Dauters of Grace wk2

Leah

• Leah was a loving and faithful wife.  Even though her husband Jacob favored Rachel, Leah remained committed, enduring this unfairness through faith in God.
• Bore Jacob had six sons and one daughter
• Collaborated with Jacob and Rachel to outwit Laban’s ruthless manipulation
• She is honored as one of the mothers of Israel
• Gentle and timid nature (often mistaken as weakness)

Weaknesses

• Leah tried to make Jacob love her through her deeds. Her fault symbolizes those of us who try to earn God's love rather than simply receive it.
• Envied her sister Rachel over Jacob’s love
• Competed with Rachel for Jacobs's attention and respect
• Jealousy
• Compared herself with her sister
• Unwanted, rejected, overlooked and second-best
• Look for her value in her husband
• Unworthy
• Insecure
• Sadness, affliction

Lesson from her life

1.   Leah and Rachel (and their maids) did indeed build the house of Israel; 12 sons and a daughter! God can work His will despite human imperfections, motives, and emotions.
2.  As all men and women do, Rachel and Leah had imperfections. But despite those, God used them to build the house of Israel.
3.  God does not love us because we are beautiful, handsome, brilliant, or successful.  He doesn't reject us because we don't meet the world's standards for being attractive.  God loves us unconditionally, with a pure, passionate tenderness.  All we must do for his love is accept it.
4. Even wrong motives can’t entirely cover the truth; Leah gave God-specific credit for the birth of five of her sons.
5. Opportunities for joy can be missed through wrong motives towards others.
6.  God has a way of using unexpected people to accomplish his purposes and plans.
7. How far Leah falls from her grateful acceptance of God’s blessings in previous verses (Gen 30:9-13)
8. Rachel and Leah gave their servants to Jacob as concubines because they were both in a cruel contest (children). Jacob failed to be wise enough to refuse such proposals even though they were culturally accepted. Just because it was customarily accepted does not mean it was wise or right.
9.  You will spore much heartache if you look at the potential consequences of your actions to you or others. Are you doing anything now that might cause future problems?
10.  Leah, who previously had viewed her children as a gift from a gracious and caring God, now sees these sons as merely good fortune: “How lucky I am,” “How fortunate,” and “How happy am I.” Religious devotion has been thrown to the wind. However, in gaining ground on her sister, she forfeits the godliness she once demonstrated. The focus of her thinking has shifted from God’s estimation of her actions to the praise she would be given by other women (Genesis 30:13)
11.  Leah’s strong retort reminds us that, in her mind, Rachel had stolen her husband from her. She viewed herself as Jacob’s legitimate wife rather than Rachel, who was merely his romantic preference. (envy, jealousy, bitterness)
12. What a sad Jacob’s marriage had come to. He had so failed as a husband that his wife had to resort to a form of prostitution to purchase his services as her husband.
13. Leah misinterprets the meaning of god’s gift to her fifth son. In her mind, this son is evidence of the god's approval and blessing of giving her maid Zilpah to Jacob. (Genesis 30:18) rather, a gift of God’s grace in response to her pitiable circumstances that the son was begotten. In her days, as in ours, true believers are too quick to credit God with the “successes” of life resulting from our sins. We seek to sanctify our sins by saying God was behind it all. My friends, God is given too much credit whenever we make Him our partner in sin. Pious words do not necessarily prove pious works.
14.  The worship of God is man’s highest and most noble end. Neither children nor careers will replace it.
15.   Sex, love, marriage, and family can never be fully satisfying unless enjoyed within the confines of the will of God and the Word of God.
16.    Love without sex may be frustrating; sex without love is folly. This is a lesson that we learn from Jacob. Surely, those years with Rachel where sex was not possible or permissible were frustrating (Genesis 29:21), but sex without love is just as bad. Jacob engaged in sex with his wife, Leah, but there was no fulfillment in it. In fact, it degenerated to mere prostitution, where Leah had to purchase his presence.
17. Leah wanted to be loved by her husband. She felt unwanted, second best, rejected, and unseen, but God saw her and enabled her to conceive (Genesis 29:31). He chose Leah, and he had a plan for her that included the savior of the world coming through her offspring.
18.  He has uniquely created us to fulfill the role that He has made for us.
19.   There are parallel stories about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's wives. They all had barren wives, and it is interesting how each man reacted to his wife’s predicament. Abraham had relations with Sarah’s servant to have his child. Isaac prayed to God when his wife was barren. Jacob followed his grandfather’s example and had children by his wife’s servants.
20.  Neither sex nor children can create love. Leah would be quick to tell us that she learned no amount of sex could ever earn the love of her husband. Even after six boys, she was still unloved. Love cannot be manufactured through sex.
21.   He or she who places sex on an extremely high level of priority becomes its slave. I may be wrong, but Jacob’s love for Rachel seems to be largely based on her physical attractiveness. Jacob appears to have been guided more by his hormones than anything else.
22. Marriage cannot run for long on the fuel of romantic love. (romance can quickly come and go) Love needs to be meticulously maintained and vigorously strengthened.
23.   Rachel and Leah story displays quite well what envy does in our lives, Envy does not solve our problems or get us what we want. It makes us blind to what we have and miserable about what we lack. (Prov 14:30)
24.  Leah saw her worthiness through having children.
25.  Rachel and Leah's story reminds us to make good choices that honor and glorify God. It also tells us never to underestimate what our mighty God can do through us or through others.
26.  Leah turned three times to a man for love, but in the end, she turned to God (Gen 29:35)
27.   It was Moses, Leah’s descendant, who redeemed our people from their slavery in Egypt, but only Joshua, Moses’ disciple, and Rachel’s descendant was able to lead the nation into the Holy Land.

