Women
There have been a lot of new theories on what the Bible says women are all about. Lots of misunderstandings, but the Bible is being accused of most of the unfavorable reviews. Where these teachings come from is varied and wide and not just from the different pulpits, but from different societies as well as individual families and cultures.
One problem arises, when referencing the Bible, because people have a tendency to insert into the Bible passages their own preconceived ideas, what someone else may have said to them, or what they have heard from divergent authorities. People are not really reading the Bible for themselves, using their own discerning minds, or as the Bible itself suggests, “study to show yourselves approved of God, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) The key word is “study.” It takes effort and perseverance and a sincere reliance on God to help you “put it all together.” You have to clear the air of the ten million pollutants clouding your vision. A person cannot see the true blue sky when it is cloudy and overcast.
Here’s a common concept, supposedly taken from the Bible: “A woman’s place is in the home.” Is that supposed to be a place of dishonor? First, allow me to go back to the beginning. Whether you believe the story of Adam and Eve to be reality or fable, the lesson is apparent in Adam’s declaration, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh…” Remember, before Eve the only friends Adam had were animals. Eve was way much better! Here was the beginning of a beautiful partnership!
Here’s the next misconception following right on the first: The snake and disobedience ended up being the original sin. The ensuing second sin was passing the buck, blaming “the other” for the disobedience. Eve blamed the devil, but Adam (even worse, I believe) well, Adam blamed Eve. He was offered disobedience and knowingly acted on it. Now, there’s a couple of very important consequences here, more difficult pregnancy for the woman and much greater workload for the man. Yet, there is a promise of payback in God’s words to them. The promise: Her seed, the Messiah, will crush the serpent’s head. (Often overlooked, right?)
Back to the point, the two of them had been placed in the Garden not only to enjoy it, but also to maintain it and to protect it. Unfortunately, they now had to leave Paradise, because Adam had failed to protect the most important gift God gave to him in the Garden: Eve! Yes. Eve made a bad choice. But Adam who blamed her now had to take complete responsibility for her. Complete. So, I think what naturally evolved from that was a system of governance to facilitate that phenomenon. Oversight, not domination. They had been partners in Paradise, but as a consequence of disobedience things had changed. The partnership of equals continued, but the facts of life had changed. The agrarian life had changed. The domestic life had changed. Nothing in this story affected their equal status. The part about “ruling over her” just confirms to me the idea of a form of governance being established. If I were to paraphrase this consequence, it would realize it to be a temporary fix, and I would say, “Okay Adam… If you want to play the blame game. Guess what? I’m putting you in charge. You are responsible for your wife and I’ll put you in charge for expediency. You won’t be able to talk your way out of this arrangement. Apparently you didn’t appreciate Paradise, and you didn’t maintain and protect Paradise, but you for sure are going to provide for and protect Eve! And providing will be a lot harder.” I think God said it more efficiently and less wordy, but that is His way of talking and His ways are far above my ways.
Proverbs 31:13–27 is hardly a debasement of women. Too long for my already too long essay, and so I’ll provide a website reference which further demonstrates my point that the Bible does not disrespect women, but on the contrary exalts them. https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-are-the-characteristics-of-a-wise-woman.html
