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If “God the Father” has been the only picture of God you’ve ever been given, you might not realize how much of Scripture you’re missing, and how much comfort might be locked behind that one doorway. I’m joined by Elizabeth Berget, speaker and author of "Love Like a Mother: How the Sacred Work of Motherhood Reveals the Maternal Heart of God," to explore a biblically rooted and historically grounded idea that can feel both startling and healing: God loves us like a mother.

We talk honestly about why “God as Mother” can trigger panic or pushback, especially for people trying to hold tightly to orthodoxy and avoid creating God in our own image. Elizabeth shares why the belief that God has no gender is not a modern invention, and why maternal language is not a replacement for Father language, but an expansion that helps us take the whole Bible seriously. Along the way, we dig into why churches have often ignored these passages, how male-centered perspectives shape preaching and discipleship, and how women are often forced to translate faith through metaphors that never reflect them back.

We also get practical and pastoral: how the maternal heart of God speaks to postpartum anxiety, exhaustion, and the pressure to “do it right,” plus how this message lands for people facing infertility, childlessness, loss, estranged relationships, or complicated family stories. If you’ve ever thought, “I just need my mom,” this conversation offers a fresh way to experience God’s gentleness and care.

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Follow Elizabeth Berget:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabeth_a_berget/
• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@elizabeth_a_berget
• Substack: https://elizabethberget.substack.com/
• Website: https://elizabethberget.com/

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To join Jessica LM Jenkins' mailing list, or access the full research bibliography for this episode visit www.wewhothirst.com/links .

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Five women approach Israel’s highest leaders with a simple question that turns into a nation-shaping legal reform: what happens to a household when a father dies with no sons? We walk through the daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 27 and watch them bring a clear, courageous case to Moses, Eleazar, and the assembly. Then we slow down and read what God actually does with their request, because the ruling is bigger than a one-time exception. It becomes biblical inheritance law for all Israel.

Along the way, we build the backstory from Numbers 26, where the census sets up how land in the promised land will be divided by tribes, clans, and households. That context matters because ancient Israel is not operating with modern individualism or a modern “women’s rights” framework. The household is the core social unit, and land is not just property, it is covenant, legacy, and belonging. We also talk about why a “name” matters so much, how afterlife assumptions shape the fear of being forgotten, and why God’s response points to faithfulness over pedigree.

We also tackle the follow-up in Numbers 36, where tribal leaders raise a real concern about land drifting across tribes through marriage and Jubilee. God’s amendment protects tribal unity without erasing the daughters’ inheritance, and Joshua 17 shows the ruling applied when Israel finally enters the land. If you care about women in the Bible, Mosaic Law, ancient Israel, covenant theology, or how Scripture protects the vulnerable, this story has more depth than most people realize.

Subscribe for more Bible law breakdowns, share this with a friend who loves the Old Testament, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What question do you still have about the daughters of Zelophehad?

To learn more about the role of Matriarchs: https://youtu.be/OO-E36xt_2E?si=bKp6fpO4BF8VEDim

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Follow We Who Thirst on Instagram, Threads, or YouTube!

To join Jessica LM Jenkins' mailing list, or access the full research bibliography for this episode visit www.wewhothirst.com/links .

Thank you for supporting the Women of the Bible in Context podcast, your contributions make this ministry possible!

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What do you do when someone’s theology has walls built around it, especially on women preaching and women in church leadership? I’m trying a looser “coffee chat” format and taking your real questions from Instagram DMs and my weekly AMA, answering candidly with the research background I already have and pointing you to better sources when I can.

We start by naming the spectrum of complementarianism (hard, middle, soft) and why hard complementarians often won’t hear egalitarian arguments head-on. My angle is to back up and talk hermeneutics: how we interpret Scripture, how much historical context matters, and how we weigh commands against patterns like women prophets and teachers. I also share a conversation starter that tends to expose hidden assumptions: Scripture tells wives to submit, but where does it explicitly command husbands to lead?

From there, we jump into questions on Mary’s genealogy and why Joseph’s genealogy shows up in the Gospels, including a fascinating scholarly proposal about how first-century people may have understood Joseph’s fatherhood. We also tackle parental estrangement and abuse dynamics, what “honor your father and mother” can mean when contact is unsafe, whether “care for widows and orphans” should include single women today (especially given ancient household economics), the ethical tension in Psalm 51 with Bathsheba, and why “biblical marriage” is not a plug-and-play template for modern romantic choice.

Subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, share this with a friend who loves Bible interpretation and real-life application, and leave a review telling me which question you want me to tackle next.

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Follow We Who Thirst on Instagram, Threads, or YouTube!

To join Jessica LM Jenkins' mailing list, or access the full research bibliography for this episode visit www.wewhothirst.com/links .

Thank you for supporting the Women of the Bible in Context podcast, your contributions make this ministry possible!