Ezerwoman's Blog

Deborah was a judge and prophetess.  To this, many Christian women quickly add, “Deborah was also a courageous military leader in battle.”  But, what does God’s Word tell us?

LET’S THINK ABOUT IT

Deborah was a prophetess.  A prophet or prophetess speaks on behalf of another but not as a public speaker for God during a congregational gathering.  A prophetess might give counsel, settle disputes, or offer thankfulness and praise to God.  Deborah was also a judge.  What was the condition of Israel in the years prior to her leadership?  Read Judges 2:13, 16-17; 3:7, 13; 4:1-4.   

Martin Luther took note of the service of Deborah and other women as rulers.  He said that they “have been very good at management.”  He suggested that women’s leadership in other areas of life might motivate men to properly fulfill their responsibility.  It is important to note that Deborah became a judge after the people of Israel repeatedly “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”  Evil, in every way, opposes God’s created order for men, women, and the benefit of a thriving society.

We may think that Deborah was sent by God into combat against Israel’s enemy.  But, is this the case?  Carefully read Judges 4:4-15.   Did God ask Deborah to carry the sword in combat… or did He ask Barak through Deborah?  Victory was promised to Barak if only he would obey, but he chose not to.  Barak said he would do the Lord’s bidding only if Deborah went with him into battle.  Read Judges 4:9.  Why wouldn’t the glory in battle go to Barak?  The woman Deborah refers to in this verse is not herself, but Jael.

Dr. Vogel explains: “Deborah accompanied Barak to Mount Tabor, but no further.  Consistent with Deuteronomy, she donned no battle gear nor engaged in the conflict.   Barak (unaccompanied by Deborah) led 10,000 men into the valley to a resounding victory. The rebuke for Barak’s recalcitrance was rendered when a heroic woman, Jael, was given the opportunity to slay the fleeing enemy commander, Sisera.  She did this in her own tent, with household equipment [a tent peg], not as a warrior on a battlefield.”  (“Women in Combat: Two Views,” The Lutheran Witness, May 2003, p. 16-20)

Deborah served as a judge and prophetess.  She counseled Barak as the leader of Israel’s troops.  Yet, how did she sum up her role in Judges 5:7?   Deborah was praised for her leadership, yet she does not sing about being raised up as a warrior.  She sings of being a “mother in Israel.”  Though no biological children of Deborah are mentioned, she is an encourager and helper for her people.  In this way, she is practicing the vocation given to all women.

Read Genesis 2:18.   Many women do not like being called a “helper.”  Why might this be?  The role of “helper” is not inferior, but is consistent with God’s order of creation.  The Triune God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  All are equal, yet each has a distinct role to play.  Jesus is God, yet He submitted to the Father for the sake of our salvation.   The Hebrew word for “helper” is ezer which has a sense of “assistant” or even “ally.”  Now read John 14:16; 15:26 and 16:7.  How is the Holy Spirit described in this passage?  What might a woman think about this?  How does this elevate her vocation of “helper?”

Is there a problem with women in the military?  No, but as in any workplace, there will certainly be a changed environment and cautions to heed.  A woman, by nature of her created purpose, will always be a helper.  The question is: Will she help to the good… or the bad?  Built up… or tear down?   In what ways might a woman help her country without donning battle gear or compromising the service of men? 

THE BEARERS AND NURTURERS OF LIFE

Specialist Hollie Vallence, quoted in Part 1 of this series, was asked by her country to sacrifice home and family.  In doing so, she explained that she had to build an “ice wall around her heart” in regard to her husband and child.  Is this consistent with God’s design?  What are the consequences for women, men, and children if a mother hardens her heart?   Luther noted that a woman is merciful by nature because she is born to show mercy and to cherish just as a man is born to protect.  This is why, Luther says, no living creature has more mercy than a woman, particularly in respect for her infant.