The Hebrew midwives

• Brave
•  Courageous
•  Encourager
• Faith
• Obedience
•  Protected by God
• Risk takers
• Feared God
• They were midwives who attended the births of Hebrew women
• Fearless
•  Purposeful
•  Dedicated

Weaknesses

• Lied? Probably not 
• Barren

Lessons from their life

1. Righteous women of God will always choose to conceive, deliver, and protect life above all else.
2. When we put God above man and do what is right, regardless of the consequences, He blesses us and helps us work miracles;
3. We must fear God more than men
4. If we trust in the Lord, we don't have to fear what the "world" or "man" can do to us.
5. We need to value life (Prov 31:8-9)
6. Women deliver the deliverers.
7. God sees our every thought and action (Psalms 139:1-4)
8.  Your obedience to God just might save lives (They saved many lives, including boys’ babies)
9.   They may have been the midwives who attended the birth of Moses and consequently saved his life. Moses was the one who wrote the book of Exodus, and we probably know their names and know so much about them because he was grateful to them for sparing his life as a baby.
10. Some scholars say that midwives in Israel were always barren women who, to find their place in a society where the family was valued above all else, were given the responsibility of helping other women bring life into the world. If this is true, then it makes the fact that God gave them "houses" or "posterity" as a reward for their faithfulness an even more beautiful blessing.
11.   We need not obey mankind’s authorities if they require us to do something that goes against God’s word, Law, or HIM. As Peter and the other apostles said, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29). The Hebrew midwives obeyed God’s will before Pharaoh’s will, and God rewarded them richly. (God gave them families of their own, Ex.1:21).  
12. The midwives may only have been guilty of withholding the fact that, when they managed to arrive before the moment of birth, they did not kill the males. Either way, they were rewarded not for their words but for their work.
13. God will honor you for honoring Him (Matt 10:32)
14. You can choose to prioritize God over any leadership, especially evil or ungodly ones.
15.  There’s safety in trusting our LORD.
16.  There are no minor characters in God’s eyes. The Bible has approximately 31,000 verses. Only six are about Puah and Shiphrah, but their obedience to God saved a nation. There’s no such thing as a small and insignificant child of God!
17.  Let us be women who live lives that please the Lord and not just live to please those around us.

Mother of Moses

• Kind 
• Protective of her son 
• Loving
• Courageous
• She was able to love and nurse her son
• Protected by God
• Trusted God (Jochebed had faith in God's protection of her baby. Only because she trusted the Lord could she abandon her son rather than see him killed. She knew that God would take care of the child.)
• Strong
• Unselfish
• Jochebed wasn't just Moses' life-giver – the mother who carried him inside herself for 9 months –she was also the woman who was his life-protector. Moses had a future because of a mother who had the strength to give him a future.
•  

Weaknesses (please note the bible doesn’t mention her weaknesses; I am just listing what she might have felt as a mom)

•  Fearful
• Sadness
• Heartbroken
• Terrified
• Restless
• Concerned
• Alone
• Desperate
• She had no choice, she was in bondage

Lessons from her life

1.      Jochebed, Moses' mother. Knowing that her little baby boy faced certain death if found by Pharaoh's soldiers, Jochebed had the strength to let another woman raise her child to protect him from the murderous hands of an Egyptian ruler.

2.      Jochebed wasn't just Moses' life-giver; the mother who carried him inside herself for 9 months she was also the woman who was his life-protector. Moses had a future because of a mother who had the strength to give him a future

3.      God orchestrates the minute of our lives so that his ultimate plan is fulfilled

4.      God uses imperfect women who will step up and do the right thing even when they do not understand what the outcome may be.

