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| Mary Magdelene, "See, He Is Risen" Jesus casts seven demons out of the woman of Magdala. She becomes one of His most faithful followers, going with Him all the way to cross. She is first to know He has arisen and to report this to His disciples Peter and John. |
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| "And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd." Ezekiel 34: 23 |
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| "I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men." Micah 2:12 |
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| "Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep." John 10: 1-2 |
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Manoah's wife (Judg. 13:2, 11, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23) was Samson's mother. She bore no name of her own in the record but is introduced as the wife of a certain Manoah of Zorah, of the family of Danites, and seems to have been a stronger character than her husband. The remarkable thing about her life is that she was told not to drink wine or any strong drink or to eat any unclean thing, for her child would be dedicated to the sacred calling of a Nazarite.
When the angel appeared before her, she was reverent and silent and obedient to the voice and filled with faith, but her husband became fearful and pessimistic, saying, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God.'' Judg. 13:22. But Manoah's wife remained unshaken in her faith. Together, however, they offered up a burnt sacrifice to God in grateful praise. She taught her son that no intoxicating drink should enter his lips and no razor should touch his head, for his long-grown locks would speak outwardly of his sacred vow to God.
Manoah's wife is typical of the wife who has a simple, trusting confidence in God and of the mother who is willing to consecrate herself to all that is good. We can be sure she lived closely to God, for the angel of the Lord appeared both times to her, and each time she made haste and told her husband.
Manoah's wife appears twice in the narrative after Samson is grown. First she and Manoah are protesting because their son has chosen for his wife a woman in Timnath, of the daughter of the Philistines, out of whose hands, it had been foretold before his birth, he would begin to deliver the Israelites. But Samson informed his mother and father that this Philistine woman "pleaseth me well'' Judges 14:3. But they knew their son's marriage was not of the Lord.
Manoah's wife last appears on her way to Timnath to see her son married to the woman to whom she had objected Judges 14:5. The marriage turned out badly, as Manoah and his wife had predicted.
Though Samson was weak where women were concerned, he became one of the most eminent of the Hebrew "Judges.'' Can we not believe that it was to his mother's love and prayers, her dedication of her son to God even before his birth, that he owed his true greatness.?
Was it not the godliness he had inherited from his mother that triumphed in the end? For even at the eleventh hour, when he tore the pillars from their position and brought down the roof upon his foes, the Philistines, did he not atone for all his wasted years? Despite his weakness in character, the New Testament named him one of those Hebrew heroes whose animating principle was faith, a faith such as his godly mother had possessed before her child was born (Heb. 11:32).
Noah's sons' wives (Gen. 7:7, 13; 8:18). Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, all had wives who went with Noah and his wife into the ark, where they dwelt during the flood along with their mother-in-law. These wives and their mother-in-law are the only women of whom we have any record who survived the flood. After that had subsided, the wives went with their husbands and their mother-in-law to the spot where Noah had built an altar unto the Lord. These wives are the mothers of the descendants of Noah mentioned in Genesis 10.
Noah's wife (Gen. 6:i8; 7:7, 13; 8:16, 18), in the five times that she is mentioned, is merely among those present, with the sons and sons' wives of Noah. In the first three instances, the sons come first, but in the last two the wife is listed first. There is no record of her, except that as the wife of the hero of the flood, she went with him into the ark made of gopher wood covered inside and out with pitch.
Noah's wife became the first woman on record to make a home on a houseboat in the midst of flood waters. Like her husband, who was a just man and walked with God, probably she too had a deep consciousness of God. Her character is reflected in her family line, which continued strong for 350 years after the flood.
It is interesting to note that Noah's wife played no part in his experience when he discovered the art of making wine and became drunk. He was found drunk by his sons. Probably his wife, had she been living, could have saved him this embarrassment, for this is the only blot on Noah's career.
Jesus had human flesh that reflected the colors of the people he lived with. He had no remarkable human appearance apart from his own relations. In other words, unless he was speaking, he could not be picked out from the crowd of those he was with. He looked Aramaic/Jewish, from the lands of the Bible. He was and still is often represented in art to look like the people who love him or who wish to use His authority to motivate someone else. The Germanic depiction of Jesus is the most common today. Although, this is due to the preferential choices of publishing companies. They hire the illustrators that they prefer. It has always been true that Western painters portray Jesus as they relate to him. For this reason it is entirely acceptable to paint him as any race that you prefer as long as it is NOT done with the intention to HARM others in any way. However, we live in a fallen society (i.e. the world) and this seems unavoidable at times.
