Grace-Filled Discipleship is supported by our readers. When you make a purchase through a link on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s why you can trust our recommendations.
Foundations for Women In Ministry
How many women in ministry roles can you think of from the Bible? Can you name 3?
5?
More?
When I did this activity at a workshop a few months ago, the ladies in the room were able to come up with about 4 different names. The same workshop at my church provided a bit more variety, but consistently, I find that these four names are pretty well-known when it comes to female Bible characters who hold ministry leadership positions:
Deborah
Lydia
Esther
Priscilla
Did you know all of those names? If not, don’t worry! They are tucked away in the shadows of other stories that are more frequently told (for various reasons). If we take the time to get to know these ladies, though, we will find that their stories have something to say to all of us (men and women alike!) – God uses all of his children to fulfill his purposes if they are willing to serve with humble hearts.
There are a lot of messages about “a woman’s role” in the church and in the home, particularly in Christian circles. If you’ve grown up in the church or spent any time in conservative Christian groups, you’ve probably heard the terms “biblical womanhood” or “biblical manhood” tossed around. You might have heard that it’s the “man’s spiritual responsibility to lead as the priest of his home.” You might have been taught that women aren’t allowed to preach, or that their ministry responsibilities should be limited to teaching other women or children (and maybe teenagers). But are those things biblical? Do they line up with the biblical narrative? Are they reflective of God’s design for creating both men and women in God’s image? Do they fit the redemptive vision of “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:23)?
I don’t think they do.
Now, before you start picking up stones, hear me out.
I think God has a bigger vision for His people. I believe firmly that God has called all believers to be “equip[ped] for works of service so the body of Christ may be built up,” (Eph. 4:12) and that includes living into the gifts and callings that are available to the full Body of Christ (Rom. 12: 3-8; 1 Cor. 12).
But wait a minute, Lindsey! Women weren’t in ministry in the Bible. There’s no biblical precedent for that – it was a culture that was dominated by a patriarchal system, so even if there was a vision for equality, surely there’s no record in the Bible of women in leadership.
Right?
Wrong.
God’s vision for humanity has been from the beginning that we would work together to accomplish God’s good purposes for the world He created – to rule and reign over creation in partnership as God’s representatives (Gen 1:26-27), living in a relationship with each other that reflects the equal dynamic at work within the Trinity. Even though that partnership was broken as a result of the Fall, we still see God’s redemptive plan at work, woven throughout the narrative of scripture: from the Old to New Testaments, there are many examples of women who led in ministry roles with excellence.
Their stories remind us that God has no limits on who He can call to accomplish His purposes.
Women In Ministry Leadership in the Bible
Over the course of several posts, we’re going to explore what the Bible has to say about women in ministry. Where better to go than the Source itself?
In this series, we’re going to look at several things:
- What were the ministry roles that women filled in the Bible? What types of ministries do they align with today?
- Who were these women? What does the Bible tell us about them?
- What about those tricky passages that say women can’t be leaders? How do we understand those in the context of these other passages?
There’s a lot to unpack here, and we won’t get to it all in one post, so be sure to check back regularly for the next installment!
You can also check out live workshops if you are in central FL – see my calendar for where I’ll be speaking next, or request me to come and speak to your group!
What kinds of ministry leadership roles did women hold in the Bible?
First things first:
What kinds of roles did women fill in ministry in the Bible?
It’s important to note that many of the roles we see in the Bible are not roles that we see in today’s church culture.
That doesn’t mean that women can’t lead today – but it does mean we need to understand what those roles involved in their original contexts so we can understand what God called these ladies to do!
We’ll begin in the Old Testament and look at 4 prominent female ministry leaders and the roles they held: Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, and Esther.
Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah were all prophets.
Deborah was also a Judge and a military leader.
Huldah could be considered an authority on scripture.
Esther was an intercessor and held a political leadership role.
In this series, we’ll explore each one of these women and their role in fulfilling God’s call to proclaim His word and lead His people in their own unique ways.
We need to understand the roles women played in their original contexts so we can understand their callings and how our callings line up contextually with Scripture
Let’s define the role of a Prophet in the Old Testament, and then look at Miriam, who is the third person in the Old Testament to be referred to as a prophet (Abraham and Aaron are called prophets before she is).
Prophets in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, a prophet was a person who had been called by God to deliver His message to a person, people group, or nations.
That message could be an announcement of indictment (what they are doing wrong), a warning or message of judgment, an oracle of future happenings, or a promise of future redemption. Sometimes it was all four (but not always all at once).
Prophets’ messages could be forth-telling (a message of truth for the moment at hand), or fore-telling (a message for the future if the people didn’t turn from sin).
