The Bible isn’t locked into anyone’s echo chamber when it comes to gender identities. Many of them? We get to chose? No, the Bible lists only two.
“So God created humans in his own image; male and female he created them” (Gen 1: 27). No additional pronouns to suggest gender choices. But we should hasten to add that the Bible talks about many types of women and many types of men. When we read the Bible, as women we won’t find ourselves left out. Real women and real men– all kinds of people with very different personalities, different life choices and lifestyles. Their stories are as varied as they are, their situations as unique, as interesting, and as instructive as you can well imagine.
These women and men were pleasing to God and, male or female, they made a mark.
Women are described in at least four ways in the Bible: in appearance, by goals and occupations, as heroic women of the past, and in a symbolic detail that may take your breath away.
Appearance first.
Do we dress for the men in our lives or for our female friends? Does fashion guide us? A tight budget perhaps? Maybe money doesn’t matter. In any case, as women, we choose what we wear, and the counsel of the New Testament has served us well for millennia.
For a document thought to be patriarchal from cover to cover, the Bible pushes something a bit different from the average male perspective, at least according to my observations. Paul and Peter express their views about women’s appearance, speaking not only as church leaders but as men.
Paul talks about a woman’s hair and asks, “If her hair is long, it’s a glory to her, isn’t it?” ( I Cor 11: 15). Then he comments that he’s just agreeing with nature.
He also writes to his protege Timothy, a younger church leader, about women’s looks: “I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing, not drawing attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes” (I Tim. 2: 9).
Peter speaks directly to women. Beauty is his starting point and he returns to the topic: “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3: 3 ).
Remembering my point about the “average male perspective,” I may need to revise. In Pretty Woman, a movie with a woman’s appearance as a major sub-theme, the protagonist Edward advises, “nothing flashy.” He prefers “something conservative,” he says. This man is clearly captivated by Vivian’s good looks and so is everyone else. All that intensifies when she comes out in modest, if expensive and stylish, outfits.
The Song of Solomon gives additional evidence that the Bible is just fine with any man’s appreciation of beauty in women. Read it. You may be surprised.
The Bible also talks about women’s occupations and goals. We needn’t look beyond Proverbs 31. This woman sees to the needs of her household, she is appreciated and respected by those she loves. In addition, “Her palm spreads to the poor / and her hand to the needy: / She isn’t concerned about her household in snowy weather / because all her folks are clothed in scarlet. / She wears fine linen / and purple” (Prov 31: 20-22). This woman isn’t just busy at home. While she’s looking after her own, as well as the poor, she’s running a business and dealing in real estate. While it’s still dark, she “prepares food for her household / and portions for her helpers. / She looks at a field and buys it. / From her profits she plants a vineyard” (Prov. 31: 15-16).
There are many notable and heroic women in the Bible. Miriam leads the praise and thanksgiving when God releases Red Sea waters “standing like heaps” to wash away the Egyptian chariots and horses as cavalry and infantry rush in in pursuit.
A clear-eyed, articulate, and fearless Abigail keeps David from slaughtering every male of her foolish husband Nabal’s household. Deborah judges Israel and agrees when General Barak says he won’t go into battle without her.
Courageous and faithful women and John, the only man, watch at the foot of the cross. Three days later, these same women try to convince dismissive disciples that Jesus lives. Paul thanks many women for joining him in gospel ministry. The mothers of John the Baptist and Jesus himself have notable places in the Bible, as do both mother and grandmother of Timothy. We find Tabitha and Lydia, Aquila’s wife Priscilla—or “Prisca,” as Paul affectionately calls her (2 Tim 4:19; Rom 16:3; and 1 Cor 16:19). More men than women? Yes, in the Bible there are more men. Perhaps our stories are the tip of an iceberg. There’s also this: The suggested is sometimes more interesting than that in-your-face thing, whatever it is.
But what about us? How does the Bible see women, generally speaking? Does the Bible put us down? Isn’t the Church said to be a patriarchy?
One day I finally saw a biblical picture I’d been ignoring. Paul said something about the church and I finally got it. The thought amazed me. As I read the apostle’s words, I pictured my idea, at least, of a first-century patriarch–
lush beard, a crowd of children (though “the husband of one wife,” as Paul insists), knife between his teeth in case of threat to his family, fire in his eye, a leader at home and in the church. Even this guy, the model patriarch I was imagining, is part of Christ’s Bride!
And even if I was merely searching my own imagination as I contrived that picture, I couldn’t dismiss it. I’m still not sure I can fully wrap my head around the concept. The Bible says the Church is the Bride of Christ!
Next time you hear the Church dismissed as obsolete, as a worn-out, threadbare patriarchy, let your mind wander over what you know about an Ancient Middle East wedding—lasting a week, for example. Check the Internet. Get the details. The customs were different from ours!
Or remember Jacob, who worked seven years for Rachel. When Laban tricked him and gave him Leah first, Jacob got busy and started working all over again–fourteen years in total to have Rachel for his bride.
Reread the Book of Ruth, especially the second and third chapters, and let yourself be unimpressed with any argument that claims the God of the Bible doesn’t value women.
The Song of Solomon is good too.
from The Edgefield Advertiser, the oldest newspaper in South Carolina
April 22, 2020
With thanks to the following for the great images and in order as they appear: tom-crew-INY4JowWde4-unsplash.jpg; hannah-busing-x3PXh3ljAl0-unsplash.jpg; d-ng-tri-6SfX4y6T920-unsplash.jpg; hivan-arvizu-soyhivan-kdm6BWNuTh0-unsplash.jpg; janko-ferlic-FAlecoksvgg-unsplash.jpg; zane-lee-11zvGtPKF90-unsplash.jpg. And thanks to unsplash.com, a great website.
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