Womanly Wisdom?

Today's reading was in Numbers 25-28.

Zelophehad had only daughters, no sons.  In Numbers 27, they approach Moses and query him regarding preserving the line of their father.  Moses brings their cause before the Lord.  The Lord affirms if a man died having no sons, a daughter should be heir.  Quite an amazing decision for a woman.

Which made me think, they weren't giving counsel, rather questioning.  Contrast their attitude with a recent article I read in Leben Magazine: Anna Spafford and The Shipwreck of the American Colony.

Which was frankly, quite a sad eye opener.  Anna Spafford is not an example of godly womanhood.  The article isn't currently available online and while trying to find more information I came across these:

Horatio Spafford: Not Well With His Soul - I perused through and this article seems to contain a lot of the same information as the Leben article.  Though this writer questioned whether continuing to sing It Is Well With My Soul was acceptable.

It Is Well With My Soul: An Exposition of My Favorite Hymn - Part 1 and Part 2.  Again, skimming through, this author references the article above but takes a different position on continuing to sing the song.  Because I was trying to get a 'feel' for where the author stood on women, quickly browsing around and found this article:  Joni Eareckson Tada and Joyce Meyer: An Example of Biblical Womanhood and an Example of a Manly Woman Preacher which I think gives a good breakdown between sharing and preaching.

So...having done all this perusing and skipping - my thoughts turned to other examples of women who gave (or sought) counsel in the Scripture.

Obviously the first example was Eve, though she didn't say anything, she offered something to her husband.  So it's not just words...it's actions as well.

The next example which came to mind was Sari - offering Hagar to Abram, to get him what he wanted. Suffering the consequences, then counseling to get rid of Hagar and her son, which counsel God approved.

Rahab giving counsel to the spies; a faithful witness delivering souls.

Jezebel consoling her husband and taking authority to get him what he wanted.

Deborah a prophetess providing counsel to the children of Israel.

Manoah's wife (she bore Samson) reassures her husband concerning their visit from the Lord.

I know I'm probably missing quite a few - perhaps like Athaliah - who took over the seat of government, by killing all the royal seed.  For me, it's been an opportunity to examine, am I asking questions, comforting, giving counsel or testifying about HIM in a way which brings glory and doesn't compromise?

How careful am I to be respectful, to either men or women in how I speak (or act)?  Is my behavior drawing attention to HIM or myself?