Discover @ Desire Good

There is a seldom talked about passage in the Bible that focuses precisely on the gender roles of a man and a woman.

This one chapter dictates much of the gender roles throughout scripture, yet it is nearly forgotten from the pulpit other than being in the Bible itself.

Specifically, this passage focuses on a married man, his son (either married or not), a married woman (his wife or his daughter), and a single woman (his daughter, his daughter as a widow, his daughter as a divorcee, potentially his wife - if he is deceased).

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That passage is the chapter of Numbers 30. It has changed my life, literally.

My take away from it is this.

It comes down to fault. The chapter shows that whatever the decision that is made, if it goes south, then the results of that decision are always the man's fault because he had the authority to annul the decision that caused the results.

From the opening of the chapter, the law is straightforward. The man, not the woman, is always obligated to do what comes out of his mouth. He is accountable for what decisions he allows in his house. No one is at fault other than him. His wife and his daughter are free from fault even if he agrees with a decision that either or both make. Him; not the women - is solely at fault for the outcome. His sons are under the same yoke as he is, except they are not accountable nor at fault for the women in the house unless a woman is his wife.

So I teach my sons and my daughter ... be accountable ... because it goes very well in life. Happy husband = accountable wife and children.

Track through our country's history, and you will find a persistent truth.

Men are most often blamed (at fault) for what goes on in their homes. Thus, they are most often considered the "head" of the house, aka the "authority" of the house. In socially correct terms amongst the humble, he is the lead of the house.

In the way past, legally, women and children had no rights to make decisions outside of the home - over top of the husband/father, yet can you see why that probably was the status quo within a marriage? Socially, can you see how that might have played out?

I can. I remember.

But I also remember wives being abused and children as well. Come to our modern day, and I remember husbands and children being abused.

The focus of Numbers 30 was this. The Law (of God) is the head of the husband.

Today, we have "the law of the land" is the head of everyone.

So without God's focus on a household being under his rule, I can see why man's laws went weird and abuses happened and happen now. It is because there were still yet other laws that provided checks and balances for abuses within the home in the Law (Bible).

It is like this.

First, comes accountability. Second, comes fault. Third, comes authority.

A man, a wise man, processes accountability first. Then he considers fault. Then he considers authority last.

Whomever is to be at fault ultimately is the person ultimately who has the authority.

It's not a question of authority. It is a question of fault.

We have sayings in our country such as, "If you can't do the time, then don't do the crime."

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Can you see authority, accountability, and fault playing out in that statement?

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When you read the Bible and see men mentioned more than women, consider that the are mentioned because of their position for taking fault, being exalted or demeaned for the decisions they made, and what they did to earn that status. Then think the same of women and how many are shielded from being made into public spectacles.

It's not that the Bible is sexist. It is that men bear the burden of being at fault and bear the punishment else the praise for the decisions they make. Men are in the forefront of the public eye. Women and children are often shielded from that scrutiny. Much like it still is today in the USA.