Woman in the Hands of God: Proverbs 31:13-14
29 Jul
Why is it important to compare common teachings with contextual understanding? And why bother throwing it out there on the internet? Surely there are enough women making enough noise about how to be a biblical woman.
Well, back in March, my journal entry said this:
Last night, I read Proverbs 31 to David and explained to him how warped it reads to me after spending time in Christian homeschooling circles. He was stunned. He said he’d never heard that stuff before. My whole view of him, our home life, and even his Christian upbringing changed.
Husbands, do you know what your wives are being taught as they seek resources and direction from other women? Wives, are you truly submitting your understanding to your husbands and asking your own man for his input at home? Guess what: I wasn’t being subject to my husband. And it caused the doctrine within our household to shift from the foundation of his leadership to a feminine-initiated, outside influence called “Titus 2 womanhood,” where “discipleship” is handed off from one woman to another in excessive isolation from male teaching. For those who believe in male headship, that’s all wrong.
Let’s keep reading through and discussing with spouses.
She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.
She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.~Prov. 31:13-14
American fundamentalist version:
She is confined to the home, often working at subsistence tasks, because sewing and natural living are arbitrarily deemed to be godlier than working for an employer. She is immersed in frugal living tasks, going out of her way to bargain-hunt or make do on secondhand or refurbished goods.
Contextual understanding:
Primary industry provides a backbone of hard products needed for basic quality of life. Israel’s land heritage laws reflect this, as do the blessings and curses of God on the nation. When the base level of subsistence production is removed in favour of foreign-dominated trade, the nation becomes vulnerable to famine and economic exploitation. We see this cycle going on in the developing world today.
Involving women in production and trade has been shown to assist in creating the needed balance between subsistence and trade good production. A woman with the skills to source raw materials and produce value-added goods is a foreign trade partner to the throne. Her economic force is like merchant ships, attracting trade from afar. By ensuring her safety and quality in the public forum, the kingdom’s stability is enhanced and its needs are met — in contrast, for instance, to the treatment the bride is given in Song of Solomon when she seeks her husband at night and is accosted by the city guard.
I’m enjoying your series, but how exactly do you define “Anmerican fundamentalists”? The original “five fundamentals” that sprouted the term would seem to align with your views:
The inspiration of the Bible by the Holy Spirit and the inerrancy of Scripture as a result of this.
The virgin birth of Christ.
The belief that Christ’s death was the atonement for sin.
The bodily resurrection of Christ.
The historical reality of Christ’s miracles.
Hey, Ratbert! Since I’m in snark mode…
Like tasteless decor, you know one of these guys when you see one…first off, they’re American.
Or here in Canada, they’re zombies infected by American homeschool conference speakers who shouldn’t have been let across the border. Dominionism has a particular appeal because (A) the “real” America is a God-fearing nation and (B) America should rule the world.
Second off, in practice, the inerrancy of Scripture often gets transposed onto a certain English translation, rather than the orthodox understanding of what you’re referencing.
Thirdly, the virgin birth is a perfect example of the fact that a woman’s place is strictly in the home, mass-producing babies who will grow up to go out and bring in the kingdom. That’s what Jesus’ mother did, after all.
Fourthly, Christ’s atonement takes a shake-up with delectable little additions called “fruits”: “You’re not TRULY saved if you don’t conform to…” whatever the pastor cooked up this week. (Calvinism can be so handy that way. So can Arminianism. It’s all the same in AF.) It is a universally acknowledged truth that pastor-rule works, by the way, because as soon as the pastor begins teaching error, of course he’ll remove himself from the pulpit.
Fifthly, miracles are usually banned, except as an abstract, unless one needs to invoke a convenient one to keep the flock in line. Which does reflect on the value of a risen Christ’s efficacy, if only in terms of sheer irony.
Pardon the tongue-in-cheek caricature, but those might be some of the influences one would notice. I’m sure someone will slap my hand for it, but Jezebel here has no patience left with this type of teaching. It’s hurting too many people.
Where ya been, man? I’ve barely heard a peep since the wedding. Is that the sweet sound of work happening?
My own personal definition of the people I *think* Cat is talking about, can be summed up by telling a little story that a former pastor of mine once told:
T [I shall call him] was at home in the parsonage, preparing one his [highly orthodox & deeply Biblical] sermons, when the doorbell rang….When he saw the man in the collar & tie at his door, T was thinking Mormon/Jehovah Witness.
Nope. It was the new Independent Baptist minister. T graciously invited him in for what he thought would be a pleasant “getting to know your fellow local clergy” visit….Instead, once Pastor New Man-in-Town was seated on the couch, he announced: “Mr T, I am here to convert you from Methodism to Christianity!”[Imagine insert of draw-dropping smiley here].
Pastor N MiT was unceremoniously shown the door……
And while this bizarre exchange was going on, Pastor N MiT was missing a chance to make a friendly call on one of the real & actual unbelievers who [I know for a fact] live in the village.
That’s sad, but it’s true. Just like the sad-but-true “use the Bible as a weapon to beat other Christians over the head with” tactics that Cat describes in the above [excellent!!] post.
Yeah, think Vision Forum, Men of Patriarchy or whatever James McDonald (not the radio guy) calls his thing, and Pearls have their own take on it, at odds with the rest of them, of course, but ultimately the same message when you boil down the teachings…
I’m not sure if quantifying it works completely, though it does come specifically out of certain ministries. It pops up in a lot of different places in shades and variations. I’m just expressing some frustration with the implied or outright spoken things that have filtered through to me via the elements active in Christian homeschooling circles.
Okay, so even though I’d call myself a fundamentalist in some sense (I agree with the fundamentals), you’re describing the bizarre form that really places tradition above point 1.
Sweet sound of work? Ah, maybe. I’ve been very busy, but have worked on half a dozen projects without seeing a red cent, Canadian or American. Three people are claiming they’ll pay me soon, so we shall see.
My problem with VF/patriarchy has always been that they sell their ideas at home school conferences. Ron and I have attended several of our state’s conferences. It really is a good way to (1) get a look at all the curriculum that is available and make purchasing decisions, (2) spend the evenings focusing on our goals for our children and (3) involving Ron in our home school plans. Our conference discourages you from bringing children less than 12 years old. And, it starts on Friday — a work day. So, typically, the wife is at the conference alone. She is making decisions about what to buy. These texts and books are not benign. They teach a lifestyle and theology that are different from mainline Christianity. Subtly, the wife begins leading the family.
It will be hard to fit the contextual analysis of this passage into typical American thinking. Most Americans have bought in to the idea that mass consumption of goods creates jobs, wealth and economy. Can we really boil this down to something as simple as production must exceed consumption — and will people buy it? Hard work for all men and women.
I am having difficulty convincing my children. In fact, the other day Beverly whined, “All I ever get to do is work. I clean the house and then I have to go out and work in the garden. Every day. It sucks!”