Eleutheria Ministries: Truths From God's Word

Today we will begin by looking at a woman in scripture whose story is usually painted in a negative light.  I will lay a foundation, and then over the next three weeks we are going to look deeper into the lessons her life and actions can teach us. Jael murdered a man in cold blood.  As we read about her in Judges 4, we will find a graphic depiction of what appears to be deceit and betrayal.  However, I want us to look at her story from a new perspective.    Jael lived during a period in history that was wrought with wars and the daily struggle for survival. As the wife of a Bedouin, Jael was no stranger to hard work. Her family’s survival depended upon the availability of buyers for their metal smithed goods.  The Bedouin people traveled from place to place, packing up their tents and belongings on a regular basis.  Jael would have been responsible for sewing, pitching and setting up her own tent as well as taking it down and packing it for their next ...

Acts: 9:36-41, There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. About this time she became ill and died. Her body was washed for burial and laid in an upstairs room. But the believers had heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, “Please come as soon as possible!”  So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them. But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Get up, Tabitha.” And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up! He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he presented her to them alive. (NLT)  Tabitha is only mentioned briefly in Scripture; however, I believe we can learn a lot ...

This week we are beginning a new study on the women of the Bible.  We will not cover every woman mentioned in scripture and we will probably bounce around a bit, however, I believe that we will gain valuable truths about God and ourselves through the lives and testimonies of these women.   To begin our study, we will be diving into the life of one of the most famous Bible women, Ruth. Ruth is one of two women to have a book of the Bible named for them, the other being Esther, whom we will study later.   Let us begin with a little history lesson on Moab.  When Abraham left Ur, he took his nephew Lot with him.  After separating from Abraham, Lot settled in Sodom, a godless city.  After some time, God chose to destroy Sodom and the surrounding area because of their wickedness and great depravity.  God confided His plan to Abraham, and Abraham interceded on behalf of his nephew’s family, who God spared from the destruction.    Lot and h...