It is often observed that men tend to focus on one project, putting all others aside, until it is finished.  In times of war, wives of soldiers see their men bucking up for duty even in the face of leaving home and family for extended periods of time.  Is it fair to say that men always feel brave and fearless?  Where do they find wisdom and strength?  In His faithfulness, God equips men for their vocation of steward and protector.  He gives to men what is necessary so that they might do what they need to do for wives, sons and daughters; indeed, for future generations.  It is not so much that men want to go into battle, but they are equipped for battle and can leave home and family knowing that their children are in the capable and loving care of mothers.  How is the woman partnering with her husband to serve her country?   She is guarding hearth and home while he is doing battle with the enemy of that home.

In war, as in work, men understand other men.  When a country is serious about winning victory over its enemy, it brings well-trained men together, with no distractions, to focus on the job at hand.  These men may return home “changed,” but most can resume life as usual.  Mothers, as explained by Hollie Vallence, are not programmed to put distance between themselves and young children.  Small tribes and great countries who honor the human rule of chivalry understand that great sacrifice may be necessary in order to protect mothers of children for they are a people’s future.

Dr. Vogel offers wisdom: “If God is indifferent to the woman-warrior concept and a woman chooses to serve in a noncombatant role, God is not offended.  If, however, God is not indifferent to the woman warrior concept, and a woman seeks service as a combatant, does she not become a victim of her own will and disobedient to that of God?”  (Vogel, The Lutheran Witness)

Will God bless a people or a nation that sends daughters and wives to the front lines of battle?  Will He bless the men who send the bearers of life to meet the enemy?  Should women be shot at, brutalized, or sacrificed in the name of “equality” or “rights?”  God was not pleased with the man who used Deborah as a kind of “human shield.”  That is because the Groom of the Church does not stand behind his Bride.  He stands in front of her.

WHAT IS THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER?

It is not that God wants men to die, but that He entrusts to them the noble role of protector and defender.  As the Man of Sacrifice, Jesus led the way into battle.  He did not send others.  Jesus faced the greatest weapon of mass destruction – the anger of God upon sinful people.  He did not stand behind “human shields,” letting you and me die so that He might avoid pain and death.  In the battle for the life of His Bride, Jesus “took the bullet.”  He died so that we might live.

Jesus is our Savior.  He is also a model for men and women.  He wants us to follow Him and imitate His behavior.  Sinful as we are, we will want to test the boundaries.  We will put ourselves in God’s place, but such pride can put others at risk.  Is all hopeless?  No!  The One who faced our enemy – and won the eternal victory – reaches to us with nail-pierced hands, saying: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that you may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).  I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (14:6).

Dear Lord and Savior, without Your Word for life we are a confused and desperate people.  We seek to determine right and wrong according to our whims and pleasures, but we are filled with vanity and puffed up with pride.  Have mercy on our country, dear Lord.  Raise up brave men and women to serve nation and family in ways that honor You and resist all enemies.  Bless the chaplains who serve in difficult circumstances.  Help us to live this life in anticipation of Your coming, that we might be found faithful.  AMEN. 

This four-part study written by Linda Bartlett
is adapted from a larger collection of studies entitled
Men, Women, and Relationships first published in 1999
by Lutherans For Life.
This study is available for download
by visiting Titus 2 for Life.

Read Full Post »

Who lobbies for women in combat?  Is it with national security — or something else — in mind?  

In light of terrorists and all-male armies around the world, should we regard serving in combat as an “equal job opportunity?” 

Elaine Donnelly and the Center for Military Readiness, released a 42-page report in January of 2013 exploring the unintended consequences of putting women on the front lines.  “It will do great harm to women in the military, especially those who will find themselves in the infantry – something there’s no indication they wanted.” 

Mrs. Donnelly asks an important question: “Why is the Secretary of Defense ramming this on through?”  This, says Mrs. Donnelly, “is social engineering to achieve a political end in the name of diversity”. . . [but] it is unfair to the women, it’s unfair to the men, it’s problematic for the readiness and efficiency and effectiveness of infantry battalions.