THE MARRIAGE FEAST IN CANA
There was a marriage feast in G-alilee;
The festal board was spread with viands
rare;
The joyous guests had met in commune sweet,
And he, the Man of Nazareth, was there.
Yes, he was there, that marriage, Eden-born,
Might share the sanction of his presence
sweet,
That round this holy ritual he might throw
A sacred halo, glorious and complete.
"The wine has failed;" the murmuring word
is passed.
And soon from lip to lip is borne to him;
Then sweeter far than music sounds his voice,
' 'Fill ye these water vessels to the brim."
'Tis done: and wine, rare, purple. rich, and
sweet,
Th' astonished servants, smiling, bear away;
The while, methinks, the wondering guests
repeat,
"Ah, we have seen strange things —
strange things to-day."
New, unferinented wine, the Master made.
Not the mad wine that fills the drunkard's
cup,
But such as he, the bridegroom, gives his
guests
Who at the marriage of the Lamb shall sup,
And drink it new within that kingdom fair —
His Father's glorious kingdom over there.
E'en thus it is along life's rugged path;
Ofttimes it seems the wine of life is spent.
And we have nought to offer those we love
But empty vessels, tears, and discontent.
O let us fill these empty vessels full
With flowing sap, fresh from the living
Vine;
And we shall find, before the feast is done,
That He has turned life's water into wine
THE BAPTISM AND TEMPTATION
AT last th' appointed hour has come;
Christ bows 'neath Jordan's swelling wave;
The mighty Baptist leads him forth
Triumphant from that watery grave.
And from the heaven, serene and blue,
While wondering souls with awe are stirred,
A dove-like form appears in view,
Th' Eternal Father's voice is heard:
' 'Lo, this is my beloved Son —
The Prince of Peace, th' Anointed One! "
O holy hour! O sacred spot!
And yet, and yet, they knew him not.
And now the Spirit leads him far
From busy haunts of life away,
Where gloomy shades of darkness are,
'Mong fierce and angry beasts of prey ;
The Holy Spirit bids him go
To wrestle with the wily foe.
There, in that wilderness alone,
With fainting form and pallid face,
Grievous temptations fierce and strong
He suffers, for our fallen race.
But with the Spirit's mighty sword
The prince of hell is put to flight;
The strength of the Eternal Word
Has conquered in Jehovah's might.
O tempted heart! when sorely tried
Amid life's desert, drear and broad,
When hope and strength and courage fail,
Look up, and put thy trust in Grod.
He will not fail thee; he who bore
Temptations fierce and long for thee,
Who in the wilderness prevailed.
Will give thee strength and victory.
IN THE TEMPLE
O'ER Judah's plains sweet Spring had
thrown
Her flowery robe of living green.
And Nature in her gala robes
Was mantled like a fairy queen.
High o'er the temple's burnished towers
The sunshine fell like molten gold,
And flamed and flashed from glittering spire,
From pinnacle and turret old.
While through the city's busy street
Echoed the tread of countless feet.
Far over Judah's hills they come,
From shepherd lad to stately priest,
To ancient Salem's gates they haste
To keep the sacred Paschal Feast.
Look, who is he, that youthful Lad, -
Standing within the temple fair ?
Why do not Israel's sages know
That he — the Paschal Lamb — is there?
Strange blindness, that they knew him not, -
Those gray haired men, those learned
seers:
Useless the Rabbi's studied lore,
The vain philosophy of years.
From out those sacred, youthful lips
Flow wondrous words of heavenly lore, —
Such words of purity and grace
As man had never heard before.
And now, a kind, obedient Son,
No thought had he of earthly fame,
But 'mong the hills of Nazareth
A humble carpenter became.
He took our fallen nature; he
Who made the hosts which roll above
Of Abraham's frail seed partook,
In godlike sympathy and love.
SLAYING OF THE INNOCENTS.
Thus one by one the days go by
Since, in the brightening orient sky,
The wise men saw the shining star
Gleam over Bethlehem's hills afar,
And since the shepherd's hearts were stirred
By sweetest song ear ever heard.
But ah ! those echoes scarce had died
O'er Judah's hills and vales so wide, —
Those hills and vales which lately flung
The echoes back from angel tongue, —
Ere, from those selfsame hills, arise
Loud wails of anguish to the skies.
