Submission or Rebellion

This scrapbook page was done for Valentine's Day, Feb. 2007.

A few days ago, I was in a conversation with a couple women about submission, and its difficulty to respect our husbands’ decisions when we believe these decisions could cause problems in the near future. This led me to think about how Sarah (Genesis 12) must have felt when Abraham asked her to lie to the king that Abraham was her brother. In Genesis 20, this happened again, when Abraham was confronted with almost the same situation, and he lied to King Abimelech about his relationship with Sarah being his sister. At first, it baffled me that Scripture didn’t note Sarah’s response to Abraham’s lie. I can conclude that Sarah didn’t confront Abraham in front of the king, but I wondered if she may have gently and privately confronted Abraham’s actions and lie, especially before they came up with the plan. Abraham had a conversation with Sarah that since they were traveling on dangerous grounds, they can protect themselves by saying they are siblings. He admitted to telling Sarah, “This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, He is my brother. (Genesis 20: 13).

I am sure Abraham was fearful for their lives, and had forgotten that God was with him, and He was in control. Despite Abraham’s lack of faith, Sarah didn’t disobey her husband’s request, nor do I believe she confronted Abraham of this misleading. Abraham’s responsibility as a husband was to protect his family, and Sarah allowed him to lead and guide her. Sarah’s story is lesson for all women, because so many times, we find ourselves in judgement of our husbands’ spiritual downfall. Some of us express our displeasure with words, while some may show with their actions and expressions while being silent. Our husbands always sense these passive-aggressive ways, after all, we are created for them. In the case of Sarah, the Word tells us that Sarah was reproved, which means ‘set right’. Sarah was “set right” by Abimelech’s rebuke, and I believe she was “found to be right” because of her humble submission.

God was protecting Abraham and Sarah both times. Abraham didn’t need to tell lies, but Abraham needed to learn his lesson from God, not Sarah. We can be glad that Sarah didn’t take matters into her own hands, because she could have hindered God’s teachable lessons for Abraham. Perhaps this could all be training for the crucial moment when God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. (Genesis 22:2, Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.") God was able to refine him through these life lessons, and God must have been pleased that Sarah didn’t take matters into her own hands. (These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. I Peter 1:7)

Ken is a great leader for our family. I am forever grateful for a godly husband who takes his commission seriously, provide and protect his family. I may not see eye-to-eye in everything, but I am grateful that God gives grace to me when I fall short, and that grace is given more often than less.

Wives have the power to build and bless her home or pluck it down. (The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Proverbs 14:1) As Christian women, we are called to submit to our husbands, whether they are believers or not. It just seems, that no matter how aged we are, we all have to deal with dying to ourselves to one degree or another . (Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39). Do we want to be rebellious and unwanting to be subjected to our husbands like the world, or do we desire to be submissive, meek-spirited women that the Bible says we should be? It is much harder to strive to be the latter, but yet the world thinks the latter are the weaker women - the door mat. Hardly so!

I Peter 3:7, “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” The goal of the marriage says it all here, becoming heirs together of the grace of life. The difficult, but attainable task will be to achieve it and then maintain it.