How Women in the Bible responded to Barrenness

This is an odd title and odd topic, and certainly one I would not think up. God spoke this to me  through his word this morning, and it is a message to all Christians, barren or not. God often uses circumstance to show us what we truly are This is just a brief list, and I don't think it is a complete one. I may go into this more later: 

 Sarah – Resignation, Unbelief, (Blame God?) , Disappointment in God

Paraphrase:Its too late, I’m too old…. I think God wants to use someone else… like Hagar my maid (see Genesis 16) Genesis 16:2 “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.”

What Sarah got right was that it was God who withheld her from bearing chidlren. She reacted, however, in unbelief.

Rebekah – Not mentioned in Bible,  Isaac to cried out to God for her.  (see Genesis 25)

Rachel – Envious of Leah, who had many children.  “Give me children, or else I die!”(See Genesis 30)  Note that she doesn’t mention God, or see God’s will working. She died in the birth of her second son, Benjamin. Genesis 31 points to the fact that she probably still was worshipping idols.

Hannah (1 Samuel  1) Hannah was a woman used by God. Out of her great sorrow and anguish she cried out to God for her heart’s desire, a son (See Ps Susan’s book). Then she vowed to God, that she would give her son back to Him. I heard somewhere, along this line, that Hannah got into such a depth of prayer that she saw God’s will, and God’s purpose, then her need for a son fell into place, or something like that. How painful that must have been for her to surrender.  Ps Susan always says, “Lord, make me willing to be made willing”. She weaned herself of the child, and not knowing whether she would have any more, gave that child back to Him, only seeing him once a year. What a woman. What an example of faith and sacrifice. Her son, Samuel, would grow up to be such a man in Israel that there was peace in the land all his days. What a man. May God make us into watchman and intercessors that will add value to the land. May God wean us of all distractions and things that are not His

Michal – Was barren because she despised her husband David for worshipping the Lord, accusing him. See Wiersbe’s Bible Commentary. (1 Samuel 25)

Elisabeth – resignation, reproached among people, was not bitter. Elisabeth and Zacharias seemed pretty resigned to the fact they would have no children. (Luke 1 and 3). I like to think they both loved the Lord and served Him, and He blessed them and used them both to prophesy and to fufill prophecy. Elisabeth was "filled the Holy Spirit"

Additional things to think about: Numbers 5

¹¹ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, ¹³ and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she caught— ¹⁴ if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵ then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance. ¹⁶ ‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD.¹⁷ The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put itinto the water. ¹⁸ Then the priest shall stand the woman before the LORD, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you”— ²¹ then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—“the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes your thigh rot and your belly swell; ²² and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach, and makeyour belly swell and your thigh rot.” 
Then the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.” ²³ ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter.²⁵ Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall wave the offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar; ²⁶ and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children. ²⁹ ‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority,goes astray and defiles herself, ³⁰ or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her. ³¹ Then the man shall be free from iniquity, but that woman shall bear her guilt.’”

Moses, a man that asked, "Who am I"

The servant of God is nothing in Himself, he is merely someone so totally surrendered to God and His will that the All-powerful God can use Him to do great wonders.

²³ By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they sawhe was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.
²⁴ By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶ esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in^[e] Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
²⁷ By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
²⁹ By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

Exodus 3 – 4

Moses was not a mighty man of God, he was a man of a mighty GOD! In himself, he had unbelief, a speech problem, and thought himself terribly unsuited for the task of bringing the people out of Egypt. For 40 years he was a shepherd and probably forgot how to talk. “Who am I” Moses saw himself as who he was, a mere man. However, he at first failed to see what God was trying to tell him – that it was not Moses who will be bringing the people out of Egypt, but God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It would not be out of Moses’ ability, or rather disability, but instead, God’s power working through him, that Moses was only a vessel, an instrument of God.