O Herod! heed'st thou not the cry
Of Rachel's anguish, rising high, —
That long, loud wail of mortal pain
From tender babes thy sword hath slain?
Why dost thou raise thy puny arm
To do the Lord's Anointed harm ?
Dost thou not know th' Eternal One
Will shield his well beloved Son?
To far-off Egypt's friendly land
He journeys, led by angel hand;
There, safe from cruel rage, is borne,
While Rama's daughters weep and mourn.
O crafty Herod, vain thy might
When waged against Eternal Right.
Vain, vain shall be thy godless boasts,
Thy conflict with the Lord of Hosts.
Birth
O'er Bethlehem's hills the stars of night
Were softly shining, clear and bright;
The flocks and herds were sleeping still,
On verdant dale and dewy hill,
And o'er earth's calm and peaceful breast
A benediction seemed to rest,
As though the whole creation knew,
And smiled a welcome warm and true
To Him, her long-expected Lord,
Foretold by Inspiration's Word, —
Foretold and sung by seer and sage,
Bright Star of Hope, from age to age.
Hark, hark! what strains of music rare,
Like faintest perfume fill the air!
And louder still, and still more loud.
Bursts from that swift descending cloud:
Such glorious notes ring o'er and o'er
As weary earth ne'er heard before;
Aloud the heavenly heralds sing.
While through the spheres the echoes ring.
''Glory to God in the highest!
Peace and good will to men!"
And the heavens caught the glad refrain,
And echoed it o'er again.
Then up from the hills of glory
There echoed the thrilling cry,
''Rejoice, O Earth, for the Christ is born!
Glory to God on high!"
Philip's daughters (Acts 21:9) were the four unmarried daughters of the evangelist Philip. They seem to have had the honor of knowing and working for and with the great Christian men and women of their time in Jerusalem, Samaria, and Caesarea. Their father helped to administer the business affairs of the apostles and the growing Church in Jerusalem and to distribute relief to the poor.
They probably assisted him in the latter and were with him when he preached and healed at Samaria and when he led Simon the sorcerer to become an active believer in Christ.
Their mission as prophetesses is mentioned in the narrative telling that Paul's company entered the house of Philip at Caesarea on the Mediterranean. Luke probably stopped at their house also, and it is thought he may have written parts of his Gospel and the Book of Acts there.
Because of their association with the greatest Christian leaders of their time and their own rare spiritual endowments, they became illumined expounders of God's words.
Herodias' daughter (Matt. 14:6; Mark 6:22) is given no name in the Bible, but Josephus says her name was Salome. The famous opera Salome by Richard Strauss is based on the life of this daughter. She danced before her stepfather Herod Antipas and pleased him so well that he said to her, "Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee." Mark. 6:22. The daughter went to her mother and said, "What shall I ask? And the mother made the ghastly request for the head of John the Baptist because he had objected to her divorce from the girl's father and her marriage to his half-brother. The head was brought to the girl on a platter. Her own father was Herod Philip, who was a half-uncle of her mother's and a son of Herod the Great, who sought to destroy the child Jesus.
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| "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 |
Description of Clip Art: an eye looks over the highway of life, a sign on the road reads, "STOP, Look, Listen, Railroad Crossing," plus cautionary scriptures, grey scale illustration
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| Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name." Matthew 6:9 |
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| "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." Matthew 5:7 |
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| "The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." 2 Corinthians 9:6 |
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| "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." James 1:5 |
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| Daughter of Jairus. |
The daughter of Jairus (Matt. 9:18-25; Mark 5:35-43; Luke 8: 41-56) was raised from the dead by Jesus. Jairus, her father, was a ruler of a synagogue elected by elders of the community, and it was his duty to look after the order of the divine service. His office was one of the most respected in the community and no doubt his only child of twelve years was loved by all his people.
One day as she lay at the point of death, her father hastened to Jesus, then at Capernaum, beseeching Him to heal her. But as the anxious father spoke with Jesus, a woman who had had an issue of blood for twelve years touched the Master's garment, and the multitude thronged about Him.
This pause must have been a great test of Jairus' patience and faith, for he knew how necessary it was that Jesus hasten to his daughter's bedside. While Jesus paused to speak to the woman, messengers came from Jairus' house saying, "Thy daughter is dead.'' (Mark 5:35). Until then he had besought Jesus to heal his sick child, but now she lay dead. To the mourning Jairus, Jesus spoke the confident words, "Be not afraid, only believe. '' (Mark 5:36).
