TG II Lsn 8

The Authority of Husbands

Lesson 8

The Fall of Woman

Eve sinned in the garden and all women paid the price.

To the woman God said:

1. "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall _____ ______ you." (Genesis 3:16)

The law of God from the time Eve sinned was that husbands would rule over their wives. Man had the physical power through his greater physical strength and he had the authority from God rule over his wife. As we have studied in other areas of authority or dominion, mankind can and often does abuse power. Governments can force abusive laws upon their citizens. Humans can be destructive within their dominion over the earth.

We have studied the authority of God and Christ and we observed that God always rules for our benefit. In the history of mankind from the beginning, we learn that human authority does not always rule for the benefit of those under its power.

Women’s Legal Rights

In America woman is legally equal to man. Woman has the freedom to vote. She has laws which protect her from every kind of discrimination. She has the right to choose her own mate, rather than have her parents make that decision for her. We read the Old Testament from the American perspective and our blood boils when we learn of the treatment women often received. I have been asked more than once, “Why did God allow this?”

When God established an authority He stepped out of the way and let that authority rule. God at times removed evil authorities. He always caused those who were wicked in their use of power to suffer consequences for their actions. In general though, he did not step in and prevent those in authority from abusing their power. This was definitely so concerning the authority of husbands.

Even righteous men did not always rule for the benefit of their wives. An example is Abraham:

2. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, "This is your kindness that you should do for __: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, "He is my _________ . (Genesis 20:13)

Abraham told Sarah to tell everyone that she was his sister to save his own neck. He was not thinking of protecting her or her desires or what was best for her. She was beautiful and he feared that he would be killed by men who desired to have her. He preferred to let them think she was his sister and even allow them to sleep with her, so that they would leave him alone. If you read the rest of the story, though, you will find that God did not approve of this action on Abraham’s part and intervened before anything happened to Sarah.

On the other hand, God held the husband, the one in authority, responsible if a wife disobeyed God’s direct command. God came close to killing Moses once because his wife, Zipporah, refused to allow their sons to be circumcised.

3. And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to ______ him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses'feet, and said, "Surely you are a husband of blood to me!" So He let him go. Then she said, "You are a husband of blood!"--because of the circumcision. (Exodus 4:24-26)

Were There Any Good Husbands in the OT?

There are stories in the Old Testament which show the suffering women endured under the power of men who did not value them or who did not rule for their benefit. These stories will curl your hair and curdle your blood. An example, if you have the stomach to read it is found in Judges 19.

Were there any good husbands in the OT who ruled with love and wisdom? We will consider several men who come to my mind:

Please pick out and describe the part in the following passages that indicate the husband was loving and good in his actions as ruler over his wife. If the passage does not give specific details about the husband/wife relationship, choose something from the passage which indicates the character of this person that would cause one to think he would respect his wife and rule for her benefit:

4. 2 Kings 4:8-37.

5. Job 31

6. Ruth 3-4

Rate the Wives

We have put the men of the OT under the microscope. From what we have learned, it is easy for us to have a strong emotional reaction to the way women were treated, but let’s be fair. How did the wives in the OT rate as righteous wives? Let’s look at a list of wives and consider what we know about them. Answer the following question about each one and give the reason for your answer:

Was she an obedient wife?

Was she respectful of her husband?

Was she a help-meet?

7. Noah’s wife (Gen.7:8)

8. Sarah (1 Peter 3:5-6)

9. Delilah (Judges 16:4-21)

10. The Virtuous Woman (Proverbs 31:10-31)

11. Rebekah (Gen.27)

11. Abigail (1 Samuel 25:2-37)

12. Jezebel (1 Kings 21)

13. Ruth (Ruth 2-4)

14. Job’s Wife (Job 2:1-9)

The roles of husbands and wives stayed the same under the NT Law, but there was a dramatic modification in the standard of behavior within the marriage relationship.

Below are characteristics of the Christian husband. Find the verse which states the following in the Eph. 5:22-33 and 1 Pet. 3:7, 1 Cor. 7:2-5 passages:

15. Head of the wife

16. Loves his wife

17. Love his wife as his own body

18. Nourishes the relationship with his wife just as Christ does the church

19. Cherishes his wife just as Christ does the church

20. Strives to understand his wife and her needs

21. Honors his wife

22. Freely submits his body to his wife in the sexual relationship

Below are characteristics of the Christian wife. Find the verse which states the following in the Eph. 5:22-33; Titus 2:4-5; 1 Pet. 3:1, 5-6, (1 Cor.7:2-5) passages:

23. Is submissive to her husband

24. Respects or reverences her husband

25. Loves her husband

26. Freely submits her body to her husband in the sexual relationship

27. In 1 Peter 3:8-11 we have a list of conduct for all relationships, including marriage. Please list them:

Respect the Authority of Your Husband

We conclude this lesson by thinking again about the theme of our lessons in this series: Authority. It is so important to have the proper respect for all authority. We cannot go to heaven without it. As wives, we should examine our conduct and our attitude towards our husbands regularly. We honor God when we honor, respect, obey and love our husbands.

The title of this series is The Greatest Among You. Jesus said:

28. But he who is greatest among you shall be your __________ . (Matt.23:11)

Woman has the advantage by position to become the greatest among Christ’s disciples. In the chain of authority, she serves under the authority of the Father, the Son and her husband. This makes her a servant of all.

The rules in the Kingdom of Christ may seem strange. Those who serve the most will be given the highest rank. Not only will a woman who serves well, in obedience to all authority, be greatly exalted in Christ’s kingdom, but in an ironic twist, she is exalted by God above her husband’s head as she adorns his head like a golden crown:

29. An ___________ wife is the _______ of her husband, (Prov.12:4)

I pray that all Christian wives will in this way glorify God and their husband, never being guilty of shaming the honor of either:

30. But she who causes shame is like ___________ in his bones. (Prov.12:4)

Wives submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. (Eph.5:22)