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TonyE
Guest
We know from Genesis 2 that Adam was made before Eve. We also know that it was Adam who was told to keep The Garden and cultivate it. Part of God's command to Adam to keep the Garden was to name the animals. This was not Eve's role. She was later made to be a helpmate to Adam and assist him in the calling God had given him, not the other way around. For the Apostle Paul in the New Testament states "indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake," (1 Cor. 11:9).
Some theologians have suggested that the Fall means an disturbance of the God-given chain of command of creation. One of the characteristics of original sin is understood as the woman taking over authority from the man, and the man saying and doing nothing to stop it. Knowing good from evil in the Old Testament sense means setting one's own standards, like God. Upsetting the God-given order in creation may well be a part of this. The implication of original sin, however, has a wider scope and this violation of a divine order .
The idiom “battle of the sexes” can be traced back to the latter part of Genesis 3:16 “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." The key is in the word "desire," translated from the Hebrew “tesuqah” It occurs only three times in the Old Testament: here in Genesis 3:16, Genesis 4:7 and Song 7:10. Where it carries the sense of sexual longing (as in the Song of Songs), but its usage in Genesis 4:7 shows another side, of a desire to have a violent craving for a thing or to overcome and defeat another: “Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." This latter meaning of desire fits Genesis 3:16 better.
Therefore, in Genesis 3:16 God is saying that a woman's desire will be to gain the upper hand over her husband, but because she is the weaker vessel, her husband will put her down by force, if need be.
This explains why many marriages fail and why many of the rest are unhappy. Human relationships are just as likely to fail as men and women rely on human knowledge rather than revealed, godly wisdom.
By God's design, man and woman are one in essence "At last!" Adam exclaimed. "She is part of my own flesh and bone! She will be called 'woman,' because she was taken out of a man." This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” (Genesis 2:23-24), and are therefore equal in dignity, value, and glory. Although God himself has assigned husbands and wives different roles within marriage, the essential unity of man and woman leaves absolutely no room for concepts of inferiority or superiority. “So you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians — you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:26-28)
Christ himself brilliantly demonstrated this "different but equal" concept. Jesus was and is one in essence with the Father, yet Jesus was "sent" by the Father as seen in John 3:16 and willingly submitted to Him without protest as seen in Luke 22:42; John 14:31; 1 Cor. 15:28. To submit means simply to yield, that is, not to insist on getting your own way. The same may be said of the Holy Spirit; He is one in essence with the Father and the Son, yet He was "sent" by them as seen in John 14:26; 16:7 and willingly submitted. Likewise, Jesus was commended for being in submission to His parents, which certainly did not make Him inferior to them as seen in Luke 2:51.
Our understanding of the Trinity is that the three persons of the Godhead are equal in being, worth, and glory. They are co-eternal and co-substantial. Likewise, in a governmental chain of command, we do not assume that because a vice president is subordinate to the president that the vice president is inferior to the president as a person. It is obvious that subordination does not translate into inferiority.
By these analogies, we must conclude that having different roles or authority does not make us either inferior or superior. Therefore, it is contrary to Scripture to teach that holding authority makes a person superior, just as it is wrong to teach that being in submission implies inferiority.
The headship of man is not about having the upper hand nor is it to mean that a woman has no rights or is a second-class citizen. On the contrary, God tells the husband some very serious commands: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless," (Eph. 5:25-27).
This headship subject is an issue of order, not of who is better or more important. The husband is the head of the wife in the family and he has the responsibility of guiding his family to a closer relationship with the Lord. God will require it of him on the day when all our deeds are judged by God.
Sadly, male chauvinism which is a sin has often been driven by the misconception that the reason God commands their wives to be submissive to them is that women must be inferior. History testifies that women were virtually their husband's property, treated as heir-producing machines, given little freedom, and forced to serve their husband's every whim. In many cultures, men bought and sold women like cattle. Some cultures maintain this custom even today.
Sin inevitably leads to more sin; it is like a cancer reproducing itself. Every attack upon someone is sin, because it creates conflicts. And with vengeance in their hearts, the cry of "I am woman hear me roar" could be heard throughout society. This desire (Hebrew “tesuqah”) to have power over could be seen from our Universities, Employment, Sports, and even in our Religious Institutions. Mankind has not evolved further than the latter part of Genesis 3:16 one might say!
The enlightenment in the 18th century for woman’s rights might have a deeper significance. During Paul's Third Missionary Journey to the City of Ephesus, a city devoted to the goddess Diana of Ephesus. The great goddess temple of Artemis Diana was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World found in Asia-Minor. This is a very special sacred space for pagan worship. Satan in the Garden of Eden promised Eve if she ate from the tree of life she would… “become just like God” (Genesis 3:5) These words still echo’s through out history.
The desire for a woman to be the head of the household, the struggle to attain superiority over a man could be traced back to Genesis Chapter Three and not in some enlightenment during the 18th century.
As discouraging as this news might seem, there is a bright side to the picture. Since God established the marriage structure before the Fall and designed it to be good, only with His help we can still redeem much of the joy and blessing He intended it to produce. Through faith in Christ, individually and as married couples we can become "new creations" (2 Cor. 5:17).
By God's grace, husbands and wives can be "renewed in knowledge in the image of their Creator" (Col. 3:10) and make great progress at learning how to fulfill their roles properly and thus recapture much of the joy and blessing that marriage was designed to produce.
When husbands learn to love their wives in the way God intended and wives learn to respect their husbands in the way God intended, marriage becomes a place of marvelous joy, peace, security and fulfillment.
We saw earlier how husbands should love their wives. We will now look at what it means for wives to respect and submit to their husbands. First, as indicated in Ephesians 5:22, God wants wives to submit to their husbands "as to the Lord." Out of love and reverence for Christ, a wife should respect and cooperate with her husband as he seeks to lead their family in service to God. As his helper, she should be as diligent about seeing to his needs as he should be to hers. This help and cooperation should be done wholeheartedly and without grumbling, just as it would be given to Christ himself. Thus, rather than suppressing her gifts and talents, a wife should be using them to their fullest, for the benefit of God, her husband, and her children. Doing so will not only bring her personal fulfillment; normally, it will also encourage her husband to love, praise, and serve her more diligently as well.
In God’s Word King Solomon describes a blissful marriage in this manner. “Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is worth more than precious rubies. Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She will not hinder him but help him all her life.
She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchant's ship; she brings her food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day's work for her servant girls. She goes out to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She watches for bargains; her lights burn late into the night. Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber. She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy.
She has no fear of winter for her household because all of them have warm clothes. She quilts her own bedspreads. She dresses like royalty in gowns of finest cloth. Her husband is well known, for he sits in the council meeting with the other civic leaders. She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants.
She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs with no fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and kindness is the rule when she gives instructions. She carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness.
Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: "There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!"
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise. (Proverbs 31:10-31)
Peace,