When Jesus had healed the woman with the issue of blood, he hastened on to the house of Jairus, taking with Him Peter and James and John. Upon entering the house, Jesus found it filled with noisy mourners. Even the flute-players had gathered to play for the last rites of the dead (Matt. 9:23). But Jesus rebuked the mourners, saying, "The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.'' (Matt. 9:24; Mark 5:39;
Luke 8:52).
Then He went in to where the sick child lay, taking with Him His three disciples. He said to her, "Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise'' (Mark 5:41).
The Gospel writer, Mark, in his graphic way tells us, "And straightway the damsel arose, and walked.'' And Luke, the physician, makes this comment, "And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: . . . And her parents were astonished.'' (Luke 8:55, 56) .
In their astonishment, the joyous parents forgot that their daughter needed food, but Jesus did not forget. Turning to them. He commanded that something be given her to eat (Mark 5:43). Her hunger, a natural condition after a long illness, also made Jairus and his wife more aware that their only daughter was not only alive again but fully restored to health.
Though Jesus told her parents to tell no one what had transpired in this room of death, Matthew reports that "the fame hereof went abroad into all that land'' (Matt. 9:26).
My father was a pastor, a Greek & Roman scholar and an architect. He lived a truly unique and colorful life. In his old age he could not move and was confined to a wheel chair because of Parkinson's disease. However, he could draw and manipulate a pencil up until the last year of his life. I will include a series of drawings that he made for this little blog below.
All graphics/illustrations/clip art on this web journal are free to download and use for personal art projects, church related hard copy or webpages. Images are not to be redistributed in any other collections of clip art online. Please include a link back to this web journal if you use the materials for web articles. Link to htpp://christianclipartreview.blogspot.com
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| Sample butterfly clip art found in the collection below. |
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| Sample dove clip art found in the collection below. |
All graphics/illustrations/clip art on this web journal are free to download and use for personal art projects, church related hard copy or webpages. Images are not to be redistributed in any other collections of clip art online. Please include a link back to this web journal if you use the materials for web articles. Link to htpp://christianclipartreview.blogspot.com
Read More About Doves As Symbols in The Christian Faith:
Though many of the Hebrews were given to idolatry and were ignorant of God, still the lamp of divine truth was kept burning in the heart of a woman. That woman was Huldah.
To a high degree, Huldah possessed two great qualities, righteousness and prophetic insight, and because she possessed the former she was able to use the latter wisely. This prophetic power, never trusted to the undeserving, was given to her because she loved God with all her heart.
Evidently Huldah was known in the kingdom of Judah far and wide or she would never have been sought out by King Josiah, who sent five of his own personal messengers to her with the Book of the Law, which had been recently discovered during repairs in the Temple at Jerusalem. He had faith in Huldah's spiritual powers and he wanted her to tell him whether the book was genuine or not. Here is a clue to Huldah's intellectual and spiritual perception.
The Scriptures give us no graphic description of this early Hebrew prophetess, except to say that she was the wife of Shallum, whose family had been singled out as keepers of the wardrobe, meaning either the priest's or the king's wardrobe, probably the latter. At least this would place her close to life inside the palace and Temple.
The King James Version says that Huldah "dwelt in Jerusalem in the college - but the Revised Standard Version says "she dwelt in the Second Quarter'' (II Kings 22:14), indicating the area of Jerusalem in which she lived. On some maps the Second Quarter is shown to be the section in front of the Temple. Jewish tradition has it that Huldah taught publicly in a school. Other tradition has it that she taught and preached to women.
We can justly infer that she was a woman of distinction. Among the messengers that King Josiah sent to her were his high priest, Hilkiah, who had found hidden away this amazing roll of manuscript, the lost Book of the Law, the brilliant work of a group of prophets and priests who had recorded the Yahwistic spiritual ideals. Another messenger was Shaphan, the scribe in the temple, to whom Hilkiah had first taken the lost book. Parts of this book are still found in Deuteronomy. It is now thought to be the first book of the Bible that was canonized.
Only a deeply devout woman, one of real intellectual attainments, would have been sought out by a king and a priest to give her opinion as to whether or not this scroll was indeed the word of the Lord. It turned out to be one of the most important scrolls in the history of Israel.
