Women in Battle. Peggy Scarborough

early, and worshiped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her" (1 Sam. 1:19). She was pregnant. This reminds us of what God said in Isaiah 54: 1: "Sing, 0 barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord." That simply means that God has more children in the spirit world than the married wife has on earth. In prayer, one brings the manifestation to earth of that which God already has in the spirit world. Hannah brought the manifestation of a child to earth.

      When the child was born, Hannah named him Samuel, which meant "asked of the Lord." When the child was weaned, she took him to the temple to present him to the Lord. Had Hannah not been such a warring woman, there would never have been the great prophet Samuel.

      What happened? Here was a woman who was barren. For years her prayers had gone unanswered. Now she prays a violent warring prayer and God remembers her and opens her womb. In fact, not only did she give birth to Samuel, but she had three sons and two daughters (l Sam. 2:21). She promised to give something back to God if He would remember her. She mixed her praying and her giving and God rapidly moved in her life.

      Bathsheba, a Forgiven Warrior

      It was with Bathsheba that David sinned. She was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of David's most trusted generals. While Uriah was in battle, King David saw Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop and sent for her. Then one day she sent the king word that she was with child. King David sent for Uriah to come home to be with his wife, but Uriah slept in his barracks with his soldiers. Uriah would not be with his wife when he was consecrated for battle. David got Uriah drunk, but still he would not go. So David wrote out the orders that Uriah be put in the front line of the hottest battle. So Uriah, one of David's mightiest men, died in battle.

      The prophet Nathan denounced David for his sin with the words. ''Thou art the man." David prayed for forgiveness. Obviously Bathsheba was forgiven by God, then forgave herself. She became David's wife and gave him Solomon and three other sons.

      Her greatest strength is seen when she wanted David to make her son Solomon king after his death. Adonijab, David's son by Haggith, was plotting to be king. Nathan the prophet who had denounced David and Bathsheba's sin now plots with Bathsheba to get Solomon king. We read in I Kings 1:17-21 how Bathsheba pleads for David to make Solomon king. Touched by Bathsheba's fervent plea, King David says. "As the Lord liveth ... assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead." Here is the woman once denounced by the prophet now working with the prophet of God. She was made queen mother to sit on Solomon's right side-a place of great authority and prominence.

      Early Jewish expositors believe that Solomon wrote Proverbs 31 in honor of his mother Bathsheba. She lives on today as the forgiven warrior who became the ideal woman of Proverbs 31.

      Huldah, a Warring Prophetess

      "Thus saith the Lord" is another weapon of warfare. II Kings 22 and 34 tells of Huldah and her prophetic word. Obviously she was known throughout the kingdom of Judah. King Josiah sent five of his messengers to her with the Book of the Law, which had been found while the temple was being repaired. The king wanted Huldah to tell him whether the writings were genuine or not. Huldah sent word back to the king that the writings were authentic and also sent a prophetic word to the king. She said that God would bring evil upon the people of Judah because they had forsaken Him and turned to images, but she sent word that it would not happen in King Josiah's lifetime because his heart was turned toward God.

      Huldah's prophecy gave the king the courage to put into action the laws of God written in the book. Josiah had the law read in the house of God and made a personal commitment to follow the Lord. God is calling prophetesses today who will declare the Word of the Lord. Someone said, "The prophets are coming." No, they are already here.