Jane

I started to reply to NN but decided not to get entangled into yet one more debate on authority and not authority, blah blah blah…while I am yes a vocal women’s human rights advocate and I do not follow the conservative war mongering right wing culture nor the capitalist culture nor the whole misogynist patriarchal culture–based on my understanding of God’s Word, and I study it all the time, not by third party interpretations…I do believe in the verses of not ‘teaching or lording it’ over men but NOT for the same reasons given by Comps, not even close–but because of the angels [I do believe in the book of Enoch] and because of the spiritual hierarchy and from what I have read in OT–so I won’t teach, share, yes, teach no, besides, I look at it this way…if a man is bent on insisting on his rights to ‘authority’ he is either like Cheryl says misguided by fear, understandable OR he simply has not the FEAR of GOD, that and well, the whole thing with teaching–as James says in James, is some serious business, So,

I won’t debate ‘law’, why I don’t have anything more to do with the church culture [and won’t anymore] and prefer to stay out here alone in the wilderness–

but I will share, just some things about Authority, and I’ll use slavery as an example. What God does or doesn’t do with this is up to Him, I’ll leave it at that.

Exodus 21, the treatment of Slaves/Servants [pay attention esp to Women, these were slaves, interesting how God, uses Authority]

vs 1-4 [quick para, about a man slave who is freed but IF he has a wife that was from the Master/meaning daughter or cousin, etc. because THEN he could not Leave/be free and Take her and kids with him–only if the wife was not from the Master could he just walk away with his wife–and Only then, if the wife was related to the Master, then it says]
“And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall Serve him FOR EVER.

[God obviously thought enough to Protect any wife of a slave from being abused in another nation or not under HIS protection/AUTHORITY to the point where even a man who by Law could be free could NOT take that woman/kids outside of God’s Protection/AUTHORITY. So–slave women-wives of slaves were very Protected under God’s AUTHORITY].

Then it goes on to say, IF a man sells his daughter [Eved laws in Judaism say that this was daughters sold by pagan men…but the Bible just says IF a man, there was debt bondage or repayment then so obviously daughters were sold] but then it goes on to say, now this is slaves…WOMEN, UNDER AUTHORITY,

vs 7- “IF a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, SHE SHALL NOT GO OUT AS THE MENSERVANTS DO [meaning be free after jubilee]…” IF she please not her master, who hath BETROTHED HER TO HIMSELF [so taking a female slave was Betrothal, MEANING SHE WAS PART OF FAMILY] then shall he LET HER BE REDEEMED: TO SELL HER UNTO A ‘STRANGE NATION’ HE SHALL HAVE NO POWER, seeing HE HATH DEALT ‘DECEITFULLY’ WITH HER…

so here is a slave girl/woman, who is considered by GOD and HIS AUTHORITY to be betrothed and not only that, she if is even redeemed/meaning bought back, that man dealt Deceitfully with her, so that Slave woman to GOD and in GOD’S EYES had more rights than what Christian wives do in most marriages by doctrine–kind of ironic don’t you think…it gets better,

And if he hath BETROTHED HER UNTO HIS SON HE SHALL DEAL WITH HER AFTER THE MANNER OF DAUGHTERS…

it gets better,

IF he take him another ‘wife’ [after he has betrothed the Slave woman]; HER food [meaning the slave wife], her raiment, and HER DUTY OF MARRIAGE [not To marriage but under Judaic law men have Duties to Wives and they are signed and they are to be adhered to and most Christian men wouldn’t even meet the standards by far] SHALL HE NOT DIMINISH. AND IF HE DO NOT THESE THREE UNTO HER [THE SLAVE WIFE] THEN SHALL SHE GO OUT FREE WITHOUT MONEY [meaning her having to pay/or her family the money back that was exchanged for her servant-slavery].

now let’s go on to some more AUTHORITY,

Exodus 21: 26,27 “And if a man smite the eye of his servant/slave or the eye of his MAID, [same woman/girl above] that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth OR HIS MAID SERVANT’S TOOTH; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.

You know, under AUTHORITY, over SLAVES, WOMEN, God didn’t tolerate abuse, dictatorship, mistreatment and Jesus did NOT overturn that–HE adds to it, saying you’ve heard it said eye for an eye and tooth for an tooth, but now it’s more, now it’s even if you call a brother a fool/RACA or basically if you wound their soul–get it right/reconciled OR ELSE MEET THE JUDGE…

PRETTY darn serious if you ask me, if GOD made Strict provisions [and there are numerous all through the OT about the treatment of Women under AUTHORITY] for the treatment of SLAVE WOMEN who had less ‘hierarchical’ rights than the wife wife–then uh, we might want to go back and LEARN WHAT GOD’S USE OF ‘AUTHORITY’ IS,

because the Penalties that God metered out to those who Disobeyed those COMMANDS were quite severe, and that was towards SLAVE WOMEN. Just imagine, what it is towards Wives/one flesh–

like it’s getting toasty hot in here, because the fact is, the rates of Abuse to Christian Women wives is far Worse than what the SLAVE WOMEN UNDER ‘GOD’S ‘AUTHORITY’ WERE BACK IN B.C.

Paul was Well aware of those laws as were the Jews back in His day, so they knew, KNEW what Authority under GOD meant and what it did NOT mean. They also KNEW the contracts and Duties that Husbands had towards Wives and they were [and still are under Judaic law though many men have twisted or added to them to Avoid having to Obey] far more than just being the ‘god king’ demanding this demanding that and lording it over and only providing food and shelter [IF they do that even],

so like Jesus and how HE treats with HIS AUTHORITY WHICH IS ABOVE ALL ELSE is not Anything, like so many have misconstrued today, and two things that come out very strongly about Women in OT, even among Slaves,

they were NOT to be raped, they were NOT to be abused, they were NOT to be tossed off like garbage, they were NOT to be harmed, neglected, not even Slave women–they were not to be trafficked, sold, used for sex slavery, etc. Even the concubines, had rights similar to Wives, and when they were abused God repaid. King Agag [the one Saul spared] was sawed to pieces for making women childless with sword, meaning raped, not killed, dead women can’t have children..not Israeli women only, but WOMEN,

God don’t mess around with abuse, mistreatment of WOMEN, period. There are hundreds of scriptures all Over the Bible about what God does to those who Abuse AUTHORITY, who abuse WOMEN,

but it’s not taught today…the slave man had to Sacrifice his FREEDOM if he wanted to keep his wife that was a Daughter of Israel, NOT the other way around.

So–I’ll leave it at that–yes there is Authority in the Bible–we are servants, All of us,

but I would hate to be facing God’s wrath for abusing Authority–no where, NO WHERE, IN GOD’S WORD, DOES HE ‘WINK, WINK’ AT ANY AUTHORITY, USING ‘AUTHORITY’ WHEN THEY ABUSE, MISTREAT, VERBALLY ABUSE, CONTROL, DEMONIZE, STOMP ON, WOMEN.

even SLAVE WOMEN.

pretty serious–I’ll leave it at that, anyone who wants to argue can take it up with the AUTHORITY OF ALL AUTHORITY,

GOD HIMSELF.

Jane