Huldah not only confirmed its authenticity but also prophesied concerning the future, saying that the Lord would bring evil upon Judah, because the people had forsaken Him and had turned instead to images. As a reward for Josiah's humility and tender heart, Huldah prophesied that he would be gathered unto his fathers before this terrible doom came upon Israel.
Commentators have questioned why King Josiah sent his personal messengers to consult a woman. Why were they not sent to a man? Josiah, who had come to rule at age eight, doubtless had learned to rely a great deal on his mother Jedidah as queen-mother.
We know little about her, but we do know that Josiah's father Amon was murdered in his own palace by his servants because of his idolatry. But King Josiah centralized religion at Jerusalem, exalted the Levites, threw out the shrines of the false gods, and led his people to new spiritual heights. We naturally assume that the godly Josiah had a godly mother. Because of her, he would have a sympathetic appreciation of a woman as righteous and as spiritually discerning as Huldah?
Noteworthy it is that in the short account of Huldah's prophecy the scribe repeated four times her phrase, "Thus saith the Lord'' making us know that Huldah did not think of herself as an oracle, but only as a channel through which God's word came.
Huldah's prophecy gave King Josiah greater courage to put into action the laws written in the Book of the Law, which had been sent to her for verification. After this, Josiah had the scroll read in the house of the Lord and made a covenant to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments. And because of it, he fought evil in Judah more zealously.
High regard he had for Huldah's prophecy when he acted so promptly, and when he also sought to make himself more worthy of the promised forbearance of God, though he knew the threatened evil to his country and his people could not be averted.
Only a woman who studied immutable spiritual laws and who prayed unceasingly could have been given insight into the mystery of the future. But Huldah was a woman who could throw back the veil of Israel's future because she had lived so close to God.
Description of Clip Art: simply framed poem "Jesus Only" by W. H. Griffith Thomas, black and white text
Jesus Only
The Light of heaven is the face of Jesus.
The Joy of heaven is the presence of Jesus.
The Melody of heaven is the name of Jesus.
The Harmony of heaven is the praise of
Jesus.
The Theme of heaven is the work of Jesus.
The Employment of heaven is the service of
Jesus.
The Fullness of heaven is Jesus Himself.
In all preaching the Son of god is the substance,
the Word of God is the instrument,
the Spirit of God is the power, the Man of
God is the channel, the salvation of God is
the result, and the glory of God is the end.
by W. H. Griffith Thomas.
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Description of Illustration: Nero's Torches, also known as Candlesticks of Christianity. Insane Roman emperor who burned Christian martyrs alive at his garden parties.
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Answers to Prayer
Our Savior in the garden wept,
And thrice he prayed to God;
And while his tired disciples slept,
He sweat great drops of blood.
But through the cup his Father gave
Must never pass him by,
Yet strength to bear and power to save
Are sent him from on high.
His servant prayed that God would take
The piercing thorn away;
Yet, though he prayed for Jesus' sake,
The thorn must with him stay.
And yet in answer to his prayer,
A heavenly grace was sent,
To help its agony to bear,
Until his life was spent.
A child is bearing in his hands
A little pack of ware,
But by his side his father stands,
And guards his child with care.
So while the father stands so near,
To shield from rude alarms,
His child, when faint or filled with fear
He gathers in his arms.
'Tis thus our heavenly Father cares
For those who love his name;
He hears their oft-repeated prayers,
And loves them just the same.
And those who have some thorn or load
That seems too hard to bear,
He guards them all along the road
With a more watchful care.
Description of Illumination: Illuminated hymn text "All the earth doth worship thee the Father everlasting." The "Te Deum is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. The illumination consists of a diamond-shaped centre upon a crossed pattern or diaper of Egyptian origin, which was extensively used for glass painting.
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a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and
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closely related to the subject folks.
Description of Clip Art: mosaic of fisherman and fish, scripture "Jesus called out to them, 'Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people.' Matthew 4:19
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1.) His witness with us of Sonship.
"Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and me fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord." Romans 16: 7-8 (KJV)
2.) His testimony through us to the world.
"But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away.
Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will
send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." John 16:7-11 (NIV)
3.) His guidance of us into Truth.
"But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you recieved from Him abides (permanently) in you; (so) then you have no need that anyone should instruct you." 1 John 2: 27 (TAB)
"But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message (on His own authority): but He will tell whatever He hears (from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him), and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come (that will happen in the future). He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (recieve, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you." John 16: 13-14 (TAB)
4.) His leadership of us in service.
