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It has been said that a love story does not enter the Bible until the Song of Solomon. Yet, there is no better love story than that of Jacob and Rachel; a love that was tested by time, betrayal, jealousy and at last tragedy, which still speaks to us today. Rachel was the woman in whom romance and tragedy were blended - The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Jacob and Rachel is, well, a tragedy. However, most people would agree that no man in his right senses would agree to become a shepherd for seven years in the hope of winning a certain woman unless he were madly in love with her. The everlasting love of Jacob still speaks to us today as Rachel is the most loved Matriarch of Israel. Surely, this much-loved wife of Jacob, and mother of Benjamin and Joseph, Israel's Savior, could not have been an ordinary woman even though her light shone briefly in time. As with most accounts in the Bible, and even in our modern times, her story speaks of matters of the human heart when hope is deferred. When heaven's promises sometimes seem far off, Rachel's story encourages us to embrace God's exceeding great and precious promises and never let go. Just as God had remembered Rachel, He will remember you.

There are mightier and more famous female characters in the Bible, but Bithya rings true as a woman: tender, kind and brave. In saving a small child, she proved herself ready to defy the cruel edict of her father. No scene could have been drawn more brilliantly in the Bible than the one penned of Bithya - "and behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion for him". Her achievement in saving the life of Moses, in offering him royal protection and in educating him in one of the greatest priestly colleges of all time, is one of the most important acts in the Bible. The story of Pharaoh's daughter as the princess who found amongst the reeds of a river bank a little ark with a young child inside is exquisitely remembered; however, one is apt to forget the great historic fact that the most powerful religious force of the Old Testament owes its preservation to this incident. Her brief appearance is often thought to be trivial and accidental, but her story reveals on that day, her steps were divinely guided to the Nile.

Carpe diem. This clever harlot from Jericho, by an act of faith, became an extraordinary woman of God. As a prostitute, she lived on the edge of society, one stop short of rejection. Her house, built right into the city wall, provided both lodging and favors to travelers. Stories within the city about the Israelite's had been circulating for sometime, but now it was evident that they were about to invade. Her faith gave her courage to take a risk and shelter Israeli spies because she sensed that the Israelite's relied on a God worth trusting. God rewarded her by promising safety to her and her family. The story of Rahab reminds us that at times when we feel like a failure, that God works through people, like Rahab, whom we are inclined to reject. God rewarded her because of her faith, not her profession.

Occasionally, a unique and strong-minded woman breaks in upon human history and by fearless exploits leaves the impact of her personality upon events, securing for herself an imperishable honor. Gifted with superior spiritual, mental and physical powers, Deborah leaves her mark upon the annals of time as God raised her up and endowed her with a remarkable personality and varied gifts for the deliverance of His distressed and defeated people. There are rare figures in human history who inspire such loyalty in the people around them that they can achieve what seems impossible. Deborah seems to have been such a person. She had the charisma needed to convince people they could take extraordinary risks and succeed. She is a prototype of a woman who, in times when men lacked the faith and courage to rise up, took the reigns of leadership and invited a nation to ride with her to victory.

The life of a drunkard's wife is full of eloquent silences. However, there is a portrait of a good woman who was married to one such fool, whose life spoke so loudly that it still rings clear today; a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance. When the future King of Israel; hungry, proud and insulted by her worthless husband, journeys to exact justice on her household, this extraordinary woman took immediate steps to undo her husband's actions. She acted with clever and keen insight enabling her to protect her drunkard husband and save her household. The meeting of David and Abigail is one of the most charming and exquisite cameos of the Old Testament. Abigail left a deep impression on David. She exuded gentleness, beauty, piety and, like most women who are married to coarse men with degraded natures, she had outstanding tact. We can only hope that a woman of such character, whose name is a synonym for fidelity and loving service; who embraced every opportunity to use her God-given gifts and abilities to boldly promote behavior that is pleasing to God, found the happiness she deserved.

