The context in this prophecy is after Jesus has been crucified and resurrected that those who share the gospel message will produce many more [spiritual] children than if a woman was married to a husband in her physical lifetime. This will be fulfilled after Jesus returns and the gospel message will be offered to those Israelite nations and the rest of mankind back to Adam. "For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!' " (Luke 23:29) "Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" ' (Hosea 10:8; Revelation 6:15-16) Here Jesus is comforting the women who were weeping for him by telling them that a worse fate is coming and when it does it is better never to have had children than to watch them suffer in captivity or be killed in a tribulation that will come before he returns to bring peace and justice. A spiritual child is forever grateful for the gift of love and life which is much more of a blessing than physical children who despise you and your God. "Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." (Luke 12:53) The First Barren Woman
Sarai (Sarah) The number seven here is an interesting one since it usually means some completed act by God. These seven women were devout and there was no reason to punish these ladies with barrenness. The first one was mother Sarai later called Sarah. She waited until she was in her nineties before she bore Isaac which means laughter. He was the child of promise and from her barrenness all the nations would be blessed so in a sense this one child is the beginning of that blessing to all of the nations mentioned in Isaiah 54:1 above. See a better explanation in Galatians 4:27. The Second Barren Woman
Rebekah The second woman was Rebekah. Not only was Isaac's mother barren so was his own wife Rebekah. The odds of this happening in three consecutive generations naturally are phenomenal. She prayed and then Isaac petitioned God and when she finally conceived after twenty years of marriage she had twins. These two sons were battling in her womb for the full nine months and distressed her so much that she asked the Lord God why. His answer was that two very different nations are in her womb. One that God would love and protect and one that he would not. In Malachi 1:2-3 it says that God hated Esau but loved Jacob. From Jacob comes the House of Israel, the chosen family from whom God would call his first fruits as a body of witnesses to his ways, beginning with his only begotten Son Jesus the Christ. The Third Barren Woman
Rachel The third woman was Jacob's beloved wife, Rachel. She was the younger of two sisters. Jacob's uncle deceived him as he had deceived his father Isaac. Rachel produced two very important sons but only two. Joseph who symbolized the Christ in Egypt for his family because his character brought physical salvation to them from a severe famine. The youngest child in this family was Benjamin and Rachel lost her life giving birth to this child. Rachel's surrogate child through Bilhah her maid was Dan who is also represented in this list. Does this have something to do with the reference to Rachel's weeping? "Thus says the LORD: 'A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.' " (Jeremiah 31:15) "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more." (Mt. 2:18) The Fourth Barren Woman
Samson's Mother The fourth woman in the Scripture who was barren was Samson's mother the wife of Manoah of the tribe of Dan. She prayed to God and he permitted her to have one son who was to be one of the strongest physically of all of the judges in that period of Israelite history. Samson was given to the priests of God as a Nazarite vow from his grateful mother and his hair was never cut until a crafty Philistine woman Delilah tricked Samson into telling her what made him so strong and supernaturally powerful. His resolve proved to bring the downfall of the Philistines and their god Dagon. The Fifth Barren Woman
Hannah The fifth woman was the second wife of Elkanah the Ephraimite who was called Hannah. She also prayed and they thought that she was drunk but the Lord God heard her prayer and she was given a son called Samuel. She too was grateful and dedicated her only son to the priests of the Lord God of Israel. After he was weaned he lived in the High Priest's house and took over the judgeship when Eli's and his own sons died for their sins. Samuel was responsible for anointing both Kings Saul and David. The Sixth Barren Woman
Michal The sixth woman was the first wife of David, Saul's daughter Michal. She loved David but her father took her out of David's house and annulled their marriage and gave her to another. She was the prize for the man who could bring down the dreaded Goliath of Gath. There is some jealousy and broken promises in this story. The Seventh Barren Woman
Elizabeth The seventh and final woman of the Scripture was Elizabeth the wife of Zacharis who was barren but in her old age conceived a son. This son was the cousin of Jesus of Nazareth. He was the son of the Levitical priestly clans and was called John the Baptist. Jesus called him the greatest man born of woman. He was killed by Herod the Great to please his stepdaughter's lustful wishes for a charming dance on his birthday. So when God closes a womb and then opens it there is a very profound reason for doing so. Each of these sons played a vital role in the history of the Nation of Israel and their spiritual or symbolic counterparts in her future. The tribes represented by these six sons are Israel and Esau, Joseph, Ephraim, Dan, Levi, Benjamin. The only one whose womb remained closed was the first wife of David, Michal. And you do notice that each of these women had only sons and no girl children showing a special purpose for these miracles to take place in the plan of God. I get the feeling that these seven women represent the spiritual completion of the necessary steps toward the telling and reception of the gospel message. From the Son of Promise to the Voice Crying in the Wilderness, each one represents some aspect of what we can expect to be fulfilled in the future. We understand that evidence is mounting that cannot be refuted as to the identity of Joseph's descendents today from his sons Ephraim and Manessah which is the United Kingdom and the United States of America respectively. Benjamin may be Iceland and maybe part of Norway. Dan's descendents can be found where the place names have been given to honor that patriarch. They ended up in Scandinavia and Denmark and Ireland mostly, but migrated up the Don, Dneiper and Danube and Dneister rivers in Ukraine. Levi is scattered among all of the nations of Israel to where ever they migrated. And Esau or Edom is expected to become an ever threatening enemy of the sons of Israel as time goes on. | 