Oct. 19, 2012. This morning I started out reading Rev. 2 regarding the Ephesian Church, then I moved to Ephesians itself, and then some how I ended up in Genesis 3. I'm currently working on the page addressing Women's roles in the family, so this area of Scripture is pertinent to that subject, because it is where God is dishing out the just desserts to Eve, the 'Serpent'[Satan], and Adam after their disobedience. God tells Eve that because she was deceived into taking the Serpent's word over His, and then got her husband to follow her through her influence, God would now greatly multiply her sorrow [toil, pain, hardship]and her conception[pregnancy], and in pain she shall bring forth children and her desire would be for her husband and he would rule over her. Okay stop right there - this is a very important statement and one many pastors claim is a 'difficult saying', or hard to interpret. That may be true for them, but God repeats this statement to their son Cain in the next chapter. Let's read it together starting at verse 1 of chapter four:
Now Adam knew [had sex with]Eve his wife, and [she]conceived and bore Cain, and
said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD."
Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but
Cain was a tiller of the ground.
And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.
Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but he did not respect Cain and his offering.
And Cain was very angry and his countenance fell.
So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD."
Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but
Cain was a tiller of the ground.
And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.
Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but he did not respect Cain and his offering.
And Cain was very angry and his countenance fell.
So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
There it is - the same phrase God used with Eve regarding part of her sentencing: "your desire shall be for your husband, but he shall rule over you." Concerning Cain, God said that sin was crouching at the door of his heart - desiring to rule over Cain, to master him and get him to do the unthinkable - to murder his brother. God warned him not to let this happen, that he should rule over sin instead, because apparently he could have done just that. God won't tell you to do something you are not able to do. Instead, Cain willfully allowed sin to master, or rule over him, and he earned himself the dishonor of being the world's second murderer. Satan was the first murderer, as he "murdered" Adam and Eve, and even himself in a way, since going against God is suicide.
And so we can now take this phrase with its interpretation and apply it to Eve's situation. Eve was approached by the Serpent [or shiny guarding cherub] and was beguiled by his lies and faulty, yet cleaver reasoning. This is what is known as tale-bearing or the abundance of trading, something Satan is accused of in Ezekiel 28.
Sorry ladies, but we women are not very gifted in the unemotional realm of logic and objective reasoning. God wired us to deal and excel in the realm of emotion and influence, which we apply either subtlety, or overtly. Eve was singled out and outwitted (or duped) by the Adversary, while Adam was not. Her desire to be wise was good, but wisdom gained apart from God in disobedience isn't good, and with that desire kindled in her, Satan easily lead her astray. And since misery loves company, or no ones sins unto themselves, Eve quickly sought to influence her husband to follow her example. And like a lamb lead to the slaughter, Adam complied with her instead of obeying the direct command he received from God Almighty - oops! The natural order of the family was disrupted and contaminated at that moment, resulting in the fall of mankind - Adam didn't protect his wife from the Serpent's wiles, and then followed the influence of his wife instead of God's command. Now God said that Eve's desire would be to rule over her husband, but he would rule over her." Thus the battle of the sexes was born out of sin.
Sorry ladies, but we women are not very gifted in the unemotional realm of logic and objective reasoning. God wired us to deal and excel in the realm of emotion and influence, which we apply either subtlety, or overtly. Eve was singled out and outwitted (or duped) by the Adversary, while Adam was not. Her desire to be wise was good, but wisdom gained apart from God in disobedience isn't good, and with that desire kindled in her, Satan easily lead her astray. And since misery loves company, or no ones sins unto themselves, Eve quickly sought to influence her husband to follow her example. And like a lamb lead to the slaughter, Adam complied with her instead of obeying the direct command he received from God Almighty - oops! The natural order of the family was disrupted and contaminated at that moment, resulting in the fall of mankind - Adam didn't protect his wife from the Serpent's wiles, and then followed the influence of his wife instead of God's command. Now God said that Eve's desire would be to rule over her husband, but he would rule over her." Thus the battle of the sexes was born out of sin.
This is the lesson we should take away from these passages - when the woman rules the roost, disaster is sure to follow. Like sin desires to rule over us and master us, likewise women desire to rule over and master men. However, that is not God's original design, because he made man first, and then he made the woman from the man. If God intended them to be "co-equal", as hireling pastors assert, then he would have made them at the same time, not in a progression. Does this mean that a man is to be cruel and harsh toward his wife and daughters? No way! God never gave that command, or even condoned the mistreatment of his crowning jewel of creation, by a man. On the contrary, women are to be cherished and protected as being weaker and precious- that is not a bad thing. There are many lovely and valuable things in this life that are paradoxically fragile, yet strong, such as a fine bone china teacup. I have seen some teacups fetch exorbitant prices at auctions, teacups that are cherished and prized for their delicate beauty. But our sick and twisted society would have us believe that it is bad for a woman to be weaker than a man.