TITANIC CHIVALRY

Sociologist George Gilder notes that while all-male armies grow in countries that pursue America as their prey, we seem to regard combat as an obstacle to women’s rights.  He notes that this “demand for equality [is] nothing more or less than a move toward barbarism. (Men and Marriage, p. 136)  What might he mean?  Do you agree or disagree?

Civilized cultures have always trained men to protect and defend women and children.  Christian fathers who follow the example set by Jesus mentor sons to be gentlemen and guardians of a woman’s virtue and well-being.  However, the effective utilization of women in combat requires that men put aside such behavior in order to treat a woman like just another man.  What kind of culture does this create?

Even non-Christians note that groups tend to disintegrate and face extinction when societies fail to train their men to protect and defend women.  Men on board the Titanic gave their lives for women, not because they were all Christian men, but because Biblical teaching for society had become the “rule of the sea.”  Read Ephesians 5:25.  The titanic chivalry of “women and children [into the lifeboats] first” follows the example of Jesus who gave His life for His bride, the Church.

There is also the issue of mentoring.  When we focus on “it’s my right” or perpetuate the myth that “equal means ‘being the same,’” how are we instructing a younger generation?  What is a young man taught to think about women as they endure the rigors of military training side by side?  What do boys learn from fathers who intentionally put women in harm’s way? 

What is the carry-over to life outside the military?  If society will not tolerate male aggression toward women in everyday life, is it wise – or necessary – to make an exception in combat?  A civilization that wants to thrive does well to think beyond the present to the future.

What are the realities of both training and battle conditions?  We may want to envision pleasant images of skilled women managing high tech equipment, young men and women successfully practicing self-control in close quarters, and enlisted men snapping to the attention of female drill sergeants, but evidence reveals much to the contrary.  There are reported increases of sexual abuse, unfaithfulness of spouses, unintended pregnancy, a supposed “need” for easier access to abortion, and deployment of single moms.

It may be politically correct to claim that differences between male and female are socially constructed, but basic biology proves otherwise.  Mrs. Donnelly says, “Women don’t have an equal opportunity to survive in combat.”  Why might this be?  How might the anatomy of a woman put her more at risk than a man?  In seeking a bush for privacy, how does a woman avoid sniper fire and landmines?  Men can quickly unzip and zip, but is it the same for women?  Besides dignity and modesty there are important issues of hygiene and gynecology.  Women can chemically shut down their menstrual cycle, but is this natural and healthy?  Feminists and social engineers may deny the differences between men and women, but will the enemy?  How might a female prisoner of war be treated differently than a man?  Jessica Lynch, pulled from her Humvee and taken prisoner in Iraq, was raped and sodomized by her captors (I Am A Soldier, Too; the biography of Jessica Lynch by Rick Bragg).  If he is obedient to his calling as a defender of women, to what lengths might a male soldier go in protecting a female soldier?  

ADAM, EVE AND THE ENEMY OF LIFE

Rev. F.A. Hertwig asks, “If there is a threatening noise at the front door, who do you expect should be the first to investigate?  Will the man sit back and send his wife, daughter or mother while he goes to the basement?”  (“Letters” in The Lutheran Witness, June 2003, p. 4)

Let’s return to Genesis, the Book of our beginnings.  When Eve stood in harm’s way before Satan, how did Adam respond (Genesis 3:6, 12)?  What is the significance of these verses when it comes to the discussion of women in combat?  Genesis 3:6 reveals that Adam sinned when he failed to remember God’s Word and use it in the battle between life and death.  Adam failed to protect his wife from Satan’s attack.  He failed to bring order out of chaos for the sake of future generations.