Prophets weren’t just religious leaders like the priests in the OT (although one could be a priest and a prophet), but rather someone who was specifically empowered by God’s Spirit and had three specific characteristics:
- Knowledge revealed from God – about people, events & truth; the primary purpose was to communicate this knowledge to God’s people to encourage them to remain faithful to God & the covenant relationship they shared with him
- God-given powers – miraculous activity often accompanied the messages given by the prophets, reflecting the living God and his supernatural power
- A unique lifestyle – prophets were often called to live in ways that were different than their neighbors, and their goals were often different than other people’s. Their energy and focus were directed on God’s agenda, and boldly speaking God’s message often came at high personal cost.[1]
A prophet’s message often included instruction about how to correct a path, but not always. The people of Israel were expected to know the Law, and to follow the instructions of the Law to restore their covenant relationship with God.
If they were following the covenant guidelines of the Law, then the judgment would be removed. If they failed to “keep covenant,” then eventually the curses promised in the Law would be enacted. (See Deuteronomy 28-32)
Miriam - Exodus 15:19-21
The first example of a woman in minstry we’ll look at is Miriam. We find her story in Exodus, where her name is only mentioned once, but her presence is felt or noted in several places.
Exodus 15:19-21 is a brief snippet regarding Moses’ sister Miriam, but these two verses pack a lot of punch. In ancient cultures, historical events were often preserved through song, as we see happening here in chapter 15, and Miriam’s role is to call the whole group (not just the women!) to sing to the Lord to recount the victory they have just witnessed over Pharaoh and his army.[2]
There are two other elements we should note here about Miriam:
First, we note that she is referred to as a “prophet.” The Hebrew word here is “nebiy’ah”(neh-BEE-yah) and it’s the feminine form of “nebiy,” (nEH-bee) which means prophet. To be called a prophet indicates that her role is an official one, not just a “byproduct” of her family lineage.
Second, we note that she is referred to as “the sister of Aaron.” Commentators have differing opinions on what this might mean, but Jewish tradition holds this to mean that her role as a prophet stems all the way prior to Moses’ birth. [3] There isn’t a lot of biblical evidence about Miriam’s life, so we can’t say much for sure beyond what we have in the text. Tradition has a lot to say about her, but we must weigh it carefully in hand with Scripture. Carefully reading the text can help us to observe additional details, and a deeper study can reveal some more information about the culture, history, and other elements that help us to “fill in the blanks” more faithfully and in line with the context of the original situation of the text.
Miriam's Role
Miriam’s role was a public role – one that followed her throughout her life. In Jewish tradition, it is her voice that continues to bring water from the rock that Moses calls water from in Exodus, and Jewish commentators say that her faith reflected the adaptability of water (in the way that it can assume the shape of whatever container it is put into), and her boldness and tenderness were characteristics which the rabbis saw as elemental to her leadership.[4]
While these elements are not found directly in scripture – they are part of tradition and Jewish commentary – the the way Miriam’s leadership has been reflected on tells us a lot about how she has been viewed throughout Jewish history, and helps us to understand how we can view women in leadership as well.
Micah 6:4 lists Miriam as one of the three leaders that God gave to the Israelites during their time in the desert, affirming her role as one of God’s chosen leaders for his people. As a prophet, Miriam led the Israelites, and even though we don’t have a lot of information about her role, what we do have affirms that she was a leader whose role was vital, public, and affirmed by God.
Be sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Miriam's Voice & Our Voice
Miriam used her voice to:
- Declare the works of God to the people of God
- Call the people of God to declare His praise and recount how he had rescued them
- Serve the people as a prophetess
- Teach the people to remember how God had worked in their lives so they could transmit those teachings to the next generation
As we read Scripture and the story of Miriam – even though her story is pieced together in the background, we find that we, too have space to use our voices to proclaim God’s goodness.
Miriam’s role as a prophet and leader is honored in Jewish tradition, but in Christian tradition we usually only remember her for her role in “saving” Moses as he is delivered to Pharoah’s daughter when he is an infant.
Let’s recapture the full picture of Miriam’s role in Israel’s history. Dig deep, explore the story, and find out how God is calling you to use your voice to call others to share how He has worked in your life and theirs.
Were you surprised by what you learned in today’s post? Did you learn something new? Share with a friend, and be sure to subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter to stay engaged in updates and new posts!
[1] Donald C. Stamps, “The Prophet in the Old Testament,” ESV Fire Bible Commentary Notes, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2014 (ESV text 2011), 1046-47 (affiliate link)
[2] Victor P. Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011, 234-36 (affiliate link).
[3] https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/miriam-midrash-and-aggadah