Ephraim went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son; and he named him Beriah, because disaster had befallen his house. His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah.
1 Chronicles 7:23-24 NSRV
The Book of 1 Chronicles is not one that we read often. It is essentially a historical record, tracing the rise of the Jewish people from Adam to King David. It is filled with a lot of “begats.” And as you read through the list, it is apparent that it was a patriarchal society back then.
But then occasionally, you will see a woman’s name appear. Such is the case for Sheerah in this Scripture. Sheerah is one of the Sheroes we are talking about during the month of July, ordinary women who God used to do extraordinary things. Sheerah was a descendant of Ephraim, who was the son of Joseph - the Joseph with the coat of many colors from the book of Genesis. Many of the men in Ephraim’s family were killed in a raid by a neighboring people. That is the “disaster” that is mentioned in the Scripture passage. This is the only mention of Sheerah in the Bible.
But what we can read into the passage is that she did not let the fact that much of her kindred were killed nor that she was a woman in a male-dominated society hinder her. Sheerah began to build. She had a dream and a plan. And she carried it out to build 3 cities, Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. It was no easy task to build cities back then. Everything had to be done by hand. And it was no easy task for a woman to be accepted as a leader to lead such an endeavor. But Sheerah did.
Later, Lower and Upper Beth-horon become strategically vital locations for Joshua and his men as they defeat the Amorites after being surrounded by them. It is the place where in history, God made the sun “stand still” for a full day. And the city of Uzzen-sheerah? Well, the name literally means in Hebrew, “listen to Sheerah.”
So, let us listen and follow the example of Sheerah. What foundation are we building for the future despite the odds? How are we following God’s lead in our life?
Be sure to check out other Sheroes of faith on St. Andrew's UMC YouTube Channel: "SHEroes: Ordinary Women. Extraordinary Faith."
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