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Sermon: “A
Glory to God”
...a sermon about women printer-friendly
MP3
MP3-2019
All through my life, I have been a victim of the ways of this world…we all are.
I have been witness to the evils, to the lies and the false doctrines of this world. I have had to be subjected to the double standards, the prejudices and stereotypes of this world ruled by Satan.
Some of these stereotypes have even invaded the very Church of God or the minds of some of the members of the church over the years.
Today I want to discuss the subject of women and how they have been stereotyped as something less than a man. I want to show how the world has even used the Bible to support these stereotypes and regulate women to the status of second class citizens.
My purpose today will be to break this prejudice against women and show you that…
…THE BIBLE SUPPORTS WOMEN
My message to the world is…If you want to make women second class citizens, that is your choice, but you cannot use the Word of God to prove or support your contentions.
One of the sad things about these false contentions is that some woman accept or believe them. Let us see how many of these false ideas we can eradicate in the time we have together today.
Now, when I began putting together the material for this sermon from the Word of God, I ended up with a stack of paper over an inch high, scores of pages…way more material than I could even begin to share with you today, so this sermon is an introduction to your further Bible Study.
Let us begin by discussing Bible indications that show the value and status of women in Bible history and clearly in the mind of God who wrote the Bible.
Turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 8 and beginning in verse 11
This passage picks up the nation of Israel asking for a king.
1 Samuel 8:11-13 11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
Point: Samuel tries to talk Israel out of asking for a king. One of his arguments is that they will lose their daughters to royal service. Daughters were valued enough to be used in such an argument.
Now to 2 Samuel 1 and verse 26
David lamenting over the dead Jonathan: 2 Samuel 1:26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
Point: In this moving account of David’s lament over Jonathan he shows how wonderful the love of women was held to be. In finding something ‘wonderful’ to base the comparison with the loyalty of Jonathan for David, he can find nothing higher than ‘the love of a woman’.
Next, let us look at 1 Kings 2:19
Here we read that Solomon is established as King after the death of David and another of David’s sons, A-do-ni-jah, felt that he should have the throne. He thinks he can do this by marrying David’s widow, A-bi-shad. He asks Bathsheba to go to King Solomon to ask for permission to marry A-bi-shad.
1 King 2:19 Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand.
Point: This incredible passage shows the Value placed by the wisest king of Israel on his mother.
Giving her a throne is not just affection—it is empowerment!
He bows to her, rises to meet her and places her at his right hand! The same honor that Christ has with God, the Father.
Turn back now to 2 Samuel 20
This section of scripture describes a time when there was rebellion against King David. First, his son, Absalom attempts to take the throne but is defeated and killed. Just after that, thinking that David’s forces were weakened, a man by the name Sheba focused rebellion against David. The men of Israel were with Sheba but the men of Judah were with David…
Notice verse 13…
2 Samuel 20:13-22 13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. 14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-ma'achah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him (Sheba). 15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-ma'achah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down. 16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee. 17 And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear. 18 Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter. 19 I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD? 20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. 21 The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. 22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.
Points:
1. This woman is called wise. 2. She gets a hearing in the middle of battle. 3. She negotiates with the commander of the Army. 4. He listens. 5. She appeals to his tradition and to theological values (verse 19---about the city –an inheritance of God) 6. She calls the city a “mother” of Israel. 7. She makes a commitment without asking the elders 8. She succeeds and saves the city. 9. She averts the dividing of Israel at this point.
Now, let’s look at another very sharp lady; turn to 1 Samuel 19:11
Saul is seeking to kill David. Reading in the Living Bible here…
1 Samuel 19:11-17 11 Saul sent troops to watch David's house and kill him when he came out in the morning. "If you don't get away tonight," Michal warned him, "you'll be dead by morning." 12 So she helped him get down to the ground through a window. 13 Then she took an idol and put it in his bed, and covered it with blankets, with its head on a pillow of goat's hair. 14 When the soldiers came to arrest David and take him to Saul, she told them he was sick and couldn't get out of bed. 15 Saul said to bring him in his bed, then, so that he could kill him. 16 But when they came to carry him out, they discovered that it was only an idol! 17 "Why have you deceived me and let my enemy escape?" Saul demanded of Michal. "I had to," Michal replied. "He threatened to kill me if I didn't help him."
Point: This story shows the cunning of Michal.
1. She advises David on a course of action. 2. She assists him in the escape. 3. She implements a rather clever deception that fools the King’s men. 4. She even comes up with an explanation that saves her own life.
Clearly we can see that women are valuable in the sight of God and have played key parts in the history and plan of God.
Now I want to look at some specific stereotypes or laments of women regarding the Bible and show how they are in error.
ONE: “God is ALWAYS portrayed as a male—women have no way of identifying with Him.”
Not true. There are instances where God and Jesus use female images of themselves.
1. God is said to have a womb and give birth in Job 31 2. God portrays Himself as a mother in Isaiah 66
Turn to Isaiah 66 and verse 12 This is about the New Heavens and New Earth. In Isaiah 65:17 it says…
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Then in Isaiah 66:12 (where I asked you to turn)
12 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
3. God portrays Himself as a young wife in Malachi 2:13-16 4. Jesus portrays the Father, in His redemptive search and rescue mission as a woman in search of a lost coin in Luke 15:8 5. Jesus portrays himself as a “mother hen” in Matthew 23:37. Turn there.
Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
TWO: “The Bible teaches that women had NO access to God—except through the male”
Incredible as it sounds very respectable individuals and churches have maintained this claim and attitude but they are very wrong.
Here are 4 Before the Levitical priesthood…
1) God and Hagar have a dialog in the desert. Genesis 21 2) God listens to Leah’s and Rachel’s prayers. Genesis 29-30 3) Rachel inquired of the Lord, and He answered her. Genesis 25 4) God spoke directly to females. Genesis 16:7 and in Genesis 21 go there please..
