumph. It was so with her. All the horrors of her complaint were gone; it was like starting life over again; the shadow of death had retreated. In spite of her confusion at being discovered, she heard the loving words, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole”.
The fifteenth chapter brings yet another different kind of woman to our view. It is the woman of Canaan, called elsewhere the Syrophoenicean woman. She had no personal defects for healing. She was a mother, and mothers can be wonderful in their determination to aid their children. Only mothers can understand their feelings. This woman’s daughter was afflicted mentally. She was a Gentile— a woman without hope. She had heard of the man in Israel who so wonderfully relieved people of their ills, and even raised people from the dead. She made a frontal attack; she pleaded with much resolution, nothing could daunt her. To the disciples she was a nuisance. To Jesus she was a woman needing help—and he gave it to her.
To her first plea came the answer, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. She tried again, but once more there appeared to be no encouragement, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to the dogs”. Undeterred she persisted, certain of this man, Jesus of Nazareth. Then came the relief, “Woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee as thou wilt . . .”
We see how faith is triumphant. It rests not with God, but with us to respond. Some we feel can reach out and grasp its wonders, can get within the folds of its covering and they feel the warmth of Love that reacts to human understanding of the Divine.
Our companions have been varied: all save one (the witch—and she was not without feeling) showed the instinct which is theirs, an instinct to which the world owes so much.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One