Thinking Girls Bible Study

We often hear of the proverbial “blessing in disguise.” Many times, in fact, I would say every time we are faced with loss and hardship, there will be a blessing attached to it. It’s in our barrenness, our dry times, our wildernesses that we learn things we could not have learned otherwise. But when we come out on the other side, what we learned turns out to be precious stones in our lives. Our study of Hannah begins In 1 Samuel 1. I will be using the New King James Bible and the Blue Letter Bible and Strong’s as references. 1 Samuel 1: 1-2: “Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. And he had two wives; the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. Right from the start we get a clue for studying the story of Hannah when we look at the Hebrew word Ramathaim ...

As mentioned in the previous study of the Shunanem woman, the first mention in the Old Testament for the word rest is found in Genesis 2:2: "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done." The Hebrew word for rest in this verse is shabath and means "to cease, desist, rest (from labor.) It is where we get the word Sabbath. Another Hebrew word translated as rest is sha'an and means "to lean on, trust in, support, to trust in God, lean, lie, rely, rest on, stay." This word is found in Genesis 18:4: "Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree." This verse occurs after Abraham received the Covenant and was circumcised. I'm sure there are many lessons to be mined here, but for now, what I see is a pleasant picture this one verse depicts of rest: sitting in the shade of a tree after a journey, with a ...

Rest. Don't we all crave that rest? Especially now, with the amplified chaos of the world?  I'm good at encouraging those around me to "rest in the Lord," but I still struggle with doing it myself.  The enemy knows his time is short and is wreaking havoc on those of us who belong to Yeshua.  He is very clever and has had thousands of years to hone his craft.  And crafty he is.  He is the master of disguise and knows perfectly how to blindside us, sending us reeling from his attacks.  When those attacks come I want to run somewhere.  I get anxious and nervous and I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. What to do?  Rest.  Run to our Great High Priest who is interceding for us at the Throne of Grace, and rest there... knowing that even though our world might seem to be falling apart all around us...even though the ground under our feet seems to be crumbling...even though we see no way out...rest in Him.   Rest in the One who ...

I spent the better part of two days getting this study  ready to publish.  I was just about at the end and was correcting a mistake, and something happened, I don't know what...and everything was deleted.  To say I was devastated would be an understatement. How could I possibly remember everything? Then it occurred to me, that is what Elohim does with our sins.  When we accept His Provision, the Lamb of God as our Savior, He deletes our sins as far as the East is from the West.  He remembers them no more.  How wonderful is that? We live in a world where there are no superlatives.  Everything and everybody is "awesome" or "incredible" or "unbelievable."  As a result, nothing is. The world falls all over itself, trying to be more outrageous, more shocking, more, more, more. The noise has also been amplified.  If you'll notice, every commercial, every talk show, morning show, even news shows have a background synthesized "music" that is...

I wanted to do something a little different for this study.  The last few weeks have seemed more tumultuous than ever. The whole word seems to be in turmoil, with issues of war and hatred to the weather and geographical upheaval.  Lives have been changed forever in these last few weeks.  It's easy to get caught up in worry and woe, and to look at what's happening around us instead of keeping our eyes on our Savior.  Let's remind ourselves and each other that we serve a sovereign God who loves us and gave His life for us. He is in control and He has appointed everything to play out according to His will and His purpose. As we see all these things happening, let us remember to look up. Our redemption draws near. I decided to post this piece called "My King" by Chuck Missler for our next study.  I have benefited greatly from Chuck's teachings.  There is a wealth of free material made available on his website Khouse.org.   Every time I read this, I'm ...

In the last study, we looked at Hagar and how her life was impacted by Abram and Sarai taking matters into their own hands instead of waiting on the Lord. There are more dynamics to this story than can be addressed in two studies, but we will look at a few. God had given a promise to Abram and Sarai that He would give them descendants. But many years had passed since that initial promise, so Abram and Sarai decided they would help the Lord out. How many times do we do this? And the result is other people get hurt. Sarai came up with the idea that she would give her slave girl to Abram to have a child by her. Perhaps when Hagar conceived, that confirmed to Sarai her fear that she was the problem. But another dynamic of this story is that Hagar, in her flesh, despised Sarai after she became pregnant. When we find ourselves hurt by others, our tendency is to act in the flesh, to nurse our wounds, to feel sorry for ourselves. Hagar found herself pregnant, in bondage, in seeming hopeless...

Have you ever suffered collateral damage as the result of someone else taking things into their own hands instead of waiting on the Lord? Or maybe just the results of the fleshly behavior of someone else, or resentment or lack of forgiveness?  Or have you suffered because of a loved one's addiction or some other sin?  Maybe your own resentments and unwillingness to forgive have caused collateral damage in someone else life.  Sometimes in studying forgiveness, when people are encouraged to forgive, we hear things like, "You only hurt yourself when you don't forgive."  Or, "You are the one in chains when you hold on to unforgiveness and resentment."  But that's not really accurate.  Being at the receiving end of resentment and bitterness due to lack of forgiveness can be excruciating.  Sometimes it can feel as if a two ton boulder is suffocating the life out of you.  In a sense, a loved one's lack of forgiveness can place chains that can only be r...

In the previous two studies we saw both Abigail and David in their wilderness journeys.  We saw that David had been engaged in battles with Saul and other enemies leading up to the time he met Abigail.  We saw that Abigail was engaged in her own battle.  Many of us know very well what a wilderness experience is. Many of us have been engaged in our own spiritual battles for what may seem like an eternity.  That's why I find comfort in reading Psalm 18, a song of deliverance. David gives us the description of this Psalm in the first verse: "To the Chief Musician.  A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.  And he said;  I will love You, O LORD, my strength."  The occasion for David writing this was the day the Lord delivered David from the hand of his enemies and Saul.  What comfort to ...

Read MARRIED TO A FOOL: Abigail and David, Part 1 . When I was studying Abigail in 1 Samuel 25, my eyes caught a glimpse of a verse in chapter 23 that had the words "Rock of Escape."  So naturally my curiosity was piqued.  I went back to that chapter and made some wonderful discoveries.  Chapter 23 details the time when David had asked the Lord if he should go down and fight the Philistines.  The Lord said yes.  During that time, Saul learned what David was doing and plotted evil against him.  What captured my attention begins with verse 25:  "When Saul and his men went to seek him , they told David.  Therefore he went down to the rock , and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon .   And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon . " (Emphasis mine.) The passage continues in verses 26-29: "Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain.  So David made hast...

Throughout the ages, many women have found themselves, whether through arranged marriages or by choice, married to men who might be considered fools... men who are not walking with the Lord...  men who have hardened their hearts to their wives and to the Lord.  The world says, "Well, you deserve to be happy."  Or it tells us that love is the basis for whether a marriage is to continue or not... as if lack of love is a legitimate reason for divorce.  Let me say here if you are divorced for whatever reason, be encouraged that you still have a Husband, and His name is King Jesus.  There is much to be learned from the story of Abigail for all women.  This study, in particular, is for those women who find themselves in the same plight as Abigail.  Let me encourage you, Dear One, if you don't know what to do, stay where you are.  God has permitted this to happen in your life, in part, to refine you, to sift you, to chip away as a gemstone cutter ch...