當你想到舊約中的婦女時，你會想到誰？
你覺得你和這些婦女有共同點嗎？
我希望你把你對舊約婦女的大部分了解都扔到窗外。
舊約的偉大之處在於沒有人告訴你應該如何感受以及它要傳達的具體信息是什麼。 我們可以自己決定。讓我們以羅得的妻子為例。這個故事的主要信息是什麼？哦，是的，嘖嘖。記住羅得的妻子。不要像她一樣。好像她的選擇是很容易的。經常被遺忘的是她是一位祖母，她知道她將把親人留在一個邪惡、墮落、即將被毀滅的地方。我們可以認為羅得的妻子是缺乏信心，或者她不過只是一個想着她孫子的祖母。這個故事的教訓可能不一定是「哦，如果你不相信，你的腦袋就不見了」，但是有時神確實要求我們選擇祂，而不是其他事情，有時這非常困難。另外，想一想夏娃。你有沒有想過夏娃實際上是第一個有信仰危機的人？
讓我們談談另一個。讓我們剖析一下以斯帖。我們知道什麼？關於以斯帖的共同想法是什麼？
當我被邀请进行这次讲话時，我意識到我需要快速徹底地研究兩件事。舊約時代的女性到底是什么样子的——希望的真正含義是什麼？
你希望的是什麼（或一些事情）？
當我們年輕時，我們的希望通常也很年輕。我們可能希望在聚會或活動中獲得好成績、朋友、狗、聚会有好吃的。在當今世界，希望往往是一個不假思索就被滥用的詞。有些是嚴肅的希望，有些是暫時的。我希望我能找到一個好的停車位。我希望我能得到這個工作面試。我希望他能喜歡我。我希望他們不要給我回電話。我希望這个衣服合身！我認為今天這個世界已經失去的東西是希望应该是你可以真正堅持的東西。
我的希望是舊約將成為你的樂趣。你會看到舊約中的女性是多麼令人難以置信的榜樣。我們先來談談這個詞:希望。在成為一廂情願之前，它有更深的含義。 （我在閱讀舊約或新約時養成了一個習慣就是要了解词语在希伯來語中的含義。在聖經被翻譯成英文之前，它來自希伯來語、亞拉姆語（古敘利亞的一種迦南語）和通俗希臘語（即在我們現代希臘語之前的兩個希臘白話）語言。那些翻譯做得非常好，但有時我會查找一個單詞，它在希伯來語中的含義只會讓我起雞皮疙瘩。比如：Eve- 來自希伯來語名字 Chavah/Havah which chavah，呼吸，chayah，生活，或給予生命。所以夏娃的名字在希伯來文中的意思是呼吸生命。） 在希伯來語中，希望這個詞是 Tikvah，它有兩個含義。它來自希伯來語詞根 kavah，意思是捆綁在一起，收集；期待： – 等待，等待（等待，開啟，開啟）。所以這是我們想到的希望，但它承載著更多的期望。這不僅僅是一個願望。我們在基督裡有盼望——我們在基督裡有期望。我們對我們的教會領袖有希望——我們對我們的教會領袖有期望。 Tikvah 的第二個含義是繩索或繩索。這可以給我們的希望賦予一些具體的意義。它不僅僅是漂浮在上面的東西。這是我們可以堅持的。我們可以看到的東西。我們在基督裡有盼望——我們可以感受到來自他的和平精神。當我們做好事時，我們可以看到希望。 tikvah 這個詞出現在喇合的故事中。喇合是一位單身女性，在耶利哥較貧窮的地區擁有一家旅館。還記得耶利哥的戰鬥嗎？以色列軍隊每天行軍一次，持續 7 天（然後是第 7 天 7 次）繞城而行，然后城牆倒塌？這就是那個故事。喇合是它能夠發生的原因。兩個以色列間諜來到耶利哥，住在喇合家。在約書亞·喇合的書中，總是被稱為妓女喇合或簡稱為妓女。詹姆斯·R·貝克（James R. Baker）是《舊約時代婦女權利》的作者，他對喇合有過這樣的評價。
“（拉哈布）在漢謨拉比時代和一個半世紀後在阿米薩杜卡統治下的巴比倫同行被翻譯為“麥酒妻子”。這樣的女人選擇不屬於傳統的家庭單位。這些婦女擁有自己的公共場所，提供住宿、膳食、酒精飲料，有時甚至是她們自己。他們與讚助人簽訂了類似節律婚姻的聯絡人，有時「與不止一個贊助人結婚——這就是所謂的一妻多夫制」。這樣的關係保障了女人的獨立性。來訪的讚助人享有女人臥室的特權，但所有財產，包括他可能為這段關係帶來的東西以及他們結合所生的任何孩子，都屬於她，可以由她父親的後代繼承。這些婦女通常不受尊重，因為舊巴比倫的法律對她們嚴厲。
所以這兩個探子不是隨便找了個妓女，就去她家住了。「嘿！我們是間諜。我們可以留在你身邊嗎？」她很可能經營著一家旅館。國王很快就發現（他們的工作顯然很糟糕）間諜在城裡。王送信給喇合：我們在約書亞記第 2 章讀到。
3 耶利哥王打發人去見喇合說，把那些到你這裡，進了你家的人帶出來，因為他們是來窺視全地。 4 女人將兩人隱藏。
喇合所做的就是簽署她自己的死刑令。她已經被看不起了，現在她違背了國王的任務。她為什麼這樣做？她是巴比倫人。以色列人是她人民的敵人！她在約書亞記 第二章第 9、 10、11 中告訴我們她的理由。
9對他們説：我知道耶和華已經把這地賜給你們，並且因你們的緣故我們都驚慌了。這地的一切居民在你們面前心都消化了； 10 因爲我們聽見你們出埃及的時候，耶和華怎樣在你們前面使紅海的水乾了，並且你們怎樣待約旦河東的兩個亞摩利王西宏和噩，將他們盡行毀滅。 11我們一聽見這些事，心就消化了。因你們的緣故，並無一人有膽氣。耶和華——你們的神本是上天下地的神。
喇合聽說過這支臭名昭著的軍隊。她聽到了摩西和約書亞所做的一切，她敬畏他們的上帝，成為了信徒！我喜歡這個——「我們的心都融化了——任何男人都沒有勇氣」,她不再需要任何人了！她對以色列的上帝有希望！她告訴間諜，每個人都害怕他們。這就是他們所需要的。繼續前行的信心。她繼續向間諜詢問，作為對她的善意的回報，當以色列人佔領這座城市時，她的家人得以倖免。他們給了她一條 TIKVAH——一條猩紅色的繩索。他們告訴她把它綁在窗戶上，她要從那裡把它們從那裡放下——她的房子在城牆上，所以她只是想扔下一根繩子讓它們走——所以他們給了她這個希望，這條繩子然後他們就走了。-他們確實說，如果有人在他們的攻擊中出來，他們將不會倖免。他們信守諾言，她將全家聚集到她家，他們都從以色列軍隊中倖免於難。然後他們都和以色列人一起生活，聖經上說：直到她的日子結束。
