thehopebeacon

What a joy it is to teach the Word of God! Someone asked me to teach a new study in the Bible. After praying about it, I decided to lead a study on Women of the Old Testament. We spent April and May meeting once a week and the information we gleaned from the lessons were incredible! For example, we learned that through studying Eve, choices have far-reaching consequences. The women in this group thought about what that meant for them. What choices do we make that can have long reaching consequences for others, good or bad?

We were familiar with some women we studied like Sarah, Hagar, and Esther, but several women like Abigail and the Shunammite woman we did not know. Looking deeper into each of these people’s lives helped us to identify with them. It was insightful to realize how God used Ruth and Rahab, a widow and a prostitute, in the lineage of Christ, the Messiah. The Lord can use any one which was a real encouragement to us! We discovered some of their weaknesses are ours, too. We also realized the strengths they each displayed are character traits we need today. For example, the Shunammite woman showed hospitality toward the prophet Elisha and his servant Gehazi by providing them food as they frequently travelled past her home on the way to another city. Later she had a room added on for them to provide shelter and rest as these two men served people through their travels. Remember they walked everywhere back then.

This led to application ideas. How could we show hospitality to others today? How can we be used to meet someone’s needs? As a result, I asked all those in my Bible Study and adult Sunday School class over for a Memorial Day cookout. Some of us don’t have family close to us, and holidays can be lonely celebrating alone. What a wonderful blessing my husband and I received through that gathering!

Another idea involved one member in our study group who has cancer and received a fatal prognosis last month. There is no other chemo available to try. She has five to six months to live. Members in our group thought of ways to show hospitality to her and her husband as well as ways to meet their needs. Hospice can do some things, but we plan to do a deep spring cleaning, provide some meals, especially as her condition worsens, and meet with her twice weekly to share Bible readings with her.

The study group learned though God has different roles for husbands and women, these roles are partnerships. The godly woman in Proverbs 31: 10-31 showed that women of excellence were wise business women who provided well for her husband and children that brought them all respect and well-being. She was not a couch potato and had no time to gossip about others since her focus was proactive as she prepared for each season and what that meant for her family and her business endeavors. The group members confessed that we learned some personal lessons from the “Woman of Excellence” and prioritizing our time and efforts.

What about you? What lessons have you learned lately? I would love to hear from you, and thank you for stopping by my website to share time and thoughts with me.