INFAMOUS WOMEN OF THE BIBLE
In the Bible there are women of infamy. We are going to take a look at some of these women to see why they were included in the pages of the Bible and how they fit in with God’s plans for the nation of Israel.
The women we will be exploring are from the Book titled: Every Woman in the Bible. Any Scripture verses mentioned in the Book have been checked to make sure they line up with the Bible.
These are the women we will be looking at:
Athaliah: The daughter of Jezebel.
Jezebel: The wife of Ahab.
Bathsheba: The wife of Uriah the Hittite who became the wife of King David.
Cozbi: A Midianite woman of ill repute.
Herodias: Wife of King Herod
Salome: Daughter of Herodias.
Delilah: The Philistine woman who deceived Samson.
The Witch of En Dor: The Medium that Saul went to see.
DELILIAH'S ROLE IN SCRIPTURE
JEZEBEL’S ROLE IN SCRIPTURE
875 B.C.
[OT] Jezebel [JEZ-uh-bel: “unexalted”]
As King Ahab’s wife, Jezebel set out to replace worship of the Lord in Israel with the worship of Baal.
Jezebel was the daughter of the king of Sidon, and was totally committed to the virulent (which has meaning of: poisonous; full of hate; venomous; violent) form of Baal worship practiced there. Her marriage to Ahab resulted in Ahab worshiping the Sidonian deity and cooperating with Jezebel in her efforts to make Baal the god of Israel. She came close to succeeding
1 Kings 18:4 and 13 make it clear that Jezebel took the initiative in this religious crusade, for the text tells us that:
1 Kings 18:4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)
1 Kings 18:13 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD'S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
The prophets were killed by the command of Jezebel. This and other references to Jezebel in the Old Testament make it clear that she was a forceful woman, in many ways Jezebel dominated her husband and set the course of the kingdom.
God responded to the threat posed by Jezebel by rising up the prophet Elijah. Elijah not only turned the hearts of the people back to the Lord, but he predicted Jezebel’s death as a punishment from God.
In the end God commissioned an army officer named Jehu to replace Ahab. Jehu fulfilled God’s commission by wiping out all those in Israel who worshiped Baal and by killing every member of Ahab’s household.
EXPLORING JEZEBEL’S RELATIONSHIPS
Jezebel versus the Spirit of God---- How few realize the power of an unconsecrated woman. I was carried back to the time of Ahab. God would have been with Ahab if he had walked in the counsel of heaven. But Ahab did not do this. He married a woman given to idolatry. Jezebel had more power over the king than God had. She led him into idolatry, and with him the people (MS, Ellen White Manuscript 29,1911) The influence of Jezebel over Ahab was greater than the influence of the Spirit of God, however powerful and convincing the evidence from heaven (MS Ellen White Manuscript 19,1906).
1Kings 18:19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.
1Kings 18:20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
Despite her antagonism toward the Lord, it seems significant that when Elijah challenged the 450 prophets of Baal, King Ahab accepted the challenge.
Jezebel’s relationship to Elijah
It was only natural that Jezebel’s antagonism to the Lord would make her the enemy of Elijah, God’s Prophet. When Elijah had defeated the prophets of Baal in a contest at Mount Carmel and had 450 prophets of the pagan deity put to death, Ahab seemed subdued and quiet. But when Jezebel heard, her immediate reaction was to threaten to kill Elijah! And this time it was Elijah who broke, and “arose and ran for his life”
1Kings 19:3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
In the end God restored Elijah’s courage, and he was the one who announced “concerning Jezebel the LORD also spoke, saying, ‘the dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel’”
1Kings 21:23 And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
It is a testimony to the reality of God that Elijah’s words rather than Jezebel’s threat came true.
Jezebel is mentioned in the New Testament in Revelation 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
The stated reasons why the real woman in the church at Thyatira was identified as a “Jezebel” is significant.
§ A Jezebel “calls herself a prophetess”--- that is, presents herself as a religious leader.
§ A Jezebel teaches and seduces God’s people “to commit sexual immorality.”
