Last week we saw that Proverbs 31 leaves us with a powerful picture of the impact a homemaker with a vision of the kingdom of God will have through her home by exercising her gifts, abilities and business skills in the community around her. What does she really want to do? What is she gifted to do? As we have seen. the possibilities, within the context of the home and her submission to her husband, are endless if she has the initiative to…
For the homemaker whose husband “safely trusts her” (Proverbs 31:11) because of her willingness to submit to his leadership and her creativity in doing so, the opportunities for her to use all the gifts and talents God gave her are limitless. That is the first task a homemaker accomplishes: gaining the confidence and trust of her husband. The second opportunity, as we saw last week, is as a clothier and and fashion designer, with the attendant commercial possibilities. Next in the description of the…
As young women look to their future careers, what they will do with their lives, the culture unanimously paints for them a consistent picture of the profession of “homemaker,” or in the vernacular, a “stay-at-home mom.” It is of a haggard housewife changing diapers, scrubbing toilets, washing and ironing clothes, while being trapped in the kitchen cooking, all while riding herd on a handful of rebellious, snot-nosed kids hanging onto her apron. The crowning feature in this cultural narrative is that this is all…
In the last Two Edges of the Sword blog we looked at the first way a woman is her husband’s “helper,” as she is described in the creation story in Genesis 2:18: “And the Lord God said, ‘It isn’t good for man to be alone; I will make a companion for him, a helper suited to his needs.’” In mankind’s battle with Satan for dominion over the earth, the woman’s role will be to love her husband by creating a home for him and…
The book of Genesis is a gold mine of eternal truth. It has been said that every major doctrine taught in the Bible is found in seed form there, and that is particularly true of the first few chapters, the creation story. That is true of the topic of our postings the past few weeks, the relationship between husbands and wives and the unique roles of each in the great plan of God for His world. Women are said in Genesis to be created…
Last week we discussed the role women are given in the Bible in their marriages—to submit to their husband’s leadership and to honor and respect him as her head. Coincidentally, just this morning I discovered that this Friday is International Women’s Day, and it has been celebrated here since 1909 when the American Socialist Party did so in New York City. It gradually spread around the world until the United Nations encouraged all countries to celebrate it as a holiday in 1975. Though a…
Over the past few blog posts, our picture of a biblical family is now taking shape. Paul tells us as husbands we are to “love (our) wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25), and confidently lead our families in the direction God has shown us they are to go. In response, our wives are to “submit to their own husbands, as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). Paul is saying that our wives are to submit themselves…
We have discussed that the responsibility for the state of the family lies fully at the feet of the husband; all problems in the family are a result of not leading and/or loving its members in some way. He is totally accountable to his Head, Jesus Christ, for it’s condition (1 Corinthians 11:3). This does not mean he will have a model family with everything running smoothly; all husbands, including himself, are sinners. But if he is loving and leading, he is living as…
The picture I have painted of the Christian family in the last few postings has been the IDEAL one—the loving, strong husband, laying down his life for his family, always looking out for them and their needs before his own, and leading them with loving, firm, decisive decision-making. The wife, while submitting herself unto her husband just as if he were Jesus himself (Ephesians 5:22), faithfully carries out his vision for the family. This biblical approach to family structure seems impossible in our culture…
Who leads my family? The leader of the family is not the one who talks the loudest, the most, or even the one who thinks they are the leader. It is the one who makes final decisions on the direction the family will go and then on how they will all arrive there. The de jure leader (the one who is designated the leader by God’s law according to the Bible) can be far different than the de facto leader (the one who actually…