An Amalekite, one of the people Saul had been commanded to destroy utterly (I Samuel 15:3), told David that he had killed the wounded Saul (II Samuel 1). David, acting hastily, ordered him slain without ascertaining the facts in the case. David then laid the guilt for this man’s death at his own feet (II Samuel 1:16), for the testimony of his own mouth was used against him.<\/p>\n
Unwise men and women are as apt to condemn themselves with their own mouths today as they were in David’s era. However, we should have learned to exercise caution in the kind of response we give. That we do not is testimony to our foolishness.<\/p>\n
The “Women’s Movement” today is headed by some of the most unwise women in the world. Their pronouncements are as ill-conceived as was that of the foolish Amalekite. However, we should use deliberation in responding to them, but, alas, we often do not. A very able Christian wrote the following paragraph in response to the Women’s Movement. Read it and then consider my comments, which are to follow:<\/p>\n
\nThe Proper Places for Men<\/h2>\n
According to the Bible, all of the great prophets of God under the Old Testament era were men; all the kings of Israel were men; all the kings of Judah were men; all of the great leaders (Moses, Noah, David, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) were men; the Lord Jesus Christ was a man; all of the apostles were men (Acts 2:37); all elders or bishops in the church must be men (Titus 1:6); all the deacons in the church must be men (I Timothy 3:12); the heads of wives and families should be men (Ephesians 5:23; 6:4); all who give their names to wives and children are men; all of the writers of the Bible were men.<\/p>\n
Is God trying to tell us something for our time?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
God may not have been trying to tell us something, but the author certainly was. And, if I were a woman, I would want to crawl under the nearest rock and rot my way into eternity if I thought the message being delivered was true. However, does this paragraph tell us what God’s views concerning women in His scheme really are? I think not. Consider with me some additional thoughts.<\/p>\n
All the Great Prophets Were Men<\/h2>\n
The author left himself an out; he can say that the women who served as prophets were not “great.” “Great” is the key. However, were all the prophets men? The answer is a definite “no.”<\/p>\n
Miriam, following on the heels of Moses and the sons of Israel, herself gave prophetic utterance (Exodus 15:21). In the text, she is identified as a “prophetess” (Exodus 15:20). She was not alone, for Deborah is similarly identified (Judges 4:4). Of the two who delivered Israel in her day, Deborah is even regarded as greater than Balak. Chapter five of the book is the song of Deborah.<\/p>\n
The high priest during the reign of Josiah went to Huldah, the wife of Shallum, that they might receive the prophetic word of God (II Kings 22:14). The king, who had sought her testimony, received it with joy for she told him that he would go to his grave in peace.<\/p>\n
In the New Testament, Anna was a prophetess who gladly embraced the baby Jesus (Luke 2:36-38) in the hope of the redemption of Israel. Too, the daughters of Philip prophesied (Acts 21:9). Finally, while there may be some controversy as to what the passage really means, Paul declared that “every woman, while prophesying<\/em>” (I Corinthians 11:5). Women were prophets.<\/p>\n
All the Kings Were Men<\/h2>\n
Of course. “King” is a sexist term. Were all monarchs men? No.<\/p>\n
Jezebel of Israel was unquestionably the power behind the throne of Ahab. She manipulated him to secure the vineyard of Naboth (I Kings 21:5-10). Because of her, the prophets of God were cut off from the people (I Kings 18: 4). Furthermore, the threats to Elijah were principally hers. Of course, one could say that the king was Ahab and that she merely dominated her husband while serving under him. Not so Athaliah of Judah (II Kings 11:1-3). She “was reigning over the land<\/em>.” She did so for some six years. Some may argue that she did so without God’s approval. True. But who was responsible for this? It was the men who acquiesced to her domination.<\/p>\n
Additionally, we find the queen of Sheba sitting on an Ethiopian throne (I Kings 10), and Vashti and Esther in roles as queen under a king in the book of Esther.<\/p>\n
In the New Testament, Candace of Ethiopia is a monarch (Acts 8:27). Some monarchs were women who had God’s blessing.<\/p>\n
All the Great Leaders Were Men<\/h2>\n
Again, a subjective statement with that same keyword – “great”.<\/p>\n
Do we ignore Deborah, who served as prophetess, judge, and deliverer (Judges 4:5-9)? Do we dare say she was not “great”? Furthermore, as Barak pursued Sisera, it was a woman who actually succeeded in killing him (Jael; Judges 4:17-22; 5:24-27).<\/p>\n
And who was it that God raised up to save Israel from the wicked machinations of Haman? It was not Mordecai who occupied the seat of greatness “for such a time as this<\/em>,” but his first cousin Esther did (Esther 4:14).<\/p>\n
The Favorable Role of Women<\/h2>\n
Women have held great favor with God in His scheme for mankind. Their worth should be recognized by us without fail. We should not hide from it nor deny it. Yea, we should laud it. Consider that we seek Abigail, not her churlish husband Nabal, as an example of wisdom (I Samuel 25). To find examples of commercial acumen, we do not hesitate to appeal to the worthy woman of Proverbs 31 or Lydia in the New Testament (Acts 16). What man serves as a better example of moral excellence than Ruth (Ruth 3:11). (Incidentally, the word translated as “virtue” is the same word when used concerning men of war is translated as “valor.”)<\/p>\n
