Bible Gateway Blog

What can Jezebel, the Bible’s wickedest queen, reveal about God’s holiness and power and even about his sense of humor? What about the Woman at the Well—the one with five husbands and a live-in lover? And what of the prostitute whose tears bathe the feet of Jesus in front of people who despise her?

Bible Gateway interviewed Ann Spangler (@annspangler) about her book Wicked Women of the Bible (Zondervan, 2015).

[Subscribe to Ann Spangler’s weekly free email devotionals, Women of the Bible and Men of the Bible]

[See book excerpts, A Wicked Sorceress: The Story of the Medium of Endor and A Wicked Birthday Party: The Story of Herodias and Salome]

In this book you say you’re reimagining the stories of some of the women of the Bible. What do you mean?

Ann Spangler: The Bible has the curious, and I would say supernatural, ability to transform us. A passage we’ve read many times suddenly jumps off the page and straight into our hearts. How is it that this ancient book can encourage, convict, inspire, and transform people thousands of years after it was written?

Of course the supernatural secret of the Bible is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, who speaks to us through its pages.

Even so, we often find Bible reading challenging. It takes effort to read and understand it, especially since the stories and events are set in a culture that’s radically different from our own.

My hope in writing the book is that it will help readers look at these ancient stories with fresh eyes. When I speak of “reimagining the stories” I’m speaking of interacting with the text imaginatively, painting the scenes by including the cultural context in which they took place and then teasing out the emotional reactions of the characters so that they come alive for us today. Indeed, that’s what good preachers do every week when they expound on a story—they help people “see” what’s going on and then apply it to their own lives.

You’ve included women known to be wicked, such as Jezebel and Herodias. But why do you also include women like Abigail and Esther?

Ann Spangler: “Wicked” is such a juicy word. Oddly, there’s even a kind of glamour to it. But in addition to meaning “evil” or “vicious” or “vile,” it can also be used ironically, as in “cool” or “awesome.” I decided to include a sprinkling of wicked good women in the book to give readers a little rest from all the unrelenting wickedness.

When people hear the title of the book they often point out that there are far more wicked men in the Bible than wicked women. Of course they’re right but not because men are intrinsically more wicked than women. There are simply a lot more male characters in Scripture. Also, because of the times in which they lived, men usually played more public roles, giving the male characters a grander stage on which to parade their wickedness.

The wicked queen Jezebel was one exception. As queen of Israel, she had a pretty big stage to show off just how rotten she could be.

Each chapter includes a section called “The Times.” Explain what this is.

Ann Spangler: “The Times” is a short section that provides interesting background information so that readers can understand the story more completely.

A Jewish archaeologist by the name of Gabi Barkai has said that “every day in Jerusalem is a day of discovery.” Indeed, throughout Israel, there have been so many discoveries in the last half century that we now understand the biblical world far better than we ever did. I wanted to bring a little of that understanding into the book to help people understand Scripture better.

You begin with the story of Eve. Why did you title it “Wicked Lies”?

Ann Spangler: As I was writing the book, I kept asking myself who was the wickedest woman in the Bible. I quickly narrowed the choice to three top contenders: Jezebel, Herodias, and Eve. But why Eve? Because she was the first human being to believe that God could not be trusted. Her original doubts about his goodness unleashed incredible darkness into the world.

It’s interesting that even though Adam and Eve’s failure to trust God enough to obey him, let death loose into the world, Adam calls her “mother of all the living.” There is something both sad and happy about that title. All of us are Eve’s children. Like her we’re tempted to think we’re God. Like her, we sometimes give a willing ear when the enemy whispers that God is not to be trusted.

But Eve is also the “mother of all the living” in the sense that God promised that one of her offspring would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Certainly we see that promise fulfilled in the life and death of Christ (Rom. 10:9-10). Because of Jesus, those who believe in him will live eternally with God.

Who was the Medium of Endor and why do you include her in the book?

Ann Spangler: You could call her the “Wicked Witch of the East,” though that would be a bit of an overstatement—too much Hollywood. She was a woman who made her living by conjuring the dead as a way of foretelling the future.

In one of the Bible’s most pathetic scenes, King Saul visits her in disguise the night before his death, asking her to call up the prophet Samuel.

Because she’s pictured alone in the story, some commentators believe she may have been a widow. To be an orphan or widow in that day and age was nothing less than catastrophic. A woman with no male relatives to rely on might sell herself into slavery or engage in prostitution simply to survive.

On the other hand, the Medium of Endor may have been seeking hidden spiritual power with which she could manipulate the gods. Or perhaps she was a trickster, fooling gullible people as she raked in the money. In that case she would have been shocked when the deceased prophet Samuel showed up and chided Saul for disturbing his rest. Even though she comes across as kindly during the story, insisting that Saul and his men eat something before they leave her house, she cast her lot with wickedness by involving herself in the occult (Lev. 19:31; 20:6). Deuteronomy 18:9-12 indicates that God considers occult practices an abomination; something his people should shun lest they open themselves to the influence of false gods and demonic powers.

