In order to understand the Old Testament view of woman, one must turn to Book of Genesis. When God created mankind, He created both "male and female". Both were created in God's image and both were given the responsibility of exercising authority over God's creation. The man was created before the woman because the man needed companionship and a helper, God caused the man to sleep. From him He created a woman, 'a helper comparable to him' - Yahweh God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate'... And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. Yahweh God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:
'This at last is bone from my bones,
and flesh from my flesh!
This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.'
This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife and become one body. - Gen. 2:18-24 -
Man is incomplete without woman. Because she is called a 'helper' does not imply that she is inferior to man. The same Hebrew word translated as helper is used of God in His relationship to Israel. - Ps. 33:20, 70:5 -
The culture that developed around the Israelites in ancient times did not always have this perspective of woman. Certain Old Testament passages tend to reflect an attitude that woman was little more than a thing and that a woman should be entirely subordinate to man. This tendency became pronounced before the coming of Christ.
In the New Testament, Jesus lived and taught the way of love. He allowed women to accompany Him and His disciples on their journeys. - Luke 8:1-3 - He talked with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well and led her to a conversion of heart experience. - John 4 - Jesus did not think it strange that Mary sat at His feet, assuming the role of a disciple; in fact, He suggested to Martha that she should do likewise. Although the Jews segregated the women in both Temple and synagogue, the early Church did not separate the congregation by sex.
In the course of their journey he came to a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary who sat down at the Lord's feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha who was distracted with all the serving said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me'. But the Lord answered: 'Martha, Martha,' he said 'you worry and fret about so many things and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.' - Luke 10:28-42 -
You have done well in remembering me so constantly and in maintaining the traditions just as I passed them to you. However I want you to understand is that Christ is the head of every man, man is the head of woman and God is the head of Christ....... However, though woman cannot do without man neither can man do without woman, in the Lord; woman may come from man but man is born of woman - both come from God... To anyone who might to argue; it is not the custom with us, nor in the churches of God. - 1Cor. 11:2-16 -
The apostle wrote, 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ. - Gal. 3:27-29 - Within the writings of Saint Paul, however, other statements restrict women from participating in Church leadership as freely as men. - 1Cor. 14:34-35; 1Tim. 2:11-12 -
How does one reconcile these two seemingly opposing views? In Galatians apostle Paul was stating a general principle that men and women were equal, just as the slave is equal to his master in the sight of God. However, Paul did not require or teach that the slaveholder had to release his slaves. In the same manner, Paul requested the women to be submissive to their husbands - to preserve order within the Church and to be witness to unbelievers.
Some of the finest leaders in Israel were women, in spite of the fact that the culture was male-dominated. Military victories were sometimes won because of the courage of one woman. - Judg. 4-5, 9:54; Esth. 4:16 - On top of that, God revealed His Word through Prophetesses. - Judg. 4:4; Luke 2:36; Acts 21:9 - God also used Priscilla and her husband Aquila to explain 'the way of God more accurately' to Apollos, the preacher. - Acts 18:26 - Sarah, Rahab the harlot and many more.
It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to it. - Heb. 11:11 -
It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies and so was not killed with the unbelievers. - Heb. 11:31 -
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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