Spiritual Authority

Hello my adorable Thinkers!

A quick disclaimer: Please keep in mind that these are my opinions from what I see in Scripture and not what I think everyone should do. If God has led you in a different direction or to a different conclusion, that is between you and Him.

Previously in our conversation on purity we discussed virginity and why it is important, and I mentioned that a part of that would be discussed in this conversation on spiritual authority. We discussed modesty and how the way we dress and act reflect the way we want to present ourselves, and how we should present ourselves as those who are made in the image of God (since we are). We discussed mental purity and what the Scriptures say about keeping out minds pure. Today we are going to be talking about spiritual authority and how it ties into the discussion of virginity.

I want to impress that this post is in no way condoning abuse or for people to stay in situations that threaten their safety. If you are in danger, I urge you to seek help and find where you will be safe.

The concept of spiritual authority is a topic that is highly debated in many circles. Some groups feel that men have an authority similar to God over women and children. While others feel that men have no authority, or business in their lives. These seem to be two drastic sides of a spectrum and I have heard many opinions that fall between those as well.

For many years (possibly thousands of years) the Bible has been used as an instrument to keep subjects in submission, subjects of a throne and subjects of a Church. For this reason many people have left their faith since they had been taught that they were in a hierarchy and would never be able to have any freedoms or say about their own lives. I do not see this hierarchy to be truth in scripture but scripture being twisted to say what those in authority want.

Specifically in Proverbs 31 we see a woman who in charge of her household, honors her husband, and runs at least one business. She is highly praised by everyone around her, including her husband. Now I don’t think that we need to work our lives trying to be her, but I do think that Proverbs 31 shows us that God does not see women as incapable or unable to manage affairs.

So what does scripture say about women and men?

The first (and usually only) Old Testament scripture that I have seen brought up in this discussion is the “curse” God said to Eve in the Garden after she was tempted and ate the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and then shared it with Adam. Genesis 3:16 “To the woman He said, ‘I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall deliver children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you’.”

God said that the husband will “rule over” his wife? What does that mean? First when I looked this verse up in the original Hebrew language, I found that the words “over you” are not in the Hebrew, but from the Greek Septuagint. In Hebrew the verse would end, “Yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule.” I can see why they would add the last two words for clarity since ending the sentence like that does not explain what he will rule, but maybe for our purposes the word “over” has been miss-used too much and we can find more clarity with out it.

The second thing that I looked at in this verse are other ways is that word “rule” used in Scripture. Most of the other uses are when a king rules over his people, or Joseph “ruled” over Egypt. But there was one use of “rule” that stood out to me. When God created the world in Genesis 1:18, He created the sun and the moon, and He made them to “rule” over the day and night. Which made many of the other uses of rule seem far less authoritative and maybe it is more of a guarding, like a King guarding his people from their enemies in Joshua 12:2, or Joseph guarding the Egyptians from famine in Genesis 45:26.

The idea of men guarding women is also seen when you look at the laws of vows in Numbers 30. In this chapter God outlines who can annul who’s vows. Men are held to any vow that they take on, as are divorced women and widows. Girls in their father’s house are only held to their vows if the day that their father hears of the vow he says nothing. He can only annul the vow the day he hears of it, if he says nothing, he cannot change his mind later.

If a woman gets married and is either under a former vow, or makes a new vow, the same one day policy remains for the husband. On the day he hears of her vow he can annul it, but no later. Both fathers and husbands are also responsible for any consequences that may arise from annulling the vows.

The way I see it, these laws are a protection for the woman. If a woman has been in communication with her husband or father about her plans, he can’t later say that they mean nothing, he had known about them all along and likely had many chances along the way to either talk her out of it or to say no at that point. But if she really is doing something and forgot to mention it, or was doing it in secret, her husband (or father) can save her from the repercussions of her actions by taking them onto himself.

In Exodus 22:16-17 we see another way that a father guards over his daughters. “If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and sleeps with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the dowry for virgins.” The father needs to be aware enough that this may not be a good match. Even if he suspects that his daughter was pressured or convinced to let this happen, he guards her from being trapped in a bad marriage or being forced to marry her rapist. That is a lot of pressure for the man.

This authority that is given to the father or husband does not seem to be where the woman cannot do anything. Instead she has someone who is always looking out for her, to protect her. She can still judge Israel (Judges 4:5), be a midwife (Exodus 1:15), or take care of those who can no longer take care of themselves (the whole book of Ruth). There are many respected women of the Bible who held careers, made money themselves, and were leaders, the examples could go on and on.

Now it is important that this protection is given from the father to the husband. That way the daughter is still being protected from things she may not see. God has set up this authority for our good, just like everything else He does! We are not subjects, we are protected.

That concludes my series on purity! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments or at the bottom of the main page where it says “cerebrations?”. I hope to hear from you soon!

Until next time my adorable Thinkers! ~The Pondering Panda