"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." - Proverbs 31:30
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Last week, we talked about all the problems and issues that have arisen between men and women because of the imbalance of power between them, and we referred to the judgment in Genesis 3:16 (" Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. ") in this context.
It doesn't seem fair. Why should all women-kind have to bear the consequences of Eve's transgression? Why do women get a bad deal right from the beginning of the Bible.... why didn't God step in and stop Eve from being deceived? Wasn't it just the talking snakes fault? ... and as for men, they can joke about how difficult it is to please a woman... "Hey, Eden wasn't good enough for you huh... you had to want more... what chance do we slobs have to keep you happy? .... hmmm?"
The Apostle Paul gives us one hint, at why, but before we go there, let us be very clear about a few things....
Adam and Eve, sinned... of their own free will !!! Eve was tempted, and deceived.... yes.... BUT it was God's plan to have Man be like Him from beginning...
"And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become ---------as one of us--------, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: --Therefore--- the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken." (Gen 3:22,23).
We talked about this verse two weeks ago in the context of the Tree of Life. Knowing Good and Evil comes with consequences, but it is not a bad thing, in and of itself. --- "....the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise" - Gen 3:6
Eve was deceived into disobeying God by the snake, Adam did it to make his wife happy. Both disobeyed, of their own free will --- nobody FORCED them to do anything!
The only mitigating circumstance in their favor ... is that they did not ---fully--- realize the consequences of their actions (did not know Good and Evil ..) ... other than being warned by God "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for ---in the day that thou eatest thereof ---thou shalt surely die." So they KNEW about the consequence, but disobeyed anyway....Eve's mistake was believing that God could lie, Adam's mistake was listening to his wife instead of the voice of God! .....and we are all suffering for it since then!
The bright spot in the midst of all these bad decisions, is God's fairness and justice in using man's failure --- to bring about His salvation!
Here is the Apostle, giving us the answer in the book of Romans, Chap 5, v 14-19
" Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, ----even over them that had --not sinned--- after the similitude of Adam's transgression-----, who is the figure of him that was to come.
{ This is the question : Why does all humanity have to suffer for Adam and Eve's sins, since we didn't disobey God directly the way they did? Why do we... have to die?}
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the ---offence of ---one--- --many be dead----, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by ---one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto ---many.
{ the LORD flipped it!!!!! }
And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was ---by one to condemnation---, but the --free gift is of ---many offences-- unto justification. {Halllelujah!}
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; ---much more--- they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness ---shall reign--- in life by one, Jesus Christ.
Therefore as by the offence of --one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of --one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by --one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of --one shall many be made righteous."
By imparting one mans sin to everyone, God is enabled to LEGALLY impart one Man's righteousness to everyone!!!!
Fair is Fair .... take THAT Satan... ? ... !!! Oh how the enemy howled when Christ was resurrected!!! Oh the power invested in us frail mortals by the Word of God... "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and --he will ---flee from ---you." - James (4:7) We wish everyone had this clarity.. and no longer treated the devil as a boogeyman, but someone we can resist, not in our own strength, but by standing on the Blood, Word and Promises of God!!! Hallelujah!!
In Paul's message to Timothy, he reinforces what we spoke about last week.... that Grace and Truth and good works are the way to obtain favor from God... and he points back to Genesis as well...
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for ---all men-----; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have -----all men to be saved----, and to come unto the ---knowledge of the truth.----
{ We saw this in our past studies... even people exiting Hell are to found in the book of Life at the time of the final judgment, and if not, after being punished, can still live on the new Earth!! Its only the devil and his angels that suffer there forever, something you should remind them of when they come after you! }
" For there is ---one God, and ---one ---mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for ---all---, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.
{ Instructions for "Adam" }
I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without --wrath and ---doubting.
{ Instructions for Eve, which correspond with what we studied last week ... }
In -like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety."
- ( 1 Tim 2:4-15 )
The apostle gets a lot of flak for this last set of statements ... but all he is saying is ---
(a) recognize that while we are in this body, we are still under the judgment pronounced by God back in Genesis. Do not try to overturn what was spoken, it will lead to grief !
(b) Ladies, we love you, but your judgment was shown to be flawed in the garden, and you NEED the covering of a man to be safe and complete in this world, in this body. This is why he tells women not to try to USURP AUTHORITY... He does not forbid anything that is rightfully theirs (nor to submit to wrong doing), but illegally taking something that ---rightfully belongs to someone else ( = definition of Usurp! ) is condemned.
This is not going to be popular.... but it is the truth ( we remarked last week how the fairer sex is driven by jealousy... of men, and other women... which leads to bad decisions!).
The apostle does NOT say women cannot be Prophets ( cf: the daughters of Philip a disciple .. Acts 21:8-9 ) , or Pastors/Ministers, or Healers, or anything... just that they should not be put in a position where they have to teach MEN or take AUTHORITY ---over them. That is not right.
(c) Men and women have been assigned different responsibilities based on physiology... .women bearing ALL of the weight ( and therefore getting ALL OF THE CREDIT ) for continuing to propagate the human race, despite the pain and suffering of childbirth and raising kids.
This "fact" is under siege today,and human cloning is taking us to a dangerous precipice in these times, from which we fear we will never recover.May the Lord come before that happens!!!
(d) Holiness is enjoined for everybody!!!!
We see strong and god-fearing women in the Word, that are both equal to, and superior to men in the way they have been portrayed... Esther, Deborah, Jael, Abigail (definitely look her up... she was married to a fool! 1 Samuel 25:3), Rahab (an "exploited" prostitute in Christs genealogy), Deborah and Jael (Judges 4), Esther, Hannah, Leah ( an unloved wife!) , Ruth ( a non-jewish person, again in Christ's genealogy) , Sarah ( who had to endure her husband letting her join someone else's harem )... in the New Testament we have Mary ( a young girl given great responsibility... and a lot of suffering), Mary Magdalene (the first to see Christ risen), Lydia ( a seller of purple that started a church with her husband ), and many many more.
All these women were distinguished by the calmness with which they faced adversity, their faith, their wisdom and their discretion.
Lastly, we leave you with the most important Woman of all ---- the Bride of Christ, the Church! It would be stretching the scripture to say that the picture of a virtuous woman (Proverbs 31) is a picture of what the Church should be like.... but we can't help but be struck with the comparison, of someone that garners the praise of her Husband , who rises up, and calls her blessed !!!
Accepting our lot in life with humility is difficult -- it could be a disability, our skin color, our caste (in some societies), our gender ... but submitting to the wisdom of God with grace, humility, and faith is definitely rewarded with favor from God Himself!
Please know that the LORD never intended for women to be INFERIOR... they are the equal of men in everything we see in the Word.... but submitting to authority is something both men, and women have to learn!
" Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;" 1 Peter 2:13
" Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." - 1 Peter 5:5
The author of the book of Hebrews..." Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you." - Heb 13:7
Paul to the Corinthian church ..." I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) That ye ---submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth." - 1 Corinth 16:15-16
In these last times, the Word is explicit --- " And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: " --- Acts 2:17, 18
No friends, there is no discrimination, or respecting of persons with God.... especially when it comes to gender. Man and Woman together embody the complete spectrum of the spirit and character of God --- strength and compassion, righteousness and grace, wrath and forgiveness, and beauty and Love!!!
Hallelujah!!!