God’s call of Israel to be a blessing to the nations, began the long road out of bondage to freedom. Yet the law could not make this right. The law of Moses improved woman’s lot yet still accommodated the hardness of men’s hearts (Deuteronomy 24:1-4 and Matthew 19:1-9). By the time of Jesus, women were valued pieces of male property, not quite considered fully human under the law. They live with better conditions than the Babylonians but are not treated as restored or redeemed to the divine intention (Deuteronomy 22-24).
Yet there are signs of redemption at work. Moses’ sister Miriam leads all of Israel in worshiping the Lord who delivers (Exodus 15:1-18). Deborah, a prophetess and judge gifted by the Holy Spirit, appears in the narrative without precedence (Judges 4). According to the text, Deborah is a judge because the Lord has gifted her and raised her up to be judge. The prophetess Huldah spoke for God to the king of Israel (2 Kings 22). We move through Israel’s history from the Old Testament prophetesses to the outpouring of the Spirit on all who call on the name of the Lord, thereby gifting men and women with the gift of prophecy (Acts 2:14-42).