Women in the New Testament<\/h2>\n
A woman was the first to whom Jesus revealed himself after the resurrection (Mark 16:1-3). While it was true that the apostles were all men, women are mentioned as waiting with them for the power to come from on high (Acts 1:12-14).<\/p>\n
The Lord gave Paul the Macedonian call in the form of a vision of a man, but the first person to respond to the gospel in Europe was a woman (Lydia, Acts 16:14).<\/p>\n
Only a woman was raised for the sake of good works done (Dorcas, Acts 9:36-43). Speaking of good works, we mention Phoebe, a succorer of many who is praised highly for her works’ sake by Paul (Romans 16:1-3). In fact, she was a leader, and others were told to assist her.<\/p>\n
Women labored in the gospel. We cannot overlook Priscilla, Euodia, and Syntyche (Acts 18:24-26; Philippians 4:2). Their work and influence among men was keenly felt.<\/p>\n
Some contend that an office of widows existed (I Timothy 5:9 and Acts 9:41). Certainly, these women were greatly loved for their service in God’s kingdom.<\/p>\n
Time will fail to mention all the women who served nobly and well. Mention must be made of the many Marys, Martha, the chief women who obeyed the gospel, women who received their dead with a resolute spirit, and who are held up as examples of faith to us all.<\/p>\n
Finally<\/h2>\n
As for the balance of the article, one must note that the practice of men passing their names on to women and children is of recent origin and has nothing to do with the word of God.<\/p>\n
In all of this, we do not wish to demote men but to protest the common practice of degrading women. Women are important to God and should be important to all of us. Let us eschew the folly of the women’s movement without adopting its worst characteristic – thoughtless remarks. \u00b7<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Floyd Chappelear via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 15, No. 1, March 31, 1989 An Amalekite, one of the people Saul had been commanded to destroy utterly (I Samuel 15:3), told David that he had killed the wounded Saul (II Samuel 1). David, acting hastily, ordered him slain without ascertaining the facts in the case. David…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[79,82],"class_list":["post-84977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-women","tag-womens-roles"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":49278,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-michal-have-five-sons-when-another-verse-said-she-had-none\/","url_meta":{"origin":84977,"position":0},"title":"How could Michal have five sons when another verse said she had none?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please, I need an answer. Can you see any contradiction between II Samuel 6:23 which says Michal had no children to the day of her death and II Samuel 21:8 which says Michal had five sons? Answer: \"So David said to Michal, \"It was before the LORD, who chose\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43828,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/both-david-and-saul-sinned-and-admitted-they-sinned-so-why-was-the-kingdom-taken-from-saul-but-not-david\/","url_meta":{"origin":84977,"position":1},"title":"Both David and Saul sinned and admitted they sinned, so why was the kingdom taken from Saul but not David?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, Good day to you. I hope you are well. My question is about two men from the holy Scriptures: King Saul and King David. 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Then in II Samuel 1:10. the Scripture says an Amalekite stood\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2785,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-did-david-and-jonathan-show-their-love-for-each-other\/","url_meta":{"origin":84977,"position":3},"title":"How did David and Jonathan show their love for each other?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 30, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How did David and Jonathan show their concern (love) for one another? Can we act like them too? Answer: \"The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul\" (I Samuel 18:1). They made a covenant with each other \"Then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45390,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-god-cause-saul-to-commit-suicide\/","url_meta":{"origin":84977,"position":4},"title":"Did God cause Saul to commit suicide?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There are two accounts of Saul's death in the Old Testament. Both say he committed suicide (I Samuel 31:4-5 and I Chronicles 10:14) but the latter one also says that: \"the LORD killed Saul because ...\" Why the difference? Answer: \"So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33980,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/david-a-man-after-gods-own-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":84977,"position":5},"title":"David – A Man After God’s Own Heart","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ross Ward Text: I Samuel 13:14 The Story II Samuel 11:2-5 - sin with Bathsheba A time when Kings go to war Bathsheba was very beautiful David inquires about her David summons her Has a relationship with her A child is conceived Progression of sin Saw Dwelt on her\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84977\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}