In the beginning when God created man upon the earth, He established an order, or a set pattern for all future families of earth to follow, a godly pattern, which when adopted and followed closely, would form the building blocks of a strong, durable, and well balanced society, once the first two parents should walk in obedience to the stipulated order. Adam was created first, and after God brought all of the lower animals to be named by him, he intelligently observed that something was missing in his life, because he saw that all of the animals had a help meet, but he had none.
Thus after God caused intelligent desire to be awakened in Adam’s mind, He put him to sleep and performed the world’s first surgery, by making an incision in his body and removing one of his ribs, and from this single bone, woman was made. But even though Eve was created after Adam had been on the scene, The Lord ordained
that they both should stand shoulder to shoulder in the administration of the dominion that was given them as stewards of the entire earth, meaning that collaboration and joint decision making should characterize their relationship with one another. Let’s read:
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
2:23 And Adam said, This [is] now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Genesis 5:1 This [is] the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
5:2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
However, there are certain things that must be observed in the rapid fall of the human race, because the situation which developed in the garden of Eden, between the cunning serpent and our first parents, prepare the stage for what was to follow next, for in the wisdom of God He saw it necessary to make certain adjustments that He deemed necessary for the continual cohesiveness of the family unit. It is worthy of note that the serpent never ever addressed Adam directly, for he would have most likely been detected in his guise, and therefore the devil
awaited an opportune moment when Eve would be isolated from her husband, so that he could introduce his temptations to her with the least possible resistance.
From the sacred record we learn the sad truth that he was indeed successful, and then used Eve as the human agency in taking down Adam. This pattern satan has followed ever since, and with alarming success, for he often operates covertly through wives to destabilize their husbands, a sobering truth that can be traced in the history of patriarchs and prophets alike. It was Sarah who came up with the “brilliant” idea to have her handmaid have sex with her husband, and Abraham succumbed to the temptation, since he thought it wasn’t a bad idea after all. From this one, singular act we have the never-ending disturbances in the Middle East today, where both Jews and Arabs claim Abraham as their father. Let’s read:
Genesis 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now,the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray
thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
16:3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong [be] upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
Then we have Rachel, who suggested to her son Jacob, that he deceive his father Isaac, in order to obtain the promised birthright, which would have been given him anyway, at the appointed time of God’s choosing. She then went about to practice fraud behind her husband’s back, and sewed the skins of sheep and goats together in order to carry out the scheme. However, the result of her suggestion almost cost Jacob his life, and it was the cause of their permanent separation, for she saw the face of her favorite son no more until the day that she died. Let’s read:
Genesis 27:6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
27:7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.
27:8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
27:9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
27:10 And thou shalt bring [it] to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
27:11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother [is] a hairy man, and I [am] a smooth man:
27:12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
27:13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me [be] thy
curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me [them].
27:14 And he went, and fetched, and brought [them] to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.
27:15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which [were] with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
27:16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
27:17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
Then we have Jezebel, who acted as a double agent on behalf of satan, and who stirred up her husband Ahab to commit evil and gross idolatry and outright murder in the sight of God and man, by suggesting that there were alternative methods for obtaining the coveted vineyard of Naboth. It was Jezebel who took the lead in this crime, and who used the imperial stamp of the king behind his back, in order to authorize the slaying of Naboth. Let’s read:
1st Kings 21:2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it [is] near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; [or], if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
21:3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
21:4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
21:5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
21:6 And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee [another] vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.
21:7 And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, [and] eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
21:8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed [them] with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that [were] in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
21:9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
21:10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And [then] carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
21:15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
Moses too almost suffered a premature death, because his wife did not agree with the rite of circumcision, for in her mind, and in the mind of the “humane” society back then, it was an unreasonable and bloody requirement by the God of heaven, and so she also was instrumental in getting Moses to disregard what The Lord had specifically enjoined upon all Hebrew males. The decision to go along with his wife in disobeying God’s commands almost cost him is life, and it was only when faced with imminent danger that she unwillingly submitted to the requirement of God, albeit with a verbal remonstrance on her part. Let’s read:
Exodus 4:19 And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.
4:24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.
4:25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast [it] at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband [art] thou to me.
4:26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband [thou art], because of the circumcision.
It was for all of these foreseeable reasons why The Lord saw fit to appoint the man as the head of the household after our first parents fell, for someone would have to take the lead in administrating the family, which forms the essential building blocks of society. It is worthy of note that after Adam and Eve fell into sin, The Lord did not call Eve first, and as a matter of fact, the order in which He addressed all those who were involved in the first transgression, says much about the order that was to be implemented from this point onward. Let’s read:
Genesis 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou?
3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself.
