During a time in which Israel was led by a woman prophetess (GASP!), whose name was Deborah, Israel was being oppressed by Jabin, the king of Canaan. Jabin's army was commanded by Sisera, the dude in the painting. Deborah recruited Barak to kick Jabin's army's butt, along with 10,000 men. She told him that even though the Lord would give them the victory, the full honor wouldn't be his "for the Lord [would] deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman" (Judges 4:9). After Barak and the 10,000 men succeeded in their endeavor, Sisera escaped and sought refuge in the house of Heber and Jael, the woman in the painting. He did this because Heber's family had an alliance with King Jabin. Little did Sisera know that he was barking up the wrong tree...
Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
“I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.
“Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”
But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead. (Judges 4-18-22 NIV)
Most blessed of women be Jael [...]
Her hand reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workman’s hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,
she shattered and pierced his temple.
At her feet he sank,
he fell; there he lay.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
where he sank, there he fell—dead.
(Judges 5: 24a; 26-27 NIV)
1. God is not a man.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27 NIV)
It is interesting to note that the Bible uses both male and female metaphors to describe God, although it contains more male metaphors than female. In the same article mentioned above, Mowczko says:
God, through the Bible writers, used metaphors that the people of Israel could identify with, and they could identify with patriarchy. The cultural norm of patriarchy, in fact, makes the feminine metaphors of God all the more significant.
Finally, we cannot ignore the fact that God made himself flesh and came to the world as Jesus, a male. I think Mowczko's treatment of this subject is so good that I'm just gonna point you to her article here.
2. Jesus honored women.
- The genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew includes several women, even though the genealogies of those times usually overlooked them. (Matthew 1)
- Jesus came to the world through the pregnancy of Mary, a young Jewish virgin who was "highly favored" by God. (Luke 1: 28). Furthermore, Mary and Elizabeth were the first, in their day, to prophecy that the Savior was gonna be born, not Joseph nor Zechariah. (Luke 1:39-45)
- It is often said that the first evangelist was a woman. When Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman at the well he revealed some profound truths about the Kingdom of God just to her. The disciples were shocked to see him talking with a woman in public, especially a Samaritan woman because the Jews didn't associate with Samaritans. When Jesus finished speaking with her, she told everyone what he had told her and many Samaritans believed in Jesus because of her testimony. (John 4)
- All four Gospels record an incident in which Jesus allowed a woman to anoint him and passionately worship him in front of others. In one of these occasions the woman is said to be a sinful women, probably a prostitute, and she performs her act of worship in a Pharisee's house. When the men criticize her, Jesus rebukes them and praises the woman for her deed. He even goes so far to say that wherever the Gospel is preached, this woman's action will be spoken about. (Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:1-10, Luke 7:36-50, John 12:1-8)
- Jesus saved a woman that was caught in adultery from getting stoned by the Pharisees. (John 8:1-11)
- Some of Jesus's best friends were Mary and Martha. Mary sat at Jesus's feet to hear him teach, a posture that only disciples assumed. (Luke 10-38-42)
- Even though the 12 apostles were all men, there were women that accompanied them on their missionary trips and supported them out of their own means. (Luke 8:1-3) It was certainly not common for women to leave their homes and follow a Jewish teacher, but Jesus welcomed them into his ministry.
- Women were the first ones to realize that Jesus had resurrected. (Luke 24:1-12)
3. Paul recognized women leaders.
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me. (Romans 16:1-2)
The word "benefactor" is prostatis in Greek, a word that usually implies leadership and can also be translated as "patroness". For a more thorough analysis of the word in relation to Phoebe, click here.
Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. (Romans 16: 3 NIV)
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. (Romans 16:7 NIV)
The reason for many Biblical translators to make it seem as if Junia was a man and/or not an apostle is because the idea of a female apostle does not resonate with their anti-female-leadership doctrine. However, as Mowczko explains in her article "Junia and the ESV", "the masculine name, Junias, never actually appears in any Ancient Greek literature (or papyri or inscription) whatsoever before the 13th century, while the female name, Junia, appears frequently." Therefore, it is more reasonable to conclude that Junia was in fact a woman and not a man. The translation "well known to the apostles" instead of "outstanding among the apostles" has also been refuted in the article mentioned above.
Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. (Colossians 4:15 NIV)
4. Christian women are not commanded to obey their husbands.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. (Ephesians 5: 21-22)
Biblical submission is not equivalent to obedience. The Greek word for "submit" is hupotasso. According to the Thayer's and Smith's Bible Dictionary, this word has both a military and a non-military application:
A Greek military term meaning "to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader". In non-military use, it was "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden".
Some people argue that Genesis 3: 16, where God tells Eve "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you" is God's prescription for marriage. I argue that in this verse God is describing what was going to happen as a consequence of sin entering the world, not revealing His will for marriage. Furthermore, we no longer live under the curse of sin, but instead we move in the freedom that Christ purchased for us with his blood.
I love how Mowczko ends her article on this same subject ("Submission in Marriage"):
Every follower of Jesus Christ, regardless of gender, race, social or church position, should endeavour to live in submissive harmony with others. Jesus exemplified this submission and humility during his earthly mission. Our aim should be to intentionally follow Christ’s example found in Philippians 2:3-8:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
But in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Each of you should look not only to your own interests
But also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who being in the very nature God,
Did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
But made himself nothing,
Taking the very nature of a servant,
Being made in the likeness of man,
He humbled Himself and became obedient to death
Even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:3-8.
5. Men are not "heads of the household" or "priests of the family."
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”--which is the first commandment with a promise--“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:1-3 NIV)
6. The husband is the head of the wife.
But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man,and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3 NIV)
For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. (Ephesians 5:23 NIV)
“But I want you to realize that the source (or origin) of every man is Christ, and the source (or origin) of [the first] woman is [the first] man, and the source (or origin) of Christ is God [or the triune Godhead].”
Husbands are to love and care for their wives as Jesus loves and cares for the church. It seems that just as Christ is the sustainer and source (kephalē) of nurture for the church, the husband is to be the sustainer and source (kephalē) of nurture for his wife.
7. The Biblical ideal is equality between men and women.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:27-28)
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,' for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. (Genesis 2:23-24)
Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. (1 Corinthians 11:11-12 NIV)
The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. (1 Corinthians 7:4 NIV)
And to conclude...
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free,nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3: 26-28)
- Is God Male or Masculine?
- The Twelve Apostles Were all Male
- Jesus & the War on Women
- Paul's Personal Greetings to Women Ministers
- A Reexamination of Phoebe as a “Diakonos” and “Prostatis”: Exposing the Inaccuracies of English Translations
- Did Priscilla Teach Apollos?
- Junia and the ESV
- Submission in Marriage
- Submission and Respect in 1 Timothy 3:1-6
- Submission and Respect in 1 Timothy 3:7-8
- Leading Together in the Home
- Kephalē and “Male Headship” in Paul’s Letters
- The Chiasm in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16
- Paul's Main Point in Ephesians 5:22-23