Week 4: Women of the Bible, Part B

(Found on Google Images, illustration of Esther's conversation with Haman and the King)

All of these stories are found in the Bible, which is a collection of stories from the BC-AC timeline. 

The Witch of Endor: Saul called upon the Witch of Endor to summon the spirit of Samuel. Saul was targeted by the Philistines in an effort to acquire his hair, as that is where his strength was stored. The Witch of Endor helped Saul so that he could get advice for battle against the Philistines. He reached out to her only after priests and prophets failed him.

Bathsheba: King David saw Bathsheba on the roof one night and found her very beautiful, calling her into his room and she ended up pregnant with his child. Embarrassed of what he had done, David called for Uriah the Hittite to aid him in how to move forward. David and Uriah became friends, and Uriah gave him support through all of it. However, David backstabbed him, and had Joab assign him to a dangerous city, where he ended up being killed. Once Uriah died, David took his wife as his, and this along with his actions with Bathsheba incredibly upset the Lord.

Esther: The king of Esther's town was looking for a wife, and requested that all eligible maids be brought to him. Esther's cousin, Mordecai, brought Esther to the king, and he found great favor in her. She was selected to be the king's wife, but Esther was timid and scared of the new responsibilities she would now be given. She came from a very humble home and had never been called to do something like this before. Before she knew it, the king had made an order for the town that would cause emotional pain for Esther. He ordered that all Jews be executed, and this was influenced to him through his assistant Haman. As Esther was a Jew, this broke her heart, and she knew that she had to do something about it. She requested the presence of the king and Haman to convince them this was a bad idea. By doing this, she was able to expose Haman's selfish, disgusting personal desires for this massacre order. Instead, the king order that Haman be executed, and Esther empowered the Jews to defeat their enemies.

Susannah: Susannah was a beautiful woman, who found peace being out in her garden. Two elder men observed her and devised a plan to trap her in her garden and lay with her against her will. They were successful in this evil plan, and then accused her of cheating with her husband; which led to the order of her execution in the town. However, she trusted God, and He put His spirit in a man named Daniel. Daniel stopped her execution, and instead called in the two elder men for questioning. He found their witness to be false, and they were delivered death on the same day Susannah was delivered freedom.

Elisabeth & Mary: Elisabeth was the wife of Zacharias the priest, and she was barren. However, one day the angel Gabriel visited Zacharias and promised him that Elisabeth would conceive a son named John soon. This son would be precious in the eyes of God and bring great abundance. Soon after this, Elisabeth became pregnant, and hid for five months to protect herself and please God. The angel Gabriel then went on to visit a young woman, Mary, who was Elisabeth's cousin. Gabriel approached Mary and promised her that she was favored in God's eyes and that her virgin womb would bare child, and this child would be the Son of God. Mary accepted this information with fear at first, but then felt comforted. She visited her cousin Elisabeth to share the good news, and they both rejoiced in God's favor of them.

Mary & Anna: When Mary gave birth to the son of God, he was named Jesus, and taken to a temple soon later to be blessed. The prophets there predicted Jesus would be the cause of the rise and fall of many Israelites, and a prophetess, Anna, confirmed this. She found great pleasure in being in the presence of Jesus, and knew that He was the Son of God.

Herodias: Herodias was the wife of the late Philip, who was brothers with King Herod; with whom she later married. She had issues with John the Baptist because he didn't agree with her marriage with Herod, but Herod wouldn't do anything about it because he feared and respected John. On King Herod's birthday while he was in a fantastic mood, he asked Herodias' daughter what she wanted, and he would give her whatever it was she requested. The daughter, knowing Herodias' dislike for John, asked for John's head on a silver platter. Herod obliged because of the oath he made, and John the Baptist was executed and his head was literally delivered to Herodias on a silver platter.

Martha & Mary: Martha and Mary were sisters, and they had a sick brother named Lazarus. They found Jesus in town one day and asked him to heal Lazarus, as he was close to dying. Jesus said yes, and brought His disciples with Him to heal His new friend. When they arrived, Lazarus was already dead, and this caused Jesus to cry. He called upon His father God to raise Lazarus from the dead, and in one breath Lazarus awoke. It was a miracle.