Men in the Bible are talked about often; however, women in the Bible are not spoken of as much. It is important to be familiar with the women in the Bible and to know their lasting impact to be recorded in the Bible.
These women did miraculous things out of their love for God and were strengthened by His mighty arm. Here are four women in the Bible all Christians should know.
1. Eve
One woman in the Bible all Christians should know is Eve. Eve was the first woman ever created, and she is the mother of all the living (Genesis 3:20). God created Adam and Eve in His image, and He loved them dearly (Genesis 1:27).
The plan for their life was to live with God in the Garden of Eden, serve God, and enjoy their time together. God never designed mankind to die, experience pain, or experience sadness.
God had given Adam and Eve the privilege of eating anything in the Garden, except they could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were given clear directions that if they ate from the fruit of the tree, they would die.
Unfortunately, Adam and Eve didn’t heed God’s instructions and were tempted by the serpent. Due to the temptation, Eve ate from the forbidden fruit and then gave some to Adam. They had both disobeyed God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Due to their sin, they were suddenly aware of their nakedness and sought to cover themselves. God provided animal garments for Adam and Eve to wear, which acted as the first sin offering. This was the start of a long time of animal offerings to act as a payment for sin.
God cursed Adam and Eve, which mankind is still under today. Eve and all women after her would be cursed with the pains of childbearing and the desire for her husband (Genesis 3:16). While Eve made a grave mistake by eating the fruit, we cannot blame her.
All of us have disobeyed God several times throughout our lives. All Christians should know about Eve because she was the first woman God created and all of our ancestry stems back to her and Adam.
We can also learn from Eve the importance of obeying God and the necessity of turning away from temptation.
2. Hannah
A second woman in the Bible all Christians should know is Hannah. Hannah was the mother of Samuel. She is one of the few people in the Bible who battled with depression during her life. Hannah was depressed because she was unable to have children.
Elkanah was her husband, but he was also married to Peninnah. Peninnah gave birth to many children, which also made Hannah feel bad. Elkanah never understood Hannah’s pain by making the comments, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8).
Hannah earnestly prayed to the Lord and asked Him to bless her with a child. God loved Hannah and saw her devotion. She had made the promise that she would dedicate her son to the temple if God would bless her with a son.
God answered her prayer and blessed her with a son, which she named Samuel. As she had promised, she dedicated Samuel to the temple.
From Hannah’s life, we can see her pure devotion to the Lord and her love for Him. Out of her despair and depression, she called out to the Lord. Even though she had been barren for many years, God helped her and blessed her with a baby boy.
All Christians should know Hannah because of her devotion and her steadfast faith. She truly wanted a child, yet she was willing to give him to the temple out of her love and the promise she had made to God. This shows her bravery and her selfless nature in her life.
3. Esther
A third woman in the Bible all Christians should know is Esther. There have been many movies, devotions, and books written about Esther; however, we can find the true story of Esther as recorded in the Bible.
Esther’s Jewish name was Hadassah. Her mother and father had died, but her cousin, Mordecai, raised her in the knowledge of God. The king was in search of a new wife because his wife, Vashti, did not obey his irrational requests.
As part of the king’s requests, there was a search for a new queen. Esther was one of these girls who were taken for beauty treatments. Out of all of the women, king Xerxes chose Esther to be his queen.
Esther had to act in true bravery during this time, as it was because of her place of prominence that she saved the Jewish people. She was truly created for a time such as the time she was in (Esther 4:14).
Haman was a man who was trying to destroy the Jewish people, yet through Esther and Mordecai, they were able to help the king know Haman’s true evil colors.
While God is never directly mentioned in the book of Esther, we can see themes of Him throughout the book. He strengthened Esther to be able to do what she had to do as well as He helped Mordecai to continue to encourage Esther.
Esther is a woman who shows us what true bravery looks like and how it is important to stand up for your beliefs. Even though she risked her life by just summoning king Xerxes, she was brave and relied on God to help her. As we see in this book of the Bible, God was with her every step of the way.
4. Mary
A fourth woman in the Bible all Christians should know is Mary. Mary was the mother of Jesus Christ. She was a young woman when the angel Gabriel came to tell her she was going to be pregnant with a son.
Mary wasn’t scared by the angel’s appearance, but rather she accepted what was going to happen. She was going to take part in the virgin birth of the Messiah. Nothing has happened like this before, and nothing will ever happen like this again.
Most women would have been scared, not to mention the social ridicule they would have faced if she was found out to be pregnant before marriage. Even with all of these obstacles and concerns, Mary chose to be God’s servant and saw it as a blessing to carry the Messiah.
Joseph, her fiancé, didn’t stop the engagement but rather stayed by her side. Mary loved God and was fully focused on her mission to give birth to the Messiah and to raise Him as her own son.
All Christians should know about Mary because of her steadfastness, her bravery, and her love. We also need to take note of the pain Mary would have felt as she saw Jesus crucified on the cross.
Any parent who had lost a child knows the pain Mary felt as she watched her son die on the cross. Mary was a remarkable woman who was God’s chosen vessel to carry His Son, Jesus.
For further reading:
Who Was Mary the Mother of Jesus?
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