Righteous Women of The Bible

Scripture gives us many great women that God used in many different roles, all to bring about His divine purposes. Most all these women were ordinary people that God used to do extraordinary things. This study will focus on only two, Ruth and Esther. Both these young women were leading routine lives within the culture at the time that God raised-up for extraordinary events fulfilling His purpose. Both women showed great courage, humility, and compassion. In the Bible we have two books named after women; Ruth and Esther. Both these women were similar in that God used both for redemption, but different in their heritage and culture. Ruth a Gentile lived with Jews, married a Jew, where Esther being a Hebrew, lived with Gentiles, and married a Gentile. Ruth a gentile from the land of Moab found herself in Israel, the territory of Judah, and city of Bethlehem. This being a most unlikely place for someone of Ruth’s heritage, a Moabite. Ruth was placed in Bethlehem by God for the express purpose to meet Boaz and become his wife. They would bear a son, Obed who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David. God placing Ruth in Bethlehem was “for such a time as this,” through their lineage our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus would come. Our Heavenly Father divine plan involves using women such as Ruth and Esther to fulfill His divine purpose. The LORD does not look at the person outer appearance, but the inner self, God knows what is in the heart of each person. God looks at one’s feelings, values, compassions, spirituality, desires, and above all the depths of a person’s love for Him and mankind. God shows us in the book of Ruth the importance He places on His land of promise along with the true purpose of levirate marriage, all to bring about God’s divine purpose for mankind. The book of Esther is a story of redemption. Esther an ordinary Jewish girl through divine providence becomes queen of the Media Persian empire. With her cousin Mordecai God places them in the right place at the right time to save the nation of Israel. God uses Esther to redeem the nation of Israel saving them from annihilation preserving many future lineages of Israelites. What is wonderful is that these stories show God’s redemptive work, not in the abstract, but in real live flesh and blood. The characters are real people, women and men who struggle, weep, worry, and rejoice, just like us. In the book of Esther, we find Esther perplexed on what she should do concerning Haman decree calling for the extermination of all Jews. Esther was aware by her taking this matter before the king without being summoned, could mean her death. Mordecai gives Esther these words of wisdom, “yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). These words “for such a time as this” has application not only for Esther, but Ruth as well. God will use whomever He chooses to fulfill His divine purpose, putting them in the right place, in the right time, all to accomplish His purpose. Esther a simple Jewish girl selected to be queen of the Media-Persian empire. Esther being placed in the right position as queen to save the Jewish nation from annihilation. At the same time to rid the Persian empire, along with all humanity of the evil Haman, a typology of the Antichrist. Despite the risk to her own life, she chooses to obey God’s plan. Truly Esther was placed in her position as queen, “for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14.) Scripture provides many great examples of righteous women the Heavenly Father used to bring about His divine purpose in the establishment of His Kingdom. My difficult task was the decision which women to select for this study. Ruth and Esther became a good starting point being the only two women in the Bible a book was named after, providing the greatest details for a study. In addition to Ruth and Esther we have other influential women in the Bible that deserves mentioning. Twenty Righteous Women of the Bible have been listed at the end of this study book that deserve recognition. These twenty women of the Bible you may wish research further. The twenty women selected are not necessarily the twenty most influential in scripture, just twenty women I found significant to God’s divine purpose. In this list of twenty women Ruth and Esther are not named as they have been covered in this study. The twenty women selected represent twelve from the Old Testament and eight from the New Testament, listed in order as they appear in the Bible. A brief description is given on each woman, along with reference verses to help find their story in scripture. The books of Ruth and Esther provide an amazing story how we can all live a more righteous life serving our LORD. Ruth and Esther exemplify what God wishes to see in all mankind. A life of humility, loyalty, compassion, and especially love. These books provide wonderful life lessons, lessons we should share with our children, family, and friends. Ruth and Esther teach us to be humble servants of the LORD, when we do so He will bless us. Peter provided words of wisdom that relate well to these two books; 1 Peter 5:6-7; “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”