11:3 Restoration

Is Male Headship Biblical?

Here is a powerful 8 minute video by Voddie Baucham. Well worth your time!!

Every man a knight

It is the duty of every man to uphold the dignity of every woman.
John Paul II, as quoted in https://www.goalcast.com/2017/12/08/25-pope-john-paul-ii-quotes/

John Paul II was a highly educated man, and I’m sure he was aware of the rich feudal history of chivalry in the Middle Ages. In the picture above, a maiden is tying her favor on the arm of her chosen knight who is preparing to joust in her honor.

According to one site the “Song of Roland” contained a version of the Code of Chivalry.

Fear God and His Church
Serve the liege lord in valor and faith
Protect the weak and defenseless
Live by honor and for glory
Respect the honor of women

Combining the third and fifth elements in this list results in a knight upholding the dignity of a woman, as John Paul II succinctly says.

What might be the dignity of a woman? Well, in general, women do not possess the same physical attributes of strength and physical capacity to do hard labor, nor do they usually possess the aggressiveness of the male half of mankind. The sexual crime of rape combines aggressiveness and physical overpowering of the weaker victim. Certainly, a knight or any honorable man should protect a woman from sexual assault.

Another way a man can protect the dignity of a woman is for a father to not allow his daughter to become a prostitute.

None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute
Deuteronomy 23:17a

One of the consequences of widowhood, especially for the aged, is that the woman is often at the mercy of con artists or easily becomes deceived by fraudsters. Here, protecting the widow is certainly a high calling for any man, a modern-day knight. YHVH Himself has said that He is a Judge for the widow and orphan.

A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
Psalm 68:5

Today, we have elite soldiers who operate in one of several branches of the Special Forces instead of knights. They swear to defend the United States Constitution. But that doesn’t mean that every man who serves YHVH cannot follow much the same code of chivalry. I could rewrite the Code contained in the Song of Roland to one more appropriate of a 21st century Hebrew man among the hosts of YHVH.

Fear YHVH and honor His Name
Serve your master or employer in faithfulness and truth
Protect the weak and defenseless
Live by honor and for His Glory
Respect the honor of women

Marriage Laws – Council of Trent on Matrimony

By Laurom – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8465486

When Martin Luther nailed his list of 95 theses to a church door in Germany in 1517, he ignited a debate that led to the Protestant Reformation. Reading over the list of 95 theses, nothing there was said about marriage.

Yet, the Protestant Reformation over the next 30 years generated enough theological pressure that the Roman Catholic prelates convened the Council of Trent to create the Catholic Counter-Reformation. This Council met from 1545 to 1563 over 25 sessions.

In the 24th session, in the year 1563, the prelates considered matrimony. The text is available at this location: Council of Trent, 1563, Session XXIV. I quote from the preamble and the first three canons issued by this session below.

Secular Scholars agree…

Polygyny builds a nation…. and, is a threat to Greco-Romanism.

Righteous Single Women have Tough Choices

As a recent Patreon supporter for Eric Conn’s Hard Men Podcast, I not only have early access to his exceptional episodes, but I can also listen to his private ‘Ask Me Anything’ episode each month. Questions can run the gamut of things that men deal with, one of which is taking care of and providing Godly husbands for daughters. Conn dealt with this very question in last month’s episode.

The question he was posed by a member asked if there is a shortage of Godly men and if so, how best to find a righteous spouse for his marriageable daughter.

Conn’s answer was jolting as he cited statistics and the gravity of the situation. Indeed, there is a shortage of Godly men, and ‘the more Orthodox or pious, the fewer men.’ While Conn cited multiple sources for his opinion, his primary source was an article by Institute for Family Studies titled Sex Ratios in the Pews: Is There Really a Deficit of Men in American Churches?

Men need a Gang!

I read an excellent blog post by Eric Conn that left me a bit breathless and pining for more. It was titled Why Men Need A Gang. So much rang true that I immediately had to…

Today, I want to talk about gangs! That’s right…GANGS!
And, I don’t mean the criminal element, but instead, simply – a group of highly bonded men who are working and fighting together toward a common goal.
I want to talk about why men need a brotherhood ~ cause you DO! ~ why you need a fraternity of other men to sharpen you, spur you on to action, and encourage you in the weighty task of taking dominion…”
Eric Conn, The Hard Men Podcast on/about 8/9/20

About a week ago, I read an excellent blog post by Eric Conn that left me a bit breathless and pining for more. It was titled Why Men Need A Gang. So much rang true that I immediately had to leave a comment on his blog. I meant to write some thoughts about that post, but was glad I hadn’t when a friend alerted me that Eric had posted a podcast expounding on the topic.

Men! You must read the post and listen to the podcast!! Excellent insight and challenge to take intentional and measurable steps in the direction of creating a gang.

Practical Patriarchy: Making Men (Pics)

Boys do not become men in a vacuum. Culturally, the expectation is that boys become men by virtue of age or osmosis, however such is not the case. Manhood requires intentionality.