5.      How mighty God is to use women to save a nation. Remember, God used a hurting mother who felt desperate and alone and a princess who had compassion to save the people of God.

6.      God’s compassion, tenderness, love it is seen in this story.

7.       God rewards her faith by allowing her to raise her son through his nursing years, how that must have brought peace to her spirit.

8.      Jochebed had no idea she would produce three progeny who would all play a huge role in modern world beliefs in 2014 A.D.

a)      Miriam, the daughter who adored and protected her new little brother from certain death; the daughter who placed him in the river and stood watch for his safety.

b) Aaron, the son who would become Moses’ spokesman in one of the most miraculous stories in human history.

c)      Moses, the lost son who returned to his mother, Jochebed, after so many years, healing her aching heart. From Moses, the world received the Law of Moses, which is the basis for all Western Law, though the West is quickly denigrating those laws of God.

9.      Moses, the son who led the Israelites to safety, booted the Arab ancestors out of Canaan at the insistence of God Himself (Moses was willing to share the land, but the Canaanites would have none of it, just like today) and brought the Hebrew belief in a single God to the entire world today. All because of Jochebed.

10.  Like Jochebed, we won't always foresee God's purpose in letting go, but we can trust that his plan is even better.

11.  The heartbroken people who must turn their dreams over to God. They may have desired a happy marriage, a successful career, developing their talent, or some other worthwhile goal, yet circumstances prevented it. We can only get through that disappointment by turning it over to God like Jochebed put her child in his care. In his gracious way, God gives us himself the most desirable dream we could ever imagine.

12.  She takes advantage of her time to teach her son the ways of the Israelites and to teach him about the true God. We aren’t sure how long she has been his nurse, but we know that she used the time Jochebed spent with him wisely. Moses grew up in the Pharaoh’s household as an Egyptian, but he identified with the Hebrews (Exodus 2:11). Why? It is easy to see, that it is because of the few years that Jochebed had with him to instill a love of God and his true Hebrew heritage. Even though we may have more time with our children than Jochebed did with Moses, the time our children will be under our roof is short. We need to feel the urgency that Jochebed did. We need to make sure that we are teaching our children their true identity as children of God and teaching them to love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5).

13.  Jochebed and Miriam worked day and night, helping Jewish mothers deliver and nurture their babies secretly. One of those babies was her son, Moses, who became the greatest Jewish leader of all time. From Jochebed, we learn that it’s not enough to know right from wrong; we must have the strength to carry out our convictions. She did what she knew was right, even at the risk of her life, and God protected and rewarded her.

14.  Mothers need to be flexible and creative, especially in difficult circumstances, and they should never lose faith that God will work in their children's lives.

15.  Her story brings to our minds that what comfort and peace it brings to remember God is always in control and ever present in our children's lives, even when we can no longer be.

16.  In life, there are plenty of things we must give up to God and plenty of things that are out of our control; therefore, we must trust God.

17.  I see similarities to this story and a few others in the Bible:

a)      Abraham sacrificing Isaac

b)       Hannah’s promise to God about Samuel

c) Father God gave His own Son, Jesus. They all had to give up their children in one way or another. I believe God gives us these stories not only so we can marvel at the courage these parents exuded but to paint a picture of what it would feel like to give His only Son for the salvation of the whole world.

Rahab

• Mother of Boaz, and thus an ancestor of David (great-great godmother) and Jesus (good mother)
• One of only two women listed in the Hall of fame, faith in Hebrews 11
•  Resourceful, willing to help others at great cost of herself and in emergency
• Rahab was loyal to Israel and faithful to her word
• Faith
• Courageous
• Fearless
•  Smart
• Compassionate and kind (concern for her family)

Weaknesses

• She was a harlot
• Rejected
• Felt a failure
• Lonely
• Unclean
• Desperate
•  Lowest of society
• Liar
• Not an Israelite, an outsider, and a sojourner

Lessons from her life

1.      Her story is a beautiful picture of redemption. Our god doesn’t just rescue us; he deems and restores us. Amazing promised.

2.      God judges us differently than people judge us

3.      She feared God more than men

4.      Some scholars believe the red cord Rahab hung from her window represents sacrificial blood, the blood of animals in the Old Testament, and Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

5.      Rahab had heard stories of how the Lord delivered the Jews from the hand of their enemy. She declared her faith in the one true God. Rahab learned that following him will change your life forever.

