marriage – Page 3 – 11:3 Restoration

Reblog: That Might Work for You, But Not My Marriage

I do not normally reblog entire articles, but usually provide a link. I am making an exception for this article because it encapsulates so well the reason why we must recapture the proper roles of men and women in marriage as God designed. The Torah pursuant community is so serious about learning and walking in God’s ways, but retain a huge blind spot regarding what the Bible actually says about marriage, men and women.

We will be held accountable for truth in this area because it is foundational to the Restoration of Kol Israel. Calendars, liturgy and minute details about the Torah throughout Scripture are meaningless if we get the roles of men and women and family structure wrong. Simply, Torah cannot be walked rightly if headship and patriarchy are not right at the very foundation.

Here is the complete article from BiblicalGenderRoles.com with a few of my comments at the end. While he supports most points from the Brit, everything is supportable from the Torah.

That Might Work for You, But Not My Marriage

November 13, 2019 / biblicalgenderroles

“BGR, (my wife and I refer to you as Bigger Guy, phonetically pronounced), Just a word of encouragement, we decided over a year ago to switch the dynamic of our marriage to a more Biblical approach. Your blog has inspired a lot of the changes that we have implemented. We were “happily married partners” for many years. Since the change, our marriage has grown and flourished like never before.

The Global Fertility Crash

Two or three evenings ago, my eldest son read some information to me regarding the growing global fertility crisis. He is working on his Masters level degree as a Nurse Practitioner and is immersed in all things health related, so his interest being peaked by a report on fertility rates crashing was no surprise.

We had an excellent discussion about the relationship between the fertility rate and the rate at which women embrace the God-ordained role of bearing children and caring for the home instead of pursuing education and careers. I further explained that reversing this and walking according to Scripture in the whole area of patriarchy, family structure and marriage is imperative for the restoration of kol Israel. (Did I mention this blog has a whole series on the subject?)

Condemning the just? Abomination?

Restoring Kol Israel: Covering

As we continue our headship study we will continue with the writings of Paul. Previously, we looked at 1 Corinthians 11:3, 7-10. Here we will consider the verses in the middle, often ignored or minimized as simply being about a cloth head covering.

Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. [5] But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. [6] For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head. [7] For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
1 Corinthians 11:4-7 NASB

As pointed out in the opening post of this series Paul upheld and taught the Torah. I believe we do ourselves and this passage a disservice when we only focus on the literal cloth head covering debate and ignore the deeper truths that Paul is teaching us in this passage. Remember, foundationally, a woman was always to be under the headship/authority/covering of a man. From the beginning, when Eve stepped out from under her covering, we see that she becomes vulnerable. The headship/covering is articulated over and over in Torah through numerous examples demonstrating that a girl was to be under the covering of her father until he released her into the protection of a husband.

Restoring Kol Israel: Creation Order

As explained in the introduction to this series, the most basic building block for the restoration of all Israel is the family. To begin understanding how this basic building block is supposed to work, we need to begin to understand the creation order, and for that, we begin in the writings of Paul.

But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. [7] For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. [8] For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; [9] for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. [10] Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
1 Corinthians 11:3,7-10 NASB

We know that Paul upheld Torah so have you ever wondered where Paul is getting this from? I think we do this passage and ourselves a disservice when we only focus on the literal head covering debate. Paul is using a physical example to teach some very important spiritual truths. He is clearly teaching headship and authority structure and he references creation so we should be able to pick up on what he is talking about if we go back to Genesis.

Musing: The angst inducing chains of tradition…

Lately, I have been pondering the chains of tradition and why they cause us such angst when we make a break from the accepted warped norms. I recall the first six months of our transition to Torah and remember multiple times, waking in a cold sweat and running to the kitchen table where my books were often laid out to be reassured once again that the Scriptures indeed say the Torah is forever and THE way of life. The Christian traditions of my fathers and the doctrines I learned in seminary and then parroted from the pulpit had indeed become chains upon my soul.

Now, don’t misjudge what I just said, because Christendom contains much, MUCH, truth, but mixed with that truth are pillar doctrines that are demonstrably false. The angst comes when we finally know, undeniably, that the pillar is wrong, yet we want to still cling to it even though we know we must remove it. Let me give you a practical example, then a real life theological example.

Tearing down walls…

Over the summer my school schedule lightened a bit, so I decided to do a little remodeling in the house. Central to the remodeling was the decision to open up the pantry/kitchen/living room area. To do so, I needed to remove two load bearing walls, something I have never done before.

I thought about the process for weeks. I would look at the walls, tap on them, picture how to do it. Continue reading “Musing: The angst inducing chains of tradition…”

Dividing and Gathering

20161029_165208 During last week’s Torah Portion, Tommy and Dorothy Wilson, while leading the Shabbat discussion at the Second B’ney Yosef Congress, made a statement that I found very interesting and insightful. Of course, the Portion was Bresheit and their focus was on the creation and fall of Adam and Chava.

As we read the Portion, we noted the dividing and bringing together of light and dark into one day, the dividing of waters below waters and the sky, then the dividing of waters and land, etc, etc. In each case, the dividing revealed something and the bringing together revealed something else in how each relates to the other and how together he parts reveal aspects of the Creator.

This process culminates in the dividing out of Chava from Adam. He was perfect, yet, Abba chose to divide him, taking Chava out of him and then immediately bringing the two back together. We know, quite well, that men and women are different and that each reveals different aspects of the Father. Man and woman started as one, were divided. Fell in rebellion and are in the process of being restored.

All of this we know. Continue reading “Dividing and Gathering”