How do you hope readers will be changed by reading this book?

Ann Spangler: I’d be delighted if people would fall in love with the Scriptures a little bit more after reading the book. I want them to know that they will never come up empty if they take a deep dive into the Scriptures, asking God to speak to them as they read and study his Word. Reading the Bible is an interactive process. God is not afraid of our questions and is delighted by our curiosity. As we probe the Scriptures, God probes us.

Several years ago, a reader contacted me to tell me that he and some friends from church had formed a Bible study group called “The Iron Men.” He wanted me to know that they were reading my book Women of the Bible and loving it. Those men knew something important—that the stories of women of the Bible are not only for women. To the men I would say, don’t let anyone rob you of these stories because they’re much too rich to ignore. As 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for study.” That’s certainly true about the wicked women of the Bible.

Of course I love it when women read and study the stories together. There’s nothing better than being with women who want to draw closer to God and each other by reading and studying the Bible.

What are your thoughts about Bible Gateway and the Bible Gateway App?

Ann Spangler: Bible Gateway is my constant companion and the first place I look whenever I begin to research and write. A great resource for anyone who wants to get to know the Bible better, it offers a huge array of searchable Bibles, an assortment of reading plans, and a rich selection of devotionals. It’s amazing to me that with the App on my phone, I can have 38 translations in my pocket, to say nothing of all the other features Bible Gateway has to offer.

Bio: Ann Spangler is an award-winning writer and the author of many bestselling books, including Praying the Names of God, Praying the Names of Jesus, and The One Year Devotions for Women. She’s also coauthor of Women of the Bible and Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, and the general editor of the Names of God Bible. Ann’s fascination with and love of Scripture have resulted in books that have opened the Bible to a wide range of readers. She and her two daughters live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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Over 50 institutions are turning to the same page of The Saint John’s Bible (@SaintJohnsBible) each day of Pope Francis’ visit to the USA
Read the news release. | See the daily schedule.

Read our blogpost: The Saint John’s Bible: A Work of Art

See various editions of The Saint John’s Bible available to purchase in the Bible Gateway Store.

Tuesday, September 22 (Day 2): A Reflection on Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 15:1-21 and Genesis 17:1-19)
Day 1 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 (#7Days7Pages)

[See our blogpost: CNN: A Catholic Reads the Bible.]

[See our blogpost: Reflections from Pope Francis: An Interview with Susan Stark and Dan Pierson.]

[See our blogpost: The Tweetable Pope: Catholic Resources in the Bible Gateway Store.]

Follow Religion News Service coverage of Pope Francis’s visit to the USA.
Also see video highlights of the Pope’s visit.

Susan Stark Only a little over a year into his papacy, Pope Francis (@Pontifex) is being hailed by the news media, Christians, and non-Christians alike as a refreshing figure in the Vatican. His humility, piousness, and forward-thinking ideas rooted in the Bible have been celebrated around the world.

With Pope Francis visiting the USA, Bible Gateway interviewed Susan Stark and Dan Pierson (@faithAlivebooks) about their book, Reflections from Pope Francis: An Invitation to Journaling, Prayer, and Action (Tarcher, 2015).

[See our blogpost: CNN: A Catholic Reads the Bible.]

[See our blogpost: The Tweetable Pope: Catholic Resources in the Bible Gateway Store.]

For those who may not be aware, explain the role of the Pope in the Catholic Church.

Susan Stark and Dan Pierson: In Latin, the word pope means papa or father. The Pope is the Bishop of Rome and successor to the Apostle Peter, who Jesus named the “rock” of the Church, and shepherd of her flock (see Matt. 16:18-19, John 21:15-17). He’s the spiritual father and unifier of Catholics around the world, who, together with his brother bishops, shepherds and teaches the people of God. While Pope Francis has been recognized as an excellent administrator, we present him as a pastor and teacher. Simply put, the Pope’s primary role is to preach the gospel to all people.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope March 13, 2013. What are the characteristics that distinguish him from his predecessors?

Susan Stark and Dan Pierson: The Holy Spirit has been at work in the Church through many gifted leaders over the centuries. Each Pope brings his own charisms, or gifts to the ministry, and particular emphasis. Like his predecessors, Pope Francis has been uncompromising and challenging in his teaching about the Church’s core beliefs. Some, though, have called him the People’s Pope because of his desire to live simply, and to be with people who are poor or disenfranchised. He repeatedly speaks of God’s mercy, of the dignity of every human person, of tolerance, inclusion, and peace. People perceive him as gentle, humble, and unabashedly honest and open.

Why did he choose the name Francis and how does that name reflect his approach to the office?

Susan Stark and Dan Pierson: The story goes that as the Papal conclave voting was winding down and Cardinal Bergoglio had surpassed the 77 votes needed to be Pope, he was hugged by a fellow Cardinal who told him, “Don’t forget the poor.” Cardinal Bergoglio took the words to heart and chose the name Francis after Francis of Assis, a great Saint of the Catholic Church, a man of peace, a protector of creation. Shortly after his election, Pope Francis declared that he wanted a church that is poor and that is for the poor. His papacy reflects the spirit of St. Francis.

