There are so many bible scriptures that portray the power of a woman. As women, we often underestimate our power. 

Men might be strong physically but I believe that a woman is mentally stronger, which puts her at an advantage. A woman is a very intelligent being and can achieve anything she puts her mind to.

The Bible also says that he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. This simply means that the ability to attract favor is a power of a woman in the bible. However, the opposite is also true. The power of a woman can bring about curses or cause a man’s downfall.

For example, Samson’s downfall was a result of a woman, a persistent Delilah (Judges 16). Mankind also became cursed and God changed his plans as a result of Eve who was seeking wisdom. 

Genesis 3:6 says, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

Table of Contents

• Power Of A Woman In The Bible
  • 1.     A woman has great leadership skills (2 Samuel 20:15-22)
  • 2.     The power of a woman in the bible saves the day (1 Samuel 25)
  • 3.     A woman commands attention (Luke 7:36-50)
  • 4.     She controls her children’s destinies (Genesis 27:1-17)
  • 5.     She is a silent warrior (Judges 4:17-22)
  • 6.     A woman secures the future of her family (Joshua 2)

Power Of A Woman In The Bible

1. A woman has great leadership skills (2 Samuel 20:15-22)

One of the great examples of the power of a woman in the bible is found in 2 Samuel 20:15-22. Joab and his troops were pursuing Sheba. They built a siege ramp up to the city, and it stood against the outer fortifications. While they were knocking down the wall to bring it down, a wise woman called Joab and said, “We are the peaceful and faithful in Israel. You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”

Joab responded and said he only wanted Sheba and the wise woman said that his head would be thrown to him from the wall. She then went to all the people with her wise advice and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it over the wall to Joab. 

A woman is able to identify potential problems and come up with a solution

The wise woman was forward-looking, she was able to see that Joab’s strategy was going to destroy her city. She was therefore able to alleviate a potential problem and advise Joab on how he can achieve the same results without destroying the city. 

She told him that Sheba’s head would be thrown to him and went to the people and told them what to do.

A woman uses her gift productively

Joab was not looking for advice, but when a gap arose, she knew that her wisdom was required. She had a role to play on behalf of the nation and had she failed to play that role, things could have gotten out of hand. 

A woman has effective communication skills

She was able to organize a crime through her great wisdom. Although she was not the one who held the knife and cut off his head, but her communication and leadership skills were able to achieve this. 

2.     The power of a woman in the bible saves the day (1 Samuel 25)

1 Samuel 25 is about a rich, yet evil man, by the name of Nabal. David sent his men to greet him and to ask for any available provisions. But instead, when David’s men arrived at his house, he criticized them. And when the men sent back the bad report, David became furious and plotted to destroy Nabal and his household. 

One young man then warned Abigail, Nabal’s wife, that their lives were in danger because of her husband’s actions, and that she had to act quickly. Abigail immediately packed various food items and went to David for peace negotiations.

A woman is able to think on her feet

The servant approached Abigail because he knew that she was capable of turning the situation around. He was aware that she was not the cause of the damage, but she could avert potential danger.

After being told about David’s plans, she immediately had an action plan. She quickly loaded food onto the donkey, because she knew that was what the men wanted. 

Abigail was known for her intelligence and beauty. They knew that she was the one keeping the household intact because her husband was stubborn and evil.

A woman takes initiative

Abigail did not wait for David to reach her household before initiating peace, but she went to him. Taking the first step shows initiative and makes the other party see that one is serious about reconciliation.  

A woman is fearless of the crowd

David was surrounded by a lot of men, but Abigail was brave enough to approach him. He had over 600 men with him, 400 of them were to go with him to destroy Nabal, and 200 were to remain with the supplies.

Abigail was just a woman and I assume that her servants did not outnumber the number of men that were with David. However, the crowds did not scare her nor make her turn back.

A woman is a smooth talker

She fell at his feet and said; “My lord, let the blame be on me alone. Please let your servant speak to you; hear what your servant has to say…” 1 Samuel 25:24

Abigail was very good at making an apology. She bowed before the king, asked him to forgive her, and asked for permission to speak to him. A woman knows how to attract attention. She has the ability to change one’s mood. She gives honour to the one who has her breakthrough. 

May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name – his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. 1 Samuel 25:24

Abigail spoke with wisdom. She introduced her matter before David in a strategic manner. Her speech showed great respect for David, because she addressed him as my lord and my master and referred to herself as his servant.

When a woman declares blessings one becomes blessed

When Abigail finished talking, she presented the gifts that she had brought. She asked for the gifts to be given to David’s servants. 

After presenting the gifts, she declared words of blessings over David’s life.

28 Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the Lord will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the Lord’s battles. Let no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live.

29 Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl as from the pocket sling.