" And when they fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia and from thence they sailed to Cyprus." Acts 13: 3-4 (KJV)
Description of Clip Art: black and white scroll work, ribbons, superimpose your own words, lettering, give your work, writing, index a fancy title graphic...
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Description of Illustration: An old scholar searches through his stacks of books. A very cluttered library of thoughts, facts, and imaginings..., black and white illustration of a bibliophile
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Only Waiting...
Only waiting till the shadows
Are a little longer grown;
Only waiting till the glimmer
Of the day's last breath is flown.
Till the night of earth is faded
From the heart once full of day;
Till the stars of heaven are breaking
Through the twilight soft and gray.
Only waiting till the reapers
Have the last sheaf gathered home;
For the summer time is faded,
And the autumn winds have come.
Quickly, reapers! gather quickly
The last ripe hours of my heart,
For the bloom of life is withered,
And I hasten to depart.
Only waiting till the angels
Open wide the mystic gate,
By whose side I long have lingered,
Weary, poor and desolate.
Even now I hear their footsteps,
And their voices far away;
If they call me, I am waiting,
Only waiting to obey.
Only waiting till the shadows
Are a little longer grown;
Only waiting till the glimmer
Of the day's last beam is flown;
Till from out the gathering darkness
Holy, deathless stars shall rise,
By whose light my soul shall gladly
Tread its pathway to the skies.
Four hundred young virgins from Jabesh-Gilead (Judg. 21:12-23) were brought into the camp at Shiloh and given as wives to the defeated Benjamites. This incident followed the war started over the Ephraim Levite s concubine, who had been ill-treated by the wicked Sons of Benjamin, who had no wives.
Grieved that the tribe of Benjamites was now nearly destroyed, the Israelites received them into their favor and found them wives from among their own daughters. After the Benjamites received the four hundred young virgins as wives, they went and repaired their cities and dwelt in them.
Here is a striking example of how good wives can be the civilizers of men, thus influencing them away from evil into that which is good.
Machir's wife (I Chron. 7:15) was in the line of Zelophehad, who had the five distinguished daughters who declared their property rights.
"Makir took a wife from among the Huppites and Shuppites. His sister’s
name was Maakah. Another descendant was named Zelophehad, who had only
daughters." 1 Chronicles 7:15
The queen who sat beside Artaxerxes (Neh. 2:6) is only briefly mentioned when Nehemiah came before the king to ask for the commission to build again the wall of Jerusalem.
"Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long
will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king
to send me; so I set a time." Nehemiah 2:6
Job's wife (Job 2:9; 19:17; 31:10) has been called everything from the "adjutant of the devil" (St. Augustine) to the "faithful attendant upon her husband's misery" (William Blake). She is introduced after Job, one of the richest and greatest men of his time, has been bereft of his cattle, flocks, camels, and all his children. Moreover, he is suffering from a loathsome disease, probably leprosy.
As he sat on an ash heap outside the city walls, Job still did not blame God. His wife, probably not so faithful and certainly not so patient, cried out, "Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die." Job 2:9 No doubt Job's wife regarded a quick death as better than long-drawn-out suffering. In those days sudden death was supposed to result from cursing God.
In this statement we see Job's wife as an ordinary, normal woman. Though a dutiful wife, she probably failed to suffer with her husband in his hour of agony and consequently failed to share with him the marvelous victory of trusting God in spite of not understanding Him.
There is another side, however, to Job's wife. She had endured her husband's affliction, even the loss of all their children and all their material possessions, and had survived these trials. Like her husband, she was bewildered amid so much calamity. Such a piece of advice as she gave him in his affliction could have been inspired by sympathy and love. Probably she would rather have seen him die than endure such great suffering.
In the next scene where she is depicted, we find her turning from her husband (Job 19:17), because his breath is so offensive on account of the disease from which he suffered.
Though Job's wife is not mentioned in the closing chapters, we learn in 42:14 that three daughters, Jemima, Kezia, and Keren-hap-puch, as well as sons, were later born to him. Probably Job's wife arose to new joy, just as he did, and regretted her own lack of faith when she had advised him to "curse God, and die."
Ezekiel s wife (Ezek. 24:16, 17, 18) is referred to as the desire of his eyes. The wife of this prophet-priest of the sixth century B. C. was taken quite suddenly with a stroke. Ezekiel was warned that this would happen but was forbidden to perform the customary mourning rites.