And, believe it or not, women are given rights in the Old Testament, and God laid down penalties for those who would perpetrate their abuse. Then, why do men mistreat their womenfolk? Simply put, they lack understanding and they hate themselves. These are the reasons Scripture gives for the adulterous and the abusive man. After the fall of mankind, cruelty entered their hearts and twisted God's natural order. So men, no doubt egged on by evil spirits, started to treat women like objects rather than human beings. I will address spousal abuse, and other issues like it, in my family section, because there are always exceptions to every rule, but those exceptions must be backed by Scripture. My family has been hurt a great deal by this and other ungodly behaviors. So please understand, if I am a sympathetic and compassionate soul toward these frightful and heart-wrenching situations, then how much more compassionate is Jesus?
As for the rest of us who are not the object of physical and/or emotional abuse - dear reader, if you are a Christian woman, and you are ready to spit bullets, or "hulk-out" in a fit of rage, because I am telling you that your husband is to rule over you, then you are in grave spiritual danger. Sin is at the door, and its desire is for you, but you must rule over it and SUBMIT to God's original design. If you dare call yourself a "Christian", then you have to submit to God's word, and obey it, and not shop it for what appeals to you. This is something I had to learn the hard way, and with Jesus' help, I have since removed the plank from my eye, and boy was it blinding me to the truth. Fortunately for me, my husband is a good man, far better than most, in my opinion. He doesn't swear like a sailor, drink a beer much less a six-pack everyday after work to "unwind", and he doesn't smack me or the kids around when we upset him. He doesn't gamble away his pay check, and he doesn't ogle other women. I know that because he has gotten flack for it by some of his co-workers for not being "one of the guys."
I think he watches too much sports, but I've heard tales from other women that make me glad Robert only watches baseball and football. But all that wasn't good enough for me, oh no - I thought he should be better than he was, and I put enormous pressure on him to make me happy - you know like the "fairy tales" promise will happen. I thought he didn't provide enough money, I was convinced he wasn't as smart as I was, and he wasn't funny anymore either, etc. etc. etc. Basically, even though I loathed feminism, somewhere along the way, a desire toward ruling over my husband had crept in, and had taken root, and was producing its evil fruit. Little did I realize that I was the problem, not Robert, but fortunately for me, Jesus disciplines those he loves. So one fateful night, many years ago, he gave me a good and well deserved tongue lashing. I literally heard his voice and he was not happy with me, not one bit. He got my attention, and things slowly started to change, not with Robert, but with me.
I think he watches too much sports, but I've heard tales from other women that make me glad Robert only watches baseball and football. But all that wasn't good enough for me, oh no - I thought he should be better than he was, and I put enormous pressure on him to make me happy - you know like the "fairy tales" promise will happen. I thought he didn't provide enough money, I was convinced he wasn't as smart as I was, and he wasn't funny anymore either, etc. etc. etc. Basically, even though I loathed feminism, somewhere along the way, a desire toward ruling over my husband had crept in, and had taken root, and was producing its evil fruit. Little did I realize that I was the problem, not Robert, but fortunately for me, Jesus disciplines those he loves. So one fateful night, many years ago, he gave me a good and well deserved tongue lashing. I literally heard his voice and he was not happy with me, not one bit. He got my attention, and things slowly started to change, not with Robert, but with me.
What are the fruits of all my humble obedience? Well for starters I am happier now, in my proper role as a submissive wife, than when we first got married. I'm more in love with my man today, than when we first met, and we are truly one flesh. He cherishes me, so I feel loved and safe, and honoring and submitting to Robert is getting easier the more I practice it, which makes him want to be a better husband and father, which causes me to respect him more, thus I find a wonderful exponential process being carried out. So, I wouldn't trade what I have now for all the tea in China, and now that I know by experience the benefits of my obedience, I would never want to go back to trying to "wear the pants" in our family- yuck!
I have since learned that I am responsible for myself and how I treat others, and if I start to try and control others with my influence, then I am venturing into the forbidden realm of manipulation, which God hates and akins to witchcraft. Let me put it another way. Trying to control and sway and manipulate your husband to do your bidding by using emotions is witchcraft. Women are so often encouraged in the media to exploit this area of gifting , that of influence turned to manipulation, not for good, but for selfish gain via her womanly wiles. Men are thrown in jail for exerting physical force on a woman, and rightly so. But what legal recourse do men have against a conniving barracuda in a sexy dress, stilleto heels, and alluring painted eyes with pouty red lips? What man wants to admit he was taken to the cleaners by a manipulative wench? No one feels bad for him, they treat him like he should have knew better, so no one sees him as a victim of a serial "man-eater", but they should. The inner wounds she leaves behind are just as grievous as a black eye, or broken ribs. And what about the "equal-rights" diatribe feminists harp about - shouldn't that apply to punitive action for physical and emotional abuses carried out by both sexes as well as other things? How many women would be inclined to use their feminine wiles if they faced criminal charges in a court of law?
For a woman to live in her God ordained role as being submissive toward her father as an unmarried daughter, and her husband when she marries [choose wisely ladies], goes a long way toward avoiding a lot of stress and promotes a happy and healthy family in part, and in our society as a whole. So, I encourage you, dear reader, to be a doer of the word and not a hearer only - 'nuff said.