§ A Jezebel teaches and seduces God’s people to “eat things sacrificed to idols.”
This verse in turn suggests that much of Jezebel’s power over Ahab was rooted in Jezebel’s sexuality. She apparently relied on her sexuality to the end. As Jehu entered Jezreel after killing Ahab’s successor, “Jezebel heard of it; and the text says:
2 Kings 9:30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.
This last desperate act was futile, however, for at Jehu’s command Jezebel was thrown through the window to her death, and dogs ate her body as Elijah had predicted.
JEZEBEL: A CLOSE-UP
Jezebel was undoubtedly a strong woman. She relied on her sexuality and the force of her character to dominate her husband, King Ahab, and to set national religious policy. It would seem that Jezebel rather than Ahab was the dominant personality in the ruling house. Jezebel never hesitated to act as if she rather than Ahab ruled. The immediate obedience of those she commanded indicates that her power was real indeed.
The tragedy of Jezebel is that she was commuted to evil rather than to God. She used the many gifts and her influence to harm others rather than to help them. Despite the power she exercised, Jezebel’s life was meaningless and empty. Her death was a consequence of her own evil ways.
JEZEBEL: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY
§ How important it is to use our gifts to serve rather than to exploit others. Only in servant hood do we achieve greatness or earn lasting rewards.
§ Today Jezebel’s name is synonymous with a woman of low moral character. The kind of person we are is memorialized in what people remember about us.
ATHALIAH’S ROLE IN SCRIPTURE
640 B.C.
[OT] Athaliah [ ath-uh-LIE-ah: means, “Yahweh is great”]
She was the only woman to rule Judah in her own right.
2 Chronicles 24:7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had
broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house
of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim.
Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel of Israel and the wife of
Jehoram, Judah’s king. She followed the path set by her parents and
influenced her husband to walk “in the way of the kings of Israel and
worship Baal. 2 Kings 8:18 And he walked in the way of the kings of
Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and
he did evil in the sight of the LORD.
When Jehoram died his son Ahaziah succeeded him. But Ahaziah was
killed during his first year as king. When Atahaliah learned that her son was
dead, she acted quickly to destroy all the royal heirs 2 Kings 11:1 And
when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she
arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
With the royal family apparently wiped out, Athaliah took the throne and
ruled as queen for six years. But one of the king’s sons survived and was
hidden during this time by God’s high priest. 2 Kings 11:2 But Jehosheba,
the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of
Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and
they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so
that he was not slain.
When the boy, Joash (Jehoash), was seven years old, the high priest
organized a coup. Atahaliah was executed immediately, to great rejoicing.
2 Kings 11:18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal,
and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces
thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the
priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD. 2 Kings 11:20 And
all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew
Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house.
EXPLORING ATHALIAH’S RELATIONSHIPS
Athaliah proved to be as dedicated to paganism as her mother. She also turned the hearts of her husband and sons away from the Lord. The existence of a temple to Baal in Jerusalem suggests that she may have been as intent as Jezebel to wipe out worship of the Lord and replace it with Baal worship. While some children seem intent on rejecting the values of their parents, Athaliah was dedicated to imposing their values on her husband and her adopted country, Judah.
The Bible makes it clear that Athaliah was a powerful influence on her
husband and sons. They enthusiastically adopted her faith and her wicked
ways. What is striking is that Jehoram was the son of Jehoshaphat, and
Jehoshaphat was a godly king who 1 Kings 22:43 And he walked in all
the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which
was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not
taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.
However Jehoshaphat made one disastrous mistake: he made peace with Ahab of Israel and married his son Jehoram to Athaliah. In doing so Jehoshaphat welcomed a poisonous viper into his family and exposed his son to a woman dedicated to doing evil.
Athaliah’s commitment to her parents’ wicked ways reminds us that parents often do set the course of their children’s lives. The story reminds us that it is important to limit our children’s exposure to evil as much as we possibly can. And also that parent’s cannot guarantee that their children will follow in their footsteps.