3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What [is] this [that] thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Genesis 3:16 Unto the woman he said”….. “in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
This passage of scripture given in verse sixteen of Genesis chapter three has been a point of contention by both men and women alike, and there are millions of women who have deeply resented the order God saw fit to establish after the fall of man. And throughout the history of the world there has been a steady effort on the part of satan to reverse this order, and to a great extent he has been successful, for man now sits at the bottom of the social food chain, with animals taking precedence over man, children next, women in third position, and men at the very bottom of the social totem pole. This is a complete and direct reversal of God’s established order where the man was placed at the head, women next, children in third position, and dumb animals last.
However, it is a well-documented fact that in many cases, the actions of men have been catalysts in bringing about the reversal of God’s established order, for the position of authority has indeed been abused in very many cases, thus leading women to resent the God-ordained position of man. Therefore there are some urgent issues that must be addressed objectively in order to remedy the situation of increased divorces and separations that have now become the order of the day.
One of the more prominent sticking points in the order of the family is that of arbitrary rule, a matter that has inherent problems in different societies of the world. The order that God has established was designed for an imperfect world, and by default will of necessity come with both pluses and minuses. But even in these not so ideal situations, God has ordained that certain vital principles be followed. For instance, in the setting up of governments, God has clearly stipulated that we as Christians should abide by the laws of the land, whether we agree with them or not, once they do not force us to violate the direct commandments of God.
This command to obey secular authorities will obviously sometimes put us at odds with what the government thinks is reasonable, and what we ourselves think is reasonable. For instance there are what some would describe as pretty dumb laws on the books, and yet the secular, God ordained authorities expect us to comply, and as Christians we should, even though we may not agree with them in our minds. Let’s read:
Since the 1960s, the city has banned people from parking their pickup trucks in their driveways or on city streets from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
After Aug. 8, 2011 Coral Gables will start issuing tickets to people who violate the parking ban. The first violation will cost $100.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, or give away in the city baby chickens, ducklings or other fowl under four (4) weeks of age, or rabbits under eight (8) weeks of age, to be used as pets, toys or retail.
It is also illegal in some places to hang clothes out to dry in the open air, for this constitutes a violation of state law where applicable.
Now the Bible is crystal clear as it pertains to the duty of Christians who are living within the jurisdiction of the county or state where laws that we do not agree with are in force. We are to abide by them if the county insists, and we are not to have an attitude whilst doing so, because the requirement of obedience does not come merely from man, it comes from God Himself. Let’s read:
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to [execute] wrath upon him that doeth evil.
13:5 Wherefore [ye] must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
13:6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute [is due]; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
In like manner, there will be times in the administration of the family where the wife or the children do not agree with the requests of the father, for in their judgment the laws of the household may seem arbitrary. For instance, in some Christian homes there is a 10 o’clock curfew for kids and teenagers, and some of them might deeply resent this, while in other homes the threshold may be 11 or twelve o’clock as the parents see fit. Now while it is true that the safety and wellbeing of our children should be the guiding principle in matters such as these, yet the main issue of concern is obedience to the God ordained authority of both parents, and if for any reason there is a disagreement between the Christian husband and his wife, as to the time when the children should come home, then the father should have the last word, if a compromise cannot be reached.
This format and principle is set forth in the Bible that there may be no misunderstanding of what God’s will is, as it relates to such matters. Let’s read:
Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing.
And husbands are not to be let off the hook either, for we are commanded to love our wives, just as Christ loves His church, meaning that we should be willing to die doing the right thing, in order to save our wives. The eternal salvation of one’s wife has a lot to do with the husband, and therefore no means should be spared in making the necessary reasonable adjustments to facilitate a good working relationship between the two. Let’s read:
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.
The warmth and affection that should exist between husbands and wives, and their respective families is greatly compromised whenever the God-ordained order is disturbed. Husbands are to love their wives, but never to the point where they will be led to surrender their position as head of the household, and wives are to submit themselves to their husbands in the Lord, but never to the point where they are forced to surrender the truth or godly principles, just to be in harmony with the head of the home. And Children are required to render obedience to both parents, even if their own ideas conflict with the parent’s wishes. When most of us were younger, some of the rules of our parent’s home seemed unreasonable, but this was never permitted as an excuse to disregard their God ordained authority. Let’s read:
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
6:2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
The same principle holds true when we become married, when we may deem some requirements of the household head to be arbitrary; this also is no excuse for turning our backs on the scriptural order, for the issue of obedience carries with it, far more weighty consequences than many Christians realize. In the very near future when we are hedged in with dangers on every side, the disposition to obey will play a very crucial role in our survival, for if we have cultivated the disposition to disregard God ordained authority, we will also disobey His voice at a critical time when implicit obedience is needed to shield us from the onslaughts of the enemy, in order to save us from certain death.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which enjoins Christians to submit ourselves in humility to God’s ordained order, for it will go a long way in promoting the health, peace, and happiness, which seems to evade so many households. Let’s read:
Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife [see] that she reverence [her] husband.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word.
God bless!