The Well Women Revisited

Perspective Digest Volume 12 Issue 4 Fall Article 1 2007 The Well Women Revisited Jo Ann Davidson Andrews University, Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pd Part of the Biblical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Davidson, Jo Ann (2007) "The Well Women Revisited," Perspective Digest: Vol. 12 : Iss. 4 , Article 1. Available at: http://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pd/vol12/iss4/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Perspective Digest by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact . Davidson: The Well Women Revisited Roy Gane’s article, “Sanctuary Principles for the Church Community” is timely and reinforces God’s yearning to be with us, His creation. As he has rightfully said, God wants to be the center of our universe and our eternal flame. He gives us the blueprint mapping out the directions for us to follow. It is heartening to know that despite our sinfulness, God has included us in His plan of salvation. It would be wise for us all, but certainly ministers and educators, to empower congregations and students to develop ideas and innovations for the speedy accomplishment of the Lord’s work while being careful that in trying to be holy we do not exclude any of God’s children worldwide. As the Lord has set out the principles for the church, let us use Gane’s timely reminder to be Christlike in our mission. Beverly Henry Mandeville, Jamaica Regarding Roy Gane’s article on the protocols of God-centered worship, I found his 15 points to be enlightening and challenging at the same time. I have always adhered to Gane’s premise that the people of Israel and their plight are a precursor to our own church community; and therefore, their significance should be studied in order to see our prophetic purpose as a church with an advent message. His point of assigning God the primary and only importance of our worship was well taken. The only thing I find problematic is the question of how does a modern, or postmodern, church determine which protocols to follow. It was clear from the article that we must learn from the mistakes the Israelites made and assume the humble position of John the Baptist, who said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” However, many false preachers and prophets have said the same thing and have quoted Scripture verbatim only to lead their flocks astray. The message in Gane’s article was inspiring, yet our current church structure would find difficulty in communicating it. Fabian A. Carballo Colton, California 6 B Y J O A N N D A V I D S O N * THE WELL WOMEN REVISITED The role of women in Scripture deserves another critical, unbiased look. M any modern feminist writers argue that Old Testament patriarchy is the major influence behind all subsequent repression of women. Rightly drawing attention to the pain and inequities women are still forced to bear, they are correct in noting that these grievous matters need to be addressed and resolved. In their view, however, nothing will change as long as patriarchal religions such as Judaism and Christianity exist, for it is just such systems that force women into subservience. The language in feminist literature against patriarchy is often bitter and uncompromising. Offenses against women are horrifying. Feminist complaints are compelling. Though the abominable record of the mistreatment of women continues to this day, however, the charge that Old Testament patriarchy is its primary cause should be scrutinized. Textual indicators within Scripture depict matriarchy far more positively than feminism acknowledges. HAGAR Hagar is not a matriarch in the Covenant line. She is, however, one of the “well women” of Genesis. Poignant details are recorded in Genesis 21, when she and her son are excluded from Abraham’s family. *Jo Ann Davidson, Ph.D., teaches systematic theology at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Published by Digital Commons @ Andrews University, 7 2007 1 Perspective Digest, Vol. 12 [2007], Iss. 4, Art. 1 only Hagar expressed it. “Let no one underestimate how extraordinary this naming is. . . . After wrestling with God all night at the river Jabbok, Jacob names the spot, Peniel, or ‘The face of God’ (Gen. 32:30). After coming so close to sacrificing Isaac . . . Abraham names the place, “The Lord Sees” (22:14). Abraham’s name is very close to the one Hagar gives God. Yet, like Jacob, Abraham names the place of encounter. . . . Elsewhere Abraham calls upon the name of God (12:8; 13:4; 21:33), but that is a very different exercise. Moreover, Hagar does not name her God as an aside, or declare his identity to herself after he has left the stage. She names him to his face: ‘You are the God who Sees Me.’”3 This occasion is also one of the three times in Genesis when a woman dialogues with God. God does not abandon Hagar or her son Ishmael in their devastating situation. When they are at the point of death in the wilderness of Beersheba, God directs them to a well. He also promises to make Ishmael a great nation. Indeed, it is arresting how similar is His promise to Hagar and her son to the one they have been hearing in Abraham’s household regarding the son of promise. After surveying the Genesis narratives, Trevor Dennis asserts that this Egyptian slave woman is “more highly honored in some respects than almost any other figure in the Bible.”1 For example, the angel of the Lord appears, for the first time in biblical history, to this rejected woman (vs. 17). Indeed, he even calls her by name! Sarah and Abraham have not granted her this dignity but typically call her “slave girl” (16:2, NRSV). God does not abandon Hagar or her son Ishmael in their devastating situation. When they are at the point of death in the wilderness of Beersheba, God directs them to a well (21:19). He also promises to make Ishmael a great nation. Indeed, it is arresting how similar is His promise to Hagar and her son to the one they have been hearing in Abraham’s household regarding the son of promise: “‘I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multi- http://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pd/vol12/iss4/1 8 tude’” (16:10, NKJV). This occasion is also the solitary time that a covenantal-type promise is announced to a woman. “How very surprising is the honor which is bestowed upon Hagar (and upon Ishmael too) in Genesis 16. For a start, annunciations are a rare commodity in the Bible . . . In only three cases, those of Hagar, Manoah’s wife, and Mary in Luke, is the promise of a son made to the one who will be the mother of the child (although Sarah overhears in Genesis 18, the words are addressed to her husband). In only four cases does God make the announcement himself. . . . only two women in the entire Bible receive annunciations from God himself, (...truncated)