喇合對上帝抱有希望，因此上帝使用了一個「妓女」來幫助實現他的目的。
所以，如果你曾經與不孕症作鬥爭; 或是超級嫉妒你姐姐；或是看著你的丈夫死去，或是因為生活方式的選擇與你所愛的人分道揚鑣，或是因為失去而不得不離開你的家，或是曾從上帝那裡得到一個荒謬的回答，或是在耗盡一生的時間終於後找到了真愛，得到了你最大的快樂而很快他/它就從你身邊被奪走——但後來又找到了——或者你不得不站起來為你周圍的人辯護⋯⋯
如果是這樣，那你属于非凡的人群。這些女人是你的祖母。他們所經歷的一切，儘管看起來不可能，現在都在你的肩上。以色列，聚集起来。對於他們中的許多人來說，這就是他們的一生。就像上帝要求他們起來創造以色列一樣，現在是我們的任務是把以色列聚集起來。你現在就是天堂的希望。當上帝將希望寄託在我們身上時，我們也將希望寄託在上帝身上，永恆的事工就完成了。承諾是確定的。希望可以持久。奉耶穌基督的名，阿門。 What the Women of the Old Testament can Teach us about Hope
When you think of women in the Old Testament, who do you think of? Do you feel like you have things in common with these women? I want you to take most of what you know about the women in the OT and throw it out the window. The great thing about the OT is that there isn’t anyone to tell you how to feel and what the message is. We can decide that for ourselves. Let’s talk about Lots wife for a minute as an example. What is generally the main message from that story? Aw yes, tsk tsk. Remember Lot’s wife. Don’t be like her. As if her choice was SO EASY. What is so often forgotten is that she was a grandma and she knew she was leaving behind loved ones in a place that was wicked, evil- Done For. We can decide if Lot’s wife lacked faith, or if she was just a grandma wanting her grandbabies. The lesson might not necessarily be “OOO, if you don’t have faith *poof* off with your head” BUT; that sometimes God does ask us to choose Him over other things, and sometimes that is insanely hard. Also consider Eve. Have you ever thought that Eve was actually the first person to have a faith crisis? Let’s talk about another one. Let’s dissect Esther. What do we know? What are the common ideas about Esther? When I first was asked to speak and given my assignment, I realized that I needed to research two things very quickly and thoroughly. WHO in the WORLD are the women in the OT- and what does HOPE really mean? What is something (or things) you hope for?
When we are young our hopes are generally young also. We might hope for good grades, for a friend,
for a dog, for certain treats to be at a party or activity. In today’s world HOPE is often a word that is
thrown out without thinking about it. Some are serious hopes, some more temporal. I hope I get a good parking spot. I hope I get this job interview. I hope he likes me. I hope they don’t call me back. I hope this fits! Something that I think has been lost to the world today is that hope is something you can truly hold on to.