30 When the Lord has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel, my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. 

Abigail played the role of a priest in David’s life, similar to the role played by Melchizedek in Abraham’s life. After the battle, Melchizedek came to Abraham with bread and wine and declared blessings over his life.

A woman’s role is not only to intercede but to praise and declare blessings over people’s lives. Abigail asked the Lord to make David a lasting empire because he fights the Lord’s battles. 

A woman apologises timely

David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me…” 1 Samuel 25:32

According to David, Abigail was a blessing in his life because she kept him from destroying them. Her timing was right because if she had delayed, he would have done something that he would later regret. The combination of her words, gifts, and timing is what saved her life.

3. A woman commands attention (Luke 7:36-50)

When a woman who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she went to Him with an Alabaster jar of perfume. She wet Jesus’ feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. 

When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.” Luke 7:37-39

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace” Luke 7:48 & 50

She won the heart of Jesus

Before, Mary Magdalene was famous for being a sinner, but when she met Christ, she was famous for her good deeds. 

Mary used her money and the skills that she had attained in her job for a good cause. She wanted the Lord’s attention and approval. She, therefore, had to do something extraordinary in order to win the attention of Jesus.

The woman did not condemn herself

Many people were condemning her, but she did not care about their opinion of her. She did not let her sin stand in her way of meeting the Master. Mary would have missed her appointment with Jesus if she had entertained her guilty conscious. 

She makes the timing right

When Mary went to Jesus, the timing was not right, because He was dining at the table with other people. 

If she had waited for Him to finish dining, Jesus would have been with the crowd and she wouldn’t have been able unable to reach him. Mary poured her heart under unfavorable conditions, while everyone was watching.

When she speaks, He is moved

When Jesus arrived in Bethany, Martha went to meet him and said to Jesus; “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus said to her, “your brother will rise again.” John 11:22-23

If you can read the scriptures, you will note that Jesus did not take action to raise Lazarus up, but only gave Martha a sermon. But when Mary went to Him and said the same statement as Martha’s, Jesus’ reaction was different.

Both Mary and Martha had the same complaint, but the response that they got was different. Mary ran to Jesus, fell on His feet and wept and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” And when Jesus saw her weeping he was greatly touched. John 11:32-33

She knows the secret to attracting blessings

Mary had discovered that touching the feet of Jesus was the secret to moving His heart. The very first time when she went with the alabaster box, she fell on His feet crying and He was touched by her actions. 

The second time was when Lazarus had passed on. She fell at His feet and cried. John 11:32

The third time was when Jesus went into the home of Martha, Mary’s sister. Mary decided to stay at the feet of Jesus and listened to His teaching, while her sister was busy with the preparations. When Martha complained to Jesus about her sister’s behaviour, Jesus responded and said, “Mary has chosen what is better; and it will not be taken away from her” Luke 10:42. 

Every time when Mary was at the feet of Jesus, something great happened. Martha did not see the significance of the feet of Jesus, because the revelation was not directed to her but Mary.

She has money and savings

After Lazarus was raised, she anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume again. The perfume was said to be equivalent to one year’s wages. This just shows that she was a well-off woman because an average person would not afford it. 

Mary was rich, yet she wanted to be at the feet of Jesus. Usually, when people are rich, they distance themselves from Jesus. They rather make donations in God’s ministries, but not have a relationship with God.

4. She controls her children’s destinies (Genesis 27:1-17)

The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste of wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Genesis 25:27-28

In Genesis 27, when Isaac, the father of the twins, Jacob and Esau, was old and blind, he called his firstborn to come and receive blessings. But before Isaac could bless him, Jacob had to go to the field, hunt a wild game, and then prepare it so that his father could eat. 

A woman is ra great listener and is resourceful

However, Rebekah, Jacob’s wife overheard her husband’s conversation with Esau. When Esau had left, she told Jacob about what she had overheard. Because Rebekah wanted her favorite son to receive Isaac’s blessings, she instructed Jacob to bring two goats from the flock so that she could prepare tasty food for his father. 

The challenge was that Esau had hairy skin and Jacob’s skin was smooth. Jacob knew that if his father was to touch him, he would know that he was not Esau. 

Jacob did not know that his mother had solutions to everything. Rebekah said to him in verse 13, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”

Rebekah then took Esau’s best clothes and put them on Jacob. She also covered his hands and the smooth parts of his neck with the goatskins. She then gave the food and bread to Jacob, so that he could go and give to his father.

When Jacob offered the food to Isaac, he introduced himself as Esau and said that he had prepared him the wild game as requested. Isaac noticed that the voice sounded like that of Jacob, but Esau’s skin. After Jacob had confirmed that it was Esau through the smell of his clothes and the hairy skin, He then released a blessing upon him.