Rev. Hertwig, a pastor in Lincoln, Missouri, explains Genesis 3:12 in this way: “When God stood at the door, a confused and fallen Adam sent his wife, Eve, to face the catastrophe.  He chose to deny the one who had come from his side.  For the rest of his 930 years, he lived with daily contrition each time he looked at his bosom friend.  His protecting embrace had all the more fervor mixed with regret that he had failed.”  Rev. Hertwig continues, “For a man to see his wife, mother or daughter writhing in the mud with a bayonet rifle is repulsive to the core.  When Adam retreats, yes even in the face of God, he has in a miserable moment surrendered to the devil.  To venture the ‘absence’ of specifics on our subject is an accommodating detail to the devil’s question, ‘Yea, hath God said?’” (The Lutheran Witness, “Letters,” June/July 2003)

There are many mixed emotions when considering women in the service of their country, particularly when it comes to combat duty.  You may say, “But there is the example of Deborah!”  Deborah is held up by many Christians as the Old Testament example of a woman in combat.  But, was she?  Let’s move on to Part 4 in this series to discover the truth.

Dear Lord of Life, please help us remember that Your created order and design for male and female is for our good and the good of society.  Rather than defaulting to our own ideas of right and wrong, help us to trust Your Word for life in all circumstances.  AMEN.

This four-part study written by Linda Bartlett
is adapted from a larger collection of studies entitled
Men, Women and Relationships first published in 1999
by Lutherans For Life.
This study is available for download
by visiting Titus 2 for Life.

Read Full Post »

Are we wise or foolish?  Have we developed a bad habit of turning social experiments into policy and code?  What is a social experiment?  Abortion and same-sex “marriage” are but two examples.  Another is the “political correctness” of putting women into combat.  A social experiment arrogantly opposes God’s created order.  It has the look and feel of liberty but, in reality, puts human life at risk.   Social experiments are reckless and foolish.

JESUS KNOWS MALE AND FEMALE

During His life on earth, Jesus honored and elevated women in remarkable new ways.  Certainly, He could have chosen both men and women to serve as His apostles.  But He did not.  Jesus was very familiar with the created differences of male and female.  He knew their different yet complementary roles and vocations.  Why would He know male and female so well?  Read Genesis 1:26 and John 1:1-5; 14.  Equality does not mean that everyone does the same thing, but that male and female each have the opportunity to serve God and others according to created order and unique design.

In today’s culture, discussions about the roles of men and women bring with them emotion and strong opinion.  So, if we’re going to have honest dialogue, let’s begin with some personal introspection.   Do you confess that God created you?   Are you His design for His purpose?  But are you, like the first woman Eve, tempted to doubt the Creator and, in fact, position yourself as lord of your own life?  Are your choices too easily influenced by personal feelings, circumstance, pride, envy, short-sightedness, and search for identity?  In discussing women in combat, like any other life issue, it is important to acknowledge our own failure to trust God’s Word and desire for control.  We need to contrast His created order with the chaos of the world and our own thinking.

How does God’s Word in Colossians 2:8 shed light on this particular discussion? 

Read Genesis 2.  Carefully find the passages that address the order of Adam and Eve’s creation, the way that each was created, and their specific vocations.  How does knowing that God did not create Adam and Eve at the same time, in the same way, or for the same purpose shed light on women in combat?  

Dr. Leroy Vogel, retired U.S. Navy chaplain and professor emeritus at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, writes, “While it may be argued that there is no specific Scriptural passage that forbids a woman to serve as warrior, the apparent accommodation of some within the Church to the spirit of the age that turns warrior into a unisex role would appear, at a minimum, to be a departure from the divine wisdom of the Creator regarding the differentiation of the sexes.”

