7 Strong Women In The Bible That God Gave A Powerful Purpose

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There were strong women in Bible which is a BIG indicator that you are not meant to be some woman that just needs to sit down and shut up. I know sometimes SOME people give women a bad reputation in the Bible. More than likely because of the following Bible verses:

What does the Bible say about strong women

• 1 Timothy 2:11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. (Click here to read what real submission means).

• 1 Corinthians 14:33 …women should remain silent in the churches.

But as I always say, it is SO important to actually read your Bible because if you did one may see that there are so many successful strong women in The Bible that did in fact have authority over men and were very involved in the creation of the church among other things.

I want to bust the misconception, that women were just meant to be wallflower. That women can lead and that there were many times that women had MORE faith than even the men.   So why don’t we get into it shall we? But first, check out my video where I talk about a woman’s role in the church and subscribe to my channel by clicking here.

Strong Women In the Bible ~ 1. Mary Magdalene AKA the other disciple

One of the strong women in the Bible is Mary Magdalene.  She was pretty much up there with the 12 disciples in my opinion.  She was not considered apart of the 12 officially but she literally did almost everything that the 12 disciples did and sometimes more.  But first.  Who was she.

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,  and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;  Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. Luke 8:1-3

In other words, Mary was a woman that Jesus healed and she among other women followed Jesus around and provided support to him out of their own means. Which pretty much means that they were paying for things using their own money. As the amplified Bible says: and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

Strong Women In The Bible ~ Why is Mary so strong:

After Jesus was crucified all the 12 disciples AKA men went into hiding because they were afraid. Simon Peter denied Jesus three times before Jesus was even dead and Thomas did not even believe that Jesus could come back from the dead. Once Jesus was dead, they pretty much forget about poor Jesus. BUT A WOMAN AKA Mary she was the first to get up early, go to Jesus’s tomb  in order to give him a traditional burial BY HERSELF. AND this woman was the FIRST person to see Jesus after he resurrected.

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:11-18

So while the men were hiding Mary was willing to confront anyone that took the body of Jesus and even carry him back herself if need be.   She was also the first person to spread the news of Jesus’s resurrection.

Strong Women In the Bible ~ 2. Mary Mother Of Jesus

I do not feel that I have to explain her story in great detail because the whole idea of being Christian is that we follow Jesus and so you should know of the person who gave birth to him which was his mother Mary.

Strong Women In The Bible ~ Why was Mary so strong

Mary was a virgin when she got pregnant and she was betrothed to Joseph. Women freely have sex now but back in those days, having sex before marriage literally meant that you could be stoned to death.  Even as Mary knew this, she still decided to get pregnant by the Holy Spirit. God can do anything but he also needs our consent to come into our lives  and so when the angel told her she would get pregnant Mary had to consent to having this happen.

 The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. For this reason the baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. 

 Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!” Then the angel went away. Luke 1: 35-38

Mary knew that being pregnant without being married meant that she could be stoned to death BUT she still had enough bravery to get pregnant by the Holy Spirit, knowing that she could die AND knowing that her fiance Joseph may not want to be with her.  Would you be willing to give up your man, be stoned to death, and possibly be shamed and your reputation to be tarnished JUST to follow God? I can bet that probably most people wouldn’t.  But Mary did and that shows her strength.

And just for GOOD measure. Remember when I spoke of Mary Magdalene.  All of which were strong women and they were “unofficial disciples in my opinion.” Even after Jesus died, none of them coward away and they still followed Jesus and were up there with the men to spread the good news AND still very active in matters concerning the church.

Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:12-14

Thus debunking the idea that women should just sit in church, not saying anything, and not have an active part in it. (1 Corinthians 14:33-35 …women should remain silent in the churches). Clearly we can see they do, can, and have.

