Friday, September 29, 2006

110 Bible Descriptions of Christian Women (Self Evaluation)

These verses specifically target women. There are, of course, many, many more verses that are non-gender specific.

Challenge: try printing this off and doing and circling items where you need work. Not every verse describes how you should behave, but as a whole, I think they give a good picture of a Christian woman.

Please send me a comment with any verse that needs added to this list!
  1. Helper suitable (Genesis 2:18)

  2. Worth far more than rubies (Proverbs 31:10)

  3. Brings husband good all days of his life (Proberbs 31:12)

  4. Selects wool and flax (Proverbs 31:13)

  5. Works with eager hands (Proverbs 31:13)

  6. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. (Proverbs
    31:14)

  7. Considers a field and buys it (Proverbs 31:16)

  8. Out of her earnings plants a vineyard (Proverbs 31:16)

  9. Sets about her work vigorously (Proverbs 31:17)

  10. Her arms are strong for her tasks (Proverbs 31:17)

  11. Gets up while it is still dark (Proverbs 31:15)

  12. Provides food for her family and protions for her servant girls (Proverbs
    31:15)

  13. Sees that her trading is profitable (Proverbs 31:18)

  14. Her lamp does not go out at night (Proverbs 31:18)

  15. Noble character (Porverbs 31:10)

  16. Holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers [she sews]
    (Proverbs 31:19)

  17. Opens arms to poor (Proverbs 31:20)

  18. Extends her hands to the needy (Proverbs 31:20)

  19. When it snows no fear for household, all of them are clothed in scarlett
    (Proverbs 31:21)

  20. Makes coverings for her bed (Proverbs 31:22)

  21. Clothed in fine linen and purple (Proverbs 31:22)

  22. Makes linen garments and sells them (Proverbs 31:24)

  23. Supplies merchants with sashes (Proverbs 31:24)

  24. Clothed with strength and dignity (Proverbs 31:25)

  25. Laughs at the days to come (Proverbs 31:25)

  26. Speaks with wisdom, faithful instruction is on her tongue (Proverbs 31:25)

  27. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of
    idleness (Proverbs 31:27)

  28. Her children arise and call her blessed, her husband also and he praises her
    (Proverbs 31:28)

  29. Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all (Proverbs 31:29)

  30. A woman who fears the Lord, is to be praised (Proverbs 31:30)

  31. A wife of noble character is her husband's crown (Proverbs 12:4)

  32. Women should remain silent in the churches (1 Corinthians 14:34)

  33. Women should dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided
    hair or god or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds appropriate
    for women who profess to worship God (1 Timothy 2:9)

  34. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission (1 Timothy 2:11)

  35. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over men; she must be
    silent (1 Timothy 2:12)

  36. Women will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith, love,
    and holiness with propriety (1 Timothy 2:15)

  37. Teach older women to be reverent in the way they live (Titus 2:3)

  38. Do not be slanderous (Titus 2:3)

  39. Do not be addicted to much wine (Titus 2:3)

  40. Teach what is good (Titus 2:3)

  41. Train the younger women to love their husbands (Titus 2:4)

  42. Be self-controlled (Titus 2:5)

  43. Be pure (Titus 2:5)

  44. Be busy at home (Titus 2:5)

  45. Be kind (Titus 2:5)

  46. Subject to their husbands so that no one will malign the word of God (Titus
    2:5)

  47. I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give
    birth to children (Genesis 3:16)

  48. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you (Genesis
    3:16)

  49. A kindhearted woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth
    (Proverbs 11:16)

  50. A disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones (Proverbs 12:4)

  51. The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands a foolish one tears
    hers down (Proverbs 14:1)

  52. A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives (1 Corinthians 7:39)

  53. Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her
    head (1 Corinthians 11:5)

  54. The woman is the glory of man (1 Corinthians 11:7)

  55. Woman was created for man (1 Corinthians 11:9)

  56. Long hair is the woman's glory (1 Corinthians 11:15)

  57. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence and likewise also the
    wife to the husband [don't withhold sex] (1 Corinthians 7:3-5)

  58. The wife hath not power over her own body. She has power over her
    husband's body (1 Corinthians 7:3-5)

  59. The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man [dress like a
    woman] (Deuteronomy 22:5)

  60. A prudent wife is from the Lord (Proverbs 19:14)

  61. [Husbands] rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the
    loving hind and pleasant roe (Proverbs 5:18)

  62. [Husbands] let her breasts satisfy thee at all times and may you ever be
    captivated by her love (Proverbs 5:19)

  63. Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fitting in the
    Lord (Colossians 3:18)

  64. So I counsel the younger women marry (1 Timothy 5:14)

  65. Bear children (1 Timothy 5:14)

  66. Guide the house (1 Timothy 5:14)

  67. Give the enemy no opportunity for slander (1 Timothy 5:14)

  68. All wives shall give their husbands honour both great and small (Esther
    1:20)

  69. A foolish son is his father's ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a
    constant dripping (Proverbs 19:13)