A woman preserves the prophecy

At the time when Rebekah was pregnant, the children struggled with each other in her womb. She then went and enquired to the Lord as to why such was happening to her. Then the Lord spoke and said: “Two nations are in your womb, and two people from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” Genesis 25:23

Rebekah tried everything in her power to ensure that the prophecy of the Lord concerning Jacob’s life becomes true. When the time for Isaac to release his blessings came, Rebekah fought the blessings that were intended for Esau. Rebekah did not want any mistakes with Jacob’s destiny, because she held on to the prophecy.

Rebekah took initiative, she did not let Jacob’s destiny unfold naturally. The Lord had already told her that the old would serve the younger, but she feared that if Jacob missed Isaac’s blessings the prophecy would be distorted.

She has control over whom her child marries

When Rebekah saw that Jacob might walk in the path of his brother and choose the wrong wife, she spoke to his dad so that he could give an instruction to Jacob on whom to marry.

Rebekah was not willing to let her son make a lifetime mistake that could have been avoided.

In Genesis 27:46, she said the following to her husband Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.”

So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. Genesis 28:1–2

Read more: 20 Bible verse about a good wife

5. She is a silent warrior (Judges 4:17-22)

Judges chapter 4 is a story about Sisera, who had ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for 20 years and had 900 iron chariots. Then one day, God spoke through Deborah, a female judge, and told her to tell Barak to call out 10 000 warriors. Deborah told Barak that God would give them victory, but Barak would receive no honour in the venture, because it would be in the hands of a woman (Judges 4:9).

Barak then pursued Sisera and his army, to the point where Sisera jumped out on foot from his chariot and ran into Jael’s tent, a woman whose family had an alliance with his king.

Judges 4 reads:

18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.

20 “Stand at the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say “No.’”

21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.

22 Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple – dead. 

A woman is resourceful

A woman’s mind does not take a break, she always thinks of ways to effect change. She sees opportunities from ordinary activities. Falling asleep was a common activity, Jael regarded it as Sisera’s moment of weakness.

Jael was not prepared for Sisera’s visit, but when Sisera was in her presence, she had a master plan. His sleep became her platform to bring down Israel’s assassin. 

Jael was resourceful; she only used what was available in her tent – a tent pin and a hammer. For some people, the sole purpose of a tent pin could only have been to hold the tent, but Jael used it as a weapon that brought victory for Israel. 

She did it alone, while Barak failed to destroy him with an army of 10 000 warriors on his side. A woman does not need multitudes to bring down a powerful man, she does it alone. Her kindness is sufficient to weaken any strong man’s heart. 

6.     A woman secures the future of her family (Joshua 2)

Joshua 2 is another example of a power of a woman in the bible. Joshua sent two men as spies to go and inspect the land of Jericho. The spies went and stayed in the house of a harlot by the name of Rahab. The king of Jericho then sent a message to Rahab commanding her to bring out the men that were in her house. But Rahab hid the men up on the roof beneath bundles of flax she had laid out. 

She said, “Yes the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk when it was the time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” Joshua 2:4-5

She tells a partial lie

Rahab did not deny the fact that the men were in her house, but she twisted the truth. She told the men sent by the king that the men were at her house, but she did not know who they were. She further said that she did not know direction those men took, but if they hurried, they might find them.

Her lies were able to chase the king’s men from her house and in that way she removed herself from the suspect list.  

She has a room for every occasion

When the king’s men arrived, Rahab already knew where to hide the spies. She hid them on the roof beneath the flux. A woman knows all the corners of her house. She even knows the hideout spots because she has familiarised herself with the house. In her home is room for every kind of guest and occasion. 

As for Rahab, the roof was not only a covering against the sun and rain, but it was a hideout place. She knew that no one would suspect that people could be hidden up in the roof. 

If Rahab was not familiar with her home, she could not have known where to hide the men. 

She holds the ultimate key to life

Rahab held the key to the two men’s lives; she had the power to have them destroyed or to save them. Their destinies were in Rahab’s hands. 

A woman has the power to bring life to people. She can also be a safe refuge when one is in danger. The two men’s lives were at risk because the king of Jericho was looking for them, but fortunately, they found a woman who became their safe refuge.

A woman enters into beneficially mutual relationships

Before Rahab could help the spies further, she made them vow that they would spare her father, mother, brothers and sisters and all who belong to them. It is only then that she advised them on what to do to ensure they come out of the land safely.

Rahab did not show kindness to the men because she was naturally kind to strangers, but because she had a revelation on the purpose of their visit and she wanted to strike a deal with them.

Conclusion

A woman possesses so much power and it is up to her to use the power that she possesses for the greater good or to enhance her life and the life of the people around her. You might be regarded as the weaker vessel but that doesn’t mean that you are weak.