Hello Friends!
Welcome back to part two of “Man,
Woman, the Fall & the Church”
This week we’ll continue with our series pertaining to “The Great Women of the Bible”
The
Great Women of the Bible
As we proceed with our topical study of this very important aspect
of the Christian life, let’s first briefly recap the elements we’ve already
considered on this Biblical journey of truth…
We first considered the Genesis chapter 2 account
of “Origins” – Creation Mandate – God’s original plan for man and
woman:
So God
created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and
female He created them – Genesis 1:27
This is
the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him
in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and
called them Mankind in the day they were created – Genesis
5:1-2
From the very first book of the Bible we are taught that women,
like men, bear the stamp of God's own image. Men and women were created equal
to one another but have differing roles to play in God’s mandate of
creation:
But I
want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is
man, and the head of Christ is God – 1
Corinthians 11:3
We also considered the Genesis chapter 3 account
of “The Fall” – Original Sin – to remind us of why there is so
much evil in the world, producing animosity between Man and Woman
today.
So when
the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She
also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them
were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves
together and made themselves coverings – Genesis 3:6-7
And I
will put enmity between you
and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head, and you
shall bruise His heel – Genesis
3:15
To the
woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your
desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule
over you – Genesis 3:16
Then to
Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten
from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of
your life – Genesis 3:17
To achieve a proper Biblical Worldview as Christians, we must seek
the Lord’s perspective through His Word in all things…
Wherever the true Biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ has
spread throughout the world, the social, legal and spiritual status of women
has been elevated. Whenever the Gospel has been eclipsed –
whether by repression, false religion, secularism, humanistic philosophy or
spiritual decay within the church – the status of women has declined accordingly.
Sadly, the latter is quite evident today in America – not to mention the church.
Throughout history, whenever secular movements have arisen
claiming to be concerned with women's rights, their efforts have generally been
detrimental to the status of women. The feminist movement of our
generation, for example, is a case in point.
With the help of the feminist movement in the late 1960’s, divorce
laws were also liberated. The resulting drastic increase in divorce began to
break down the strength, respect, and permanency of the marriage covenant in
the civil arena. No-fault divorce made separation fast and allowed
couples to split up without admitting “fault” or accepting responsibility.
Divorce and illegitimacy has undercut the institution of the family. What was
to be the incubator for creating and nurturing self-governed offspring who,
based on the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, would safeguard the
republic is now relatively in shambles.
Feminism has devalued and defamed true
femininity. Natural gender distinctions are usually downplayed, dismissed,
despised and/or denied. As a result, women are now being sent into combat
situations, subjected to grueling physical labor once reserved for men, exposed
to all kinds of indignities in the workplace and otherwise encouraged to act
and talk like men. Meanwhile, modern feminists heap scorn on women who want
family and household to be their first priorities; in so doing they disparage
the role of motherhood – the one calling that is most uniquely and exclusively
feminine. Due to Godless feminist radicals such as Betty Friedan and her book
titled “The Feminist Mystique,” the whole message of the feminist banter
is that there is really nothing extraordinary about women.
That is certainly not the message of
Scripture! The Word of God honors women and encourages them to seek
honor in a uniquely feminine way – as created by God. This is
the proper Biblical Worldview of a woman!
For one great example, consider the “Virtuous Wife” of Proverbs chapter 31. This
wonderful poem offers a beautiful description of King Lemuel’s excellent wife:
Who can
find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil
all the days of her life. She seeks
wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.
She is like the merchant ships, she
brings her food from afar. She also rises while it is
yet night, and provides food for her household,
and a portion for her maidservants. She
considers a field and buys it; from her profits she
plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength,
and strengthens her arms. She
perceives that her merchandise is
good, and her lamp does not go out by night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle. She extends
her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to
the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household is
clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself;
her clothing is
fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the
gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the
merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in
time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is
the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her
household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and
he praises her: “Many daughters have done well, but you
excel them all.” Charm is deceitful and beauty is
passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall
be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her own works praise her in the gates – Proverbs 31:10-31
Question: Does this sound like a weak woman? Absolutely not!
She is defined as a loving wife and mother, setting forth the
prayer of every mother for the future wife of her own son (verse 1).
Spiritual and practical wisdom encompassed with moral virtues mark the
character of this excellent woman in contrast to the immoral woman denoted in verse 3.
An
interesting fact in closing: These Scriptures are also
literally arranged with each of the 22 verses
beginning with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in consecutive order – Awesome!
With
all of that said, thankfully we find a host of notable women introduced in the
Bible – both Old and New Testaments.
In fact, there are at least 158 of these women mentioned in total!
Here
a few from the Old Testament:
Eve (Genesis 2)
Sarah (Genesis 11-23)
Hagar (Genesis 16)
Rebecca (Genesis 22)
Rachel (Genesis 29)
Miriam (Exodus 2)
Deborah (Judges 4-5)
Ruth &
Naomi (Ruth)
Esther (Esther)
Here
a few from the New Testament:
Mary (Gospels & Acts 1)
Mary
Magdalene (Gospels)
Mary &
Martha (Gospels)
Wife of
Pontius Pilate (Matthew)
Tabitha (Acts 9)
Priscilla (Acts 18 & 1 Corinthians 16:19)
All
of these women of God can be seen to be very important in their individual
roles as directed by the Lord!
Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we address ”The Role
of Women in the New Testament Church” We’ll address this subject from various New Testament Scriptures
to better understand the Lord’s will through the Apostle Paul.
May the
Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!
Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while
there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!
Blessings!
Shane <><
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