  70. Cleave to husband in one flesh (Genesis 2:24)

  71. Obeys husband (1 Peter 3:6)

  72. Calls him Lord (1 Peter 3:6)

  73. Bless the fountain (Proverbs 5:18)

  74. Open to my beloved (Song of Solomon 5:2-5)

  75. I will give you my "love". (Song of Solomon 7:10-12)

  76. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God
    used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own
    husbands, (1 Peter 3:5)

  77. Teaches her children (Proverbs 31:1)

  78. Comforts her children (Isaah 66:13)

  79. The wife should not leave her husband (1 Corinthians 7:10)

  80. For it is written: "Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no
    children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor
    pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of
    her who has a husband." (Galatians 4:27)

  81. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are
    all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

  82. Shouldn't be contentious and vexing (Proverbs 21:19)

  83. When baby is born forgets anguish (John 16:21)

  84. Wife must respect husband (Ephesians 5:33)

  85. Mother's nurse babies (Exodus 2:9)

  86. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and
    became a sinner (1 Timothy 2:14)

  87. Male and female He (God) created them (Genesis 1:27)

  88. Shall be called woman (Genesis 2:23)

  89. Wife should not be displeasing (Deuteronomy 24:1)

  90. The woman folly is loud, she is undisciplined and without knowledge
    (Proverbs 9:13)

  91. Should not be quarrelsome (Proverbs 21:19)

  92. Wants to be kissed by her husband (Song of Songs 1:2)

  93. She is to be a lilly among the thorns (Song of Songs 2:2)

  94. She entices her husband to come into her "garden" and taste it's
    choice fruits (Song of Songs 4:16)

  95. Her husband's fruit is so sweet to her taste (Song of Songs 2:3)

  96. She belongs to her husband and his desire is for her (Song of Songs 7:10)

  97. Keeps house (Psalms 113:9)

  98. Joyful mother of children (Psalms 113:9)

  99. Faint with love (Song of Songs 5:8)

  100. Voice is/should be sweet (Song of Songs 1:14)

  101. Do not let little things ruin relationship (Song of Songs 2:15)

  102. Finds favor in her husbands eyes (Song of Songs 8:10)

  103. Delights (Song of Songs 7:6)

  104. Monogamous (Song of Songs 8:10)

  105. Monogamy rewarded (Song of Songs 8:9)

  106. Unique (Song of Songs 6:9)

  107. Like wine and honey "in bed" (Song of songs 5:1)

  108. Thinks of husband when away (Song of songs 5:2)

  109. Her marriage bed is pure (Hebrews 13:4)

  110. Avoids fornication (1 Corinthians 7:2)

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Male and Female Roles

Recently, there was an article on Forbes.com by Michael Noer called, “Point: Don’t Marry a Career Woman.” In response to his article, Elizabeth Corcoran, another Forbes employee wrote a response titled “Counterpoint: Don’t Marry a Lazy Man.”

http://www.forbes.com/business/2006/08/23/Marriage-Careers-Divorce_cx_mn_land.html

Lets look at what the Bible has to say about this argument.

First of all, the Bible gives distinct roles to males and females.

Genesis 2: 18 (NIV)

18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."


From the very beginning, wives were created to be helpers for the man. This does not mean that women are somehow worth "less" than men, but rather, the Lord has given everyone specific duties and a place within the chain of command. A wife's place is to assist her husband.

Genesis 3: 16,17 (KJV)


16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Within only the third chapter in the Bible, it is already established that the husband is to be the "worker" or "toiler", and the wife is to be the "homemaker", "mother", and "helper".

Of course, you can argue that this is Old Testament, and that we are no longer under the law. True enough, and I'll show you in future posts that the New Testament is perhaps even *more* specific on this chain of command.

Perhaps you'll consider me legalistic. Well I'll tackle that in future posts as well. My husband is fond of saying that people only tend to throw out the term "legalistic" when it applies to something they don't want to do, or personally don't feel is important. I've never heard someone say "Thou shall not commit murder", and have someone yell out in response, "You're just being legalistic!". To be legalistic is to believe you can earn your way in to heaven. I'm a hopeless sinner, undeserving of heaven on my own ground.

Instead, I just want to be a good servant of the Lord. A good servant does as she is told, and a good servant does not decide for herself what is important to her God.

As a Christian woman, I believe my priorities are God, husband, children, household, and then out-of-the-house work. At this point in my life am also a "career woman", in the sense that I work outside of the home as an RN. Over the last year, however I have decreased my nursing load to 24 hours per week.

So should a man marry a "career woman"? Only if she has her priorities straight, and can keep her Lord, husband, children, and home before the outside job. This is a very tough assignment, and one that I have had trouble juggling myself.

In fact, it's such a tough assignment that it's probably impossible. Even at a part time job of 24 hours a week, there are times when I *should* stay home or attend a church function when I simply cannot (or risk losing my job). As soon as my husband determines we are financially able to do so... I'll be a full time wife and mother.

Overall, I believe these two articles reflect the words in Ecclesiastes 1:2 (NIV)

"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."
Clearly God has a plan for His idea of marriage and family. To apply any other "logic" or "worldly wisdom" to the definition of marriage, family, or the type of person you should marry... well, it's just meaningless.