In Chp 4, we see Moses worried that the people would not believe him, his word, or his divine mission, he was looking to himself. Pestering God with questions of our unworthiness is not legitimate, since God knows that we are nothing but wretched human beings and cannot do anything in ourselves. Rather, we are His instrument, His ministers, and the power and ability to do the work of God never comes from us but from Him! It is not by the works of the flesh, but of faith!

Moses' Excuses	God's Answers
Who am I? (3:11)	Certainly I will be with thee. (3:12)
What shall I say unto them? (3:13)	I AM hath sent me unto you. (3:14)
They will not believe me. (4:1)	What is that in thine hand? (4:2)
I am not eloquent. (4:10)	I will teach thee what thou shalt say. (4:11-12; 14-15)

 (The chart was taken from AOP's SOS Bible 1002 curriculum )

God doesn't need you to serve Him, it is only to your blessing that you choose too. Too often we think that we serve should God with our talents, and with our abilities, and with our giftings – but it is not so – we have to surrender our will, die to our talents and goals, and submit our ability to the will of God. Even our giftings and callings have to be given to God. Moses himself tried to save Israel, to accomplish God’s will by murdering the Egyptian. God had to bring him through the “wilderness experience”. The wilderness seems like the school God uses to train the men who will be great for him – Abraham, Isaac, Moses, and many others, including Paul the apostle. God brought him to be nothing, then God used him.

If God wills, he can use a donkey. He often chose to use people that other people will not choose. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, His ways higher than our ways. (Isa 55)


Oh that God need not take us through the Wilderness to be useful to Him. I pray indeed that God us His way. I pray that we may be of use to God, that He will mold us, shape us, into His image and His likeness. Oh that we can echo the words of the great hymn, without hypocrisy or guile but in an honest and truthful manner, 

1. All to Jesus I surrender; 
all to him I freely give; 
I will ever love and trust him, 
in his presence daily live. 
Refrain:
I surrender all, I surrender all, 
all to thee, my blessed Savior, 
I surrender all. 
2. All to Jesus I surrender; 
humbly at his feet I bow, 
worldly pleasures all forsaken; 
take me, Jesus, take me now. 
(Refrain) 
3. All to Jesus I surrender; 
make me, Savior, wholly thine; 
fill me with thy love and power; 
truly know that thou art mine. 
(Refrain) 
4. All to Jesus I surrender; 
Lord, I give myself to thee; 
fill me with thy love and power; 
let thy blessing fall on me. 
(Refrain) 
5. All to Jesus I surrender; 
now I feel the sacred flame. 
O the joy of full salvation! 
Glory, glory, to his name! 
(Refrain) 
When Christ calls a man, He bids him COME and DIE! (Bonhoeffer)

Mary, sister of Lazurus

A servant of God must first be willing to sit at His feet and hear His voice, and then pour out our lives, present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service. 


(Rom 12: ¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.)




We find this lovely woman named Mary, the sister of Lazurus, mentioned often in the Gospels. After the healing of her brother, (John 11), she is seen again sitting at Jesus’ feet, then later on a few days before His burial, anointing His feet. Looking at her life, I see a woman so totally at rest, at peace, and surrendered to God.


Luke 10: ³⁸As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
 ⁴¹"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴²but only one thing is needed.^[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

I am a person who likes to be busy cooking, and baking, and doing something, so I can sympathize with Martha. Obviously she has the same kind of irritation that I have when Samuel is sitting at the computer doing nothing while I have something important to do (this happens vice-versa too). Martha was more than irritated though, she was very worried and upset. Having opened her home to Jesus, she would have at least expected Mary to help her. The strivings of the flesh will never lead to the fruit of the Spirit.

Ps Shaw Ming actually mentioned this incident on Sunday, saying that Mary had the courage to break the cycle and strict timetable of Jewish women, to sit at Jesus' feet. She probably had plenty of things to do, but she just knew that this was the time to sit at Christ's feet. She just knew that what she was doing now was more important than anything else, what what she ate and drank into her Spirit would have eternal value. She had stillness and peace in her spirit, soul, and body. 

Matthew 5: ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 

For they shall be filled. 