ATHALIAH: A CLOSE-UP
Athaliah appears to have been a totally self-centered individual. Like her mother, Jezebel, she was a strong personality who was able to dominate her husband and son. But Athaliah apparently wanted more than to be the power behind the throne. When her son was killed, Athaliah jumped at the chance to rule in her own right.
In the ancient world it was common practice to appoint a regent to rule on behalf of an under-age heir to the throne. Athaliah might have claimed that right and ruled on behalf of one of her grandsons. Instead Athaliah chose to murder all the royal heirs so she might grasp absolute power. This action reveals the utter selfishness and wickedness that characterized the evil queen. Athaliah discovered a reality that still influences us; our lives reflect the character of the God we worship. Athaliah worshiped deities known for their brutality and bloodlust. It should not surprise us that she acted as she did.
ATHALIAH: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY
§ Ambition can be a positive thing, but Athaliah is an example of selfish ambition run riot. Whenever we consider doing wrong to achieve a personal goal, we need to remember this wicked queen’s fate.
§ God used this wicked person as an instrument to bring His people back to Him. God can and does use the worst circumstances and the worst people to accomplish His purposes.
BATHSHEBA’S ROLE IN SCRIPTURE
990 B.C.
[OT] Bathsheba [Bath-SHEE-bah: “daughter of an oath”]
Bathsheba was the mother of Solomon, who succeeded David as king of Israel.
Bathsheba was a beautiful woman who was married to a Hittite named Uriah. Uriah served in the army of King David and his home was near the palace. When the nation was not at war, Uriah served in David’s palace guard.
One night while Uriah was away campaigning with the army, David saw Bathsheba bathing in her courtyard, and he was aroused. He sent servants to get her, and he knew her and then sent her home. But Bathsheba became pregnant. So David called Uriah, expecting him to sleep with his wife so the infant could be passed off as premature. But Uriah, feeling duty bound to share his army companions’ hardships, would not go home. Panicking, David sent instructions to his commanding general to expose Uriah to danger, putting him up in the front of battle. The general did, and Uriah was killed. When David learned of his death, he sent for Bathsheba and married her.
Many commentators on this critical incident have cast Bathsheba as a seductress, and blamed her for David’s sin. But the biblical text describes her differently.
Several details in the biblical account that tell how David saw and took Bathsheba make it clear that Bathsheba was an innocent victim.
2 Samuel 11:1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
David should have been leading his troops, but instead he stayed in Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 11:2 And it came to pass in an evening tide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
Bathsheba was bathing at night, when she might have expected others were sleeping. And she was bathing in the courtyard of her own house, where she could expect privacy.
David could have turned away and respected Bathsheba’s privacy. But he reacted in a different way indeed!
2 Samuel 11:3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
David took the initiative to find out about the woman he had seen. What David learned was that her name was Bathsheba, and she was married to Uriah the Hittite.
2 Samuel 11:4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
Bathsheba was a woman alone, with her husband away at war. David was the King. When David’s men came to fetch her, she was unable to refuse. David was the actor and Bathsheba the one acted upon. In saying “he lay with her” the inspired author makes it clear that the initiative came from David. What took place was in essence rape.
The Text of Scripture makes it clear that we must view Bathsheba as a victim of David’s lust, not the seductress which she is sometimes portrayed to be. The Scriptures portrait is clearly more in keeping with the reality of the power of ancient kings and the relative powerlessness of women of the royal court.
It is striking in view of the way the marriage was launched, to discover that David and Bathsheba had four sons, whose names are listed in 1 Chronicles 3:5.
It is also impressive to see David portrayed in 2 Samuel 12:24 comforting Bathsheba after the death of the child she had conceived. Something had happened within the months of her betrayal to the stillborn birth to lead her to accept David as a comforter.
More impressive is the story told in 1 Kings 2 and 3. There we see an aged and indecisive king who is about to die. Sensing his father’s weakness, one of his sons, Adonijah, proclaimed himself king. Nathan the prophet enlisted Bathsheba’s help to appeal to David. David had promised that their son Solomon would succeed him. Bathsheba reminded David that unless he acted, both Solomon’s life and her own life would be in danger. David was moved by the danger to Bathsheba, and roused himself enough to publicly anoint Solomon and thus save Bathsheba.