Why do you think Pope Francis is such a popular Pope that even Protestants speak well of him?

Susan Stark and Dan Pierson: Pope Francis has put a new face on the Catholic Church—he’s changed the way people talk about it, in part through his simple, unassuming, honest style. The conversation now centers more on how the Church is a loving, caring church, a defender of human dignity, friend of the poor, and caretaker of God’s creation. People are attracted to leaders who demonstrate integrity in the way they live—walk-the-talk types of folks. Pope Francis preaches, teaches, and lives the gospel. His personal touch is extremely attractive in today’s world.

Pope Francis has shone a bright light on things the Catholic Church has been quietly doing for a long, long time, such as being the largest charitable organization in the world, providing food, clothing, shelter, health care, etc., to more people than any other organization. And he challenges us to do more.

How is Pope Francis encouraging Catholics to regularly read the Bible?

Susan Stark and Dan Pierson: Pope Francis teaches by doing. His daily homilies demonstrate his process of reading Scripture: meditating on it, praying and reflecting with it, and discerning what it is challenging him and others to do. This is a process Catholics use called lectio divina. Pope Francis is a big proponent of praying with Scripture.

A lot of people who aren’t Catholic don’t realize how central Sacred Scripture is to us. Not only are specific Scripture readings a part of every Mass every day of the year (at least three readings each day, four on Sundays), but many of the prayers spoken by either the priests or the assembly at Mass and other liturgies are direct quotations from biblical texts. The Liturgy of the Hours (a daily prayer of the Church) is Scripture based, as are prayers such as the Rosary.

Pope Francis encourages all Christians to read the Bible daily and especially the Gospels. He often distributes in large quantity to his audiences a book of the four Gospels.

What is the format of Reflections from Pope Francis and what need in readers does the book fill?

Susan Stark and Dan Pierson: As Blaise Pascal said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every person”—we need God in our lives, we have a hunger for that which is spiritual. For us, this project has been about bringing to the forefront the value of spiritual reflection—allowing ourselves to be nurtured, challenged, and changed in order to be, as Pope Francis says, “lights of hope” in our world.

We invite our readers into a simple spiritual reflection process—reflection, journaling, prayer, and action. Each reflection begins with a focusing statement which is an initial thought to ponder, followed by a short reflection from the Pope. We encourage the reader to interact with the reflections by journaling or drawing in the blank space on each page: How does the Pope’s message connect to your experience or to the world’s experience? What action does it challenge you to take to live the Gospel more concretely, to change a behavior or attitude? This interaction is a unique aspect of our book. Each reflection ends with a Scripture passage which reinforces or further illuminates the theme. Many people use this Bible verse as a brief prayer at the end of their reflection. The book also includes an extensive thematic appendix and listing of the source for each reflection.

It’s our hope that through reading and reflecting on the words of Pope Francis people will experience the grace and love of God. Our book is a tool that will both affirm and challenge people as disciples of Jesus Christ.

How did you select the reflections that are in the book and the Bible verses that correspond to each?

Susan Stark and Dan Pierson: First, we read through every message, homily, and address of the Pope’s from his first year. Our source for these was the Vatican’s website. From these, what emerged for us were short excerpts that best highlighted Pope Francis’ universal messages meant for every person regardless of religious affiliation—such as welcome, community, hope, forgiveness, care for the poor, mercy, and compassion.

With each reflection we wanted to make a Scripture-based connection to the theme that would reinforce or illuminate it, or in many cases was the source of the Pope’s reflection. Some of the reflections are from his daily homilies and thus there was a Bible verse from that day’s liturgy that naturally fit.

What reflections inspire you the most and why?

Susan Stark and Dan Pierson: The Pope has shared so many simple yet profound and challenging thoughts, such as show a sign of love, say “thank you,” knock at the door of God’s heart, set a place at your table. One which is particularly inspirational and drawn from the Gospel of Matthew (Matt. 13:24-33) is, “Believe that the Kingdom of God is already present.” Wow. What a different world this would be if we lived like we truly believed that!

What are the themes included in the book?

Susan Stark and Dan Pierson: A thematic appendix in the back of our book lists over 100 themes, such as mercy, compassion, service, family, gratitude, hope, and justice. We even include a reflection on gossip! While we used reflections from Pope Francis’ first year, he will continue to address these themes in his visit to Cuba and the United States when he speaks to the US Congress, General Assembly of the United Nations, and the World Meeting of Families. He will address the issues of immigration, climate change and the environment, and the need to support, nurture, and minister to and with families.

What are your thoughts about Bible Gateway and/or the Bible Gateway App?

