Really Bad Girls of the Bible

So, when I saw the title of this book, I snatched it right up without researching the author, the book itself or anything else at all that would prove useful. Why? Because it’s not about the good girls of the Bible. Or the girls-with-good-intentions of the Bible. Or the girls-who-had-some-hard-knocks-but-soft-hearts of the Bible. It is a book about the bad girls of the Bible. The black sheep. The girls who didn’t fit in. The girls who disappointed their families. The girls who were used by God in mighty, mighty ways.

I wasn’t what I would call a “bad girl” growing up. I was, in fact, the exact opposite. I tried my very darnedest to make my parents proud, to make my God proud. But somewhere along the line, I decided that my efforts weren’t enough, nor ever would be. So I began to search for affirmation elsewhere. And after each mistake I made, I would jump into yet another mistake in an attempt to erase the previous error. (Which doesn’t work, by the way. Just sayin’.)

I am just different from my family. I think differently, am wired differently, see things differently. Now, to be fair, my parents were amazing. But I personally felt like I was always disappointing them. So, what do you get when you take the black sheep of the family and add a heap of messy mistakes? A grown woman who thinks that God has no use for her, anymore. (Which also doesn’t work, my dears. Because it isn’t true.) Now that I have learned and am continuing to learn that God delights in me (and in you!), I love reading these stories of these women in the Bible who just royally screwed things up and yet moved mountains for God.

Each chapter covers a different woman, and each chapter also begins with a short, fictional story to set the reader up for the character they are about to be introduced to. I have to admit that this took me a minute to get used to, mostly because I’m horribly impatient and just wanted to get to studying. But the stories in the beginning really helped me to see these women from the Bible times in a more modern light. The best thing? The beginning story was a tough one to read…and turns out it is about *spoiler alert* the author herself. Can I just tell you what that did for this heart of mine? To hear about her own struggles, when now she is impacting millions of women for Christ? Yeah, it was a pretty big deal.

In the book, you will have the opportunity to read about the Medium of En Dor (that sounds so Lord of the Rings-ish to me; hook, line, sinker), Jael, the Adulteress, Athaliah, Bathsheba, Herodias, Tamar the Widow and the Bleeding Woman. The book comes with a Study Guide and Discussion Questions, as well. And seriously, it is written by one of the most amazing Bible teachers of our time. Liz Curtis Higgs not only teaches the reader about the characters, but brings the stories back to God and His sovereign ability to love, cherish, treasure and use all of His daughters.

Bottom Line: We all need to study these beautifully complicated women of the Bible, and Liz Curtis Higgs brings them to life.

**I received this book from Blogging for Books, in exchange for an honest review.