Clearly, a relationship that began as an act of lust and the victimization of a woman by a man with power had become a loving, caring marriage.
EXPLORING BATHSHEBA’S RELATIONSHIPS
Her relationship with David
Bathsheba’s relationship with David was one of the most significant described in the Scripture.
Her Violation (2 Samuel 11).
Bathsheba’s first experience with David was a brutal and demeaning one: she was seen, desired, and taken—she was violated and treated as an object, not as a person of worth and value. David’s initial plan to bring Uriah home so the child he fathered on Bathsheba could be passed off as her husband’s showed how little David regarded Bathsheba as a person. Only fear of exposure led David to think of marrying the object of his lust.
Her Deliverance (1 Kings 2).
At the end of David’s life, Bathsheba was not only close to David, but David also loved her. The two had had four sons together, and David promised that their son Solomon would succeed him. Nathan the prophet realized that concern for Bathsheba’s welfare might be the only thing capable of stirring the dying David to take action. So Nathan urged Bathsheba to beg the king to keep his promise concerning Solomon, pleading that without David’s help his rival would kill both her and Solomon. David truly cared for Bathsheba, and responded to her appeal.
Bathsheba’s Relationship with God
The Bible does not mention Bathsheba’s relationship with God. That she ultimately forgave David and bonded to him shows a grace on her part that suggests personal experience with the God of all grace.
Her Relationship with Solomon
It is clear, then, that Bathsheba had a closer relationship with Solomon that with any of her other sons, that the perception within the royal court was that Solomon was close to his mother and likely to grant her any request.
BATHSHEBA: A CLOSE-UP
Bathsheba filled many roles during her lifetime. She was the wife of one of David’s key military officers. She was a victim of the king’s unbridled lust. She was a wife who found grace to forgive her royal husband his horrible sins against her. She was a woman who had the strength to put the past behind her and build a strong marriage on one of the shakiest foundations imaginable. In the end she won her husband’s love, respect, and concern.
As a mother she was a strong advocate for her son Solomon.
Whatever else we can say about Bathsheba, we have to admire her strength and the grace she showed in building a lasting relationship with David. In essence, David a godly man, whose sin with Bathsheba reminds us that we are all vulnerable to temptation. Bathsheba was able not only to forgive David, but also to discern his positive qualities. She went on to win David’s love and her son’s gratitude.
BATHSHEBA: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY
§ Bathsheba is an example how God’s grace can heal the severely wounded, not allowing bitterness to obtain a stranglehold on one so buffeted by unfairness.
§ Bathsheba models the courage and grace needed after the loss of her child. She was blessed with four other children, among them a king. The loss of a child, however agonizing, need not make us lose hope for the future.
§ Bathsheba’s experience reminds us that people, like relationships, are redeemable. Her experience also warns us that unless those who do us wrong are willing to accept responsibility for their actions, as David did, no reconciliation is possible.
THE WITCH OF EN DOR
1 Samuel 28:5-25
5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.
6 And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.
8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?
10 And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
17 And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:
18 Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day.
19 Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.
21 And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me.
22 Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way.
23 But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed.
24 And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof:
25 And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.
HER ROLE IN SCRIPTURE
We know little of the “witch of En Dor,” who was not a witch but a medium, a woman who had contact with a familiar spirit. Or one who could talk to the dead. It is not at all certain that this woman was a Hebrew. During the conquest, En Dor was a Canaanite stronghold that the Israelites had not been able to possess.
Joshua 17:11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries.
The city did lie in Israelite-controlled territory, however, and Saul, in obedience to Deuteronomy 18’s condemnation of occult practices of every kind, had set out to exterminate all mediums and spiritists.
1 Samuel 28:9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?
However, when the Philistines invaded Israel, and every attempt of Saul to seek counsel from the Lord was refused, the desperate king demanded that his servants find him a medium. When one was located at En Dor, Saul went there in a disguise to consult with the demon that was her spirit contact.