Susan Stark and Dan Pierson: Bible Gateway is an excellent, easy-to-use resource for making the Bible more accessible to both those beginning to explore the Bible as well as those who are engaged in study and research. We used Bible Gateway extensively while researching Scripture for this project. We’re pleased that Bible Gateway includes the New American Bible translation, which is the officially approved translation for Sunday and daily Masses and the Liturgy of the Hours for the Catholic Church in the United States. There may be times when individuals may want to use Bible Gateway as they read and pray the Bible verse for each reflection. By exploring the different translations of the same verse, readers may experience a more enriching and meaningful understanding and life application.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?

Susan Stark and Dan Pierson: In addition to Reflections from Pope Francis‘s value for personal spiritual growth, there are numerous applications for it in other settings. It’s a great resource for small group prayer and faith sharing. Groups could meet for one hour and use the Spiritual Reflection Process that we explain in the introduction. Some groups may want to meet for a period of six weeks at anytime during the year with special thought given to the six weeks of Lent. Sometimes all members of the group may select the same reflection and at other times each member may make a personal selection. After writing their thoughts or drawing, then each member is invited to share with others. Conclude with prayer a including the accompanying Bible verse.

The book is also a wonderful tool for youth and young adult ministries and campus ministries in both Catholic and ecumenical settings to introduce young people to the process of spiritual reflection.

Bio: Susan Stark (email) has been working in Catholic ministry settings for over 30 years, including work in parish and diocesan leadership roles in the Diocese of San Diego, as a publications coordinator and trainer for a the Center for Ministry Development, and most recently in creative development, writing, and editing for Catholic religious education publishers. Mother of four and grandmother of two, Susan and her husband live in San Diego, CA.

Daniel J. Pierson is a former diocesan director of religious education for the Diocese of Grand Rapids, works with religious publishers in areas of product development, and is the founder and editor of eCatechist.com and FaithAliveBooks.com. In addition to Reflections from Pope Francis, he’s collaborated with Susan Stark on What Do I Do Now: A Guide for the Reluctant Catechist (Pflaum, 2007). Dan, his wife, and their son live in Grand Rapids, MI.

In The Tweetable Pope: A Spiritual Revolution in 140 Characters (HarperOne, 2015), Boston Globe journalist and Catholic commentator Michael O’Loughlin (@MikeOLoughlin) opens a window into the heart and revolutionary mission of Pope Francis (@Pontifex) by examining his extensive and revelatory use of social media.

If faith is to be strong and healthy, it must be constantly nourished by the Word of God.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) October 21, 2014

God loves the lowly. When we live humbly, he takes our small efforts and creates great things.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) September 14, 2015

Do we say “Thank you” to God every day?

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) September 10, 2015

Michael O’Loughlin uses Pope Francis’s almost daily “tweets” to his 7 million followers to explain why this Pope has captured the world’s imagination and to explore his strategy and vision for the Catholic Church. Grouped by the Pope’s most pressing concerns—forgiveness, mercy, injustice, poverty, war, joy, the environment, and more—The Tweetable Pope uses Francis’ pithy 140-character (or fewer) missives as a prism to view the biographical, historical, and spiritual context of his messages and how each is part of a larger vision.

Reading the Gospel each day helps us to overcome our selfishness and to follow Jesus our Teacher with dedication.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) August 21, 2015

Let us invoke the Holy Spirit each day: He guides us along the path of discipleship in Christ.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) May 23, 2015

In spite of injustices and sufferings, the Lord’s victory is certain.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) September 17, 2015

Other Catholic Resources

See our blogpost: Reflections from Pope Francis: An Interview with Susan Stark and Dan Pierson.

See our blogpost: CNN: A Catholic Reads the Bible.

See our blogpost: The Saint John’s Bible: A Reflection on Creation.

Read the New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE) on Bible Gateway.

See Catholic Bibles in the Bible Gateway Store.

See more Catholic resources in the Bible Gateway Store.

Over 50 institutions are turning to the same page of The Saint John’s Bible (@SaintJohnsBible) each day of Pope Francis’ visit to the USA
Read the news release. | See the daily schedule.

Read our blogposts: The Saint John’s Bible: A Work of Art and The Saint John’s Bible Christmas Illumination.

See various editions of The Saint John’s Bible available to purchase in the Bible Gateway Store.

Monday, September 21 (Day 1): A Reflection on Creation (Genesis 1)
Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 (#7Days7Pages)

[See our blogpost: CNN: A Catholic Reads the Bible.]

[See our blogpost: Reflections from Pope Francis: An Interview with Susan Stark and Dan Pierson.]

[See our blogpost: The Tweetable Pope: Catholic Resources in the Bible Gateway Store.]