What a weekend!!

The men in the home fellowship I help lead have been discussing masculinity and manhood, so we decided to take our sons on a weekend hiking trip in a wilderness area with a very challenging day hike planned for Saturday. We bit off a very rewarding mouth full and came home exhausted, but having learned a great deal.

Boys do not become men in a vacuum. Culturally, the expectation is that boys become men by virtue of age or osmosis, however such is not the case. Raising men, particularly Godly men, requires intentionality. I could spend a whole series of posts on this aspect alone, but I want to share a bit about steps the men in our fellowship have assumed for our sons.

Whose Legacy? Thoughts from OUR Garden…

We’ve had a real heat wave here in Indiana this summer. Due to retirement last fall, I’ve seen more sun and experienced the heat first hand while enjoying a lush garden and just being outdoors in general. But with the heat and lack of precipitation, watering has become a regular thing and it just takes as long as it takes. I really don’t mind that particular task, as I find it very therapeutic and it gives me an “excuse” for contemplation, prayer and praise.

It was one such morning last week that I began to think back to when I first found this little “farmette”consisting of an older farmhouse, four acres, and a beautiful hip roof barn wrapped in red metal. It had been a search of about 7 months before I found a property that met all my criteria and that I could actually afford. I was elated and thankful to the Father that everything had finally fallen into place for ME to own this little homestead. But little did I know my new adventure was pointing me towards a major spiritual paradigm shift.

I’ve had a lot of help developing this property in the last 4 years. I have two grown sons who have contributed to barn cleanout, fencing, gardening, drywall repair, etc. But the biggest contributor to the project has been my spiritual friend/brother/soulmate that I now call husband. When we first began brainstorming and envisioning projects, I must admit that I thought it was such a blessing to have someone with a similar passion willing to help me with MY goals and dreams. We had discovered that we worked very well together, and I was more than happy to defer to his experience in the areas of gardening and farming…for the most part. This is where some challenges began to crop up, bringing about that paradigm shift I mentioned earlier.

My old mind set, as an independent working woman, was to take full responsibility for “my” decisions and investment. I did give Yah thanks for answering prayers for a little place in the country that I could share with my family, but years of being single due to divorce had turned me into a “take charge” kinda gal. After all, momma had always told me, “You can do this!” But in the midst of the process, I was also learning deeper scriptural truths about headship, patriarchy, and submissiveness. In my times of introspection, study and prayer, I began to see how my attitude may have contributed to the failure of my first marriage. I also became more sensitive and knowledgeable about men in general, and began to seek change in how I related to my current husband.

I recently read an article by a blogger that, at first reading really set me back. It was titled “Does His Happiness Matter More Than Mine?” My first reaction was “of course not!” But the Spirit began to work in me, revealing the truth contained in the words of the article. If I truly believed that obedience to Messiah is manifested by my reverence and obedience to my husband, then I seriously had to re-think that response. After all, I am HIS help meet, not the other way around! Now granted, he is a wonderful man that helps me in so many ways, but that is because he takes husbandry seriously. So rather than focusing on my plans and goals, I’m asking the Father to teach me to focus on his. I am beginning to see that my legacy should not be about my personal accomplishments, but how I respected and served him in obedience to Messiah. It should be how I loved and taught my children and grandchildren, and how I served others in addition to my family. I am also beginning to understand that although my name may be on the mortgage, I need to diligently water and care for OUR garden and listen to his direction in the management of this household in general. I really believe to do so is pleasing to Yeshua and builds up the name and reputation of the Godly man that He has placed over me.

Martin Madan Explains Ruth 4:6

When the Reverend Martin Madan wrote the first volume of his seminal work, Thelypthora, he took the time to consider the case of Boaz and the kinsman who was nearer to Ruth than he was. This is recorded in Ruth chapter four. He offers a succinct and common-sense analysis of why the kinsman refused. Let’s read Ruth 4:1-12 (NASB).

Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Turn aside, friend, sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. ²He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. ³Then he said to the closest relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴So I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.” ⁵Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” ⁶The closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.” ⁷Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. ⁸So the closest relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. ⁹Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. ¹⁰Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” ¹¹All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. ¹²Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
Ruth 4:1-12 NASB

Newsflash: Men and Women ARE different!!

The adversary, ole Slewfoot, is all about destroying Creation. He attacks in many different ways and from multiple directions, not the least of which is trying to destroy the differences in the sexes. We see this in the LBGTQXYZ v. ‘cisgender’ battle in culture today. Another recently addressed avenue of attack is androgyny. In fact, the attacks are limitless and myriad from soft egalitarianism or complementarianism to hardcore feminism and matriarchy.

One area that is regularly attacked is the obvious differences in men end women in how they think, act, and are physically constructed. If the enemy can destroy those differences, he can undermine the very purposes for which each was created.