What a hunger for God Mary had, she knew that with Him was the words of eternal life! She just sat at His feet and listened. Today many of us (including me many many times), lack peace within our soul, we are restless and probably have a spirit of slumber - falling fast asleep during the sermon, or fighting very hard to stay awake, then becoming extremely awake the minute the service is finished, and have so much energy to talk and listen to our friends, or worse, go and do something called "serving God"! Servants, rather, slaves, of God must minister out of a strong inner life! If we do not drink from the living waters of God, how do we expect to minister and water others. If we do not hunger for the bread of life, what makes us think we can witness to others so that they can hunger too! If we do not have the abundant life of God and true faith in us now, all we think, speak, and do, will be of the flesh, and it will be dead works! Worse still, without faith, it will be SIN! Romans 14 states, "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin."

Remember, the peace of God passes all understanding. Ask Him for the peace, that you may learn all the wondrous things of His law. Ask Him to breathe into you His breath of life, that you may receive the abundant life which comes through His son. Oh that you may receive the things of God, for that can never be taken away from you! (Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33) Heaven and earth, everything tangible, that is physical, all can pass away, but the Word of God never will. It will abide for all eternity. The promises of God are everlasting - what more can we want!

In, John 11, Mary's brother Lazurus was raised from the dead. It is revealed that Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazurus very much (vs 5). It must have been very hurting when Martha, and even more so Mary, did not understand the will of God and His purpose in that event. Even His disciples did not comprehend. 

^{vs. 28} And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” ²⁹ As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was^[b] in the place where Martha met Him. ³¹ Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”^{[c] 32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”} 

³³ Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴ And He said, “Where have you laid him?” 
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” ³⁷ And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

I learnt this from Ps Shaw Ming three years ago at Glory Place: Jesus saw her weeping - He groaned in His spirit and was deeply troubled. Why would he weep for Lazurus? He is going to raise Him from the dead. He  knew that death is not the end. He was troubled by the unbelief of Mary and Martha. Perhaps he understood Martha, who was a practical person... but Mary who sat at His feet was now weeping because her brother was dead. 

^{1 Thes 4:13} But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.^[b] 

Sorrow for a loved one is fine, but we should never grieve as if there is no hope!

John 12: ¹ Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead,^[a] whom He had raised from the dead. ² There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. ³ Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
⁴ But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, ⁵ “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii^[b] and given to the poor?” ⁶ This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. ⁷ But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept^[c] this for the day of My burial. ⁸ For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”



Oh what a great sacrifice she surrendered to the Lord,it was indeed a fradant aroma before Him. She was more than perfuming Him - it was an act of worship, symbolic of pouring out ourselves to God, giving all we have to Him. 


What was Martha doing? Serving dinner. No doubt Martha did her very best, she probably was a good cook. It must have taken her time and money to serve Jesus and his twelve disciples, including all her guests, but all her works and efforts, were nothing compared to the one thing Mary gave that Martha didn't - she gave herself.


What more can I say? Our bodies are to be a living sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable to God. God doesn't want the things that you do, the "dinner that you cooked", the works. God calls us first to put ourselves completely into His hands, to surrender everything we were, we are, and we ever want to be to Him. Then only can He use us, when we are nothing, then only God can use us to do something. 


Oh that you and I may learn to truly die, so know that all the doings of the flesh are futility itself! Oh may I learn that lesson every day - it is not what I can do for God,  nor what I can give Him - it is the sacrifice of myself and all  my ambitions, goals, plans, all my bag and baggage, every single thing, including every thought, word, motive, and deed, all my very breath, has to be given to Him. Oh what a difficult lesson indeed it is to learn, but may we, as Mary, be a willing disciple of Christ. When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die (Bonhoeffer)

We can summarize 6 things about Mary did: She sat, She seeked, she sorrowed, she saw, she surrendered, she sacrificed.

Fact: The New Testament name “Mary” came from the Hebrew word “Miryam”, the same name as Moses’ sister. The word Mary, is the anglicized version of the Greek “Mariam”. It is likely she was named after one' of Israel's foremost prophetess?