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Over 50 Institutions Throughout North America Turn to the Same Page of The Saint John’s Bible Each Day of Pope Francis’ Visit
⇨ Saint John’s University
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⇨ The Saint John’s Bible: A Work of Art
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Rare Bible, Given in Honor of Pope’s Visit, Now at Library of Congress
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Charles Darwin’s Letter About Not Believing the Bible Sells for $197,000 at Auction
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Betsy Ross’ 1790 Bible is on Exhibit for the First Time in Over a Decade
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University of Dayton’s Roesch Library to Exhibit 20 Bibles Oct. 3 – Nov. 8
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Legal Settlement with Armenian Church Lets Getty Museum Keep Prized Medieval Bible Pages
⇨ Los Angeles Times
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300 Bibles Given in Calais to Refugees in Home Languages
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Government to Support Scripture Union of Zambia
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Volunteers to Read Bible Passages on Georgia Lafayette Square
⇨ LaGrange Daily News
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Why We Carry These Tokens of Faith
⇨ PBS Newshour
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See You At The Pole Marks 25 Years of Prayer
⇨ Baptist Press
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Newsboys Video Kicks Off Preparation for Bring Your Bible to School Day Oct. 8
⇨ Focus on the Family
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Googling for God
⇨ The New York Times
⇨ What Are People Searching For in the Bible?
⇨ What You Look for in the Bible: The Top 20 Keyword Search Terms on Bible Gateway
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⇨ See other Bible News Roundup weekly posts

Do you have a true friend in Jesus? One that consists of the emotions, dialogue, and intimate moments that we long for from our closest of comrades? If not, maybe it’s time to reframe your perception of God; change your God-connection paradigm.

Bible Gateway interviewed Brian Hardin (@realbrianhardin) about his book, Reframe: From the God We’ve Made to God with Us (NavPress, 2015).

Explain what Daily Audio Bible is and how you came to create it.

Brian Hardin: The Daily Audio Bible is a community of tens of thousands of people who have committed to being in the rhythm of Scripture daily. I created it ten years ago because, like 93% of professing believers, I had never read the Bible in context and once I did, it revolutionized my life. Every day I read the Scriptures aloud, interact with them, and share the experience through our app, our website, and through places like Bible Gateway. This creates an immediate experience. It’s something that is happening every single day and you quickly realize you’re not alone on a solitary endeavor in your devotional life. The Daily Audio Bible is the epic adventure through the Bible in a year in community.

What does the title Reframe mean?

Brian Hardin: To “Reframe” is to express a concept or a plan differently. In an effort to explore what we mean when we say we are in a relationship with God, a complete reframe of the paradigm was required. And in discovering what a relationship with God is NOT, I was able to find the breathtaking beauty of what it could be.

Why do you say the term “relationship with God” is not synonymous with believing in God?

Brian Hardin: We believe in a lot of people we’re not in a relationship with. One of the false assumptions I discovered in my own life was the idea that more study about God or activity for God was making me closer to God. Certainly study and activity are important. But do they foster actual intimacy? Imagine how that would look in marriage. Study of your spouse may be helpful but to be in a life giving marriage you will have to give of yourself completely as will your mate. At some point the knowledge gives way to the intangible thing we call love. But for many, myself included, the relationship we say we have with God boils down to nothing more than gigabytes of data and data isn’t a living thing that can be related to.

Rick Warren begins his book The Purpose-Driven Life with the sentence, “It’s not about you.” You begin Reframe with, “It’s all about you.” What are you saying?

Brian Hardin: I get this question a lot because at face value it seems as if Rick and I share opposing viewpoints. But this isn’t true. The Purpose Driven Life certainly affected me as it has millions of others. When he begins with, “It’s not about you,” he’s saying that you’ll never find purpose from within yourself. To quote him, “If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God,” and “You were made for God, not vice versa, and life is about letting God use you for His purposes.” I couldn’t agree more.

Reframe is about peeling back the layers of what a relationship with God is actually shaped like. And in any intimate relationship two people have to be mutually involved. God has bestowed such extravagant mercy, kindness, patience, love, sacrifice and every other conceivable effort to offer relationship with us. But we’re exchanging that relationship for many lesser things and calling it healthy spirituality. It doesn’t take long to realize that what we’re calling a relationship with God wouldn’t work in any other relationship in our lives. We have to begin with ourselves. God is not withholding authentic relationship. We are. And this is why I begin by saying, “It’s all about you. And it’s all about what you do next.”

What do you mean “for thousands of years we’ve been building a box for God”?

Brian Hardin: We know more about God than we’ve ever known in human history. We can juxtapose Christian thought over millennia in ways that were never possible before. With all this knowledge why are we still struggling for intimacy with God? I believe the answer lies in the fact that God cannot be contained within a theological formula or doctrinal statement. We’ve brought all that we think we know about God and distilled it into theological formulas as if God can be quantified or explained this way. It’s a box that won’t hold God. In Genesis 3 mankind traded perfect intimacy for knowledge and we’ve spent our humanity trying to explain God through the flawed lens of our knowledge when the sacrifice of Jesus once again restored the possibility of personal intimacy. We’re settling for less and it’ll never be enough.

How did the Bible help you get out of the box?

Brian Hardin: The entire arc of the biblical narrative describes God’s willingness to be with us. The Bible reframed what I thought I knew about God. He went from a disappointed and rather angry being to a jilted lover who was desperate to be restored to His love. That’s a dramatic shift and it happened before I even get to the New Testament. When we enter the Gospels we realize that God was not only willing to be with us but desperate enough to win our hearts that he became us and spoke with his own voice into our humanity before allowing himself to be executed by us. It’s pretty hard to miss God’s heart in the Scriptures when they are read in context. One word pretty much says it all when it comes to God’s ambition toward humanity: Emmanuel. God with us.

