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1 )DFHWR)DFH ZLWK :RPHQ:KR0DGH:URQJ&KRLFHV )LUVW'D\ +HU6WRU\ But all of us who are Christians have no veils on our faces, but reflect like mirrors the glory of the Lord. We are transformed in ever-increasing splendor into His own image, and this is the work of the Lord who is the Spirit. (II Corinthians 3:18 PHILLIPS) This week we will be looking at things from a different direction, because we are looking at women who made bad choices. Several of the women we will look at this week are women who gave bad counsel. Wouldn t it be sad to be remembered forever as telling your husband, Curse God and die? That is the legacy of Job s wife! Let s be on our toes this week and try to take at least one lesson to heart and apply it to our life. We will begin today by looking at what Scripture tells us about these women. This is their story. Read the following verses and, in a few sentences, summarize the events described there: /RWV:LIH Genesis 13:1-13 (scan for background) Genesis 19:1-26 3RWLSKDUV:LIH Genesis 39:1-20 +DPDQV:LIH Esther 5:9-14; 7:10 1

2 -REV:LIH Job 1 (scan for background) Job 2:1-10 $QDQLDV:LIH Acts 4:32-37 (scan for background) Acts 5:1-10 Choose one of the women whose story you have just read and answer the following questions: What was her trial? What was her blessing? What did she learn? 6HFRQG'D\ +HU0DQQHU :KRLV6KH" Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to selfcontrol perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. (II Peter 1:5-7) Today we will be looking at the character of each of the women we are studying this week. Consider the Scripture you have read on each woman s life and answer the following questions about her: :HGRQRWNQRZWKHQDPHRI/RWVZLIH o What do you see as her character weakness? 2

3 o What bad choice did she make? o What can you learn from the choice she made? :HGRQRWNQRZWKHQDPHRI3RWLSKDUVZLIH o What do you see as her character weakness? o What bad choice did she make? o What can you learn from the choice she made? =HUHVK+DPDQVZLIHPHDQV VWDURIDGRUDWLRQ}RU JROG} o What do you see as her character weakness? o What bad choice did she make? o What can you learn from the choice she made? :HGRQRWNQRZWKHQDPHRI-REVZLIH o What do you see as her character weakness? o What bad choice did she make? o What can you learn from the choice she made? 6DSSKLUD$QDQLDVZLIHPHDQV VDSSKLUH} o What do you see as her character weakness? o What bad choice did she make? o What can you learn from the choice she made? 3

4 7KLUG'D\ +HU+RSH And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. (Luke 1:45 NASB) Today we will focus on the hope of Lot s wife. From what you have studied about her this week: What was her need? What was her hope? What was God s promise? o In this story, what was God about to do to Sodom and why? Genesis 19:13 o Although we know that Sodom was an extremely wicked place, from Lot s wife s perspective, what might have been the good things about her life there? Reread Genesis 19:15-16 and see the mercy of the Lord on her behalf. o What command was she given? v.17 o What was the defining moment of her life? v.26 o Apply the truths of Matthew 6:19-21 to this story. The study on Lot s wife is a backward look at hope, for her hope was turned in the wrong direction. God had a promise for her future, but she was unwilling to let go of her past. It is said that by her choice, Lot s wife cast her lot with judgment rather than mercy. Is there something God in His mercy wants to do for you that will require you letting go of something you now cherish? o Where is your treasure? o What choice will you make? 0HPRU\9HUVH But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:33). This is our memory verse this week begin memorizing it today! 4

5 )RXUWK'D\ +HU*LIWV Missed opportunities! Life is full of them: moments or situations that afford us the choice to either put forth the right example and respond in a godly way or to allow self and the flesh to govern how we behave. Upon looking back, who wouldn t appreciate being able to turn back the clock in order to retrieve a cross word or amend an angry action? They say hindsight is always twenty-twenty and they are right, but the fact of the matter is, life has a way of teaching us the deeper lessons when we make those wrong choices. As long as we have a willingness to learn from them, we also have God s promise to turn everything to the good. This week our face to face look allows us a glimpse into the lives of five women, all of whom made wrong choices which dramatically affected the outcome of their stories. As you read their stories this week, perhaps you thought their circumstances were unique and their outcome pretty radical but, given a similar situation and the opportunity to make the same choice, how would you fare? Today we will try to turn back the clock and put ourselves in the shoes of these five women in an attempt to learn from their mistakes so that we do not find ourselves dealing with the same consequences. Lot s wife refused the Lord s mercy by disobeying His command not to look back and be destroyed. o In looking back instead of looking forward, what was her missed opportunity? How did this affect her family? o When your perspective is on looking back instead of anticipating what God has for you, how does it affect your own family? Potiphar s wife falsely accused a godly man and had him thrown into prison for refusing her sexual advances. o Have you ever tried to use your femininity in an inappropriate way for your own advantage? (Examples: trying to charm your way out of a traffic ticket or manipulating your husband s decision in a matter.) When you do, what opportunity do you miss? o What can you do to ensure this doesn t happen again? 5

6 Haman s wife used her influence to encourage her husband to build the gallows that would put to death an innocent man. o When you enjoy watching and even promoting the demise of someone who has caused you harm, what opportunity do you miss? o What can you do to prevent having this outlook in the future? Job s wife encouraged her husband to curse God and die! when adversity struck their home and family. o When blaming God for your situation and promoting that perspective with your loved ones, what opportunity do you miss? o What precautions can you take to keep yourself and your loved ones from suffering the same consequence? Ananias wife joined her husband in concocting a plan to lie to the Holy Spirit in order to further their own gain. o By becoming an accomplice in her husband s choice to sin against God, what opportunity did Sapphira miss? o What can you do to keep from falling to the same sin? God never commands anything of us that we are not able to perform. He backs up our willingness to obey Him with all the omnipotent power of His Holy Spirit. The gifts He gives us are meant not only to serve and to build up the body of Christ, they are also intended to enable us to glorify Him by our words and our actions. Ask Him today to help you use every opportunity to show forth Jesus in everything you say and do, so that in looking back you will have no regrets. 6

7 )LIWK'D\ +HU/HJDF\ For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4) How will you be remembered? How would you like to be remembered? What will you leave behind of benefit for others? What you do and say today will leave imprints for others to view tomorrow. 7DNLQJDFORVHUORRNw o Which of the women in your lesson this week left the deepest impression on you? o How might her example impact women in today s world? 7DNLQJDSHUVRQDOORRNw o Which of the women in this week s lesson brought to mind a missed opportunity in your own life? o Which of the wrong choices could you most easily relate to and how will you go about trying not to repeat it? 3DVVLQJLWRQw o What object lesson about life did you learn this week that you would like to pass on to someone else? 7

8 6L[WK'D\ <RXU3UD\HU Each day this week you have examined up close face to face a woman of the Bible: her story and manner; her promise and hope; her gifts and legacy. Throughout the process, as you learned about her, you also learned about yourself. Now the focus shifts to Your Prayer. Each week during your group time you will have the opportunity to pray in agreement with the other ladies for the things you write down on this personalized page. Keep an updated account in the Praise list each week as God answers your petitions. This year let s come boldly to His throne and learn to pray the BIG PRAYER with expectancy! The only prerequisite for such boldness is being humble and real in His presence. 3UD\HU Write out your prayer for each of the following I praise God for (an aspect of His marvelous character) I confess to God I thank God for I ask God for 3URPLVH Write out this week s promise in the space provided and learn to pray this promise from Scripture. 3UDLVH If God has answered a prayer request for you this week or fulfilled a desire of your heart, please write it out and date it as a stone of remembrance. 8

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