UPDATE: Here's a video on the song my mom wrote on Mary, "In Brokenness I Come to You "
ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Ps Susan's book, A Monumental Work, covers this issue in a much deeper and apostolic way - it is now available on her website but you can contact her to buy the book at http://station-of-life.org/CONTACT_US.htm

More books! and others.

Book 1 is about ministering out of a strong Christian life, Book 2 about remaining hidden! I thoroughly recomend both, as I have read them before. Ps Jean's new book about eternal life is out too, and I have read some of it. The website has not posted it yet, but I'm sure if you want to buy it, you can find contact info on the website.

Btw, my fren Sandra's family is making Bible covers...  I really like the crocheted ones... me going to try to make a knitted one for myself.

Purpose of this blog

Sidetrack:  As I have been reading the Pentateuch (or Torah) with Daddy and Samuel every night, I also read some of Wierbe’s commentary. I tell you, at some points, I couldn’t put it down. It gave me a whole new perspective rather than the typical “Sunday-school” interpretation. I’m not saying either is correct or wrong. Sometimes, because my flesh is “bored” with the Old Testament, having read it too much and neglected other books as a child, I get out a book or cd, like “Unlocking the Bible” by David Pawson, or Wiersbe’s commentary, or even read it in the Jewish Complete Bible by David Stern, just to rekindle something inside (creative ways to make those same “Bible stories” become real living rhema to me) Or even just reading the same old NKJV version slowly, helps! I’ve gained a lot of “rhemas” from plain reading and letting God speak to me through His word.

Where was I? Oh yes – I wanted to explain my purpose for writing on this blog. This verse has been echoeing to me by various people:

  Prov 11:²⁵ The generous soul will be made rich, 
      And he who waters will also be watered himself. 

Aunty Dorothy has been teaching us a lot about generosity, especially about sharing Jesus with others. I want to be watered, which means I should water others too – Pastor said some time ago, that after 3 years in Christ we must start to serve Him already, for all the disciples had was 3 years. Now I am not saying I want to start a youth-run“ ministry”, and do a lot of “good things”, like Martha. I want to serve God, just by giving my life to him, sitting at his feet. (more on that another time!)

Pawson said, that there is no such thing as “secular” work for a Christian, because there is no separation between “sacred” and “secular”, like the Greeks say, but instead, “holy”, “clean”, and “unclean,  as God stated in Leviticus (Listen to Unlocking the Bible: Leviticus). That is true: because as Christians, we have died to the flesh and live in Christ, everything we do must be consecrated to God for His service. That is what I want to do with my life – serve God.

I have been learning a lot in the Bible on what it really means to serve God! I will post them up soon. The purpose of writing in this blog, is hopefully that I can encourage and water others, especially youths, to seek and love God. I realize that indeed there are very few on the narrow way, indeed so very few! And the road is so very narrow. I fall short many times, but by the grace of God, hopefully my journey, with all its struggles, will be a blessing to others in the form of this blog. So I hope at least others will be blessed from my testimonies, because more and more everyday I realize, that I am nothing. It is by the grace of God and His mercy. His goodness, His lovingkindness!

I don’t think I’m in any position to “preach” and “teach”, though sometimes, I “share” with the other girls in church a little, so this is not a blog of my “sermons”, just “testimonies” J

I think my blog motto should be “When Christ calls a man, He bids him COME and DIE!”. And so I learn, everyday what it means to die daily. Oh I have so much to learn, such a great journey ahead of me. And I truly pray that God will touch your life and bring you deeper in Him! Oh (Eph 1) ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your understanding^[c] being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power! Amen. 

Scriptural Prayers

The Bible is full of verses that we can pray. That is the best way to pray - praying God's Word. You can never go wrong!


Eph 1:15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what [is] the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated [Him] at His right hand in the heavenly [places,] 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all [things] under His feet, and gave Him [to be] head over all [things] to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.