Why doesn’t theology equal relationship?

Brian Hardin: Theology is literally “the science of God or of religion.” It’s mankind’s attempt to quantify what is infinite and beyond us. And while I love theology and believe in its value, I don’t believe it can, in any way, be rightfully described as a relationship. Theology is data. And while the data may be accurate it’s still data. Data isn’t alive. You can’t be in a relationship with data.

What are the gaps you talk about in the book?

Brian Hardin: In dismantling some of the things we exchange for actual relationship I describe the way we’re prone to assumption. An assumption is simply our attempt to create a plausible reality out of a gap. We don’t like mystery. We’d rather make an assumption about a person than allow the whole story to unfold, and we do this with God. We hold many assumptions about God that have the terrible potential of estranging us from intimacy with Him. False assumptions are nothing more than our way of filling in gaps in reality. But we’re not very good at it. When you’re in a relationship with someone that’s life giving and healthy, you know better than to assume anything. You move into one-on-one communication to reveal the mystery.

Why should people stop blaming God for human choices?

Brian Hardin: God created us in His image. He gave us the ability to make choices and He allows those choices to matter. Theologically we would call this volition. But God has become the cosmic trash heap for all of humankind’s unexplainable suffering. This is totally unfair. And it leads to very unhealthy places when we’re discussing being in a relationship with God. If everything that’s painful or unexplainable in life is God’s fault, how does one cultivate trust? And how can you truly love someone you don’t trust? Yet we constantly shake our fists at God for everything painful or unexplainable without ever really owning our part of the story. In any relationship both parties have to own their part of the relationship.

What is spiritual starvation and how prevalent is it?

Brian Hardin: Hunger is one of the greatest motivators in our lives. And it’s not just to keep us biologically alive. We’re starving for life because we’re created to have it and God is our very source of life (1 Cor. 8:6, Num. 27:16). Yet we have an incredible propensity to chase after whatever promises life with the least resistance. This isn’t a new problem. The Bible is full of examples in which mankind continually abandoned God in order to chase after another lover. This always proves empty. We’re consuming empty calories that just make us hunger all the more. The spiritual adultery is everywhere because we’re starving yet refusing to enter into a first-person, collaborative relationship with the very source of life (John 5:40); and then we have the audacity to blame God for it.

Explain your idea that Christians need to reframe the Bible and see it as a friend, not a bully.

Brian Hardin: The Bible is the story of God with us. If you take God out of the Bible, there is no Bible. Likewise, if you take people out of the Bible, there is no Bible. The Scriptures bestow a spiritual heritage and history that nothing else can. When we go to it with a scalpel as if we can dissect it, or approach it as an angry authority figure whose mission is to reveal our advanced failure in life, we’re missing the point. We have to approach the Scriptures in context and understand that this is our story. Only then can we dive deeper into the nuances. Rather than hunting for the hidden codes and nuances in the Scriptures, we need to allow them to speak to the nuances of our lives.

How can Christians make “relationship with God” much more than a mere cliché?

Brian Hardin: Ha. It’s an impossible question to answer in two sentences. Read Reframe. That’ll get you started on a path that will lead to irreversible change.

Describe your other project, Promised Land, and how it can be used with the Bible to walk closely with God.

Brian Hardin: The Bible happened in real places. Often we allow the stories in Scripture to play out in our imagination and become mythic. But these stories are rooted in actual places. Promised Land was a four-year film project in which we set out to capture the essence of these places and show much more than a static photograph of a pile of rocks at an ancient ruin. There’s nothing like walking the land of the Bible personally, but Promised Land comes pretty close. We intimately filmed the land for all it’s beauty from angles never before seen and hunted down the stories in the Bible and rooted them in the places they happened. Promised Land is literally a master class in biblical history and geography, and it is epic in its scope and beauty.

What are your thoughts about Bible Gateway and/or the Bible Gateway App, and how they can be used to “reframe” a person, the person’s view of God, and the person’s relationship with God?

Brian Hardin: I love Bible Gateway. I use it every single day of my life as I read the Daily Audio Bible. We’ve partnered with Bible Gateway to offer our audio reading plan so that each day’s readings are emailed along with links to the audio. To make the Bible a constant part of the rhythm of life is to orient our hearts each day to God and I’m convinced there is no other way to survive let alone thrive. Bible Gateway offers the Scriptures and tools to move deeper into a relationship with the Scriptures, which in turn orients us to a first-person, always on, never off, holistically integrated, life-giving collaboration with God in our lives.

Bio: Brian Hardin is a speaker, photographer, record producer and an ordained minister. In 2006, he created the Daily Audio Bible, an online podcast that now delivers 1.5 million downloads a month. He’s the author of Passages: How Reading the Bible in a Year Will Change Everything for You. He has produced over 150 albums and works with artists and the arts extensively. He’s married to Christian musician Jill Parr.

