Twelve Extraordinary Women Workbook, How God Shaped Women of the Bible and What He Wants To Do With You

Most of the women we encounter in the pages of the Bible would be considered “unremarkable” today. They were common, ordinary, and in some cases had a shockingly low position in their society. For instance, the unnamed Samaritan Woman whom Jesus met at a well was clearly looked down upon by her fellow townspeople. Anna, who encountered the infant Jesus at the temple, was an obscure and elderly widow. Rahab was prostitute. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a young girl of no distinction, living in an obscure town in a barren district of Galilee.

Only Eve is the true exception, who began life as someone quite extraordinary—and even after sin entered into the picture, she became a representation of the truth that God can redeem those who fall and make them “extraordinary” again. In fact, this what the Lord in the lives of all the women in the Bible whom we might consider unremarkable. Twelve Extraordinary Women became extraordinary because the one true God whom they served is great, mighty, glorious, and awesome and refined them like silver and gold.

The women in Scripture thus serve as a reminder of both our fallenness and our potential. They are never relegated to the background in the social and religious life of Israel and the New Testament church. Rather, we see them partaking in the feasts and public worship in Israel, sharing teaching responsibilities and authority over their children, administering many of the affairs of their households, and owning land. All of this stands in sharp contrast to the way other ancient cultures routinely degraded and debased women. Yet God held women—and all people—in high esteem and had great plans for them.