Mediums and Spiritists
The Old Testament teaches the reality of demonic beings that seek to influence and harm human beings. These demons are actually fallen angels who followed Satan in his great rebellion against God. While some so-called occult practices are mere trickery, true occult practices do tap into the supernatural and serve as avenues through which demons can contact and influence human beings. For this reason the Bible condemns every occult practice, from the reading of horoscopes to the spiritist’s and mediums actual contact with demons. According to Old Testament Law, anyone who engaged in any such practice in Israel was to be executed.
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 states:
9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Sister White says regarding verses 7, 8-19: The witch of Endor had made agreement with Satan to follow his directions in all things; and he would perform wonders and miracles for her, and would reveal to her the most secret things, if she would yield herself unreservedly to be controlled by his satanic majesty. This she had done (1 SP pgs 375,376.)
When Saul inquired for Samuel, the Lord did not cause Samuel to appear to Saul. He saw nothing. Satan was not allowed to disturb the rest of Samuel in the grave, and bring him up in reality to the witch of Endor. God does not give Satan power to resurrect the dead. But Satan’s angels assume the form of dead friends, and speak and act like them, that through professed dead friends he can the better carry on his work of deception. Satan knew Samuel well, and he knew how to represent him before the witch of Endor, and to utter correctly the fate of Saul and his sons.
Satan will come in a very plausible manner to such as he can deceive, and will insinuate himself into their favor, and lead them almost imperceptibly from God. He wins them under his control, cautiously at first, until their perceptibility becomes blunted. Then he will make bolder suggestions, until he can lead them to commit almost any degree of crime. When he has led them fully into his snare, he is then willing that they should see where they are, and he exults in their confusion, as in the case of Saul. He had suffered Satan to lead him a willing captive, and now Satan spreads before Saul a correct description of his fate. By giving Saul a correct statement of his end, through the woman of Endor, Satan opens a way for Israel to be instructed by his satanic cunning, that they may, in their rebellion against God, learn of him, and by thus doing, sever the last link which would hold them to God.
Saul knew that in this last act of consulting the witch of Endor, he cut the last shred which held him to God. He knew that if he had not before willfully separated himself from God, this act sealed that separation, and made it final. He had made an agreement with death, and a covenant with hell. The cup of his iniquity was full (1 SP pages 376,377).
THE WITCH OF EN DOR: A CLOSE-UP
Like others dedicated to the occult, the woman had linked her future to evil forces. Despite the campaign Saul had launched to exterminate such persons, the medium of En Dor had be unable to break the spiritual bonds that held her. She lived in fear of exposure, yet was addicted to the relationship that had been established.
What a tragic life this medium must have lived, knowing that her spiritual addiction was wrong, fearful that her secret might be discovered, and yet unwilling or unable to rid herself of the demonic.
THE WITCH OF EN DOR: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY
§ Let’s not be confused by television ads for psychic hotlines, or respond to magazine ads or articles with phone numbers that lure readers to consult a “friend” with supposed spiritual powers. It is not surprising that so many lonely people, desolate teens, or desperate single parents respond to these appealing but deceptive promotions. But let us not be among them.
§ When we do feel the need for guidance, let us turn to God and Christian friends. And then wait for the Holy Spirit to confirm a course as His way for us. If we have to wait a while for such confirmation, then we need to wait.
COZBI’S ROLE IN SCRIPTURE
1410 B.C.
Cozbi [KOZ-bih: means: voluptuousness”]
Her attempt to corrupt the Israelites failed.
Numbers 25:18 For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake.
When the Israelites approached the land of the Midianites on their way to Caanan, the Midianite ruler was frightened. He called for Balaam, a man reputed to have influence with supernatural powers, to curse Israel for him. But God intervened, and each time Balaam attempted to curse God’s people he was forced to utter a blessing instead.
Still eager to please his employer, Balaam suggested that the Midianites attempt to get the Lord to curse His people for them! Balaam reasoned that if young Midianite women were sent to the outskirts of the Israelite camp, they would be able first to seduce Israelite men, then induce them to worship their idols.