“You’re taking my words out of context!”

We hear variants of this phrase a lot. Politicians are accused of deliberately taking their opponents’ words “out of context.” When we hear an upsetting comment or joke, we’re encouraged to consider whether its context makes it more understandable. And in the Christian world, we are frequently warned about the danger of failing to read Scripture “in context.”

But what is the “context” of the Bible, and how is the average person supposed to be aware of it while reading the Bible? Fortunately, reading the Bible in context is actually quite simple—it’s something you can easily do in the course of your everyday devotions, no seminary degree required. It’s just a matter of asking the right questions as you read God’s Word, and using the right resources to lead you to the answers.

To help you do that, Sarah Travis (@srhtrvs12) at Proverbs 31 Ministries has written an excellent, easy-to-follow guide to reading the Bible in context. Sarah even recorded a video to show you exactly how to read the Bible in context using Bible Gateway (the information about Bible Gateway starts at the 1:15 mark of the video):

Just follow along with Sarah to learn how to use online commentaries, dictionaries, and other resources to get the full context of the Bible passage you’re reading. Be sure to read Sarah’s accompanying blog post after watching the video. The article and video are part of the “Taming the To-Do List” study series, which you can follow at the Proverbs 31 Ministries website.

[Read Encouragement for Today devotional by Proverbs 31 on Bible Gateway and sign up to receive it in your email inbox from Bible Gateway.]

There are also “wicked good” women like Deborah, Ruth, Hannah, Abigail, Esther, Mary, and more. What do their lives tell us about God’s invincible love and his determined plan to save us?

In her new book Wicked Women of the Bible (Zondervan, 2015), Ann Spangler (@annspangler) tells the stories of 20 wicked and “wicked good” women in greater detail. At the end of each story, Ann provides a brief section including additional historical and cultural background as well as a brief Bible study in order to enhance the book’s appeal to both individuals and groups.

The stories of these women of the Bible reveal a God who is not above it all but who stoops down to meet us where we are in order to extend his love and mercy.

[Subscribe to Ann Spangler’s weekly free email devotionals, Women of the Bible and Men of the Bible]

[See our blogpost: Wicked Women of the Bible: An Interview with Ann Spangler]

The following article is an excerpt from Wicked Women of the Bible by Ann Spangler. Visit WickedWomenOfTheBible.com to learn more. Save 47%! Order the new book today from the Bible Gateway Store.

[Also see the book excerpt, A Wicked Birthday Party: The Story of Herodias and Salome]

A Wicked Sorceress: The Story of the Medium of Endor

When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God
giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations
of those nations. There shall not be found among you
any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through
the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or
an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with
familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

For all that do these things are an abomination unto
the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord
thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Deuteronomy 18:9-12

Key Scriptures: 1 Samuel 28:3-25

How a Witch Conjures the Dead

Doom. He feels it moving toward him though he cannot see it, snarly and bristling with malice. No matter how quickly he moves, pivoting to check his back, he can’t seem to get out of its way. He can feel the hair standing up on his neck like hackles on a dog.

It’s been like that for some time. Though Saul has men to guard him, he is afraid to close his eyes at night lest he be overtaken.

Some days are worse than others. Today is the worst.

How he longs for a word from God to shatter the darkness. To tell him all is forgiven and that his kingdom will endure. But there is only silence. He should ask the high priest to consult the Urim and Thummim for him, casting lots to discover whether he will prevail against the Philistines who have gathered in great numbers to attack him. But then he remembers that he has already murdered the high priest and many other priests as well. He fears they are in league with David, who has himself gone over to the Philistines.

Perhaps he should summon an interpreter to read his dreams, butthese days he has no dreams because he sleeps so little.

If only he could ask Samuel for a word, but the old man has already been gathered to his fathers and buried in Ramah.

Now there is only silence. No word from God.

Even when God had spoken to him in the past, the words were rarely to his liking. Before Saul had completed the first year of his reign, Samuel had accused him of being a flat out failure. For just a small miscalculation God had rejected him as king. At least Saul thought it was small. He had merely acted when God had told him to wait. But waiting was for women, not for soldiers under the threat of death.

For one offense and then another and another, Samuel, on behalf of God, had declared him unfit, saying, “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

Though Saul has had his victories, the thing he wants most, he cannot have—to be at peace. To rest secure. After more than forty years of sitting on the throne of Israel, he is still uneasy. Philistines plague him. David eludes him. God abandons him.

He is alone.

The woman is alone too. She is a widow, doing her best to survive. She lives in Endor, not far from where Saul and his men are encamped. Today she feels restless and unsettled, though she cannot say why. Perhaps it is merely a phase of the moon or the souls of dead men who have gathered to watch the looming battle. She only knows the air is electric. But as always she wants to know more, so she fills a small bowl with water. Then she recites an incantation, asking for wisdom from the world beyond to know which way the fight will go. Carefully she pours a small drop of oil on the water’s surface and watches as it splits in two, a sign that great men are about to fall.