Successful Strong Women in The Bible ~ 3. Ruth From Working The Field To Owning It

When most people think of Ruth they think of Boaz and their wonderful love story.  But I want you to note that the book of the Bible is called Ruth not Boaz.  What Ruth did was revolutionary in her times.  I am going to take a few excerpts from my book for single women “Fix It, Jesus! For Single Women Only. The Straightforward No-Nonsense Guide To Dating, Relationships, and Self Improvement” (which you can buy here) to talk about why Ruth was so strong.

Let’s get into the story of Ruth. She was a widow as her husband died and now she was following her mother-in-law, Naomi, to Bethlehem. She was going to go to a foreign land and, more than likely, thought that she would not be on a top pick to get married. Ruth was a widow who was about forty years old. If you think that a 40-something unmarried woman holds a stigma today imagine what they probably thought of a woman in her situation back then.

Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Ruth 1: 11 

Naomi told her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, there were no hope and begged them to return home because their only option was to either wait until Naomi got pregnant again, hope that child to be a boy, and then wait for that child to grow up to marry either Orpah or Ruth. Naomi was saying that if you follow me, you will be single for the rest of your life. When Ruth got to Bethlehem, she was ready to go to work. That was really the only choice she had. Naomi was too old to work and there was no man of the house who was going to chip in and help out; it was just Ruth.

If you want to get the first chapter of my book for single women for FREE. Then click here or the picture below.

Strong Women In The Bible ~ What made Ruth So Strong

Here we have a 40 something year old female in a time in which not having man was detrimental.  Ruth could have easily threw a pity party for herself about the fact that she had no kids, no husband, and could have turned and left her mother in law in the desert while she went back to her country Moab.

But she didn’t. She didn’t know what the future held or how they were even going to live or find food.  But in the end she did what she had to do including working in the field to provide for herself and her mother in law. She had to take on a provider role  or a traditionally male role, so survive. Ruth is strong because she did not depend on a man for anything. Even though she got a man, she was fully prepared to handle her life on her own. You can also check out the video that I did on Ruth down below.

Strong Women in The Bible ~ 4. Esther Wife & Savior Of A Nation

The fourth of the strong women in the Bible is Esther. I love Esther (see my blog here on how Esther made herself queen to get the king). She was a true Cinderella story indeed coming from being an orphan to becoming queen.  But more than anything, she saved the Jews from annihilation. This one woman was instrumental for saving an entire nation LITERALLY.  And she was willing to put her life at risk to do so by going before the king unannounced and possibly risking getting her head chopped off.

“All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives.” Esther 4:11

Not to mention that the king has a history of getting rid of his queens. As the only reason why Esther was even queen is because the king had gotten rid of his former queen Vashti.

“Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.” Esther 1:19-20

So it was very much so possible that the king could have banished Esther for disobeying him and coming to him without permission.  You can also watch my video down below that I did on Esther.

Strong Women In The Bible ~ What made Esther so strong

The first thing is that despite all of the consequences that she could have faced such as being parted with her head she still was brave to come before the queen unannounced. AND THEN. When he extended his royal scepter to her she was smart about saving the Jews. She did not burst into court demanding things and causing a scene. Instead she chose to feed him over the course of several nights, get into his favor, and then asked for what she wanted.

 “On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance.  When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. Esther 7: 1-5

Although Esther was a queen, she had direct influence over the king and was the one behind the scene calling all of the shots AND somehow made him think that he came up with the idea when really it was Esther’s plan all along.

So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet,  and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.” Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. Esther 7: 1-3

Strong Women In The Bible ~ 5. Deborah, The Judge

Deborah is the only woman that is mentioned in the book of judges as a judge.  In which their sole purpose was:

Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. Judges 2:16 

And so Deborah was a judge  that was in charge of settling disputes among the Jews and she even prophesied.

“Now Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She would sit under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled.” Judges 4:4-5

You see that Deborah’s husband is mentioned in the above Bible verse.  How about that is the only place that her husband is ever mentioned.  In fact, we do not even know what he does for a living which clearly proves he was not the real focus of this whole thing.  Furthermore, Deborah  foretold of another iconic event in which Jael (a woman) was going to drive a peg through Sisera’s head.

