"The man is the head of the house." "It is the man's duty to protect his wife and family." "Wives should obey their husbands." Girls hear these statements all the time. And guess what? They're true. Now, let me explain. "The man is the head of the house." God appointed the male to be the spiritual leader of his family. Like a priest who is the head of the church and makes all the decisions with the help and input of his staff, the husband is called to lead his family with his wife as his partner. "It is the man's duty to protect his wife and family." God assigned both sexes a job. To the women, He assigned domestic care which includes the house and the children. To the men, He assigned them to be the bread-winners and battlers of anything that threatens their families. That's just the way it is because that's the way God us, man and woman. Different from each other. Different physically, different emotionally, different mentally, and different occupationally. "Wives should obey their husbands." Now, this does NOT mean, "bow down to the mighty man." This just means that if your husband asks something like, "Honey, could we have dinner a little later tonight? I have some work I need to finish up and I don't want to miss out?" then you should have dinner a little later. "Obey" also goes with honoring your husband, just as he should honor and "obey" you.
But, in the Bible, the powerful people aren't just the men. Remember, Esther, and Mary? How about Jael or Deborah?
Imagine this: The king needs a new queen, so he orders all the available young women to go through a year of beauty treatment before he found his new bride. Imagine, being taken from your family to live in a place that you'd rather stay away from. Now, imagine that you are chosen as the new queen. That is exactly what happened to Esther. But not only was she chosen to help rule over Persia, but she saved an entire race. Hamen, the king's right-hand man, hate the Jews. But mostly, he hated Mordechai, not knowing that Mordechai was Esther's uncle. Hamen convinced the king to set a date for all the Jews to be killed by telling him that they were dangerous to the kingdom. God called Esther to appear before the king (without him calling for her, which usually resulted in death) and tell the king that Mordechai was her relative, and that Hamen had ordered for HER to be killed! Can you imagine how terrifying it would be to have to tell the most powerful man in the kingdom that his best friend was plotting to kill innocent people including you, the NEW bride? Multiple times, Esther mustered up the courage to tell the king, then multiple times she chickened out. One night, when she had the king over for dinner in her room, she finally told him. And what happened? Hamen was sentenced to death, the king made another law to help protect the jews, and Esther died after a long, happy life as a hero and a queen. If you want to know more, you can read the book of Esther in the bible right between Nehemiah and Job.
Here's one that not a lot of people know about. Deborah, was a FEMALE prophet. A prophetess. In Judges 4, you can read about this amazing woman. Once again, the Israelites were doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. So he sold them to Jabin, the king of Canaan, who was cruel to them for twenty years. During this time, Deborah was the LEADER of Israel! God spoke through her, and she led the man who led the Israelites out of captivity.
Our third heroine, Jael, goes along with Deborah's story. God told Deborah that Sisera, Jabin's commander of his army, would flee and try to find some place to rest. So he came to Jael's tent and asked for some water and a place to stay for the night. She fed him, and gave him a bed. During the night while Sisera was sleeping, Jael took a tent-stake, and hammered it through his skull. Gory, right? But she became a hero. (Again, Judges 4.)
Mary. We all know who Mary is. But have you ever put yourself in her place? Think about what it takes to be only around thirteen years old and give birth to the son of God? The baby who would save all mankind? Not to mention her being accused of sleeping with another man besides Joseph and the fact that she could've been killed because of it. God chose Mary as the mother of Jesus because she was virtuous, and God found favor in her. Mary's story just goes to show that if we follow God and his laws, He will use us for incredible things.
Men and women are equal. God doesn't love men more than women, and he doesn't love women more than men. We were created for each other, we need each other. God created us to want each other, and He created us with different jobs to do (which we've already covered) when we're with each other. So here are some verses that would be handy to memorize:
1 Corinthians 11:11-12: In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is mand independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.
Proverbs 31:10-31: A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is worthy to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
1Timothy 2:9-10: I also want women t o dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
Did you know that Lea has to eat the edge of all her foods BEFORE the middle?!
Did you know that Jess's favorite season is summer?!
All photographs property of 'Lilies Among Thorns Magazine". Photograph taken by Jess Mc.
