A Bible Study for Rape and Sex Trafficking Victims
“Ms. Tanya, is God mad at me for leaving home and disobeying my daddy?” This was the question from a young woman who had been sex trafficked by her dad. I replied, “No, sweetie, He’s not.” She then shocked me and asked, “Are you sure? Daddy told me if I didn’t do what he asked me to do [having sex with his “friends”] that God would be mad at me. He even showed me in the Bible where it said I had to do what he told me to do or it was a sin.” I said, “WHAT!? There’s nothing in the Bible that says your daddy can make you have sex with other men.” She replied emphatically, “Yes there is, he showed me.” As we talked, I realized that her church deacon daddy showed her the Commandment to “honor your father” and told her that if she didn’t honor him by allowing these other men to rape and abuse her body, as he instructed, it would be a sin against God and she’d be punished.
Message of Hope, Restoration, and Redemption
This man twisted the beautiful, life-giving words of God for his own perverted and evil purposes. This is nothing new, though. God’s Words have been used throughout time, beginning in the third chapter of Genesis, to manipulate, oppress, deceive, subdue, and overpower. The messages this young lady heard from her trafficker, the way the Bible was interpreted to her, devalued her and all women. I’ve sat through sermons that were presented in a way that devalued women. This young lady, and other women, have not been introduced to the God of the Bible who loves, redeems, and restores. She was not introduced to the God who sees us, liberates us, and who gives us hope and a future.
That young trafficking victim’s story may not be your story. Many of us face something in our lives that cause us to question if God sees us and if He really loves us. Your story might be you were raped as a child or adult, sexually assaulted, physically assaulted, participated in something you now regret, shame over a decision or action, or manipulated and conned by someone you loved. You may simply be curious as to what the Bible, and thus God, really says about women.
How Long God Until You Rescue Me?
The Psalmist in verse 13:1-4 (ESV) lamented, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorry in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed over him,’ lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.” Have you uttered those words before? I know I sure have.
You may have questioned God. I certainly did back in 2005 when I went through a traumatic situation, I was left crying out to God, “Where are you, God? How long until you save me?” My Bible study,Seen, seeks to answer at least one of those questions. God is with you, He sees you. The second question, “how long,” cannot be answered by anyone except God. However, we will see that God does save, He redeems, and He restores.
Why Do Bad Things Happen?
When I ask God why these things happened to me, or why there’s rape, trafficking, or these other evils or bad things, I really don’t get an answer that satisfies and brings any amount of comfort to the “why.” Sure, I know the theological answer about sin entering the world, but that doesn’t bring comfort. Explaining to a rape victim the theology behind sin entering the world, and that’s why bad people do bad things, brings her no amount of comfort. When my heart was ripped out of my chest, leaving a gaping hole of pain and destruction, theological answers is not what brought relief. What God points to, when answering the “why,” is His presence and His love.
God’s Everlasting Love
The Prophet Jeremiah delivered God’s message, writing:
“At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus says the Lord: ‘The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers’” (31:1-4, ESV).
Returning to Psalm 13 to get the “rest of the story” in verses 5-6, the Psalmist wrote, “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” After his lament, the Psalmist fell back on his faith. He had a history with God and knew God’s love as unfailing. He turned his lament into a praise, knowing that his time of darkness would eventually end and there would be light again. He knew God’s love to be unfailing and everlasting.
Seen: A study of 5 Biblical Women
When I started writing the Bible study, Seen: A study of 5 Biblical women who were deceived, raped, and disregarded yet seen by God, I had a plan as to what it would be and who it was for. That was my plan, though, not God’s. He changed that plan mid-way through writing this because He had a bigger purpose. He wanted this study to be for any woman who needs to know of His everlasting love, the woman who has been deceived and overlooked, but He specifically wanted this written as a special message for the woman who has been sexually assaulted, raped, or trafficked. God wants this message of everlasting love to reach those women in particular, and for those women to know He sees you.
God’s Love for Women
God’s love is tender to women. I’m reminded of the story of the bleeding woman in Luke 8. This woman was “unclean” due to her bleeding problem. She was likely ostracized, isolated, and ashamed. She tried to stay in the shadows, to not cause a stir, to not be noticed, so when she decided to step out of the shadows to reach out and touch Jesus for healing, she approached Jesus from behind to not be seen. Yet, Jesus did see her. Not only did He see her, in verse 48, Jesus called her “daughter,” a soft and tender declaration of how special she is.
Then there’s the story of the woman with the alabaster jar found in Luke 7:36-50. By all accounts this woman was likely a prostitute. After Jesus asked the question about who will love Him more, a person with a large debt or small debt, He turned back to the woman. Let’s pick up this story in verse 44 (ESV), “Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman?’”
The God Who Sees You
Jesus physically turned to her, told the other men to look at her, and Jesus remained looking at her the entire time He talked to the men. He didn’t take His eyes off her and He has not taken His eyes off you, either. His tender love and mercy are available to you as it was that woman with the alabaster jar.
The Bible Study
Seen is now available as a pdf download available HERE, and in paperback edition available HERE. Get your copy today!