I am currently in Birmingham, Alabama, to celebrate a friend’s wedding. A former boss and always-mentor of mine, Sheryl, retired last spring from a long and fruitful career and is now getting married to Wally. I am thrilled for both of them! Getting to come to their wedding gives me a chance to visit other dear friends and mentors such as Barbara, Andrea, Joyce, Joye, and Denise. I have been blessed my whole life to be surrounded by women who modeled a Christ-like lifestyle, challenged me academically, and set the bar high professionally. Their examples taught me so much more than their words ever could. Which brings me to this week’s topic: biblical women mentors (Can we change that word to “womentors”?) *sigh* . . . probably not.

Two biblical pairs I want us to consider this week are Naomi and Ruth from the Hebrew Scriptures and Elizabeth and Mary from the New Testament. I want to share some of the unique aspects of their relationships that have informed my own aspirations of the kind of mentor I want to be. Most of us are aware that the story of Naomi and Ruth is found first in the book of Ruth in the Hebrew Scriptures, yet we may not know the significance of Ruth’s name being mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter of Matthew. And while we may know that Elizabeth was the relative to whom Mary ran when she found out she would be the mother of Jesus, we may not see on the surface the prophetic quality of Elizabeth’s greeting as revealed in the first chapter of Luke.

The story we read in the book of Ruth is not far different from a modern-day, how-to-get-a-husband soap opera script, which seems a bit unseemly to modern-day Western Christians. However, the commitment Ruth expresses to her mother-in-law is still used in documents, songs, and wedding ceremonies today. And the mentoring of Ruth by Naomi results in blessings for them beyond their wildest imaginations. They had no idea that they were part of the family tree of the Messiah, which Matthew delineates for us in the first chapter of the New Testament. Genealogy lists did not typically include women’s names in biblical times, and yet, Matthew includes 5 women in the list of Jesus’ family heritage: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. Ruth was an outsider, from a bloodline hated by the Israelites, yet God used her to help create the family tree for the Messiah. Ruth’s son was even seen as a “son” for Naomi, although there was no blood relation at all between them. Our God has a way of bringing the right people together at the right time to fulfill plans beyond all we could ask or imagine. Take a few minutes to read the short, four-chapter book of Ruth and then read the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew sometime this week and be reminded that just as God had a plan for Naomi and Ruth’s lives, God also has a plan for yours.

Then, while you are already in the New Testament, turn to the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke and read with fresh eyes the story of Elizabeth and the birth of her son, who grew up to be John the Baptist. Within this story is the famous “Magnificat” known the world over as the song of Mary who praises God for caring for the poor and lowly. However, tucked into Luke 1:39-45, the seven verses before Mary’s Song of Praise begins, we discover that Elizabeth is the first person in scripture who confirms to Mary that she will be the mother of the Lord. As far as scripture reveals, no one but Mary knew that she was pregnant, and Elizabeth’s voice of admiration and adoration is often overlooked as a prophetic word. I have long wondered what the late-night conversations were like between Elizabeth and Mary during the three months Mary stayed with Elizabeth while they were both pregnant by miraculous means. The fact that God made sure these two women got to experience these pregnancies together shows me that God cares about women’s relationships, God will provide wise encouragers for us, and God uses a woman’s voice to speak the truth even when others may overlook its significance.

Thank you, dear mentors of mine, for investing in me and helping me learn how to discern God’s voice and how to follow God’s leading in my own life.