Lesson 5 on biblical submission...
Proverbs 31:10 Morsel to Chew On
"The woman described here is of priceless value. She has physical strength, mental strength, moral strength and spiritual strength. Above all she loves God deeply and reverently. She is characterized in this section six ways, and I'll point them out to you as we just look together at the Scripture...six ways. Her character as a wife, her devotion as a homemaker, her generosity as a neighbor, her influence as a teacher, her effectiveness as a mother and her excellence as a person...the sum of all of that makes the excellent wife. And I might add that this is no woman in particular but this is the woman that every woman should seek to emulate. She is rare, look at verse 10, an excellent wife...by the way, the word excellent in Hebrew means force, a woman of force, a woman of substance, a woman of strength would be another way to characterize her. It's excellent in the sense of her strength spiritually, morally, mentally, physically. She is a woman of substances. She is a woman who has made a dent in society. She is one who makes a difference. There's a force about her life. This kind of wife, he says, who can find? Very rare. Hard to find this kind of woman."
Khah'-yil means: strength, might, efficiency, a force (like an army). Interesting, isn't it? That the first thing that's mentioned about the Proverbs 31 woman is that she is strong, she is efficient, she is a force.
Unfortunately, in today's society and even in evangelical churches, the term "submissive wife" is often thought of as enslavement, entrapment or viewed as something vulgar. It is often described as an archaic perception of women and threatens the very "rights for freedom" women have so diligently fought for since the 1960's. But none of these views are accurate of the Biblically submissive wife. As you can see by definition, an excellent wife is no man's pawn, no man's doormat, is not mousy, nor is she an idiot unfit to do anything but be "barefoot and pregnant".
No, a Biblically submissive wife is exactly what God intended her to be: strong, mighty, efficient and a force to be reckoned with - against Satan, not against her husband.
Any woman who acknowledges the truth of a Biblically submissive woman would never shrink back or think twice about attaining such a great honor. Instead she would readily recognize the power God has already given her, instead of listening to Satan's empty lies, like he offered Eve - to give her what she already possessed, great intellect (because she was intimate with God), and great influence over her husband (that's why Adam also ate). Eve didn't have influence over Adam after the Fall, she already had it...that's what caused the Fall. Let us not follow her example, but as daughters of God, let us surely learn from it!
Oh dearly beloved sisters, daughters of the one and only God Most High, heed the word of our Lord and do not be deceived by our enemy, the devil who entices you to wield your strength, your might, your efficiency and force that our Father God has graciously bestowed upon you to strike your own bodies, your own head, your own husbands. But let us instead armor ourselves with the armor of God and wield our influence over our husbands for the glory of God through Biblical submission and strike Satan, our adversary.
Remember, the intellect and great knowledge God has granted you was given to you to fight against our enemy, Satan so that you will not be deceived by any of his schemes. Your intellect and great knowledge was not given to you so you could lord it over your husbands.
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You, our gracious Lord God, our Rock and our Redeemer. And may we, as Your daughters who call You Father through our Savior, Jesus the Christ only speak words that are a benefit to our husbands according to their needs, not what we think they need. May Satan tremble at the sight of your submissive daughters, aware that we are storming the gates of Hell and taking back what was lost in the Garden - the oneness of a husband and wife. May what You LORD brought together, never again be separated! Not on our watch! Every victory in Jesus Christ alone! AMEN
"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."
~Ephesians 4:29~
wielding my tongue to bring life, not death
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