May 9, 2008

Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:3)

The treatment of women in the Middle East has left us with the impression that this is the way women were treated in biblical times. On the nightly news we see pictures of darkly shrouded figures completely covered except for their eyes. We read stories of how some of these women have been forced to abandon their careers and are treated like slaves by their husbands, and we assume that's the way it was in the Old Testament times.

But is this true? Were women treated like this? Were they hidden away, never to be seen or heard from? Let's look at what the Bible has to say.

The Old Testament is full of Scripture commanding the respect of children for both mother and father. In fact, this is such a basic principle that it's one of the Ten Commandments. In the book of Proverbs, the duty of reverence, love, and obedience of sons to their mothers is emphasized over and over.

In the story of the Garden of Eden, Eve is as important as Adam. In fact, the Scripture clearly states that they were given equal responsibility. He didn't give this command only to Adam, but to them, Adam and Eve. Their roles changed after the fall, but their status didn't.

Examples From the Bible

Other examples of prominent women in the Bible are:

• Sarah (Genesis 12–23): Abraham listened carefully to Sarah's advice in Genesis 16 when she suggested that her maidservant provide him with a son. Later, God tells Abraham to listen to Sarah again, in Genesis 21:11–12, because she will be the mother of a great nation through Isaac.
• Rebekah (Genesis 24–28). Jacob's chief counselor was his mother, Rebekah (Genesis 28:7).
• Miriam (Exodus 15:20). Moses' sister, Miriam, led the women in Exodus 15:20.
• Deborah (Judges 4–5). Judges 4:4 clearly states that Deborah was leading the nation of Israel.
• Huldah (2 Kings 22:14). God spoke to the leaders of Judah through the prophetess Huldah, even though the prophets Jeremiah and Zephaniah were alive.

The biblical stories wouldn't be the same without Leah and Rachel, Delilah, Bathsheba, Ruth and Naomi, Hannah, and Esther.