Life is made up of an infinite amount of choices. Many decisions are small and only slightly impact our lives; however, one wrong decision could lead to a devastating chain of events that burn through the foundation of our lives and leave us with ashes. Such is the case for this woman; who because of a man who should have been at war with his army, caused her to become the most unlikely link between Israel's two most famous kings. She was the lover and wife of one, and the mother of the other. The story of Bathsheba portrays a woman, devastated by the seed of unfaithfulness to her husband, which led to a harvest of consequences beyond measure. However, her story proclaims that in the worst possible situations, God is able to bring about good when people truly turn to Him. His unchanging redemptive nature exchanges His beauty for our ashes - if we let Him.

To be barren in a culture that prized fertility, a woman can be marked as a pitiful figure; an object of shame, scorn and speculation. And if that weren't bad enough, what does one do when it is God Himself who has prevented you from bearing a child? Pray? And what if you poured out your heart to God only to be accused of public drunkenness? A less committed woman would have mistaken those words as the final no. However, all that is recorded of this mother, who was one of the most noble Hebrews who ever lived, is an inspiration and a benediction. She had learned that prayer was her native breath, "unuttered or expressed" and therefore determined not to be dissuaded. Because of her godliness, devotion, trust, patience and self-sacrifice, she came to be blessed of the Lord, and, in turn, communicated to her renowned son Samuel a life of servanthood to God. The story we have of Hannah is "a harp-note of the immortal triumph of patience." - Hers was a life that resounded in a song of praise.

When a person has climbed up the ladder of success in the world and has achieved a position of power and eminence, it requires strength and beauty of character for that person to love and remember the simple people from whom they sprang. The dramatic account of the story of Esther is that of a woman who was willing to jeopardize not only her position of power, but her life, out of the loyalty and love for her own people. She is one of the most attractive women in the Old Testament and a mixture of charm, strength and heroism. She is remembered as the supreme heroine who delivered her nation from genocide. As a woman, she is a rare individual whose character, unsoiled by the rot of wealth, prosperity and power, enabled her to enact one of the most brave and dangerous breaches of etiquette as she proclaimed, "I will go up - and if I perish, I perish".

Anyone who is experienced in life understands that recorded history is not always the whole story. While nations rise and fall, the little dramas of the human heart go on in secret all of the time. Every now and then, however, the beam of history falls on a quiet little landscape where the sun is shining and the wheat is growing, where men are courteous and noble, and women are brave and kind of heart. One of these quiet corners of history is the story of Ruth. She is unique in the history of woman because her story is not primarily that of her love for a man or a child, but of her passionate devotion to a character which modern humor has claimed as its own: her mother-in-law. It is an axiom in modern life that a man's mother and his young wife do not always agree. We all know a few exceptions to this rule, but in the story of Ruth, this relationship is exalted. There is nothing to suggest that Ruth was beautiful, as Rebekah and Rachel were beautiful, or that she was competent, as Sarah was competent. Ruth's outstanding quality was a loyal heart, a generous soul, a firm sense of duty, and a meek and gentle spirit. Her desire to remain with her mother-in-law would prove to be a tremendous blessing for both of them.

A scandalous encounter - A Jewish man, speaking kindly to a Samaritan woman? Such things were not acceptable. Yet, this man had no ulterior motive or hidden agenda; no animosity or condemnation towards her, as other men did before Him. Rather, this man talked about thirst. She was no stranger to thirst. Her soul and life were tired and thirsty. Perhaps that is what had driven her to marry five different men and take up residence with a sixth? Marked by rejection and shame, she was a woman that had looked for love in all the wrong places. However, as the words she heard reverberated deep inside her, she owned her brokenness and accepted what this man had to offer at the well that day - living water. She chose to no longer be defined by life's adverse moments but to be transformed into a bold proclaimer of the Gospel. Her true life story continued to be an overflow of the love she encountered at the well. She became known as the Samaritan woman who simply became one thirsty person telling another thirsty person where to find water.

Unbeknownst to many, Jesus had a band of followers that exceeded the twelve well-known disciples. A merry band of woman that ministered of their substance to support Jesus and the disciples on their journey: Joanna, Susanna, Salome, Mary the mother of Jesus and the woman that occupied the position of great prominence - Mary of Magdala. She is listed first among the women that witnessed the crucifixion, and it was she and the other women that did not desert Jesus in the hour of His trial and death. It is to Mary of Magdala, and to some degree womankind, that was given an honor that can never be taken away - that the Risen Lord appeared and called her by name.