6. The bible does not speak negatively about her lie; lying is a sin (Prov 12 22, Col 3:9-10). It is not surprising that she lied, considering her environment and lifestyle. She was beginning to show faith in God, but that didn’t mean her choices were all immediately right or she would be perfect right away. In Hebrews 11:31 Rahab is commanded by her faith in God, her lie is not mentioned.

a) God does not demand that our judgment be perfect in all situations. He simply asks us to trust in Him and do the best we know how. Rahab did that and was commended for her faith.

7.      Place your bet on the winning team; Rahab correctly believed that the Jews would defeat Jericho because of God’s power. It was good against evil, the one true God against false gods. She believed the power of the one true God who had already done miracles would prevail. We must realize that God’s victory over Satan is assured. Good will prevail. The world may look bleak at times, but ultimately, all of God’s prophecies will come true, and He will finally judge all people who do not obey His Word. We can choose to follow God or the world. Following God will probably not be the popular choice, but it is the right choice, and those who make the choice to follow Him with their lives will be rewarded.

8.       One person’s faith can greatly impact others’ lives. Rahab’s faith effectively saved her entire family from destruction. Their new life with the Jews gave them a chance to know about God and for their lives to be transformed as Rahab’s was. When whole families are saved, it normally starts with one person believing. His/her beliefs can influence the whole family. When saved, our thoughts should immediately turn to our family’s salvation, just like Rahab’s did.

9.      God is in the business of saving even the worst sinners. To most people, Rahab was nothing. But to God, her soul was valuable. He loved her from creation, even in the middle of all her sins. He chose to save her, Rahab, from before the beginning of the world. When Jesus came, He spent a lot of time and effort on these types of people, so much so that the Pharisees often criticized Him for it.

10.  Thank God that He saved you amid your sin. Though our sins may differ from Rahab’s, we are equally guilty. All of us have given in to the lusts of the flesh and eyes and the boastful pride of life. God loves us and redeems us anyway. Righteous people don’t need saving.

11. We are defined not by our sin but by our savior.

12.  God can save any of your relatives or friends, no matter how bleak their situation looks. Maybe you write a list of unsaved friends whom you want to pray for. When you get to one person, you think, “There is no need to write down their name. They will never change.” Don’t give up on them. God can save anyone, no matter what they have done or how disinterested they seem to be.

13.  No matter your bad habits, there is always hope (1 Corinthians 10:13). If Rahab could change, you can. It requires faith in a big God (Joshua 2:11). He is the God of heaven, meaning He has all power. He is God on earth, meaning He sees everything we do, cares about us as individuals, and wants to transform our lives.

14.  Rahab’s story shows that none of us are insignificant to Jehovah. He sees us all, reads our hearts, and is delighted when he finds a spark of faith like the one that lit up Rahab's heart. Her faith moved her to action. As the Bible says, she was “declared righteous by works” (James 2:25). How wise we would be to imitate her faith!

15.  She did not let fear affect her faith in god’s ability to deliver

16.  Many would assume that Rahab, a pagan, a Canaanite, and a harlot, would never be interested in God. Yet Rahab was willing to risk everything she had for a God she barely knew. We must not gauge a person’s interest in God by background, lifestyle, or appearance. We should not let anything get in the way of telling people the good news.

17. If you feel like a failure, remember that Rahab rose above her situation through her trust in god; you can do the same.

18.  No matter where one has come from or what kind of life one has lived, Rahab shows us the beauty of God’s grace.

19.  Her statement of faith (Joshua 2:9-11)

a)      He is the only God-the lord, your God is God (v.11)

b)      He is a personal God. That is, God cares about people- your God (v.11)

c)      He is an active God- He gave the land to the Israelites (v.9) He dried up the Red Sea (v.11)

d)      He is a powerful God- the LORD (Yahweh), your God is God. He rules the heavens above and the earth beneath (v.11)

e) When Rahab grew up, she did not believe in the one real God. She used to believe in false gods. But now she had a new belief and was ready to talk about it!

20.  If we trust in god, we should not worry. We should have confidence that God knows what is best. we often punish ourselves because of our lack of faith.

