The Most Overlooked Women of the Bible: What Their Stories Teach Us about Being Seen and Heard

This is the second book of author Mary DeMuth’s The Women of the Bible series. The first is The Most Misunderstood Women of the Bible: What Their Stories Teach Us About Thriving, and a third book, The Most Overwhelmed Women of the Bible: How Their Stories Help Us Find Peace, will be released later this year.

DeMuth invites female readers to view biblical characters through the lens of their humanity: “We make the mistake of thinking the people in the Bible are characters, but not fully alive human beings with problems and angst just like us. They weren’t superhuman; they were simply human. They weren’t archetypes or stereotypes; they were plain types of folks. When we finally come to realize that the Bible is peopled with people just like us, it becomes both an encouragement and a cautionary tale of human behavior.”

As DeMuth narrates ways in which biblical women were overlooked and how they coped with that reality, she candidly, yet briefly, shares her own painful experiences of abuse, neglect, and being unnoticed and discounted, giving authenticity to her reflections.

Some of the characters DeMuth explores are probably familiar to readers, some not so much. In each instance, DeMuth points out lessons that can be learned from the women. For example, Tamar of Judah teaches readers “to trust that God will work on our behalf,” Zelophehad’s daughters point to the need “to speak up when we’re overlooked,” Abigail shows how a woman can thrive even in a problematic relationship, and Martha reveals how “to become a friend of Jesus.”

DeMuth points to Jesus as “the Overlooked One” who never ignores or neglects his children. Her prayer for her audience is that they begin to experience healing and to notice others in their everyday lives because God has never overlooked them.

Each chapter concludes with discussion questions, making this inspiring and informative book suitable for individual and small group study. (Regnery Faith)