Hurt Her Instead

Accounts of rape and assault are abundant in the Bible yet 95% of Christian women say they have never heard a sermon preached on the topic. Meanwhile, sexual violence ravages our communities: one in five women will be raped in their lifetime in the UK. Why is what the Bible has to say about rape so little known, studied and talked about? In Hurt Her Instead, sexual violence advisor Rebecca Russell presents easy-to-read, empowering explorations of four of the most horrific and confusing stories in the Bible: the rape of the concubine (Judges 19-21); King Xerxes rape of Esther and other young women (Esther 1-2); Bathsheba and David (2 Samuel 11-12); and Amnon’s rape of Tamar (2 Samuel 13). With the help of study questions and exercises, she shows how these narratives are relevant to our lives today, giving us God’s perspective, teaching and correction on an issue we have thus far seemed powerless to combat. If we do not know how to approach God’s stories of rape, we have no hope of responding with love and effectiveness when a victim shares their story in our church today.