MY HOPE is that the Old Testament will become a delight for you. That you will see what an incredible example the women in the Old Testament are. We are first going to talk about the word. Hope. Before it became a word of wishful thinking it had a deeper meaning. (A habit I have developed when reading the Old or New Testament to see what things mean in Hebrew. Before the bible was translated into English it came from the Hebrew, Aramaic (a Caananite language in Anciet Syria), and Koine Greek (which was two Greek vernaculars before our moden greek) languages.. Those translators did a really good job, but sometimes I’ll look up a word and it’s meaning in Hebrew will just give me goosebumps. Like: Eve- comes from the Hebrew name Chavah/Havah which chavah, to breathe, and chayah, to live, or to give life. So Eve’s name in the Hebrew text
means to breathe life into.) In Hebrew the word hope is Tikvah, and it has two meanings. It comes from the Hebrew root kavah meaning to bind together, collect; to expect: – tarry, wait (for, on, upon). So this is the hope we think of but it carries with it more of an expectation. It’s not just a wish. We HOPE in Christ-we have Expectations in Christ. We have HOPE in our church leaders-we have expectations in our church leaders. The second meaning for Tikvah is a cord, or rope. This can give our Hope meaning something concrete. It’s not just something up there floating around. It’s something we can hold on to. Something we can see. We have Hope in Christ-we can FEEL the spirit of Peace that comes from Him. We can see Hope as we go about doing good.
The word tikvah is seen in the story of Rahab. Rahab was a single woman who owned a sort of hotel in the poorer part of Jericho. Remember the battle at Jericho? The Isrealite army marched once a day for 7 days (then 7 times the 7 th day) around the city and then the walls came down? This is that story. Rahab is the reason it was able to happen. Two Isrealite spies had come into Jericho and were staying at Rahab’s. In the book of Joshua Rahab is always referred to as Rahab the Harlot or simply the Harlot. James R. Baker, who wrote Women’s Rights in the Old Testament Times had this to say about Rahab. “(Rahab’s) Babylonian counterparts during the time of Hammurabi and a century and a half later under Ammisaduqa were translated as “ale-wives”. Such woman chose not to belong to
traditional family units. These women owned their own public establishments, where the
offered lodging, meals, alcoholic beverages, and sometimes themselves. They contracted
metronymic marriage-likes liaisons with their patrons and sometimes “married more than one
patron-something called nair-polyandry.” Such a relationship safeguarded the woman's
independence. The visiting patron had the privilege of the woman's bedroom, but all the
property, including what he might bring to the relationship and any children born of their union,
belonged to her and could be inherited by her father's descendants. These women were
generally not held in high esteem, for the Old Babylonian law dealt harshly with them.
So these two spies didn’t just find a random harlot out and about and went and stayed at her place.
“Hey! We’re spies. Can we stay with you?” More than likely she operated a sort of hotel. The king finds out really quickly that the (apparently awful at their jobs) spies were in the city. And the king sends note to Rahab: We read in Joshua chapter 2. 3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. 4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, To do what Rahab did was to sign her death warrant. She’s already looked down upon, and now she has gone against an assignment from the King. Why does she do this? She’s a Babylonian. The Israelites are
her people’s enemies! She tells us her reasons in Joshua 2 v 9, 10, 11. 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your a terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land b faint because of you. 10 For we have a heard how the LORD dried up the water of the b Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the c Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
11 And as soon as we had a heard these things, our b hearts did melt, neither did there remain
any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God
in d heaven above, and in earth beneath. Rahab has heard of this infamous army. She’s heard all the things that Moses and Joshua have done and she fears their God and becomes a believer! I love this- “our hearts did melt-neither did there remain any more courage in any man” She doesn’t need anyone else anymore! She has hope in the God of Israel! She tells the spies that everyone is terrified of them. This is all they needed. The confidence to carry on. She goes on to ask the spies that in return for her kindness that her family is spared when the Israelites take over the city. They give her a TIKVAH- a scarlet cord. They tell her to tie it around the window where she’s going to lower them down from-her house is up on the wall of the city, so she’s just going to toss down a rope and let them go-so they give her this hope, this cord and off they go.-they do say that if anyone comes out during their attack that they will not be spared. Their promise is kept, she gathers in all her family to her house, and the are all spared from the Israelite army. THEN they all go live with the Israelites, it says in the scriptures: until the end of her days. Rahab had hope in God, and so God used a “harlot” to help fulfil his purpose. SO if you have ever-struggled with infertility. Been super jealous of your sister. Watched your husband die, parted ways from your loved ones over lifestyle choices, had to up and leave your home due to loss, received an answer from God that was so ridiculous you laughed, found love after a life time of loss, received your greatest joy just to have had it taken away from you-but then found it again-, Had to stand up and advocate for those around you, You are in extraordinary company. These women are your grandmothers. Everything they went through, though it seems impossible is now one your shoulders. Israel. The gathering. For many of them that was their whole life. Just like God asked them to rise up and create the house of israel if is now our task to gather it in. You are Heavens hope now. When God places is hope in us-, and we place our hope in God- the work of eternity is fulfilled. Promises are made sure. And Hope can Endure. In the name of Jesus
Christ, Amen
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