He restrained his tears and went forth to preach, probably the morning after he had been told that he would lose his wife. In the evening she died. But that morning he spoke to his people on the coming destruction of Jerusalem, when they also would lose loved ones, but he told them that they too must abstain from any outward signs of mourning. Ezekiel's own great grief, only a few hours away, enabled him to speak with greater conviction to those who looked to him for spiritual guidance.
Doubtless Ezekiel's wife was a godly woman who had helped him serve his small, remote congregation. Their home was a little mud-brick house in a colony of exiles at Tel-abib on the Chebar, an important canal in the Euphrates irrigation system (Ezek. 3:15).
Wives who burned incense to other gods (Jet. 44:15) were Hebrew women who had left Judah and had fled to Pathros, a province of the land of Egypt. They were rebuked by Jeremiah for their idolatrous worship. He forewarned them of the dreadful evils that would befall them if they persisted in their false worship.
These women presumptuously declared it was their intention to continue in the same course, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, as their fathers had done before them. They saw no evil in such a practice (Jer. 44:19).
The unbelieving wife (I Cor. 7:14), says Paul to the Corinthians, is sanctified by her husband. Though he is a Christian and she is not, his belief sanctifies the union. Paul goes on to say that the faith of one Christian parent gives to the children a near relationship to the Church, just as if both parents were Christians. The children are regarded not as aliens to the Christian faith but as sharers in it. Paul presumed that the believing parent will rear the child in the Christian principles.
He makes the same point in regard to husbands, saying that "The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife." I Corinthians 7:14
The wife who was to be sold for debt (Matt. 18:25) appears in Jesus' parable of the unforgiving servant and illustrates the principle of the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.''
Here Jesus is comparing our heavenly Father to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. One was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents (approximately ten million dollars). When the servant could not pay, the king ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had. The servant begged the king to have patience with him, and the king, moved with compassion, loosed his servant and let him go.
But the servant went forth and cast into prison a fellow servant who owed him a very small debt. Then the king called back the servant he had forgiven of his large debt and asked why he had not showed the same compassion to his fellow servant that had been shown to him. The man was then jailed until he should pay all that he owed.
Jesus, concluding the parable, said, "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." Matthew 18:35
The Old Testament tells of selling people into slavery to pay a debt (Amos 2:6; 8:6; Neh. 5:4, 5), but this is the only reference of a woman's being sold, along with her children, to pay a debt.
Peter's wife (Matt. 8:14; Mark 1:30; Luke 4:38; I Cor. 9:5) no doubt witnessed her mother's healing. Since Jesus probably used Peter's home as headquarters when in Capernaum his wife must have seen Jesus often. She is referred to as Simon's or Cephas' wife. She traveled with him as did the wives of other apostles.
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| Naaman's Little Maid. |
Naaman's wife (II Kings 5:2) had waiting on her a little Israelite maid, who had been captured in a border skirmish. Though Naaman was the successful commander-in-chief of Ben-hadad and had received many military honors and known much good fortune, he was now afflicted with leprosy. Through the maid's sympathetic interest in Naaman's condition he learned of Elisha's healing power. She probably told Naaman's wife, who carried the information to her husband, after which he went to Elisha, and was healed, and accepted the God of Israel as the "only God in all the earth."
Though Naaman's wife is the background figure in the incident, at least she became a channel for God's healing, because she had the faith to listen to a little maid in her household, insignificant though she was.
Jeroboam's wife (I Kings 14:2, 4, 5, 6, 17) was the queen who went to the prophet Ahijah to inquire whether her sick son would recover. Her husband, Jeroboam, first king of the northern kingdom of Israel, was an apostate who had led his people away from the faith and worship of their fathers. He had calf shrines built for heathen worship, but when his son became ill, he longed for help in his son's healing.
Guilty because of his treatment of the priests of the Lord, Jeroboam told his wife to disguise herself in the dress of an ordinary woman when she went to see the prophet. Jeroboam also directed his wife to take the sort of gifts that an ordinary woman might offer, such as ten loaves and cracknels (crisp biscuits and pork crisply fried) and a cruse of honey, for it was customary to take a gift, however small, when advice or God's word was sought from a. prophet.
The queen did disguise herself, as her husband had advised, and went to Shiloh, but when she arrived there, the aged and blind prophet, forewarned by the Lord of her coming, said, "Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? For I am sent to thee with heavy tidings." I Kings 14:6 He then proceeded to tell her to go back and tell her husband that, because he had made other gods and molten images, he had provoked God, and his house would be visited with evil.