Late in the day, when night has fallen, she is startled to find three strangers at her door. One of them is taller by a head than any man she has ever seen. Pushing through the door, he quickly states his business: “Consult a spirit for me, and bring up the one I name,” he says.

But she is no fool. She knows King Saul has strictly forbidden the practice of necromancy, citing the Scripture that says: “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.” Perhaps these are Saul’s men, seeking to entrap her.

“Surely you know,” she replies, “what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”

But the big man, the one who had to fold himself in half, stooping low to get through her door, invokes an oath, promising her, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.”

He is such a mixture of earnestness and power that she believes him. “Whom shall I bring up?” she asks.

“Bring up Samuel,” he says.

She is good at the art of deception. Since she is the only one who can see the visions and hear the voices she summons from beyond, she need only play her part convincingly. So she speaks in guttural tones, rolls her eyes, and makes her body tremble.

What is so bad about reassuring a mother that her dead child is well, uniting lovers across impassible boundaries, or conveying positive omens to all who seek them? She merely wants to do good, to bring hope, and, yes, to find a way to support herself.

So now she makes a show of asking the reigning powers to raise Samuel up from the grave. But before she can engage in the usual pretense, something terrifying happens. She stares wide-eyed and then looks accusingly at Saul.

“Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” she exclaims.

“Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” the king asks.

“I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.”

“What does he look like?”

“An old man wearing a robe is coming up.”

Trembling, Saul kneels with his face to the ground.

“Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” the old man accuses.

“I am in great distress,” Saul tells him. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

Samuel’s reply is carried in the throat of the woman of Endor. “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors — to David. Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. The Lord will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also hand over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”

The prophet’s words rush at Saul with nightmare force, and he collapses. He is too weak to rise, overcome by fear and hunger, for he has eaten nothing for a day and a night.

Seeing how shaken he is—and she is shaken too—the witch pleads with him, saying, “Look, your servant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do. Now please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way.”

At first Saul refuses. But his men urge him to eat, and he relents.

Slaughtering a fattened calf, the woman quickly prepares it along with some bread.

After they have eaten, she watches the king and his men depart. Staring out, she notes a shadow that is darker than the moonlit night. Hungry and bristling with malice, it trails a little distance behind the king. She knows that it will not be long until it overtakes him. With a shudder and a prayer, she closes her door.

The Takeaway

What three to five words would you use to describe the character of the woman of Endor? Consider any positive as well as negative attributes. The story showcases how far Saul had fallen. Though a courageous and naturally gifted man, he met a tragic and pathetic end. What does this story reveal about the consequences of trusting yourself more than God?

The above excerpt is from Wicked Women of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by Ann Spangler. Used by permission of Zondervan. www.Zondervan.com. All rights reserved. Taken from pp. 112-115.

Do you have enemies?

Some people live in places where their enemies threaten them with physical harm or death. But for most of us, “enemy” means something a little different—our enemy might be a hostile coworker; a bully at school; an angry neighbor; an opponent in sports, politics, or another arena who doesn’t play fair.

Do you consider those people your enemies? And if so, could you say that you love them?

One of Jesus’ most memorable sermons challenges us to rethink everything about how we treat people who hate us.

Matthew 5:43-48

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. — Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV)

That command is as challenging to us today as it was to Jesus’ original audience. Christians have long struggled to understand what it means to love somebody who hates you, persecutes you, or even wishes you dead. One modern pastor who had a lot of enemies, yet who felt challenged by this Scripture passage, was the civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. Here’s what he had to say about this Scripture passage:

…it’s significant that he does not say, “Like your enemy.” Like is a sentimental something, an affectionate something. There are a lot of people that I find it difficult to like. I don’t like what they do to me. I don’t like what they say about me and other people. I don’t like their attitudes. I don’t like some of the things they’re doing. I don’t like them. But Jesus says love them. And love is greater than like. Love is understanding, redemptive goodwill for all men, so that you love everybody, because God loves them. You refuse to do anything that will defeat an individual, because you have agape in your soul. And here you come to the point that you love the individual who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does. This is what Jesus means when he says, “Love your enemy.” This is the way to do it. When the opportunity presents itself when you can defeat your enemy, you must not do it.

Questions to Consider

Do you have people you would consider enemies? What, in your opinion, makes someone an enemy?
What is your instinctive reaction when people badmouth, belittle, or purposely thwart you?
Is what Jesus commands in this passage really possible? Have you ever seen somebody put this command into practice? If this command runs counter to our natural inclinations, how can we reach a point of loving our enemies?
Are there people in your life who might consider you an enemy? Have you ever been on the receiving end of “love your enemy”?

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A Wicked Sorceress: The Story of the Medium of Endor

A Wicked Sorceress: The Story of the Medium of Endor

How a Witch Conjures the Dead

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Scripture Reflection: The Hardest Commandment

Matthew 5:43-48

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