Mary & Others

We can profitably compare Mary with many women in the Old Testament, such as Eve, Leah, Miriam, Ruth, Bathsheba. However six particular women who had one thing in common with each other are particularly linked to Mary. Their experiences were no doubt intended to point forward to and prepare the way for the virgin birth itself. I refer to Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Samson's mother, Hannah and Elizabeth (an OT woman in a NT setting). John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets, the forerunner of Jesus. His mother, Elizabeth, was the last in a line of women unable to conceive except by a miracle and the one nearest in time to Mary herself. We can make several points.
1. All these women were mothers to first born sons who were significant men that we read of in the Bible.
Sarah - Isaac, from whom came the children of Israel; Rebekah - the mother of Jacob or Israel (as well as Esau); Rachel - Joseph (as well as Benjamin). Joseph was Jacob's favourite because of his godliness and was appointed his eldest son (1 Ch 5:2). He was very much the Saviour of his people when he went ahead of them down into Egypt where figuratively he died and rose again (Ps 105:17); Manoah's wife - Samson was a significant judge. He began the deliverance from the Philistines; Hannah - Samuel was the last of the judges, a prophet, a godly man and the one who prepared the way for King David; Elizabeth - John the Baptist, the last of the prophets and the immediate forerunner of Christ. Mary - Jesus Christ, the Saviour himself, whom these other men could only point to and prepare for.
2. They were all women unable to have children in the normal course of things but in whose lives God worked to bring about a significant birth. All six were initially barren. The first and the last (Sarah and Elizabeth) became too old to have children anyway. A particular note is made of their joy in both cases (Gen 18:6, 7; Lk 1:58). Mary is also joyful (Lk 1:46-49).
Sarah - Gn 16:2, 18:12; Ro 4:19, He 11:11; Rebekah - Gn 25:32; Rachel - Gn 29:31; Manoah's wife - Jg 13:2, 3; Hannah – 1 Sa 1:3ff; Elizabeth - Lk 1:7. Mary's problem was that though she had reached mature enough years to conceive, she was a virgin until after Jesus was born.
3. All these women showed themselves to be imperfect but women of faith and virtue to some extent. We see submission in Sarah, generosity and selflessness in Rebekah, commitment and perseverance in Rachel, good sense in Manoah's wife, devotion and dedication in Hannah, thankfulness in Elizabeth. Mary is marked particularly by humility but other virtues too.
As for imperfections, we see that in Mary's failure to understand Jesus as she should have. We see unbelief in Sarah's scheming and laughter (Gn 16; 18:12), Rebekah's scheming and tricks, Rachel's idolatry and willingness to trust in other means (Gn 31:19; the mandrakes, Gn 30). The latter three are more free from obvious signs of sin.
4. The first three women are important as mothers in Israel building up the family line. Like Mary they gave birth to children of promise (Gn 21:1, etc; Gn 25:3 and Rom 9). Without the miracles in their lives there would have been no Jewish race and so no Messiah.
The latter three arrive on the scene after the Jews are well established as a people. What they have in common is that each of their sons (Samson, Samuel and John) appear to have been Nazirites from birth (Jg 13:4, 5; 1 Sa 1:11, 28; Lk 1:15 ). Jesus was not a Nazirite in the proper sense but was entirely dedicated to God and is the fulfilment of the Nazirite idea. In the cases of Samson, Samuel and John there are clearly references to them being moved by the Spirit from early on (Jg 13:25; 1 Sa 3:19-21; Lk 1:15 ). This is a mark of Christ himself. Another theme common to the last three is the way they shine in comparison to their menfolk. Manoah's wife certainly outshines him in logic and good sense (Jg 13:22, 23) and is clearly the outstanding one. Something similar is true of Hannah and Elkanah. With Elizabeth and Zechariah the faith of the former and the lack of faith of the latter are obvious. Mary's faith is especially contrasted, not with Joseph's, but with Zechariah's lack of it (Lk 1). Something else that stands out about these three and Mary herself is that they give birth at times of great moral declension and corruption.
5. Obvious contrasts are how Rachel and Hannah, unlike Mary, had to share their husbands. All the women were married and older than Mary, of course, some much older. Although Hannah and Mary sing songs, Sarah and Elizabeth only express their gladness in prose. Elizabeth's husband sings, however. Unlike Mary, Sarah and Rachel died before their husbands.
6. The women have more particular connection with Mary.
Sarah and Mary were both reminded of God’s power to do the impossible (Gn 18:14; Lk 1:37). Rebekah and Mary are both virgins when we first encounter them. Rebekah is described (Gn 24:16) as very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. If Mary was not outwardly beautiful, she certainly had that inner beauty that Peter commends. Rachel and Mary had a strong Bethlehem connection. See Gn 35:16, 48:7 concerning Rachel's death (also Ru 4:11). Also Je 31:15, which is quoted in Mt 2:18.
Manoah's wife, like Sarah and Mary, received an angelic visit to announce the birth of their sons. In the case of Manoah and his wife and Abraham and his they met with a theophany, while Mary was visited by Gabriel. Like Mary, Manoah's wife hears the news before her husband. Hannah's son Samuel, John and Jesus are said to have grown up in the Lord (1 Sa 2:21; Lk 1:80, 2:40, 2:52). Elizabeth was told through her husband, like Mary, to give her son a specific name.