Numbers 31:15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
Numbers 31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.
Balaam reasoned that God would then turn against His unfaithful people, and the threat to Midian would be removed.
The king of Midian immediately activated Balaam’s plan. It was succeeded, and a number of Israelites committed harlotry with the women of Moab. These invited the Israelites to sacrifice to their gods.
Numbers 25:1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
Numbers 25:2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
This chapter identifies Cozbi as the daughter of an influential Midianite. She was so wanton that at the moment Moses was rebuking the Israelites, Cozbi entered the tent of an Israelite man Numers 25:6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
The Midianite plot aroused God’s wrath, but Balaam had not understood either God’s grace, justice, or God’s commitment to his covenant people. The guilty were punished and the community purified. God’s commitment to bless Israel was unshaken. What those who plotted against Israel did was to turn God’s wrath against them. In the end it was the Midianities and Balaam who lost their lands and their lives.
Numbers 25:15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.
EXPLORING COZBI’S RELATIONSHIPS
Cozbi, one of the wanton Midianite women, was happy to try to get Israel’s God to destroy His own people. Her relationship with men sounds a great deal like another woman’s mentioned in Proverbs 7.
Proverbs 7:10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
Proverbs 7:11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
Proverbs 7:21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
Proverbs 7:22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
Proverbs 7:23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
Cozbi was delighted to help Balaam carry out his plan to seduce the Israelite men and then get them to worship their gods. Even these pagans knew that God would not stand by while His people were sexually promiscuous and bowed down to other gods! But she wasn’t counting on godly men doing what was right. Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, Numbers 25:7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
Numbers 25:8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
COZBI: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY
§ God does not want His people to be seduced away from Him by illicit sexual behavior or any other sinful behavior.
§ God does not want us to fall into the role of Cozbi and become a seductress causing others to sin with us.
§ Our culture tells us that if it feels good, do it. But God tells us to be obedient to Him and He will bless us.
§ Cozbi was beautiful and felt her sexuality gave her power over men. Christian women must be careful not to be pulled into the mentality that dominates our culture.
HERODIA’S AND HER DAUGHTER SALOME
30 A.D.
THEIR ROLE IN SCRIPTURE
Herodias had married Philip, the brother of King Herod Antipas. John the Baptist preached against this marriage, which was incestuous according to the Old Testament Law. Herod had John imprisoned, but he was afraid to execute the popular prophet. Herod feared John himself, “Knowing he was a just and holy man” Mark 6:20. Herodias however was incensed that John had publicly condemned her, and she wanted him dead. Mark 6:19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:
Her chance came when Herodias’s daughter danced at a feast Herod gave, and the king effusively told the young woman to name her own reward. When she looked to her mother for advice, Herodias told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist.
Certainly Herodias was a grasping and self-centered woman. She abandoned Philip to marry the more important Herod, even though she knew this was condemned in God’s Law. When John preached against the marriage, her pride generated murderous intent. She did not hesitate for a moment to involve her own daughter in what was nothing less than the murder of a godly man. Harsh, brittle, and hardened, Herodias cared for nothing but revenge.
She won her revenge. But scared history has marked her as the New Testament counter part of the Old Testament detested Jezebel.
Not much is mentioned of Salome in Scripture, even her name.
Matthew 14:3-11 says this:
3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.
4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
6 But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
8 And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.
9 And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.
10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
11 And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.
HERODIAS: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY
§ John the Baptist had spoken out against Herod’s decision to wed his brother’s wife which was contrary to God’s Law. While Herod seems to have been shaken by John’s preaching, Herodias became furious. She knew that what she had done was wrong, but when confronted she refused to admit and correct her fault. Anger at others is often a sign of hardness in our own hearts—a warning we need to heed.
§ Herodias’s response to godly counsel was to retaliate against the counselor. Her anger led her to a far greater sin, as she conspired to end John’s life. If we harden our hearts, we make ourselves vulnerable to far greater sins.