As I stated above the judges were set into place by God to protect Israel from raiders.  Which is why Barak (a man) came to Deborah (a woman) and asked her to come with him to war.  So much so that if Deborah refused the man he was not going to go.

Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”  “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman. Judges 4:8-9

Strong Women In The Bible ~ What made Deborah so strong

She was a judge for goodness sake. Over Israel in a time in which women did not do such things.  This means that she must have been capable in the eyes of men in order for them to feel comfortable to elect her as a judge.

Successful Strong Women in The Bible ~ 6. Jael, The First Deadly Assassin

Remember that woman that Deoborah told Barak about? The one in which would kill his enemy?

“Deborah prophesied ‘“I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame on the expedition you are undertaking, for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman.” Judges 4:9

The woman in which Deborah was speaking of was Jael. Jael killed Sisera by driving a peg through his head. Her actions,  delivered Israel.

Strong Women In The Bible ~ What Make Jael so strong:

The reason why Jael was so successful is because she used her womanly ways to take advantage of her enemy.  Sisera went into her tent probably underestimating Jael as being just a woman not capable of harming a fly. BUT YET…

“Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, ‘Stop and rest, my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don’t be afraid.’ So Sisera stopped to rest in her tent, and she put a blanket over him. He said to her, ‘Give me a little water to drink, because I’m thirsty.’ She opened a goatskin container of milk and gave him some milk to drink.’” Judges 4:18-19

Jael played her little womanly role and as soon as Sisera was asleep, she killed him.

“Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground while he was asleep from exhaustion, and he died.” Judges 4: 21

Men and women ARE equal in my eyes. BUT I love when women are able to do something that not even men can do. I seriously doubt that any man could have made an enemy feel so comfortable enough to just go to sleep in their presence so that they can kill them. God could have had a man kill Sisera but He didn’t. He chose a woman.

Strong Women in The Bible ~ 7. Leah, The Woman With The Weak Eyes

The last of the strong women in the Bible is Leah. When we read the story of Leah we cannot help but to feel sorry for her. Her father had to trick a man into marrying her and she was always in a competition for her own husband over her sister Rachel.  Rachel was prettier and their husband loved Rachel more and Leah was just known for her weak eyes.

There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. Genesis 29:17

Notice that it does not say that Leah was unattractive but that her eyes were weak and had no sparkle. It was like she was depressed or something.  On top of the fact that her father had to trick her husband into marrying her.

Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.” So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast.  But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.  When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?” Genesis 29: 21-25

Imagine how Leah must have felt. Her husband was tricked into marrying her, she lost her virginity, only for him to wake up and regret having had sex with or marrying her.  She was already depressed and this probably made her even more depressed.

“When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.  Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.” Genesis 29: 31-32

But God took pity on Leah and opened up her womb causing her to have more children than her sister, she had 6 sons! After her first three sons, each time she would say to herself “surely my husband will love me now” and gave her son’s name that represented misery. BUT somewhere in the mix, she stopped being depressed over being unloved and decided to be happy regardless.

God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.  Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. Genesis 30: 17-20

You can also check out my video down below that I did about Leah and the love triangle she had with her sister down below.

Strong Women In the Bible ~ What makes Leah Strong

I included Leah as one of the strong women of the Bible because her strength comes from within. She went from being depressed with no sparkle in her eye, to being joyful even though her husband did not really love her.  She decided that she was going to be happy and whatever was going on with Jacob and Rachel was no longer going to matter to her.  And it really takes a really strong woman to put a smile on their face, even though things in their life are going wrong.

Here are the 7 strong women in the Bible.  All displaying and showing their strength in many different ways. A wife, mother, widow, judge, disciple, assassin, a savior of nations, . This shows that as women we are multidimensional and can use our strengths in many different ways and in some cases even more so then men.

If you love this blog post and you know a strong Christian woman then go ahead and share it with her.