21. The New Testament mentions Rahab three times

a)      Matthew 1:5 Rahab was an ancestor of Jesus. This is unusual. Rahab was not an Israelite. Rahab was not a very good woman. God chose her because of her faith, not her profession. It does not matter how bad we are. God can still use us.

b)       In Hebrews 11, there is a long list of people from the *Old Testament who had faith in God. This list mentions Rahab. Hall of Fame of faith

c)       James 2:25 Rahab receives honor because of what she did. ‘*Faith without action is dead’ (James 2:26). Matthew 1:5

Deborah 

• Wife of Lapidoth
• Fourth and only female judge of Israel
• Special abilities as a mediator, adviser, and counselor
•  Prophetess and a judge only woman to hold both qualities as Samuel
• When called on to lead, was able to plan, direct, and delegate
• Known for her prophetic power
• A writer of songs
• Brave & faithful
• Respected
• Trustworthy
• Well-known, influencer
• Reputation
• Wisdom
•  Boldness
• Humility
• Courageous
• Determined
• Honor and obey God
•  Anointed
•  Warrior
• Integrity
• Leadership
• Poetess
• Maternal Figure “Mother to all in Israel

Lessons of her life

1.      Deborah led when times were difficult

a)      Deborah rose to leadership at a dark time in Israel’s history. Israel was in decline. It had fallen away from God and needed a deliverer.

b)      Judges 4:1-3 declares, “The Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord … they cried to the Lord for help.” Deborah says in Judges 5:7, “Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel.”

c) Deborah arose when Israel needed new leadership to stop its fall. She did what great leaders do: grow strong and step forward when times are difficult.

2.      Deborah Spoke with authority

a)      Judges 4:4 says Deborah was “a prophetess … leading Israel at the time.” The nation of Israel respected Deborah as someone who spoke with authority concerning the things of God (Only two other women in the Old Testament share this honored designation (Miriam, Ex 15:20 & Huldah, 2 Ki 22:14-20).

3.      Deborah’s followers affirmed her leadership.

a)      Leaders are magnets, not bulldozers; Deborah was a magnet.

Judges 4:5 says, “She held court under the Palm of Deborah … and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided.” Deborah made good use of all the gifts and opportunities God sent her way.

4.      Deborah led by example

a)      Judges 4:8 declares, “Barak said to her, ‘If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.’” She replies in Judges 4:9, “Very well,’ Deborah said, ‘I will go with you.”’

Deborah led by example. She was not a warrior or battle commander and could have easily said she would be of better use by remaining behind, but she did not do that. She faced reality and exposed herself to the full consequences of her decision. Under Deborah’s leadership, Israel’s enemy was defeated, the oppression was lifted, and Israel returned to the God of Abraham. Her story concludes in Judges 5:31 with these final words, “Then the land had peace forty years.”

5.      Deborah was an effective agitator who stirred up Israel’s concern about its low spiritual condition.

6.      God can use us even when we seem like the unlikely choice.

7.      She acknowledged that her strength came from the Lord. Rather than taking pride in her abilities, she relied on God for wisdom and leadership.

8.      God chooses leaders by his standards, not ours

9.      Wise leaders choose good helpers

10.  She had a remarkable relationship with God

11.  Whenever praise came her way, she gave God the credit.

12.  Her story shows that God can accomplish great things through people willing to be led by HIM.

13.  She reminds us of the need to be available to God and others

14.  She encourages us to spend our efforts on what we can do rather than worrying about what we can’t do.

15.  God chose her to lead Israel; God can choose anyone to lead his people.

16.  She influenced them to live for God after the battle.

17.  Her personality drew people together and commanded the respect of even Barak, a military general.

18.  Deborah used her abilities to serve. She showed no selfishness in using her God-given abilities to judge Israel or to prophecy. Rather, she focused on helping the people of Israel improve their lives, honor God, and find freedom from their oppressors.

19.  She accepted the challenge of a leadership role, bravely declaring truth and boldly obeying God despite the political setting

20. Her husband played her first headship and was her biggest encouragement.

21.  The fact that the people came to Deborah and not to the priests suggests a breakdown of the priesthood.

22.  Her commitment to be present is seen as a symbol of God's presence.

23.  She was concerned about people, not just her success

24.  Sher serves as a judge for 40years

25.  God’s Cause needs women! (5:6-7a).  

a) Women are vital to the Lord’s Church’s existence, faithfulness, spread, and peace and harmony in the local church.

b)      God’s Cause needs women to overcome crisis! (4:14b).  When the situation appeared hopeless, a woman arose and encouraged the men to overcome. Had Deborah not arisen, then Israel would have never found victory. Women have the power to speak encouraging words to male leaders and to stimulate victory! When congregations face crises, the leaders need the women to speak encouragingly to them so they will remain dedicated to God’s will. Whenever a congregation is caught in a crisis, the women can help it overcome by encouraging the men to stick to God’s Word or hasten the destruction by criticizing and gossiping. 

c)      God’s Cause needs women to offer service! (5:7b, 9). Women must be involved in the local congregation because their efforts actually “help” the Lord! (5:23b).