Genesis 21:14-19 --Where Abraham sends Hagar off into the wilderness with Ishmael. 14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. 19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
Now under the Levitical priesthood…
1. God heard Hannah’s special prayer. 1 Samuel 1 2. Deborah was a prophetess and spoke for God, getting messages from Him. Judges 4 3. God had direct interaction with a widow. (The one Elijah goes to in 1 Kings 17)
4. Hul-dah, as a prophetess, also received direct communications
from God. Turn over to 2 Kings 22:14 2 Kings 22:14-16 14 So Hil-ki-ah the priest, and A-hi-kam, and Ach-bor, and Shap-han, and A-sa-hi-ah, went unto Hul-dah the prophetess, the wife of Shall-um the son of Tik-vah, the son of Har-has, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her. 15 And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me, 16 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: (…and it goes on from there)
Obviously she is communicating with God and is speaking to men.
THREE: “Why do men get all the glory in the Bible? Why are women only minor characters?!”
Actually this statement is untrue on 2 levels. In the Bible, ONLY God gets the glory and regarding women in just minor roles notice…
Consider just a few of the major events involving "minor" female characters: (I give these without verses)
1. Zipporah saves Moses' life. 2. Micah saves David's life. 3. Sarah saves Abraham's life twice (by half-lying about her identity) 4. Rebekah deceives Isaac so that GOD'S PLAN gets done in spite of Isaac. 5. Unnamed women are patrons of Elijah and Elisha. 6. Rahab is a major player in the conquest of the gateway-city to Palestine. 7. Jael saves Israel from major oppression. 8. A Wise-woman prevents civil war in Israel. 9. Lydia is the first convert in Asia Minor, and heads up a house-church there. Let me add an 10th here that is closer to home.
Not to take one single thing from Ray Fain, but God used Anita just like Lydia to start up the fellowship group here in Seattle.
The point is this: God used 'minor' characters to make MAJOR influences on the historical flow.
FOUR: Women were non-persons back then in the OT---they had NO legal rights in the system at all.”
These arguments encounter difficulty when confronted with the vast amount of information and legal terminology applied to women—married, unmarried and widowed in the OT.
1. The Levirite law for a brother to marry his brother's widow is called a 'duty to her' (Genesis 38:8) 2. Ze-lop-he-had's daughters brought a legal case before Moses and the elders (Numbers 27) 3.They show up as required joint-agents with husbands in a number of settings (Genesis 26:11; 26:34-35; 1 Samuel 14:1ff) 4.They could buy their freedom (like males) (Exodus 21:2-4) 5.They could be witnesses at the gate, even to capital crimes (Deuteronomy 21:18; 22:15f; 25:5) 6.Widows could initiate property transference transactions at the gate (Deuteronomy 25:5; Ruth 4:7-8) 7.They had access to the king for grievances! (2 Samuel 14; 2 Kings 8:5; 1 Kings 3:16) 8. Widows were said to have legal "cases" (Isaiah 1:16-18, 23) and are spoken in terms of "justice" (=>rights, Isaiah 10:1)
FIVE: Doesn’t the Bible teach that God cursed women by making them subject/subordinate to men?
This is just plain not true. Notice the key verse.
Genesis 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Do you see a curse here or anywhere in these scriptures specifically against the woman OR man for that matter. It is only the serpent and the ground that get the curse. Notice…
Genesis 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
See, its the ground and the serpent getting the curse. Not the woman. And besides, in this committing of the first sin, who is the one that gets the real responsibility, the woman that knew not and was deceived or the one that knew better and sinned anyway? Notice the words of Jesus
Luke 12:47-48 47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
Now, just what does the Bible say about how sin entered the world…
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
So what is Genesis 3:16 talking about then?
Genesis 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
It’s a prediction of things to come. The first part is an action by God—causing pain in child birth but the latter half is the prediction that man and woman will struggle with each other for power.
The word for “your desire” and “rule” and the exact set of prepositions and word order occur in Genesis 4:7
Genesis 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Or put more simply…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.”
So if these forms/structures of the words are identical then Genesis 3:16 gives this prediction.
You women will desire to rule over your husband and at the same time he will struggle diligently to rule over you.
Surely, we have seen this power struggle between men and women throughout the ages. The point here is this:
These verses cannot be used to subjugate or justify dominance over women. We learned this in the sermon about the great mystery of Ephesians 5...
Ephesians 5:21-24 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. 22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Ephesians 5:31-32 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
That is the key to this whole subject of women: One flesh. Each party, male and female ends this great struggle to dominate the other and overcomes the prediction of Genesis 3:16. With the Spirit of God we each, male and female become like Christ.
This is what Paul is talking about when he states that women keep silent in church in 1 Corinthians And 1 Timothy. Both those passages are talking about the arguing and contentions that were prevalent in church at the time.
1 Corinthians 14:35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
This is speaking to the husband and wife being of one mind…one flesh on the scriptures and not arguing in church. Verse 40 says…
1 Corinthians 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
Paul was not against women. Though women were not to preach in public they were often seen conducting personal evangelism even to ministers.
Acts 18:24-26 24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
Now I have to end the sermon here and I have not even had time to speak of the impact of women in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Never did He ever put a woman in a negative illustration.
Even Pilate’s wife witnessed to her husband telling him during the trial…”Have nothing to do with that just man” Matthew 27:19
Woman were the first witnesses to the resurrection and in Luke 24 it is women speaking …evangelizing to the men.
Yes, it is a fact that God’s great Word gives great support to women so let us live the Mystery of Ephesians 5 and all be ONE FLESH TOGETHER!!
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