Great Women in the Bible Lesson 18
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Countless young Christian girls and women have been blessed by
Dorcas Classes, in which they learn how to serve the Lord, and
especially how to be zealous for good works and acts of charity.
Our ancient sister after whom these classes are named certainly had
no idea her works would have so far reaching an impact. In Hebrew,
her name was Tabitha, which means Gazelle, and like a Gazelle her
good works have leaped graciously off the page of Scripture into
the
Full of Good Works Read Ephesians 2:10; 1Timothy 5:24-25; Titus
2:14;
James 1:27; Acts 9:36-42
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1. Does it seem the practical thing to carry a dead body into an
upper room? 2. How do you understand the Bible when it teaches us
to be zealous for good works? 3. What does it mean to be full of
good works and charity?
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4. Did Tabitha practice pure and undefiled religion? 5. Was
Tabitha a disciple of Jesus? If so, what does this mean? 6. Have
you thought about how you wish to be remembered? What are you doing
about it?
Questions for Discussion
Facts About Tabitha (AKA Dorcas)
Sewing in the ancient world was done by hand, and was a
time-consuming, labor-intensive process. It was mostly considered
womans work, and this remained so until recent times. Until the
Industrial Revolution, clothing was an expensive investment for
most people, which meant most people had few garments that they
attempted to maintain for as long as possible.
Especially before the Industrial Revolution, the cost of
purchasing and maintaining clothing was especially hard on the
poor. The poorest could literally be left naked or practically so
when their sole set of clothes wore out. The widows Tabitha-Dorcas
helped would have likely been poor or very poor. While receiving
hand-sewn work as a gift today is a treasured novelty, what she did
for them was both life and dignity saving.
Tabitha - Dorcas
We know John 4 teaches there are no places on earth holier than
others, but several instances in Scripture, especially Jesus use of
the upper room, seem to reveal a tradition of symbolic meaning in
the minds of First Century believers.
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hearts of all we who have been touched by her brief, but
beautiful story. We who believe do not all have the same gifts and
abilities, but all our abilities are from God and are powerful for
affecting this world for good and advancing the cause of the
kingdom. Paul wrote, The parts of the body that seem to be weaker
are indispensable (1Corinthians 12:22). The works of the sister
about whom we know so little, but for whose loss all the widows
wept, is the epitome of this truth. May we all take a lesson from
Tabitha, or Dorcas as she was called in Greek, and live lives full
of good works and acts of charity. There is probably nothing more
powerful in this world for good.