What is the issue – sexual equality or ordered equality?   Dr. Vogel notes that when we ignore the Biblical account of creation, sexual differentiation and roles are viewed as “social constructs and, if society has created the distinctions, society can abolish them.”  To overturn the created order of differentiation and roles is to abandon Biblical faith.  “Scripture is clear,” writes Dr. Vogel.  “God made two sexes, equal but with assigned roles.  Sexual equality is not the issue; ordered equality is.  Scripture and the tradition of the Church assign to man the role of defender, protector, warrior.  To woman is given the role of life-giver, nurturer, sustainer.”  Dr. Vogel offers a curious Hebrew interpretation of a Deuteronomy 22:5 (NIV translation): “A woman must not wear men’s clothing . . . for the Lord your god detests anyone who does this.”  Dr. Vogel submits that this verse is about more than cross-dressing.  He explains that “men’s clothing” in Hebrew is translated keli-gerber.  Keli denotes “equipment,” specifically a soldier’s equipment.  The Hebrew noun geber denotes “mighty man” or “hunter” or “warrior.”  So, writes, Dr. Vogel, “a legitimate translation of the phrase uses language of a decidedly military flavor: ‘No woman shall put on the gear of a warrior.’”  It seems that the church fathers John Calvin and Martin Luther agreed.  “Luther knew Hebrew,” writes Dr. Vogel, “and comments on the verse as follows: ‘A woman shall not bear the weapons of a man . . . it is improper . . . Through this law [God] reproaches any nation in which this custom is observed.’”  (“Women in Combat: Two Views,” The Lutheran Witness, May 2003, p. 16-20.)

Let’s review Genesis 3:20.  What is part of a woman’s created glory that exists even after sin distorted the world?  Is it God’s design that woman bear and nurture life or destroy life?  Woman’s glory is found in her God-given role as life-giver and nurturer.  Dr. Vogel paraphrases Luther, saying that “women were created not to kill and destroy, but to be a vessel for life.”  A culture that encourages women to destroy life is a culture that rebels against God’s design for His creation.  A culture that doubts the created differences between the “defender” of life (male) and “bearer” of life (female) is a culture that has been deceived by Satan’s question: “Did God really say . . .?” (Genesis 3:1).

Sociologist George Gilder writes, “The ancient tradition against the use of women in combat embodies the deepest wisdom of the human race.  It expresses the most basic imperatives of group survival: a nation or tribe that allows the loss of large numbers of its young women runs the risk of becoming permanently depopulated.  The youthful years of women, far more than of men, are precious and irreplaceable.”  (Men and Marriage, Pelican Publishing Co., Gretna, LA., p. 135).  What brings a society to the place where it forgets or ignores this truth?  What does the future hold for such a society?

IT’S A MATTER OF WORLDVIEW

There are two worldviews: God’s and all others.  The Christian who trusts God’s Word can be confident that the Creator of life has a way that things of life work best.  Consider the words of God to Job (Job 38-41).  God speaks His worldview to us through His Word – from Genesis to Revelation.  He speaks His Word to us through Jesus Christ who, literally, is the Word become flesh (John 1:1-5; 14).  But sometimes, when a people or nation is blessed with resources and peace on its home soil, men and women become complacent and self-absorbed.  Their hearts and minds are influenced more by the selfish pleasures of the world than the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:16-30). What does the future hold for such a society?  Read 1 John 2:15-17.

Edwin Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation, writes, “The reason we all know the idea of women playing pro football is absurd is because we’re serious about football.  It’s tough game, and if you allow yourself to be distracted by irrelevant issues like ‘sexual equity’ when you should be making your team the toughest it can possibly be, you’re going to get creamed.  So why are we letting feminists impose ‘sexual equity’ on an area that makes football look like a tea party; something that is  not a game, but a matter of life and death for our nation as well as for the ‘players,’ namely, our military?”  How do you respond?

Dear Jesus, You were there at creation.  You are the Creator!  You know male and female full well.  Please help us to trust Your design and purpose for our lives so that we might bring glory, not to ourselves, but to You.  Do not let us be distracted by ideas of the sinful world or our own opinions.  Instead, pour out Your Holy Spirit upon us so that we will be encouraged to live our different yet complementary roles as men and women.  Help men stand tall in defense of home and country.  Help women nurture life and provide good counsel to all who seek truth.   Through the created order, strengthen our nation so that we might stand against enemies both foreign and domestic.  AMEN. 

This four-part study written by Linda Bartlett
is adapted from a larger collection of studies entitled
Men, Women, and Relationships first published in 1999
by Lutherans For Life.
This study is available for download
by visiting Titus 2 for Life.

Read Full Post »