The prophet further prophesied to Jeroboam's wife that when she returned home her child would die, but all Israel would mourn him. Her child would be the only one of the house, however, to be laid in a grave, because there was some good "toward the Lord." in him. Others of the house of Jeroboam would be eaten by dogs or by fowls of the air. Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and when she came to her threshold her child died, and they buried him, and all Israel mourned.
The sister of Tahpenes (I Kings 11:19, 20) was the wife of Hadad, son of the king of Edom. Tahpenes was queen consort of Pharaoh of Egypt and a contemporary of Solomon, king of Israel. Scripture tells us that when David and Joab were at Edom, every male Edomite was slain except a youth named Hadad and some of his father's servants. The young Hadad fled to Egypt, where he was favorably received by Pharaoh, who gave him the sister of his wife in marriage. She gave birth to Genubath, who was brought up by Tahpenes among Pharaoh's children. It might be inferred that this sister died in childbirth.
"Women are ever extreme; they are better or they are worse than men." history has often testified. Athaliah, the only woman ever to sit on the throne of David and rule, was the extreme in wickedness.
Evil ran in her veins. She was the granddaughter of Omri, who waded through slaughter to a throne he never inherited. She was the daughter of Ahab, the legitimate successor of his unscrupulous father, and of Jezebel, whose name is synonymous with wickedness. Reared in the northern kingdom of Israel, at Samaria, where the palace of her parents was surrounded by groves and idols of Baal worship, Athaliah grew up in an atmosphere that completely denied the one God. Because of the lewd cult worship of Baal, introduced by her mother, the kingdom was swept by immorality and godlessness.
Athaliah, probably for political expediency, was married to Jehoram, eldest son of the pious Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. She went with him to Jerusalem, capital of the southern kingdom. When he was thirty-two years old, he came to the throne, and Athaliah sat beside him. Just as her mother had done when she came to Samaria from Tyre, Athaliah promoted her Baal worship among the people. Because her husband's brothers were loyal to the faith of their nation. King Jehoram had them murdered. Athaliah, much more determined in character than her husband was, probably instigated these murders.
Jehoram reigned eight years and died unmourned of an incurable disease foretold by Elijah. The Philistines had captured all his secondary wives and sons, except Ahaziah, Athaliah's own son, who now came to the throne. As queen-mother, Athaliah was more powerful than ever. Her son was young and she had had the experience of dictating through her husband. We have the record that Ahaziah "walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly" II Chronicles 22:3
Within a year Athaliah's son was wounded in his chariot by Jehu, commissioned by Elijah to overthrow the dynasty of Athaliah's father. Her son escaped to Megiddo, where he died. Athaliah seized the throne and resolved to destroy "all the seed royal" her own blood relations, among whom were her own grandchildren. Had one of these young princes become king, her place as queen-mother would have been usurped. She also knew that if she had the power of chief ruler she could further promote her Baal worship.
Judah had six years of unrighteous government under Athaliah. From II Chronicles 24:7 we can assume that she even had a portion of the Temple of Jehovah pulled down. And she used the material in the building of a temple of Baal.
Fortunately for the kingdom of Judah, Jehosheba, her step-daughter, had rescued Joash, one of the royal infants, from her bloody massacre at the time she came to the throne. Jehosheba had hidden the child for six years, and at the proper time her husband, the high priest Jehoiada, brought forth the lad, now seven years of age. With the aid of mighty men, he proclaimed him king.
When Queen Athaliah heard the people celebrating the young king's accession in the temple, she went there and screamed, "Treason, Treason "II Chron. 23:13 The high priest ordered that she be slain, not in the house of the Lord, but after she had left it. She was therefore slain as she was entering the horses' gate by the palace, close by the Temple.
The horses trampled over her body where she lay dead at the gates. In her miserable end, Athaliah bore a singular resemblance to her mother Jezebel, who was abandoned to the dogs. Athaliah was left in a horse-path, to be trampled upon. Like her mother she died a queen, but without a hand to help her or an eye to pity her.
The final Biblical record alludes to Athaliah as "that wicked woman" II Chron. 24:7 Jean Baptiste Racine's tragedy Athalie, written at the instigation of Madame de Maintenon and first performed at Versailles in 1690, is based on the life of this wicked queen, who lived the latter part of the eighth century before Christ.