Humans are funny creatures. We are so prepared to judge someone or something based on our first impressions. We look at a person walking up to us on the street and immediately we’re sussing them up as either a friend or foe so we can plan accordingly. We join a bible study group with preconceptions about who we’ll meet, what we’ll discuss, what we think about the Bible, the Catholic Church…

There is nothing wrong with being human and judging people in advance. It’s our nature, probably a survival mechanism formed at the very beginning of human development. The hazards, as we find in Judith and Esther, come when we aren’t self-aware enough to see how we are judging others, and how our actions and beliefs might not let truth shine through.

Botticelli’s rendition of Judith and her maid returning to Bethulia. (This is the cover art for our book.)

Judith is one of the lesser known heroines of the Old Testament, but her story for me is singular in its ability to remind us of human nature and how God asks us not to live at the superficial level. This story commands the reader to go much deeper than the surface in our connections with God’s creations (human or otherwise).

Judith is a widow, but she is far from the helpless solitary woman whom the Old Testament laws caution society to protect. She needs little protection. Nor is she a wife aggrieved by a cheating husband. She is a proud and faithful Jew, whose husband she remains faithful to even after his death. She is incredibly beautiful, but her intelligence is her greatest asset. She defies all stereotypes.

Yet everyone else it seems misjudges her. How many times do we find characters in this story incapable of seeing past Judith’s beauty? They are captivated, astounded, marvel at Judith’s comeliness. Holofernes burns with desire to possess her — a fatal miscalculation.

What I love most about Judith and this story is that Judith doesn’t let her superficial qualities overpower her heart and her faithfulness to God. She knows she is capable of so much more than being “eye candy,” and she uses her wisdom and courage to do God’s will. In fact, as Uzziah duly notes, Judith’s wisdom corresponds to the worthy dispositions of her heart (Jud 8:29).

Susanna faces the same dilemma in our final chapter of Women in the Old Testament. The two elders who plot her rape sorely misjudge their victim’s wisdom and willingness to remain faithful to God. Susanna’s trust that God will protect her is so powerful for me, especially at this time in my life when I have been wondering what God’s plan for me is, and how I can care for my family and do his will at the same time.

Susanna is set upon by two elders.

Susanna pleads to God: “… you know what is hidden and are aware of all things…” She chooses not to engage in an earthly defense, but trusts in God “wholeheartedly.” And how does God work? Through a lowly boy, Daniel. How marvelously ironic. The Israelites were prepared to condemn an innocent woman to death, and a “young boy” uses God’s wisdom to save her.

How many of us would have trusted Daniel or any young boy in such a precarious situation? If we were defending Woodbury from a siege, would we send a beautiful widow out to the enemy to save us?

Judging others is such a dicey proposition. Trying to discern the truth of another person’s character is incredibly difficult. We all may have intuition, but how often have even our most certain determinations been?

I don’t think God necessarily wants us to project our beliefs on other people or pretend that we “understand” them. As we see at Judith 8:14, it may be near impossible for us to plumb the deaths of the human heart. But I do believe that God wants us to let others speak up and speak out, to share their feelings and beliefs, to make a case for their human dignity. We need to be prepared for the God of surprises to surprise us through others.